Christian A. Fleetwood was born in Baltimore on July 21, 1940 to Charles and Anna Maria Fleetwood, two free persons of color. He would be distinguished by earning the Congressional Medal of Honor during the Civil War. Fleetwood enlisted into Company G of the 4th Regiment, United States Colored Infantry in August 1963. Because he was an educated man, he was given the rank of Sergeant and promoted to Sergeant Major within a few days. He saw service in North Carolina and Baltimore.
In the Battle of Chapins Farm on September 29, 1964, he was supervising the unit's left flank when one of the flag bearers, Alfred B, Hilton, was shot. Hilton was carrying the flag after the orginal bearer was injured. Fleetwood and another soldier, Charles Veale, each took a flag - before they could touch the gound - and carried them forward under heavy fire. When they were forced to retreat to the reserve line, Fleetwood used the flag to rally a small group of men to continue the fight.
Six months later, on April 6, 1865, Veale, Hilton and Fleetwood were each issued the Medal of Honor. Fleetwood's Medal of Honor citation reads: "Seized the colors, after 2 color bearers had been shot down, and bore them nobly through the fight."
-Professor Walter
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