Kelly, Alexander

Alexander Kelly was born in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania and was awarded the Medal of Honor during his service with the United States Colored Troops in the Civil War. Kelly grew up in western Pennsylvania and became a coal miner. In August 1863, Kelly enlisted in Company F of the 6th USCT Regiment at Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. He received the Medal of Honor on April 16, 1865, for his actions at Chaffin's Farm, Virginia on September 29, 1864. The citation noted that Kelly, then serving as the company's First Sergeant, “gallantly seized the colors, which had fallen near the enemy's lines of abatis, raised them and rallied the men at a time of confusion and in a place of the greatest danger.” He had a brother named Elias who also served as a corporal in the 45th USCT, Co. D. but who died in uniform in Edinburg, Texas on July 25, 1865. Another, older brother, David Kelly, emigrated to Monrovia, Liberia in 1853 and returned to Pittsburgh and served as a minister. After the war, Alexander married Victoria on July 30, 1866 and lived near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, working a variety of jobs, including as nightwatchman for the Pittsburgh Police Department stables. He died in 1907 and was buried at St. Peter's Cemetery in Pittsburgh. (By Don Sailer)
Life Span
to
    Full name
    Alexander Kelly
    Place of Birth
    Birth Date Certainty
    Exact
    Death Date Certainty
    Exact
    Gender
    Male
    Race
    Black
    Sectional choice
    North
    Origins
    Free State
    No. of Siblings
    2
    No. of Spouses
    1
    No. of Children
    0
    Family
    Victoria (wife, 1866), Elias Kelly (brother), David Kelly (brother)
    Occupation
    Military
    Other
    Other Occupation
    Miner
    Relation to Slavery
    Free black
    Military
    Union Army
    How to Cite This Page: "Kelly, Alexander," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/32472.