of volunteers to rank from April 9, 1865, for gallant services in the assault on Fort Blakeley, Alabama on that date, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on March 12, 1866. Medal of Honor citation Rank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel, 37th Illinois Infantry. Place and date: At Prairie Grove, Ark., December 7, 1862. Entered service at: Danville, Ill. Born: January 27, 1839, Lexington, Holmes County, Miss. Date of issue: October 31, 1893. Citation: Gallantly charged the position of the enemy at the head of his regiment, after 2 other regiments had been repulsed and driven down the hill, and captured a battery; was severely wounded. Postbellum career Black was a member of the Illinois Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. Black practiced law and became the United States District Attorney at Chicago. Black was U.S. Commissioner of Pensions between 1885 and 1889. Running as a Democrat, he was elected to the Fifty-third United States Congress, and served from 1893 to 1895. In 1903, he was honored with the office of Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, the veterans organization for Civil War veterans of the Union Army, for 1903–1904. Black served as president of the United States Civil Service Commission from 1904 to 1913. Death John C. Black died August 17, 1915 at Chicago, Illinois. He is buried in Spring Hill Cemetery and Mausoleum, Danville Illinois. See also List of Medal of Honor recipients List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: A–F Notes References Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . Hunt, Roger D. and Jack R. Brown, Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue. Gaithersburg, MD: Olde Soldier Books, Inc., 1990. . 1839 births 1915 deaths Illinois lawyers United States Army Medal of Honor recipients People of Illinois in the American Civil War People of Indiana in the American Civil War People from Lexington, Mississippi People from Danville, Illinois Union Army colonels Wabash College alumni American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois Grand Army of the Republic Commanders-in-Chief 19th-century American politicians People from Dupont Circle 19th-century American lawyers United States Attorneys for the Northern District of Illinois