John Gregory Bishop Adams (October 6, 1841 – October 19, 1900) was an American soldier who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the American Civil War. Biography John was born on October 6, 1841 in Groveland, Massachusetts, to Isaac and Margaret Adams. He married Mary E. on April 5, 1866 in Boston. They had two children, but they both died in infancy. Adams enlisted into military service as a private and eventually achieved the rank of captain. During his Civil War service he fought in several major battles including Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. It was during the Battle of Fredericksburg that his actions would earn him the United States military's highest decoration for valor, the Medal of Honor. During the battle of Cold Harbor his entire regiment was captured and held as prisoners in a Confederate prison camp where he was held for nine months. When he returned home after the war, he worked a series of jobs including working for a shoe company, a customs inspector, postmaster and deputy warden. Civil War service Adams was born October 6, 1841 in Groveland, Massachusetts, and when the Civil War broke out, he enlisted as a private in Major Ben Perley Poore's Rifle Battalion, a unit that was later folded into the 19th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. When the 19th departed the state on March 1, 1861, Adams was a corporal in Company A. He served with the 19th in the Peninsula Campaign and at the Battle of Antietam. During the seven days' fighting on the Peninsula he was conspicuous for his bravery, and at its close his gallantry had won for him a Second Lieutenant's commission. While serving as a Second Lieutenant in Company I, he was one of 18 Union soldiers who received the Medal of Honor for valor at the Battle of Fredericksburg. Adams recovered the regimental and national colors as a corporal and a lieutenant carrying them fell mortally wounded. With a flag in each hand he advanced, and the regiment was reformed on him. He was one of seven soldiers from the 19th Regiment who received the Medal of Honor during the war. Late, he was fighting at the Battle of Chancellorsville and the Battle of Gettysburg, where he was severely wounded on July 2, 1863; in this battle Adams was the ranking First Lieutenant in his regiment and took command of Company I.