Robert Pinn
United States Army Medal of Honor recipient (1843-1911)
Robert Alexander Pinn (March 1, 1843 – January 5, 1911) was an African American Union Army soldier during the American Civil War and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions at the Battle of Chaffin's Farm.
Early life
Robert A. Pinn was born on March 1, 1843, in Perry Township, Stark County, Ohio, to Zilphia (née Broxon) and William Pinn. His father was from Fauquier County, Virginia, and was born a slave. His mother was of English ancestry and was born in Mercer County, Pennsylvania. His father worked as a farmer and blacksmith. Pinn grew up on the family farm and at the age of 11 started to learn the trade of broom manufacturer.
Career
Military service
In 1861, Pinn joined the 19th Ohio Infantry Regiment as a civilian worker under Major Surgeon Hurxthal during the Civil War, but did not enlist since black troops were not allowed to enlist. He was at the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862. He then enlisted in June 1863 and joined Company I of the 5th U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment, also called the 127th Ohio. He was appointed sergeant on October 18, 1863, and later as first sergeant on February 29, 1864.
The public source identifies “Robert Pinn” as united States Army Medal of Honor recipient (1843-1911). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Robert, Pinn and United.
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This entry incorporates text from “Robert Pinn” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.