Full medal write up
GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC (G.A.R.) PRESENTATION BADGE AWARDED TO COMMANDER E. A. CURTIS BY THE E. H. HOLT POST NO. 403. THIS 1.75" X 5" FOUR-PART BADGE, IS MADE UP OF BRASS, SILVER, GOLD AND GOLD-PLATED COMPONENTS. THE UPPER SHIELD ENGRAVED ‘E. H. HOLT POST NO. 403’, THE LOWER SHIELD ENGRAVED ‘PRESENTED TO COM'D'R E. A. CURTIS MARCH 25TH 1893 BY THE COMRADES OF THE POST.’ Sold in an original leatherette holder which is in poor damaged condition.
Enoch A. Curtis, aged 31 enlisted into the Union Army at Harmony, New York on 25 July 1862. Recruiting a Company of men in Harmony, he was Commissioned Captain of ‘D’ Company, of the then forming 112th New York Infantry (Chautauqua) Regiment on 27 October 1862. He was wounded in action at the battle of Cold Harbour, 1 June 1864. The Regimental history notes that both Curtis’s and his 1st Lieutenant were wounded during the battle:
“…. This left Col. Drake's command in a very unfortunate position. The enemy holding the rifle pits on their flank, were able to pour in a severe enfilading fire , while they were also exposed to the front fire of the advanced line of works. At this point the carnage was terrible, the 112th from its position suffering most severely, its casualties nearly equalling the sum of those in the rest of the Brigade. Here Col. Drake, while attempting to rectify the line, was shot through the body and borne from the field . His Assistant Adjutant General, Lieut. G. L. Pierce, as brave a soldier and competent an officer as any in the Regiment, was last seen quite in the advance, waving his sword. When and how he fell is not known. Capt. E. A. Curtis was wounded severely in the shoulder and leg. His 1st Lieutenant, R. A. Corbett, was wounded severely in the thigh; 1st Lieut. Henry Hull , on whom devolved the command of Company K, Capt. Ludwick having been left behind sick, was wounded through the shoulder, the ball passing into his body. Capt. J. G. Palmiter fell wounded before reaching the works. He was on the left of the line, and after the order had been given to charge, he saw several men not of his Company, a little distance back, loading and firing from behind some trees. Going to them he said, "Men, this is useless; fix bayonets and charge ; I will lead you. " They obeyed, and just as they reached the ditch , the Captain fell . A ball struck him on the arm, and flattened itself on the bone, without breaking it. Forty men of the Regiment, and some of the best men in every respect the Regiment contained, were killed upon the field. The total casualties in the Brigade were: 112th N. Y., 153; 169th N. Y. , 94 ; 9th Maine , 62 ; 13th Indiana, 11. Col , McConihe, of the 169th, was killed , and Lieut. Col. Alden severely wounded..”
Curtis was discharged due to wounds on 15 September that year, the Regimental history adding:
“Captain Curtis, after a faithful service of nearly two years, while bravely leading his men in the assault at Cold Harbor, was hit by a bullet in the shoulder, inflicting an ugly wound, and so disabling him for future service that with reluctance he threw up his commission and was honorably discharged September 13, '64.”
For his services, he was brevetted Major by Governor Fenton on 27 June 1867, for his Gallantry at Cold Harbor. Post War, he became a very successful architect practicing in Fredonia, New York.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enoch_A._Curtis#cite_note-Bio-1
Holt Post No 403, to which Curtis belonged, was located in Fredonia, New York. Holt, who the Post was named after, had also served as a Captain in the 112th Regiment New York Volunteer Infantry and like Captain Curtis, was also wounded at Cold Harbor.