Joseph H. De Castro

Biography

Joseph H. De Castro earned lasting fame as the first Hispanic recipient of the Medal of Honor after he seized a Confederate flag during the climactic fighting on Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg while serving with the 19th Massachusetts Infantry.

Following the war he served as a police officer and stayed active in veterans' circles, and in his final years he was remembered as a symbol of courageous service whose story inspired many at Fairmount and beyond.