Alexander Kelly

Alexander Kelly (April 7, 1840 – June 19, 1907) was an African-American coal miner and native of Pennsylvania who fought with the Union Army as a member of the 6th United States Colored Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War. He was awarded his nation's highest military decoration—the U.S. Medal of Honor—for his gallantry in the Battle of Chaffin's Farm, Virginia on September 29, 1864.

Formative years Alexander Kelly was born in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania, on April 7, 1840. According to historian Donald Scott, "Kelly's parentage, service and census data indicate that he was 'mulatto' and with 'light skin,' perhaps indicating mixed ancestry." He "and his siblings were orphaned by 1850, when he was about 10 years old, and lived with an uncle, David Kelly, a 'salt boiler,' and his probable wife Nancy, described [on the 1850 federal census] as 'Keeping House'.... The family was part of a small black community, some working as coal miners and 'salt boilers' in Saltsburg, where the Conemaugh River carried salt deposits." Among the siblings living with him at this time was his 16-year-old brother, Joseph.

Reportedly reaching a stature of just 5'3" by his early adult years, according to U.S. military records, Alexander Kelly became one of those who found work in the coal mines of Western Pennsylvania. Kelly then went on to earn the rank of First Sergeant in Company F of the 6th U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment. On September 29, 1864, as his unit was engaged in the Battle of Chaffin's Farm, Virginia, he prevented the national colors from falling into enemy hands as his regiment was storming an abatis of a Confederate States Army regiment from Texas, and also then "rallied the [6th USCT] men at a time of confusion and a place of great danger" — actions which resulted in his being awarded the U.S. Medal of Honor on April 6, 1865.

With the war over and Reconstruction efforts underway, Alexander Kelly mustered out on September 20, 1865.

Kelly's courage at New Market Heights is depicted in a painting, Three Medals of Honor by artist Don Troiani. The painting was scheduled to be unveiled June 24, 2013, at the Union League of Philadelphia. Also portrayed in the painting are two fellow Medal of Honor recipients from the battle, Nathan H. Edgerton and Thomas R. Hawkins.