John P. Beech
Medal of Honor recipient
About John P. Beech
Lived 1844 – 1926 (aged 82).
Sergeant John Pointon BeechNoteTag|His surname is spelled Beach in a number of sources. Beech is the spelling on his tombstone and Medal of Honor citation. With his family, he emigrated to the United States in 1849. Beech joined the 4th New Jersey Infantry Regiment at Trenton, New Jersey, on August 9, 1861, as a private. On June 27, 1862, Beech was captured at the Battle of Gaines' Mill and then imprisoned at Belle Isle in Richmond, Virginia.
On May 12, 1864, during the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, in Virginia, most of the members of an artillery battery, deployed in front of Beech's company, were killed by enemy fire. Beech voluntarily assisted the remaining artillery men, despite being under heavy fire. It is for this act of bravery that he was awarded the Medal of Honor on June 1, 1894.
Beech died on November 27, 1926, at his home; he was buried at the Mercer Cemetery, Trenton, New Jersey. A marker commemorating Beech was erected in Trenton in 1992.
Medal of Honor citation
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Important facts
People in John P. Beech's life
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Contemporaries
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Frequently asked questions
Who was John P. Beech?
Medal of Honor recipient
When was John P. Beech born?
John P. Beech was born on 1 May 1844 in Staffordshire.
When did John P. Beech die?
John P. Beech died on 27 November 1926 in New Jersey.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). John P. Beech. https://biography.guide/john-p-beech/
MLA: "John P. Beech." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/john-p-beech/.
Chicago: "John P. Beech." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/john-p-beech/.
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