Career
Archinal enlisted in the 30th Ohio Volunteer Infantry in August 1861, becoming a Corporal in Company I. On May 22, 1863, during the campaign to capture Vicksburg, Mississippi, he participated in an assault on Confederate positions that was considered a "forlorn hope", meaning the soldiers taking part in it would have little chance of surviving. Corporal Archinal was indeed one of a relatively small number of men to escape alive. Archinal"s Medal was issued on July 10, 1894, and the citation is below.
William Archinal died at age 78 and was buried in Riverview Cemetery, Trenton, New Jersey.
His grave can be found in section West, Lot 126. In November 2005 a government issue Medal of Honor marker was installed at his gravesite.
