Orion Perseus Howe, a resident of Glen Rock Avenue in Waukegan and a musician in Company C, 55th Illinois Infantry, became the youngest soldier ever awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for bravery on the battlefield at Vicksburg, Mississippi, on May 19, 1863. A drummer boy 14 years of age, wounded and exposed to heavy fire from the enemy, he persistently remained upon the field of battle until he had reported to General W.T. Sherman the necessity of supplying cartridges for the use of troops under command of Colonel Malmborg.