The Confederate Congress authorized every regiment to select a recipient from its ranks to be included in the Confederate Roll of Honor. This was done by a majority vote after each battle. This roll grew to over 2,000 and Congress decided to reserve the Medal of Honor for truly courageous service.

Unfortunately, all the medals were given posthumously after the recipients and the Confederate Government had long since vanished. The first Medal of Honor was given to Private Sam Davis of Tennessee in 1977. Of the over 2,000 names submitted to the Confederate Congress, four men from the 13th South Carolina Infantry were added to the list after the battle of Chancellorsville, May 1-4, 1863. These men were:

• Sgt. Andrew J. McCollum - Company D - killed at Chancellorsville
• Pvt. James Johnson - Company E - killed at Chancellorsville
• Pvt. John M. Rikard - Company G
• Pvt. Thomas. C. Corley - Company K

The reference for this material came from the book "Valor in Gray - Recipients of the Confederate Medal of Honor" written by Gregg S. Clemmer