The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Sergeant Charles Augustus Thompson, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 12 May 1864, while serving with Company D, 17th Michigan Infantry, in action at Spotsylvania, Virginia. After the regiment was surrounded and all resistance seemed useless, Sergeant Thompson fought single-handed for the colors and refused to give them up until he had appealed to his superior officers.