The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to First Sergeant William Wesley Kendall, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 17 May 1863, while serving with Company A, 49th Indiana Infantry, in action at Black River Bridge, Mississippi. First Sergeant Kendall voluntarily led the company in a charge and was the first to enter the enemy’s works, taking a number of prisoners.