Milton Murray Holland was one of only four African Americans from Ohio to receive the Medal of Honor during the American Civil War. Holland was born as the son of white slaveowner Bird Holland and Matilda, an enslaved African American woman. Holland was one of 149 young black men who signed the recruitment rolls at the Athens County Fairgrounds and raised what was to become Company C of the 5th United States Colored Infantry. He was serving as a Sergeant Major in the 127th Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Battle of Chaffin's Farm in Virginia. He along with Robert A. Pinn helped lead Company C after all the officers had been killed or wounded. For this, he was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1865. Holland was induced into the first class of the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame in 1992.
