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Delavan or Delevan Bates (March 17, 1840 – December 19, 1918) was a Union Army officer in the American Civil War and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of the Crater.

Early life
Bates was born on March 17, 1840, in Schoharie County, New York, the son of Alpheus and Hannah (Ten Eyck) Bates. His paternal grandfather had moved to that state from Massachusetts following the Revolutionary War, and his maternal grandparents had fled from Pennsylvania's Wyoming Valley the night before the Battle of Wyoming.

Military service
Enlisting in the Union Army in mid-1862, Bates was appointed a second lieutenant in the 121st New York Infantry. Over the next year, he participated in the battles of South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. He was captured at the Battle of Salem Church in early May 1863, spent 16 days in Libby Prison, and returned to service with the 121st immediately after being released in a prisoner exchange. Bates then took part in the Battle of Gettysburg and the Second Battle of Rappahannock Station, being one of the first to enter the Confederate defenses during the latter fight.

winter of 1863–64 answered call to lead colored regiment Battle of the Crater led the charge of the 1st brigade of colored troops, shot through head, made brevet brigadier general and given Medal of Honor after recovery commanded a brigade until the end of the war summer of 1865 commanded Beaufort Harbor (NC or SC?) and district of New Berne (New Bern, North Carolina?) mustered out in December 1865

By July 30, 1864, he was serving as a colonel in command of the 30th Regiment Infantry, United States Colored Troops. On that day, he led his troops in the Battle of the Crater at Cemetery Hill outside Petersburg, Virginia, and was shot in the face. Bates survived his injury and was awarded the Medal of Honor several decades later, on June 22, 1891.

Bates's official Medal of Honor citation reads: "Gallantry in action where he fell, shot through the face, at the head of his regiment."

Family and later life
Bates married Lana A. Green in New York. The couple had five children: Loraine, Lena, Laverne, Daisy, and Carlisle. Laverne Bates served with the 2nd Nebraska Regiment in the Spanish–American War.

After the Civil War, Bates settled a 160 acre homestead near Aurora in Hamilton County, Nebraska, and established careers in education, banking, and local governance. He worked as a teacher, school board director, and the Hamilton County superintendent of public instruction. He was also the director of a building and loan association and a vice president and director of First National Bank. As a civil servant, he was a deputy county clerk, city treasurer, city council member, and the mayor of Aurora. He was an active member of the Knights of Pythias and the Grand Army of the Republic and helped establish a monument in Aurora dedicated to those who fought in the Civil War. His wife was involved in the administration of Nebraska soldiers' and sailors' homes. Bates retired from business pursuits in 1898.

Bates died at age 78 on December 19, 1918, and was buried at Aurora Cemetery in Aurora, Nebraska.

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