He received the country's highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor, for his action during the Battle of Boydton Plank Road in Virginia on October 27, 1864.

Captain Embler led his unit as the spearhead of two regiments that attacked the Confederate's main body and allowed the Union to establish a barricade on the road.

The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Captain (Infantry) Andrew Henry Embler, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 27 October 1864, while serving with Company D, 59th New York Infantry, in action at Boydton Plank Road, Virginia.

Captain Embler charged at the head of two regiments, which drove the enemy's main body, gained the crest of the hill near the Burgess house and forced a barricade on the Boydton road.

Around June 1918, General Embler attended a memorial service for members of the Old New Haven Blues who had fallen in France during World War I.