Henry Blanchard Freeman was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio and enlisted in the Army in 1856 at the age of 19.

Within a few months of the outbreak of the American Civil War, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant of the 18th Infantry in October 1861.

He received the Medal of Honor on February 17, 1894, for his actions at the Battle of Stones River in December 1862.

General Freeman was a Companion of the Kansas Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.

[1] Citation: The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to First Lieutenant (Infantry) Henry Blanchard Freeman, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 31 December 1862, while serving with 18th U.S. Infantry, in action at Stone River, Tennessee.