He received the Medal of Honor for his actions as a Union Army lieutenant colonel and regimental commander at the Battle of Prairie Grove during the American Civil War.

John Charles Black was born in Lexington, Mississippi, on January 27, 1839,[1][2] and moved to Danville, Illinois, in 1847.

[1] On July 12, 1862, John Black was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and became commander of the 37th Illinois Infantry.

[1] Black led his regiment against a fortified Confederate position during the Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, on December 7, 1862.

On January 13, 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated Black for appointment to the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers to rank from April 9, 1865, for gallant services in the assault on Fort Blakeley, Alabama on that date, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on March 12, 1866.

[5]Black was a member of the Illinois Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.

[1][2] Black served as president of the United States Civil Service Commission from January 17, 1904, until resigning on June 10, 1913.