Goodman received his country's highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor.
[1] Goodman's medal was won when he rescued the colors of the 107th Ohio Infantry from Confederate States Army forces during the Battle of Chancellorsville, in Virginia on March 3, 1863.
He was commissioned as an officer in September 1861, and mustered out with his regiment in July 1865.
[3] 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) William Ernest Goodman, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 3 May 1863, while serving with Company D, 147th Pennsylvania Infantry, in action at Chancellorsville, Virginia.
First Lieutenant Goodman rescued the colors of the 107th Ohio Volunteers from the enemy.