I have no ax to grind here. I know nothing about the 15th Indiana Lt. Arty., and have no ancestors who fought either with or against that unit. If Fout deserved a medal, I would have no problem with that, and would say "good for him." But let's look at this from a disinterested point of view. Here are quotes from your original post:

"By that time the enemy had ceased most of their firing"

From this statement, it would seem that most of the Confederate units had gotten word of the cessation of hostilities.

"No sooner had they begun firing than every battery and gun of the enemy renewed their action"

This would seem to indicate that the Confederates were rather incensed at the resumption of fire after the Union surrender. So, the situation at this time is that the US forces have surrendered to the CS forces. Most of the US and CS forces seem to have gotten the word. Fout may not have gotten the word. Are we all in agreement so far?

"It seemed that this one battery had refused to surrender. Colonel Miles rode up in person and dismounted and walk up to where Sgt. Fout had taken charge of the gun and was still firing, and addressed him and said: "Orderly, cease firing. We will have to surrender." Sgt. Fout refused with an oath. The gun was still loaded and Corporal Johnson and myself gave the order to fire, and turning to Col. Miles, said "General, don’t let us surrender to these rebels. Let us fight them. Col. Miles replied: "It is no use, as we cannot be relieved (pointing over to Maryland) by our friends." John Gimber pulled the lanyard, and the final shot was sent to the enemy on School House Hill."

OK, now there is no longer any question about whether Fout has gotten the word or not. The colonel told the sergeant to quit firing. The sergeant cussed him and continued to fire. Blatant disobedience of a direct order from a superior officer.

""Well Captain," Gen. Jackson asked coldly, what was the meaning of this firing after capitulation? I suppose you know the penalty for violating the rules of war.""

This makes it clear that the Confederates had been fired on after they had been surrendered to. They would have been entirely within their rights to have summarily executed Fout and his crew.

Your argument for Fout getting a medal seems to be based on the fact that Fout was ignorant of the goings-on around him, but the above passages show that at the very least, he was disobeying a direct order when he fired that one last shot.

Someone more cynical than myself might point out that Fout was running around "looking for ammo" during the heat of the battle, and it wasn't until after the surrender, when "most" of the Confederates had quit firing, that he decided to jump back into the fight. I won't take that route.

My point to all this is that there is a thin veneer of civilization that we cling to during war that prevents us from descending into total depravity. As bad as wars are, if these rules are abandoned, wars become bloodbaths. Whether through ignorance or malice, Fout violated a basic rule of warfare, ie, you don't shoot after you have surrendered. For his country to officially honor him for this action is unacceptable.

Fout may have been a brave man. His commanders may have been cowards. I don't know, and to be honest, I don't care. That is for you to decide. But Fout should not have received a medal for his actions, and I think that most disinterested parties would agree.