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Boatswain's Mate · U.S. Navy

Adam Duncan

Boatswain's Mate Adam Duncan, Navy, received the Medal of Honor for actions on August 5, 1864 at Mobile Bay, Alabama during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War August 5, 1864

Boatswain's Mate Adam Duncan, a sailor in the U.S. Navy, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on August 5, 1864 at Mobile Bay, Alabama during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with U.S.S. Richmond. Duncan was about 31 years old.

97 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day.

Duncan was born in 1833 in Sullivan, Hancock County, Maine. His Medal of Honor is credited to Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts.

Duncan is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 265 credited to Massachusetts.

Official Medal of Honor citation

As captain of a gun on board the U.S.S. Richmond during action against rebel forts and gunboats and with the ram Tennessee in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Despite damage to his ship and the loss of several men on board as enemy fire raked her decks, Duncan fought his gun with skill and courage throughout the prolonged battle, which resulted in the surrender of the rebel ram Tennessee and in the successful attacks carried out on Fort Morgan.

Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: Maine — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Massachusetts →

Timeline

  1. 1833
    Born in Sullivan, Hancock County, Maine
  2. August 5, 1864
    Act of valor — Mobile Bay, Alabama
    Age about 31. U.S.S. Richmond

Biography

Adam Duncan (born c. 1833, date of death unknown) was a Union Navy sailor in the American Civil War and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Mobile Bay. Duncan was born in 1833 in Sullivan, Maine, and joined the Navy from Boston. He served during the Civil War as a boatswain's mate and gun captain on the USS Richmond. At the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, he "fought his gun with skill and courage" despite heavy fire. For this action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor four months later, on December 31, 1864. Duncan was discharged in November 1864, having served a total of six years in the Navy.

From the Wikipedia article “Adam Duncan (sailor)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Also honored for actions on August 5, 1864

TA Thomas E. Atkinson Yeoman · Navy Civil War · 1864 JA James Avery Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1864 CB Charles Baker Quarter Gunner · Navy Civil War · 1864 WB William Blagheen Ship's Cook · Navy Civil War · 1864 JB John Brazell Quartermaster · Navy Civil War · 1864 JB John Brown Captain of the Forecastle · Navy Civil War · 1864 RB Robert Brown Captain of the Top · Navy Civil War · 1864 WB William H. Brown Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1864 WB Wilson Brown Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1864 JB John M. Burns Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1864 WC William M. Carr Master-at-Arms · Navy Civil War · 1864 MC Michael Cassidy Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1864

See all 98 recipients for August 5, 1864 →

Same unit

JH John S. Hickman Second Class Fireman · Navy Civil War · 1863 MM Matthew McClelland First Class Fireman · Navy Civil War · 1863 TM Thomas Mitchell Landsman · Navy Interim 1871–1899 · 1879 JR John Rush First Class Fireman · Navy Civil War · 1863 Joseph E. Vantine First Class Fireman · Navy Civil War · 1863

More Civil War recipients from Massachusetts

JS James N. Strong Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863 HJ Henry T. Johns Private · Army Civil War · 1863 ES Edward Swatton Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1865 Peter Grace Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 WS William Smith Quartermaster · Navy Civil War · 1864 LG Levi B. Gaylord Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1865
Sources. Service and award details compiled from the recipient record of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Wikidata and Wikipedia. The narrative summary is generated from these records. Spotted an error? Send a correction.