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Ordinary Seaman · U.S. Navy

Bernard Harley

Ordinary Seaman Bernard Harley, Navy, received the Medal of Honor for actions on October 27, 1864 in Plymouth, North Carolina during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War October 27, 1864

Ordinary Seaman Bernard Harley, a sailor in the U.S. Navy, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on October 27, 1864 in Plymouth, North Carolina during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with U.S. Picket Boat No. 1. Harley was about 22 years old.

15 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on March 15, 1865.

Harley was born in 1842 in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. His Medal of Honor is credited to New York, New York. Harley died on January 15, 1886, at the age of about 44. He is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

Harley is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 678 credited to New York.

Official Medal of Honor citation

Harley served on board the U.S. Picket Boat No. 1, in action, 27 October 1864, against the Confederate ram Albemarle, which had resisted repeated attacks by our steamers and had kept a large force of vessels employed in watching her. The picket boat, equipped with a spar torpedo, succeeded in passing the enemy pickets within 20 yards without being discovered and then made for the Albemarle under a full head of steam. Immediately taken under fire by the ram, the small boat plunged on, jumped the log boom which encircled the target and exploded its torpedo under the port bow of the ram. The picket boat was destroyed by enemy fire and almost the entire crew taken prisoner or lost.

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

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: Brooklyn — map
  • Died: Brooklyn — map
  • Buried: Holy Cross Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New York →

Timeline

  1. 1842
    Born in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York
  2. October 27, 1864
    Act of valor — Plymouth, North Carolina
    Age about 22. U.S. Picket Boat No. 1
  3. March 15, 1865
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. January 15, 1886
    Died
    Age about 44.
  5. Resting place
    Holy Cross Cemetery
    Brooklyn, New York

Biography

Bernard Harley (born 1842) was an Ordinary Seaman in the Union Navy during the American Civil War, where he earned the Medal of Honor. Harley was born in 1842, in Kings County, New York. While aboard the U.S. Picket Boat No. 1, on October 27, 1864, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary heroism in action near Plymouth, North Carolina. The Confederate ram Albemarle had resisted many previous attacks, but Harley and his picket boat, equipped with a spar torpedo, succeeded in passing the enemy pickets. They were then able to destroy the Ablemarle. The picket boat was destroyed by enemy fire, and almost the entire crew was taken prisoner or lost.

From the Wikipedia article “Bernard Harley”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Further reading

Also honored for actions on October 27, 1864

SB Sylvester Bonnaffon Jr. First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1864 Jeremiah Z. Brown Captain · Army Civil War · 1864 LD Lorenzo Denning Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1864 AE Andrew Henry Embler Captain · Army Civil War · 1864 Daniel Griffin George Ordinary Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1864 RH Richard Hamilton Coal Heaver · Navy Civil War · 1864 EH Edward J. Houghton Ordinary Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1864 Robert Henry King Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1864 DM Daniel J. Murphy Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 CO Charles Alvin Orr Private · Army Civil War · 1864 Alonzo Smith Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 Joseph Sewall Smith Lieutenant Colonel · Army Civil War · 1864

See all 16 recipients for October 27, 1864 →

More Civil War recipients from New York

MH Michael Hudson Sergeant · Marine Corps Civil War · 1864 WW William Wirt Winegar First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1865 TE Thomas English Signal Quartermaster · Navy Civil War · 1865 Ernest von Vegesack Major & Aide-de-Camp · Army Civil War · 1862 JK John Kennedy Private · Army Civil War · 1864 JB James Byrnes Boatswain's Mate · Navy Civil War · 1863
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.