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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Ordinary Seaman · U.S. Navy

Charles Melville

Ordinary Seaman Charles Melville, 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

Serving as a sailor in the U.S. Navy, Ordinary Seaman Charles Melville received the Medal of Honor for his actions on August 5, 1864 at Mobile Bay, Alabama during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with U.S.S. Hartford. Melville was about 36 years old.

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

Melville was born in 1828 in Dover, Strafford County, New Hampshire. His Medal of Honor is credited to New Hampshire. Melville died on January 5, 1867, at the age of about 39. He is buried at Family Cemetery in Old Dover Road, New Hampshire. His medal is held by Naval Historical Center, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, DC. Records also list him as Ramsbottom, James.

Melville is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 35 credited to New Hampshire.

Official Medal of Honor citation

On board the flagship U.S.S. Hartford during action against rebel gunboats, the ram Tennessee, and Fort Morgan in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Wounded and taken below to the surgeon when a shell burst between the two forward 9-inch guns, killing and wounding 15 men, Melville promptly returned to his gun on the deck and, although scarcely able to stand, refused to go below and continued to man his post throughout the remainder of the action resulting in the capture of the rebel ram Tennessee

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

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: Dover — map
  • Buried: Rochester — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New Hampshire →

From the archives

James Ramsbottom chose to use the name "Charles Melville" when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Ramsbottom was born in England and immigrated to the U.S. with his family in 1826. To this day, it is unknown why he chose to fight under an alias.

Timeline

  1. 1828
    Born in Dover, Strafford County, New Hampshire
  2. August 5, 1864
    Act of valor — Mobile Bay, Alabama
    Age about 36. U.S.S. Hartford
  3. January 5, 1867
    Died
    Age about 39.
  4. Resting place
    Family Cemetery
    Old Dover Road, New Hampshire

Biography

Charles Melville (c. 1828 – January 5, 1867) 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. Born in about 1828 in Dover, New Hampshire, Melville's birth name was James Ramsbottom. He joined the Navy from his hometown of Dover and served during the Civil War as an ordinary seaman on Admiral David Farragut's flagship, the USS Hartford. At the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, he was wounded by an artillery shell but returned to his post manning one of Hartford's guns for the remainder of the battle.

From the Wikipedia article “Charles Melville”, 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

JC John Costello Ordinary Seaman · Navy Interim 1871–1899 · 1876 RR Richard Ryan Ordinary Seaman · Navy Interim 1871–1899 · 1876

More Civil War recipients from New Hampshire

Richard Napoleon Batchelder Lieutenant Colonel and Chief Quartermaster · Army Civil War · 1863 JB John W. Boutwell Private · Army Civil War · 1865 WW William H. Wilcox Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 CC Charles Dearborn Copp Second Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1862 GD George P. Dow Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 William L. s Tabor Private · Army 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.