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Coxswain · U.S. Navy

Edward B. Young

Coxswain Edward B. Young, 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, Coxswain Edward B. Young 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. Galena. Young was about 29 years old.

97 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. He later rose to the rank of Wardroom Steward.

Young was born in 1835 in Bergen, Hudson County, New Jersey. His Medal of Honor is credited to New Jersey. Young died on February 24, 1867 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the age of about 32. He is buried at Evergreen Memorial Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Young is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 93 credited to New Jersey.

★ Fire & Explosions at Sea

Official Medal of Honor citation

On board the U.S.S. Galena during the attack on enemy forts at Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Securely lashed to the side of the Oneida, which had suffered the loss of her steering apparatus and an explosion of her boiler from enemy fire, the Galena aided the stricken vessel past the enemy forts to safety. Despite heavy damage to his ship from raking enemy fire, Young performed his duties with skill and courage throughout the action.

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

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Life beyond the battlefield

  • Occupations: coxswain

Source: Wikidata.

Places

  • Born: Bergen Township — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New Jersey →

Timeline

  1. 1835
    Born in Bergen, Hudson County, New Jersey
  2. August 5, 1864
    Act of valor — Mobile Bay, Alabama
    Age about 29. U.S.S. Galena
  3. February 24, 1867
    Died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    Age about 32.
  4. Resting place
    Evergreen Memorial Cemetery
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Biography

Edward B. Young (c. 1835 – February 24, 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 1835 in Bergen, New Jersey, Young joined the Navy from that city. He served in the Civil War as a coxswain on the USS Galena. During the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, he displayed "skill and courage" as his ship assisted the disabled USS Oneida while under heavy fire. For this action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor the next year, on June 22, 1865. Young's official Medal of Honor citation reads: On board the U.S.S.

From the Wikipedia article “Edward B. Young”, 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

CK Charles W. Kenyon Fireman · Navy Civil War · 1862 John Freeman Mackie Corporal · Marine Corps Civil War · 1862 JR Jeremiah Regan Quartermaster · Navy Civil War · 1862

More Civil War recipients from New Jersey

EE Edmund English First Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 AO Albert Oss Private · Army Civil War · 1863 TK Thomas Kane Captain of the Hold · Navy Civil War · 1865 WS William Joyce Sewell Colonel · Army Civil War · 1863 RC Richard Conner Private · Army Civil War · 1862 CT Charles Titus 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.