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Ordinary Seaman · U.S. Navy

Edward J. Houghton

Ordinary Seaman Edward J. Houghton, 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

Serving as a sailor in the U.S. Navy, Ordinary Seaman Edward J. Houghton received the Medal of Honor for his actions 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. Houghton was about 21 years old.

15 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on May 5, 1865. Medal of Honor delivered to the US Receiving Ship in Norfolk, VA.

Houghton was born in 1843 in Mobile, Mobile County, Alabama. His Medal of Honor is credited to Alabama. Houghton died on July 16, 1865 in Norfolk, Virginia, at the age of about 22. He is buried at Hollyhood Cemetery in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Houghton is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 21 credited to Alabama.

Official Medal of Honor citation

Houghton 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.

Timeline

  1. 1843
    Born in Mobile, Mobile County, Alabama
  2. October 27, 1864
    Act of valor — Plymouth, North Carolina
    Age about 21. U.S. Picket Boat No. 1
  3. May 5, 1865
    Medal of Honor presented
    Medal of Honor delivered to the US Receiving Ship in Norfolk, VA.
  4. July 16, 1865
    Died in Norfolk, Virginia
    Age about 22.
  5. Resting place
    Hollyhood Cemetery
    Brookline, Massachusetts

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 Bernard Harley 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 →

Sources. Service and award details compiled from the recipient record of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. The narrative summary is generated from these records. Spotted an error? Send a correction.