Captain of the Afterguard George H. Bell, a sailor in the U.S. Navy, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on November 7, 1861 at Galveston Bay, Texas during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with U.S.S. Santee. Bell was 22 years old.
2 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on November 21, 1864, 3 years after the action.
Bell was born on March 12, 1839 in Sunderland, England — one of 98 recipients born in England. His Medal of Honor is credited to New York, New York. Bell died on September 26, 1917 in Newcastle, England, at the age of 78. He is buried at Elswick Cemetery in Newcastle, England.
Bell 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
Served as pilot of the U.S.S. Santee when that vessel was engaged in cutting out the rebel armed schooner Royal Yacht from Galveston Bay, 7 November 1861, and evinced more coolness, in passing the four forts and the rebel steamer General Rusk, than was ever before witnessed by his commanding officer. "Although severely wounded, in the encounter, he displayed extraordinary courage under the most painful and trying circumstances."
Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.
Wounds and injuries
What the citation records about his wounds:
"Although severely wounded, in the encounter, he displayed extraordinary courage under the most painful and trying circumstances."
- Age at death: 78
- Resting place: Elswick Cemetery
Battles and campaigns
Also served in: American Civil War.
Life beyond the battlefield
- Occupations: coxswain
Source: Wikidata.
Places
- Born: Sunderland — map
Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New York →
Timeline
- March 12, 1839Born in Sunderland, England
- November 7, 1861Act of valor — Galveston Bay, TexasAge 22. U.S.S. Santee
- November 21, 1864Medal of Honor presented
- September 26, 1917Died in Newcastle, EnglandAge 78.
- Resting placeElswick CemeteryNewcastle
Biography
George H. Bell (March 12, 1839 – September 26, 1917) 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 during an 1861 engagement. Born on March 12, 1839, in Sunderland, England, Bell's family moved to Newcastle upon Tyne in the mid-1840s. He began his maritime career at age fourteen and over the next seven years sailed the Atlantic Ocean, Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Indian Ocean, and Mediterranean Sea. While docked in New York City on May 12, 1861, just after the onset of the American Civil War, Bell enlisted in the United States Navy.
From the Wikipedia article “George H. Bell”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →