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Captain of the Forecastle · U.S. Navy

George Parks

Captain of the Forecastle George Parks, Navy, received the Medal of Honor for actions on August 5, 1864 at Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay, Alabama during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War August 5, 1864

Serving as a sailor in the U.S. Navy, Captain of the Forecastle George Parks received the Medal of Honor for his actions on August 5, 1864 at Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay, Alabama during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with U.S.S. Richmond. Parks was about 41 years old.

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

Parks was born in 1823 in Schenectady, Schenectady County, New York. His Medal of Honor is credited to New York, New York.

Parks 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

On board the U.S.S. Richmond during action against rebel forts and gunboats and with the ram Tennessee in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Despite damage to his ship the and loss of several men on board as enemy fire raked her decks, Parks performed his duties with skill and courage throughout a furious two-hour battle which resulted in the surrender of the rebel ram Tennessee and in the damaging and destruction of batteries at Fort Morgan.

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

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: Schenectady — map
  • Buried: Union Cemetery of Mellenville — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New York →

Timeline

  1. 1823
    Born in Schenectady, Schenectady County, New York
  2. August 5, 1864
    Act of valor — Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay, Alabama
    Age about 41. U.S.S. Richmond

Biography

George Parks (June 16, 1824 – December 6, 1870) 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.

From the Wikipedia article “George Parks (Medal of Honor)”, 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

JH John S. Hickman Second Class Fireman · Navy Civil War · 1863 MM Matthew McClelland First Class Fireman · Navy Civil War · 1863 TM Thomas Mitchell Landsman · Navy Interim 1871–1899 · 1879 JR John Rush First Class Fireman · Navy Civil War · 1863 Joseph E. Vantine First Class Fireman · Navy Civil War · 1863

More Civil War recipients from New York

WJ Wallace W. Johnson Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863 Wilson Smith Corporal · Army Civil War · 1862 Thomas E. Corcoran Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1863 WC William Henry harrison Crosier Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 JS John Sullivan Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1864 TP Thomas Perry Boatswain's Mate · Navy Civil War · 1864
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.