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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Seaman · U.S. Navy

Henry Johnson

Seaman Henry Johnson, 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, 1864Born in Norway

Serving as a sailor in the U.S. Navy, Seaman Henry Johnson 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. Metacomet. Johnson was about 40 years old.

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

Johnson was born in 1824 in Norway — one of 22 recipients born in Norway. His Medal of Honor is credited to New York, New York.

Johnson is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 678 credited to New York.

★ Rescue & Lifesaving

Official Medal of Honor citation

As seaman on board the U.S.S. Metacomet, Johnson served as a member of the boat's crew which went to the rescue of the U.S. Monitor Tecumseh when that vessel was struck by a torpedo in passing the enemy forts in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. He braved the enemy fire, which was said by the admiral to be "one of the most galling" he had ever seen, and aided in rescuing from death 10 of the crew of the Tecumseh, thereby eliciting the admiration of both friend and foe.

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

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: Norway — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New York →

Timeline

  1. 1824
    Born in Norway
  2. August 5, 1864
    Act of valor — Mobile Bay, Alabama
    Age about 40. U.S.S. Metacomet

Biography

Henry Johnson (born about 1824, date of death unknown) 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 1824 in Norway, Johnson immigrated to the United States and was living in New York when he joined the Navy in 1857. He served during the Civil War as a seaman on the USS Metacomet. At the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, he was among the crew of a small boat sent from Metacomet to rescue survivors of the USS Tecumseh, which had been sunk by a naval mine (then known as a "torpedo").

From the Wikipedia article “Henry Johnson (sailor)”, 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 →

More Civil War recipients from New York

AB Andrew Bringle Corporal · Army Civil War · 1865 BG Benjamin Gifford Private · Army Civil War · 1865 LN Lee Nutting Captain · Army Civil War · 1864 JC John Joice Carter Second Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1862 JC John Nicholas Coyne Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1862 TH Thomas Horan Sergeant · 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.