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Landsman · U.S. Navy

Henry Wilkes

Landsman Henry Wilkes, 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

Landsman Henry Wilkes was a sailor in the U.S. Navy who 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. Wilkes was about 19 years old.

15 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on March 15, 1865.

Wilkes was born in 1845 in New York, New York. Wilkes died on March 3, 1888 in Rensselaer, New York, at the age of about 43. He is buried at Beverwyck Cemetery in Rensselaer, New York.

Wilkes 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

Wilkes 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. 1845
    Born in New York, New York
  2. October 27, 1864
    Act of valor — Plymouth, North Carolina
    Age about 19. U.S. Picket Boat No. 1
  3. March 15, 1865
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. March 3, 1888
    Died in Rensselaer, New York
    Age about 43.
  5. Resting place
    Beverwyck Cemetery
    Rensselaer, New York

Biography

Henry Wilkes (c. 1845 – March 3, 1888) was an American sailor who was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in the American Civil War.

From the Wikipedia article “Henry Wilkes”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Further reading

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 EH Edward J. Houghton 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

See all 16 recipients for October 27, 1864 →

More Civil War recipients from New York

PO Paul Ambrose Oliver Captain · Army Civil War · 1864 AK August Kauss Corporal · Army Civil War · 1865 WM William Martin Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1862 LN Lee Nutting Captain · Army Civil War · 1864 Eugene Asa Carr Colonel · Army Civil War · 1862 LC Louis G. Chaput Landsman · 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.