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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Sergeant · U.S. Marine Corps

James S. Roantree

Sergeant James S. Roantree, Marine Corps, 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 Ireland

Sergeant James S. Roantree was a Marine in the U.S. Marine Corps who 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. Oneida. Roantree was about 29 years old.

97 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. He later rose to the rank of First Sergeant.

Roantree was born in 1835 in Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland — one of 258 recipients born in Ireland. His Medal of Honor is credited to New York. Roantree died on February 24, 1873 in Boston, Massachusetts, at the age of about 38. He is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Roslindale, Massachusetts.

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

★ Fire & Explosions at Sea

Official Medal of Honor citation

On board the U.S.S. Oneida during action against rebel forts and gunboats and with the ram Tennessee in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Despite damage to his ship and the loss of several men onboard as the enemy fire raked her decks and penetrated her boilers, Sgt. Roantree performed his duties with skill and courage throughout the furious 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: Dublin — map
  • Buried: Massachusetts — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New York →

Timeline

  1. 1835
    Born in Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland
  2. August 5, 1864
    Act of valor — Mobile Bay, Alabama
    Age about 29. U.S.S. Oneida
  3. February 24, 1873
    Died in Boston, Massachusetts
    Age about 38.
  4. Resting place
    Calvary Cemetery
    Roslindale, Massachusetts

Biography

James S. Roantree (c. 1835 – February 24, 1873) was a sergeant serving in the United States Marine Corps during the American Civil War who received the Medal of Honor for bravery.

From the Wikipedia article “James S. Roantree”, 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

Henry Alanson Barnum Colonel · Army Civil War · 1863 CM Charles Moore Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1863 Abiather J. Knowles Private · Army Civil War · 1861 William Henry Freeman Private · Army Civil War · 1865 JM John P. McVeane Corporal · Army Civil War · 1863 ✦ Samuel Nicholl Benjamin First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1861
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.