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Quartermaster · U.S. Navy

James Sheridan

Quartermaster James Sheridan, 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, 1864

Quartermaster James Sheridan was a sailor in the U.S. Navy 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. Sheridan was about 33 years old.

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

Sheridan was born in 1831 in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey. His Medal of Honor is credited to New York, New York. Sheridan died on November 9, 1893 in Brooklyn, New York, at the age of about 62. He is buried at Holly Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

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

★ Wounded but Fought On

Official Medal of Honor citation

Served as quartermaster on board the U.S.S. Oneida in the engagement at Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Acting as captain of the after 11-inch gun, and wounded in several places, Sheridan remained at his gun until the firing had ceased and then took the place of the signal quartermaster who had been injured by a fall. Recommended for his gallantry and intelligence, Sheridan served courageously throughout this battle which resulted in the capture of the rebel ram Tennessee and the damaging of Fort Morgan.

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

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: Newark — map
  • Buried: Holy Cross Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New York →

Timeline

  1. 1831
    Born in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey
  2. August 5, 1864
    Act of valor — Mobile Bay, Alabama
    Age about 33. U.S.S. Oneida
  3. November 9, 1893
    Died in Brooklyn, New York
    Age about 62.
  4. Resting place
    Holly Cross Cemetery
    Brooklyn, New York

Biography

James Sheridan (May 27, 1830 – November 9, 1893) 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. [Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip] Born on May 27, 1830, in Drogheda, Ireland, a "rope maker", he arrived from Ireland on the Ellen Austin in 1857 at Castle Gardens in lower Manhattan (NYC), NY. His initial enlistment was 23 October 1858 where Sheridan lied about his birth in Newark, New Jersey for reasons unknown, but presumably for higher enlistment bonus or rank / pay grade.

From the Wikipedia article “James Sheridan (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 →

More Civil War recipients from New York

Johann Christoph julius Langbein Musician · Army Civil War · 1862 DB Denis Buckley Private · Army Civil War · 1864 ✦ Edward Farrell Quartermaster · Navy Civil War · 1862 Isaac Swartwood Catlin Colonel · Army Civil War · 1864 GB George A. Buchanan Private · Army Civil War · 1864 ✦ MC Michael Crowley Private · Army Civil War · 1865
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.