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Captain of the Forecastle · U.S. Navy

James Smith

Captain of the Forecastle James Smith, 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 Ireland

Captain of the Forecastle James Smith, a sailor in the U.S. Navy, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on August 5, 1864 at Mobile Bay, Alabama during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with U.S.S. Richmond. Smith was about 38 years old.

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

Smith was born in 1826 in Belfast, County Antrim, Ireland — one of 258 recipients born in Ireland. His Medal of Honor is credited to New York, New York. Smith died on October 31, 1881 in New York, New York, at the age of about 55. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

Smith 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

As captain of a gun on board the U.S.S. Richmond during action against rebel forts and gunboats and against the ram Tennessee in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Despite damage to his ship and the loss of several men on board as enemy fire raked her decks, Smith fought his gun with skill and courage throughout the prolonged battle which resulted in the surrender of the rebel ram Tennessee and in the successful attacks carried out on Fort Morgan.

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

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: Belfast — map
  • Buried: Arlington National Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New York →

Timeline

  1. 1826
    Born in Belfast, County Antrim, Ireland
  2. August 5, 1864
    Act of valor — Mobile Bay, Alabama
    Age about 38. U.S.S. Richmond
  3. October 31, 1881
    Died in New York, New York
    Age about 55.
  4. Resting place
    Arlington National Cemetery
    Arlington, Virginia

Biography

James Smith (c. 1826 – October 31, 1881) 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 1826 in Belfast, Ireland, Smith immigrated to the United States and was living in New York when he joined the U.S. Navy. He served during the Civil War as a captain of the forecastle and gun captain on the USS Richmond. At the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, he "fought his gun with skill and courage" despite heavy fire. For this action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor four months later, on December 31, 1864.

From the Wikipedia article “James Smith (Medal of Honor, 1864)”, 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

FM Frank W. Mills Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1862 CM Charles Moore Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1863 Francis Edwin Brownell Private · Army Civil War · 1861 HM Henry Coddington Meyer Captain · Army Civil War · 1864 TS Timothy Spillane Private · Army Civil War · 1865 LN Llewellyn Powell Norton Sergeant · 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.