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Ordinary Seaman · U.S. Navy

John C. Donnelly

Ordinary Seaman John C. Donnelly, 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 England

Serving as a sailor in the U.S. Navy, Ordinary Seaman John C. Donnelly 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. Donnelly was about 25 years old.

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

Donnelly was born in 1839 in England — one of 98 recipients born in England. His Medal of Honor is credited to New York, New York. Donnelly died in 1895, at the age of about 56. He is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Woodside, New York.

Donnelly 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

Served on board the U.S.S. Metacomet. 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, Donnelly 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, 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: England — map
  • Buried: Calvary Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New York →

Timeline

  1. 1839
    Born in England
  2. August 5, 1864
    Act of valor — Mobile Bay, Alabama
    Age about 25. U.S.S. Metacomet
  3. 1895
    Died
    Age about 56.
  4. Resting place
    Calvary Cemetery
    Woodside, New York

Biography

John C. Donnelly (1839–1895) 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 1839 in England, Donnelly 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 an ordinary 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"). Despite intense fire, the boat crew was able to pull ten Tecumseh men from the water.

From the Wikipedia article “John C. Donnelly”, 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

AH Abram Pye Haring First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1864 FM Frank Miller Private · Army Civil War · 1865 Frederick W. Fuger Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863 TS Timothy Spillane Private · Army Civil War · 1865 TD Timothy Donoghue Private · Army Civil War · 1862 Thomas M. Burke Private · 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.