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Captain of the Forecastle · U.S. Navy

John C. McFarland

Captain of the Forecastle John C. McFarland, 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

Captain of the Forecastle John C. McFarland, 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. Hartford. McFarland was about 24 years old.

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

McFarland was born in 1840 in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts. McFarland died on October 3, 1881 in Lowell, Massachusetts, at the age of about 41. He is buried at St. Patrick's Cemetery in Lowell, Massachusetts.

McFarland is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 265 credited to Massachusetts.

Official Medal of Honor citation

Stationed at the wheel on board the flagship U.S.S. Hartford during successful actions against Fort Morgan, rebel gunboats, and the ram Tennessee in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. With his ship under terrific enemy shellfire, McFarland performed his duties with skill and courage and, when the Lackawanna ran into his ship and every man at the wheel was in danger of being crushed, remained steadfast at his station and continued to steer his ship.

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

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: Boston — map
  • Died: Lowell — map
  • Buried: Lowell Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Massachusetts →

Timeline

  1. 1840
    Born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts
  2. August 5, 1864
    Act of valor — Mobile Bay, Alabama
    Age about 24. U.S.S. Hartford
  3. October 3, 1881
    Died in Lowell, Massachusetts
    Age about 41.
  4. Resting place
    St. Patrick's Cemetery
    Lowell, Massachusetts

Biography

John C. McFarland (1840 – October 3, 1881) was a sailor in the United States Navy and a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Battle of Mobile Bay during the American Civil War.

From the Wikipedia article “John McFarland (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 →

Same unit

JC John Costello Ordinary Seaman · Navy Interim 1871–1899 · 1876 RR Richard Ryan Ordinary Seaman · Navy Interim 1871–1899 · 1876

More Civil War recipients from Massachusetts

Samuel Cole Wright Private · Army Civil War · 1862 AB Andrew Symmes Bryant Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863 TH Thomas W. Hamilton Quartermaster · Navy Civil War · 1863 JH John H. Harbourne Private · Army Civil War · 1864 DM Daniel J. Murphy Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 OO Oliver Albert O'Brien Coxswain · 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.