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Captain of the Top · U.S. Navy

John H. James

Captain of the Top John H. James, 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 Top John H. James 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. Richmond. James was about 29 years old.

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

James was born in 1835 in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts. His Medal of Honor is credited to Massachusetts. James died on August 3, 1914, at the age of about 79. He is buried at Dayton National Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio. His medal is held by Naval Historical Center, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, DC.

James 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

As captain of a gun on board the U.S.S. Richmond 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 on board as enemy fire raked her decks, James fought his gun with skill and courage throughout the furious two-hour 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: Boston — map
  • Buried: Dayton National Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Massachusetts →

Timeline

  1. 1835
    Born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts
  2. August 5, 1864
    Act of valor — Mobile Bay, Alabama
    Age about 29. U.S.S. Richmond
  3. August 3, 1914
    Died
    Age about 79.
  4. Resting place
    Dayton National Cemetery
    Dayton, Ohio

Biography

John H. James (c. 1835 – August 3, 1914) 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 1835 in Boston, Massachusetts, James was still living in that city when he joined the Navy. He served during the Civil War as a captain of the top 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 “John H. James (sailor)”, 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 Massachusetts

Lewis Augustine Horton Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1862 JR Jeremiah Regan Quartermaster · Navy Civil War · 1862 Orlando Phidelio Boss Corporal · Army Civil War · 1864 John F. Bickford Captain of the Top · Navy Civil War · 1864 HY Horatio Nelson Young Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1863 Daniel Dickerson Stevens Quartermaster · Navy 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.