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Captain of the Forecastle · U.S. Navy

John Harris

Captain of the Forecastle John Harris, 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 Norway

Captain of the Forecastle John Harris 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. Metacomet. Harris was about 25 years old.

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

Harris was born in 1839 in Norway — one of 22 recipients born in Norway. His Medal of Honor is credited to New York, New York.

Harris 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

As captain of the forecastle on board the U.S.S. Metacomet, Harris was a member of the boat's crew which went to the rescue of the officers and crew of the U.S. Monitor Tecumseh, when the vessel was struck by a torpedo in passing the enemy forts in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Harris 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, thereby eliciting the admiration of both friend and foe.

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

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Timeline

  1. 1839
    Born in Norway
  2. August 5, 1864
    Act of valor — Mobile Bay, Alabama
    Age about 25. U.S.S. Metacomet

Biography

John Harris (born c. 1839, date of death unknown) was a Union Navy sailor who received the Medal of Honor for his service on USS Metacomet in Mobile Bay during the American Civil War. Born in 1839, Harris was living in New York when he joined the Navy. He served during the Civil War as a captain of the forecastle on 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 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 Harris (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

JL Joseph Lonsway Private · Army Civil War · 1864 WH William E. Hart Private · Army Civil War · 1864 Henri Le fevre Brown Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 HM Harry J. Mandy First Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 Newton Martin Curtis Brigadier General · Army Civil War · 1865 TC Thomas D. Collins Sr. Sergeant · Army 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.