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Captain of the Forecastle · U.S. Navy

John Smith

Captain of the Forecastle John Smith, Navy, received the Medal of Honor for actions on August 5, 1864 at Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay, Alabama during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War August 5, 1864

Captain of the Forecastle John Smith, a sailor in the U.S. Navy, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on August 5, 1864 at Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay, Alabama during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with U.S.S. Lackawanna. Smith was about 33 years old.

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

Smith was born in 1831 in Albany, Albany County, New York. His Medal of Honor is credited to Massachusetts. He is buried at Pennsylvania.

Smith 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

On board the U.S.S. Lackawanna during successful attacks against Fort Morgan, rebel gunboats, and the rebel ram Tennessee in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Serving as gun captain and finding he could not depress his gun when alongside the rebel ironclad Tennessee, Smith threw a hand holystone into one of the ports at a rebel using abusive language against the crew of the ship. He continued his daring action throughout the engagement which resulted in the capture of the prize ram Tennessee and in the damaging and destruction of Fort Morgan.

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

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: Boston — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Massachusetts →

Timeline

  1. 1831
    Born in Albany, Albany County, New York
  2. August 5, 1864
    Act of valor — Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay, Alabama
    Age about 33. U.S.S. Lackawanna
  3. Resting place
    Pennsylvania

Biography

John Smith (born c. 1831, date of death unknown) 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 1831 in Boston, Massachusetts, Smith was still living in that city when he joined the Navy. He served in the war as captain of the forecastle on the USS Lackawanna. During the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, Lackawanna engaged the CSS Tennessee at close range but Smith, acting as a gun captain, found that his ship's artillery could not be aimed low enough to hit the Confederate ironclad.

From the Wikipedia article “John Smith (Medal of Honor, born 1831)”, 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

IF Isaac L. Fasseur Ordinary Seaman · Navy Interim 1871–1899 · 1884 Louis Williams Seaman · Navy Interim 1871–1899 · 1883 Louis Williams Captain of the Hold · Navy Interim 1871–1899 · 1884

More Civil War recipients from Massachusetts

JF John B. Frisbee Gunner's Mate · Navy Civil War · 1862 GH George White Hooker First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1862 JD Joseph H. Decastro Corporal · Army Civil War · 1863 Russell C. Elliott Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 Peter Grace Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 John Michael Tobin First Lieutenant & Adjutant · Army Civil War · 1862
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.