Serving as a sailor in the U.S. Navy, Coxswain Oloff Smith received the Medal of Honor for his actions on August 5, 1864 at Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay, Alabama during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with U.S.S. Richmond. Smith was about 31 years old.
97 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day.
Smith was born in 1833 in Sweden — one of 17 recipients born in Sweden. His Medal of Honor is credited to New York, New York.
Smith is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 678 credited to New York.
Official Medal of Honor citation
On board the U.S.S. Richmond during action against rebel forts and gunboats and against 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, Smith performed his duties 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.
Life beyond the battlefield
- Occupations: coxswain
Source: Wikidata.
Places
- Born: Sweden — map
Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New York →
Timeline
- 1833Born in Sweden
- August 5, 1864Act of valor — Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay, AlabamaAge about 31. U.S.S. Richmond
Biography
Oloff Smith (born c. 1833, 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 1833 in Sweden, Smith immigrated to the United States and was living in New York City when he joined the U.S. Navy. He served in the Civil War as a coxswain on the USS Richmond. During the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, he "performed his duties with skill and courage" despite heavy fire. For this action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor four months later, on December 31, 1864. Smith's official Medal of Honor citation reads: On board the U.S.S.
From the Wikipedia article “Oloff Smith”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →
