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Coxswain · U.S. Navy

Robert Jordan

Coxswain Robert Jordan, Navy, received the Medal of Honor for actions on April 14, 1863 at Nansemond River, Virginia during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War April 14, 1863

Coxswain Robert Jordan, a sailor in the U.S. Navy, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on April 14, 1863 at Nansemond River, Virginia during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with U.S.S. Minnesota (temporarily on U.S.S. Mount Washington. Jordan was about 37 years old.

4 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on July 10, 1863.

Jordan was born in 1826 in New York. Jordan died on December 20, 1881 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the age of about 55. He is buried at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Naval Section, Pennsylvania. Records also list him as Jourdan, Robert.

Jordan is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 678 credited to New York.

★ Fire & Explosions at Sea

Official Medal of Honor citation

Attached to the U.S.S. Minnesota and temporarily serving on the U.S.S. Mount Washington, during action against the enemy in the Nansemond River, 14 April 1863. When the Mount Washington drifted against the bank following several successive hits which struck her boilers and stopped her engines, Jordan boarded the stricken vessel and, for six hours as fierce artillery and musketry continued to rake her decks, calmly assisted in manning a 12-pound howitzer which had been mounted on the open hurricane deck.

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

Places

  • Buried: Mount Moriah Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New York →

Timeline

  1. 1826
    Born in New York
  2. April 14, 1863
    Act of valor — Nansemond River, Virginia
    Age about 37. U.S.S. Minnesota (temporarily on U.S.S. Mount Washington
  3. July 10, 1863
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. December 20, 1881
    Died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    Age about 55.
  5. Resting place
    Mount Moriah Cemetery
    Naval Section, Pennsylvania

Biography

Robert Jordan (1826 - December 21, 1881) was an American sailor and recipient of the Medal of Honor who received the award for his actions in the American Civil War.

From the Wikipedia article “Robert Jordan (sailor)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Also honored for actions on April 14, 1863

William Edgar Simonds Sergeant Major · Army Civil War · 1863 HT Henry Thielberg Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1863 RW Robert B. Wood Coxswain · Navy Civil War · 1863 SW Samuel Woods Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1863

More Civil War recipients from New York

MC Michael Cassidy Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1864 Alexander Shaler Colonel · Army Civil War · 1863 LC Luman Lewis Cadwell Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 JH James Samuel Hill Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 ✦ JL James H. Lee Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1864 TC Thomas Cullen Corporal · Army Civil War · 1863
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.