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Ordinary Seaman · U.S. Navy

Samuel W. Davis

Ordinary Seaman Samuel W. Davis, 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

Ordinary Seaman Samuel W. Davis 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. Brooklyn. Davis was about 19 years old.

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

Davis was born in 1845 in Brewer, Penobscot County, Maine. His Medal of Honor is credited to Maine. Davis died on May 5, 1914 in Boston, Massachusetts, at the age of about 69. He is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Brewer, Maine. His medal is held by Naval Historical Center, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, DC.

Davis is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 66 credited to Maine.

Official Medal of Honor citation

On board the U.S.S. Brooklyn during successful attacks against Fort Morgan, rebel gunboats and the ram Tennessee in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Despite severe damage to his ship and the loss of several men on board as enemy fire raked the decks from stem to stern, Davis exercised extreme courage and vigilance while acting as a lookout for torpedoes and other obstructions throughout the furious battle which resulted in the surrender of the prize 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: Brewer — map
  • Died: Boston — map
  • Buried: Oak Hill Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Maine →

Timeline

  1. 1845
    Born in Brewer, Penobscot County, Maine
  2. August 5, 1864
    Act of valor — Mobile Bay, Alabama
    Age about 19. U.S.S. Brooklyn
  3. May 5, 1914
    Died in Boston, Massachusetts
    Age about 69.
  4. Resting place
    Oak Hill Cemetery
    Brewer, Maine

Biography

Samuel Walker Davis (January 23, 1846 - May 5, 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.

From the Wikipedia article “Samuel W. Davis”, 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

JB James Buck Quartermaster · Navy Civil War · 1862 HM Harry Lewis MacNeal Private · Marine Corps Spanish-American War · 1898

More Civil War recipients from Maine

Francis Snow Hesseltine Lieutenant Colonel · Army Civil War · 1863 ST Sidney Warren Thaxter Major · Army Civil War · 1864 Henry Clay Wood First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1861 FH Frank W. Haskell Sergeant Major · Army Civil War · 1862 AM Augustus Merrill Captain · Army Civil War · 1865 Adelbert Ames First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1861
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.