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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Seaman · U.S. Navy

Thomas Smith

Seaman Thomas Smith, Navy, received the Medal of Honor for actions between March 5 and 6, 1865 in St. Marks, Florida during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War March 5 - 6, 1865Born in England

Seaman Thomas Smith was a sailor in the U.S. Navy who received the Medal of Honor for his actions between March 5 and 6, 1865 in St. Marks, Florida during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with U.S.S. Magnolia. Smith was about 27 years old.

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

Smith was born in 1838 in England — one of 98 recipients born in England. His Medal of Honor is credited to New York, New York. Smith died on October 22, 1905 in Tennessee, at the age of about 67. He is buried at Mountain Home National Cemetery in Johnson City, Tennessee.

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

As seaman on board the U.S.S. Magnolia, St. Marks, Fla., 5 and 6 March 1865. Serving with the Army in charge of Navy howitzers during the attack on St. Marks and throughout this fierce engagement, Smith made remarkable efforts in assisting transport of the gun, and his coolness and determination in courageously standing by his gun while under the fire of the enemy were a credit to the service to which he belonged.

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

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: England — map
  • Buried: Mountain Home National Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New York →

Timeline

  1. 1838
    Born in England
  2. March 5 - 6, 1865
    Act of valor — St. Marks, Florida
    Age about 27. U.S.S. Magnolia
  3. October 22, 1905
    Died in Tennessee
    Age about 67.
  4. Resting place
    Mountain Home National Cemetery
    Johnson City, Tennessee

Biography

Thomas Smith (1838 – 22 October 1905) 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 Natural Bridge. Born in 1838 in England, Smith joined the U.S. Navy from the state of New York. By March 5, 1865, he was serving as a seaman on the USS Magnolia. On that day and the next, he accompanied a Union Army force during the Battle of Natural Bridge near St. Marks, Florida. He helped transport and fire a naval howitzer throughout the engagement despite heavy Confederate fire. For this action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor three months later, on June 22, 1865.

From the Wikipedia article “Thomas Smith (Medal of Honor, 1865)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Also honored for actions on March 5 - 6, 1865

RB Richard Boury Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1865 JL John S. Lann Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1865 JM John Mack Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1865 GS George Schutt Coxswain · Navy Civil War · 1865

Same unit

GP George Pyne Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1865 CR Charles Read Ordinary Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1865

More Civil War recipients from New York

JN John H. Nibbe Quartermaster · Navy Civil War · 1864 TE Thomas English Signal Quartermaster · Navy Civil War · 1865 AE Andrew Henry Embler Captain · Army Civil War · 1864 OM Owen McGough Corporal · Army Civil War · 1861 JC John Joice Carter Second Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1862 JB John Francis Benjamin Corporal · Army Civil War · 1865
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.