Quartermaster William Wells was a sailor in the U.S. Navy who 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. Wells was about 32 years old.
97 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day.
Wells was born in 1832 in Germany — one of 130 recipients born in Germany. His Medal of Honor is credited to New York, New York.
Wells 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 landsman and lookout on board the U.S.S. Richmond during action against rebel forts and gunboats and with 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, Wells performed his duties with skill and courage throughout a 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.
Places
- Born: Germany — map
Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New York →
Timeline
- 1832Born in Germany
- August 5, 1864Act of valor — Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay, AlabamaAge about 32. U.S.S. Richmond
Biography
William Wells (1832 – February 8, 1868) was a United States Navy sailor and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the American Civil War. Wells had reached the rank of quartermaster by the time his Medal of Honor was awarded on December 31, 1864.
From the Wikipedia article “William Wells (sailor)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →
