Boatswain's Mate William Young, a sailor in the U.S. Navy, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry between April 24 and 25, 1862 in Forts Jackson & St. Philip and New Orleans, Louisiana during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with U.S.S. Cayuga. Young was about 27 years old.
18 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day.
Young was born in 1835 in New York. Young died on December 26, 1878 in Erie, Pennsylvania, at the age of about 43. He is buried at Erie Cemetery in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Young 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. Cayuga during the capture of Forts St. Philip and Jackson and the taking of New Orleans, 24 and 25 April 1862. As his ship led the advance column toward the barrier and both forts opened fire simultaneously, striking the vessel from stem to stern, Young calmly manned a Parrot gun throughout the action in which attempts by three rebel steamers to butt and board were thwarted and the ships driven off or captured, 11 gunboats were successfully engaged, and garrisons forced to surrender. During the battle, the Cayuga sustained 46 hits.
Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.
Battles and campaigns
Also served in: American Civil War.
Places
Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New York →
Timeline
- 1835Born in New York
- April 24 - 25, 1862Act of valor — Forts Jackson & St. Philip and New Orleans, LouisianaAge about 27. U.S.S. Cayuga
- December 26, 1878Died in Erie, PennsylvaniaAge about 43.
- Resting placeErie CemeteryErie, Pennsylvania
Biography
William Young (c. 1835 – December 26, 1878) 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 Forts Jackson and St. Philip. Born in about 1835 in New York, Young joined the navy from that state. He served during the civil war as a boatswain's mate on the USS Cayuga. In Louisiana on April 24–25, 1862, the ship led a Union fleet up the Mississippi River past two Confederate forts, Jackson and St. Philip, which guarded the approach to New Orleans. Young manned a Parrott gun throughout the battle despite heavy fire from Confederate ships and the two forts.
From the Wikipedia article “William Young (Medal of Honor)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →
