Landsman Wilson Brown, a sailor in the U.S. Navy, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on August 5, 1864 at Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay, Alabama during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with U.S.S. Hartford. Brown was about 23 years old.
97 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day.
Brown was born in 1841 in Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi. His Medal of Honor is credited to Mississippi River, Mississippi. Brown died on January 24, 1900, at the age of about 59. He is buried at Natchez National Cemetery in Natchez, Mississippi. His medal is held by Naval Historical Center, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, DC.
Brown is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 18 credited to Mississippi.
Official Medal of Honor citation
On board the flagship U.S.S. Hartford during successful attacks against Fort Morgan, rebel gunboats, and the ram Tennessee in Mobile Bay, on 5 August 1864. Knocked unconscious into the hold of the ship when an enemy shellburst fatally wounded a man on the ladder above him, Brown, upon regaining consciousness, promptly returned to the shell whip on the berth deck and zealously continued to perform his duties, although four of the six men at this station had been either killed or wounded by the enemy's terrific fire.
Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.
Battles and campaigns
Also served in: American Civil War.
Places
Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Mississippi →
Timeline
- 1841Born in Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi
- August 5, 1864Act of valor — Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay, AlabamaAge about 23. U.S.S. Hartford
- January 24, 1900DiedAge about 59.
- Resting placeNatchez National CemeteryNatchez, Mississippi
Biography
Wilson Brown (c. 1841 – January 24, 1900) was a Union Navy sailor during the American Civil War and a recipient of America's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor.
From the Wikipedia article “Wilson Brown (Medal of Honor)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →