John Smith

Branch

U.S. Navy

Era

Civil War

Home state

Massachusetts

Action

USS Lackawanna

The citation

Official citation

On board the U.S.S. Lackawanna during the successful attacks against Fort Morgan, rebel gunboats and the ram Tennessee in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Serving as a gun captain and finding he could not depress his gun when alongside the rebel ironclad Tennessee, Smith threw a hand holystone into one of the ports at a rebel using abusive language against the crew of the ship. He continued his daring action throughout the engagement which resulted in the capture of the prize ram Tennessee and in the damaging and destruction of Fort Morgan.

Sources

• U.S. Army Medal of Honor citation index
• Wikipedia. Linked only. The article text is not copied here.