John Brown (1826 – November 1, 1883) was a Union Navy sailor in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

, for his actions at the Battle of Mobile Bay. Born in 1826 in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland, Brown's birth name was Thomas Hayes. He immigrated to the United States and was living in New York when he joined the U.S. Navy. He served during the Civil War as a

captain of the forecastle A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be super ...

on the . At the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, he "fought his gun with skill and courage" despite heavy fire. For this action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor four months later, on December 31, 1864. Brown's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

On board the U.S.S. ''Brooklyn'' during action against rebel forts and gunboats and with the ram ''
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
'' in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Despite severe damage to his ship and the loss of several men on board as enemy fire raked her decks from stem to stern, Brown fought his gun with skill and courage throughout the furious battle which resulted in the surrender of the prize rebel ram ''Tennessee'' and in the damaging and destruction of batteries at
Fort Morgan Fort Morgan can apply to any one of several places in the United States: *Fort Morgan (Alabama), a fort at the mouth of Mobile Bay *Fort Morgan, Alabama, a nearby community *Fort Morgan (Colorado), a frontier military post located in present-day Fo ...
.

Brown died on November 1, 1883, at age 56 or 57.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, John 1826 births 1883 deaths Military personnel from Glasgow People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Union Navy sailors United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients Scottish-born Medal of Honor recipients American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor