John Smith (born c. 1831, date of death unknown) was a

Union Navy ), (official) , colors = Blue and gold , colors_label = Colors , march = , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label ...

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 The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864, was a naval and land engagement of the American Civil War in which a Union fleet commanded by Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, assisted by a contingent of soldiers, attacked a smaller Confederate fle ...

. Born in about 1831 in Boston, Massachusetts, Smith was still living in that city when he joined the Navy. He served in the war as

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 . During the

on August 5, 1864, ''Lackawanna'' engaged the CSS ''Tennessee'' at close range but Smith, acting as a gun captain, found that his ship's artillery could not be aimed low enough to hit the Confederate ironclad. The two ships were so close that a Confederate sailor began shouting insults at ''Lackawanna's'' crew; Smith responded by throwing a

holystone Holystone is a soft and brittle sandstone that was formerly used in the Royal Navy and US Navy for scrubbing and whitening the wooden decks of ships. A variety of origins have been proposed for the term, including that such stones were taken fro ...

into one of ''Tennessee's'' portholes at him. For his actions during the battle, Smith was awarded the Medal of Honor months later, on December 31, 1864. Smith's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

On board the U.S.S. ''Lackawanna'' during the successful attacks against
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 ...
, 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, John 1830s births Year of death missing Military personnel from Boston People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War Union Navy sailors United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor