Joseph Benjamin Noil (1841 – March 21, 1882) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

sailor and a recipient of America's highest military 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 valo ...

Military service

Joseph B. Noil enlisted in the Navy from New York; when he re-enlisted for three years on December 29, 1874, he was described as thirty-four years old, born in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

and of African descent. His civilian occupation was as a caulker, and he was five feet, six inches tall. While serving on at Norfolk, Virginia on December 26, 1872, he saved a drowning shipmate, Boatswain J.C. Walton. For his conduct on this occasion, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. On May 25, 1881, Noil, promoted to the rating of

Captain of the Hold 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 superi ...

and serving on the , was admitted to the Naval Hospital in Norfolk, suffering from "paralysis" (

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...

). About a week later, he was transferred to Saint Elizabeth's Hospital in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, where he died on March 21, 1882, and was buried in the hospital graveyard under the name of "Joseph B. Noel". His grave was re-discovered in 2011 by the Medal of Honor Historical Society of the United States, a group that has a mission to identify and photograph the "lost" resting places of Medal of Honor recipients. A new headstone, noting that Noil is a Medal of Honor recipient, was dedicated in April 2016, in a ceremony attended by representatives from the

Canadian Embassy in Washington The Embassy of Canada in Washington, D.C. (french: Ambassade du Canada à Washington, D.C.) is Canada's main diplomatic mission to the United States. The embassy building designed by Arthur Erickson and opened in 1989 is located at 501 Pennsylvani ...

and by Noil's great-great-great granddaughter.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Seaman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1841, Nova Scotia. Accredited to: New York. Citation:

Serving on board the U.S.S. Powhatan at Norfolk, 26 December 1872, Noil saved Boatswain J. C. Walton from drowning.

Personal life

Noil married Sarah Jane Gambier (1846 – March 6, 1896) of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

; they had two daughters, Florence Gambier Noil (October 1871 – October 5, 1933) and Sarah Elizabeth Noil (b. January 13, 1876, date of death unknown). His granddaughter, Cora Hunter Parks, was an actress, dancer, and

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

artist who appeared in a number of

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

shows. As a member of the group The Rhythmettes, she sang " Optimistic Voices" in the 1939 movie '' The Wizard of Oz'', and on Broadway in 1939, again with the Rhythmettes, with Louis Armstrong,

Moms Mabley Loretta Mary Aiken (March 19, 1894 – May 23, 1975), known by her stage name Jackie "Moms" Mabley, was an American stand-up comedian and actress. Mabley began her career on the theater stage in the 1920s and became a veteran entertainer of the ...

Oscar Polk Oscar Polk (December 25, 1899 – January 4, 1949) was an American actor. He portrayed the servant Pork in the film '' Gone with the Wind'' (1939). Career His most memorable scene in that film comes when Pork discloses to Scarlett O'Hara, port ...

and others, she sang and danced in the show ''Swingin' the Dream''.International Broadway Database, http://ibdb.com/production.php?id=13212

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Noil, Joseph B. 1841 births 1882 deaths Canadian emigrants to the United States United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients United States Navy sailors People from Queens County, Nova Scotia Canadian-born Medal of Honor recipients Non-combat recipients of the Medal of Honor

Military service

Medal of Honor citation

Personal life

See also

References