Robert B. Wood (c. 1836 – July 1, 1878) 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 Suffolk The siege of Suffolk, also known as the Battle of Suffolk, took place from April 11 to May 4, 1863, near Suffolk, Virginia during the American Civil War. Background In 1863 Lieutenant General (CSA), Lt. Gen. James Longstreet was placed in comm ...

. Born in about 1836 in

New Garden, Ohio New Garden is an unincorporated community in Hanover Township, Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. New Garden is located on Ohio State Route 172, west of Lisbon. History New Garden was laid out in 1810. A post office called New Garden was ...

, Wood was still living in that city when he joined the Navy. He served during the Civil War as a

coxswain The coxswain ( , or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the cockboat, a type of ship's boat ...

on the . During the

on April 14, 1863, he was temporarily assigned to the as it conducted operations on the

Nansemond River The Nansemond River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the James River in Virginia in the United States. Virginian colonists named the river ...

in Virginia. For this action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor three months later, on July 10, 1863. Wood's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

Attached to the U.S.S. ''Minnesota'' and temporarily serving on the U.S.S. ''Mount Washington'', during action against the enemy in the Nansemond River, 14 April 1863. When the U.S.S. ''Mount Washington'' drifted against the bank and all men were driven from the decks by escaping steam following several successive hits which struck her boilers and stopped her engines, Wood boarded the stricken vessel and, despite a strike on the head by a spent ball, continued at his gun for 6 hours as fierce artillery and musketry continued to rake her decks.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Robert B. 1830s births 1878 deaths People from Columbiana County, Ohio People of Ohio in the American Civil War Union Navy sailors United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor