Chief Boatswain's Mate William Densmore (b. about 1833 – d. June 17, 1865) 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 ...

Military service

Born in about 1833 in

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

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boatswain's mate and gun captain on the . At the

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.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Chief Boatswain's Mate, U.S. Navy. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 45, 31 December 1864. Densmore's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

As captain of a gun on board the U.S.S. ''Richmond'' 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 damage to his ship and the loss of several men on board as enemy fire raked her decks, Densmore fought his gun with skill and courage throughout a furious 2-hour battle which resulted in the surrender of the rebel ram ''Tennessee'' and in the damaging and destruction of batteries at
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.

Death and burial

Medal of Honor recipient William Densmore died on June 17, 1865, of pneumonia and was buried in the Bishop's Burial Ground / Saint Joseph's Cemetery,

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, which was closed in August 1893 and the property sold in 1905. The remains of William Densmore and his widow Margaret née Maloney Densmore's family members were removed from Saint Joseph's Cemetery and reburied at New Cathedral Cemetery,

, on April 26, 1901. Burial plot: Section G, range 7, lot 1+3. Densmore's death notice in the June 19, 1865, Philadelphia Public Ledger newspaper read:

DENSMORE - On the 17th instant, at the Naval Asylum, WM DENSMORE, of the US receiving ship Princeton, in the 20th year of his age. The relatives and friends of the family are respectfully invited to attend the funeral, from his late residence, No. 117 Almond street, on Tuesday afternoon, at 4 o clock. To proceed to St. Josephs Church for services. Interment at the Bishop's ground

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Densmore, William 1830s births 1865 deaths Military personnel from New York (state) People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Union Navy sailors United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor Deaths from pneumonia in Pennsylvania