John Harris (Medal of Honor)

rdf:langString John Harris (Medal of Honor)

rdf:langString John Harris

rdf:langString John Harris

rdf:langString *Battle of Mobile Bay

rdf:langString Union Navy

rdf:langString Civil War era Navy Medal of Honor

rdf:langString John Harris (born 1839, date of death unknown) was a Union Navy sailor who received the Medal of Honor for his service on USS Metacomet in Mobile Bay during the American Civil War. Born in 1839, Harris was living in New York when he joined the Navy. He served during the Civil War as a captain of the forecastle on USS Metacomet. At the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, he was among the crew of a small boat sent from Metacomet to rescue survivors of USS Tecumseh, which had been sunk by a naval mine (then known as a "torpedo"). Despite intense fire, the boat crew was able to pull ten Tecumseh men from the water. For this action, Harris was awarded the Medal of Honor a year and a half later, on January 15, 1866. Five other members of the boat crew also received the medal: Seaman James Avery, Quarter Gunner Charles Baker, Ordinary Seaman John C. Donnelly, Seaman Henry Johnson, and Landsman Daniel Noble.

rdf:langString Place of burial