Fact File 2.
by Terry Foenander.
Nine additional personnel of the Union Navy were actually awarded the Medal, but these were forfeited, or withheld, due to later miscreant actions by these recipients, and in one case, an erroneous report.
The nine additional personnel of the Union Navy who forfeited their Medals of Honor were, as follows:
Joseph Brown, quartermaster, USS Brooklyn; forfeited medal by deserting. Brown was one of the two dozen personnel, from the USS Brooklyn, who had been recommended by his commander, Captain James Alden, for the Medal. The after action report indicates that Brown, together with seaman Joseph Irlam, "stationed at the wheel, behaved with great coolness and bravery, sending the other two men who were stationed with them to replace men disabled at the guns." In a message to Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, dated August 6, 1864, from aboard the USS Brooklyn, at Mobile Bay (the day after the battle), Alden states, in part, "Feeling satisfied that they have earned that justly prized distinction, the medal of honor, I trust the Department will confer it upon them." However, Brown deserted before he could be bestowed with that "prized distinction." [Navy General Order No. 45, dated December 31, 1864; ORN 1, 21, 448 & 452.]
Clement Dees, seaman (colored), USS Pontoosuc; medal forfeited by his desertion. In an after action report sent by Commander William G. Temple, to the Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles, dated from aboard the USS Pontoosuc, James River, Virginia, March 31, 1865, Temple states that, "After mature consideration and careful consultation with the officers of this vessel, I would recommend that medals of honor be awarded to the following men under my command for gallantry, skill, and coolness in action during the operations in and about Cape Fear River, which extended from December 24, 1864, to February 22, 1865, and which resulted in the capture of Fort Fisher and Wilmington, viz: Robert M. Blair, boatswain's mate; Anthony Wiliams, sailmaker's mate; James W. Verney, chief quartermaster; Asa Betham, coxswain; John P. Errikson, captain of forecastle; Clement Dees, seaman (colored); George W. McWilliams, landsman, and John Anglin, boy.
Two of these men, John P. Errikson and George W. McWilliams, were so severely wounded in the naval assault upon Fort Fisher that they were sent to the hospital at Portsmouth, Virginia; since which time I have not heard of them, and therefore can not say where they are to be found at present. All others are still on board this vessel."
However, Clement Dees must have decided that he no longer wished to continue in service, and thus forfeited the honor. All others named in the dispatch were to receive the award. [ORN 1, 11, 488; Navy General Order No. 59, dated June 22, 1865.].
Charles Florence, boatswain's mate, USS Cayuga; medal withheld on account of misconduct. Lieutenant Napoleon B. Harrison, commanding the USS Cayuga during the action against Forts Jackson and St. Philip, on the Mississippi River, below New Orleans, April 24, 1862, cited several officers, as well as enlisted sailors, Charles Florence, William Young, William Parker and Edward Wright for their good conduct during the battle. Young, Parker and Wright were later to receive the Medal for their actions, but Florence was denied this honor, for some unstated reason. [Navy General Order No. 11, dated April 3, 1863; ORN 1, 18, 173-174.]
Thomas Gehegan, boatswain's mate, USS Pinola; forfeited medal by misconduct. Gehegan was cited by his commander, Lieutenant Pierce Crosby, of the USS Pinola, for his conduct, while serving as captain of the XI-inch gun, for the brave example he set his crew and by "the faithful manner with which he served his gun, bringing up his own ammunition as soon as the men composing the powder division had been nearly all killed or wounded," during the action of April 24, 1862, on the Mississippi River, below New Orleans. The nature of his misconduct, which caused him to forfeit the Medal, is unknown. [Navy General Order No. 11, dated April 3, 1863; ORN 1, 18, 222-224.]
John Jackson, ordinary seaman, USS C.P. Williams; awarded under an erroneous report - not entitled to it. A report, dated September 10, 1863, sent by George B. Balch, commander of the USS Pawnee, from Stono Inlet, South Carolina, to Admiral Dahlgren, commanding the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, states, as follows:
"Admiral: I have the honor to transmit the accompanying report from Acting Master S.N. Freeman, commanding the mortar schooner C.P. Williams, in relation to the bravery and coolness of John Jackson (ordinary seaman), attached to that vessel; and by which bravery and coolness, as exhibited by John Jackson, I believe a very serious damage to the C.P. Williams was prevented.
I had the honor, verbally, to bring his conduct to your notice in giving an account of the attempt of the rebels to injure the force in the Stono by torpedoes, and I take pleasure in forwarding the annexed communication to testify my admiration of the bravery, coolness, and skill of John Jackson (ordinary seaman), and I trust you may deem his services worthy of being rewarded by a medal."
No further details of why this recommendation was rejected can be found, and it is assumed that the erroneous report was the one shown above, as sent in by commander Balch. This sailor should not be confused with the one listed in the next entry. [Navy General Order No. 32, dated April 16, 1864; ORN 1, 14, 447-448.]
John Jackson, ship's corporal, USS Pontoosuc; medal forfeited by his desertion. The only indication that Jackson was awarded the medal, but forfeited it through his desertion is shown in the Navy General Order, as referenced. There is no mention of the reason for his award within the pages of the ORN. [Navy General Order No. 59, dated June 22, 1865.]
Franklin Lucas, coxswain, USS Agawam; cited for his participation in the expedition to blow up the Louisiana off Fort Fisher, December, 1864, in the rather feeble, General Benjamin Butler-inspired effort to cause some damage to the fort; forfeited medal by deserting; born Portland, Maine; 1842; pre-war occupation, mariner; enlisted in the United States Navy, April 30, 1864, at Hampton Roads, Virginia; deserted March 26, 1865. [ORN 1, 11, 226-227; Navy General Order No. 45, dated December 31, 1864.]
John Martin, boatswain's mate, USS Galena; medal forfeited by his desertion; no reports naming Martin and Robinson (shown in the next entry), have been found in the ORN, but three other members of the USS Galena were awarded the Medal, within the same Navy General Order, for their actions at Mobile Bay, August 5, 1864, and it is assumed that Martin and Robinson had been recommended for their actions in the same battle. [Navy General Order No. 59, dated June 22, 1865; MOH.]
Charles Robinson, chief boatswain's mate, USS Galena; medal forfeited by his desertion. [Navy General Order No. 59, dated June 22, 1865.]
In addition, it should also be noted that George Hollah (surname also shown as Hollat), who served as boy aboard the USS Varuna, had originally been shown as having his medal forfeited on a charge of desertion, but later records seem to indicate that the honor was restored, perhaps because of some misunderstanding. [Navy General Order No. 11, dated April 3, 1863.]
Sources:
MOH: "The Congressional Medal of Honor: the Names, the Deeds," published 1984, by Sharp & Dunnigan Publications, Forest Ranch, California 95942. Citation includes page number.
Navy General Order: Information from the volume, titled General Orders and Circulars issued by the Navy Department, from 1863 to 1887, with an Alphabetical Index of Subjects," compiled by M.S. Thompson, by authority of the Navy Department; published by the Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1887.
ORN: "Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion," originally published by the Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., in 31 volumes (including the Index volume); reprint edition, 1987, by the National Historical Society, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105. Citation includes series, volume and page numbers.
November, 2004.