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Medal of Honor Recipient

Charles H Smith

U.S. Navy · Civil War

MOH-RC-003300Source-based record

The award

Representative medal image: early Navy star design and striped ribbon. Not a portrait or a photograph of this recipient’s own medal.
Navy Medal of HonorAction-era reference: 1862

Portrait not yet available. Representative medal shown.

About this image

Presentation date is not usable for design selection. This is an action-era reference; a later presentation or replacement medal may differ.

Medal imagery and historical designs →

Medal of Honor

December 30, 1862

Off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, USA

Rank at action
Coxswain
Service
U.S. Navy
Conflict
Civil War
Unit or command
USS Rhode Island

The Citation

Sources ↓
On board the U.S.S. Rhode Island which was engaged in rescuing men from the stricken Monitor in Mobile Bay, on December 30, 1862. After the Monitor sprang a leak and went down, Smith courageously risked his life in a gallant attempt to rescue members of the crew. Although he, too, lost his life during the hazardous operation, he had made every effort possible to save the lives of his fellow men.

Sources & record notes

General Order comparison: pending. Current-profile review does not mean that the underlying original order has been examined.

  1. Charles H Smith — Congressional Medal of Honor Society recipient profile ↗Congressional Medal of Honor Society · Checked 2026-09-01

    current identity, service, action metadata, and citation comparison

Transcription, metadata & provenance notes
Award ID
MOH-AW-003315
Transcription status
Legacy full text · current reference profile matched
Last source check
2026-09-01
Recorded order reference (not verified against the original)
59
Accredited to
Maine
Archive transcription SHA-256
64f69fb847cae452a3e3e1798c013143a740093c378d6ec6a6d9fd6861304105

Legacy transcription retained without substantive editing; rendered current reference profile comparison is documented in the Phase 10 evidence snapshot.

The current profile identifies the USS Rhode Island coxswain and does not classify the award as posthumous. The legacy citation wording, including its death statement, remains preserved as attributed historical source text for comparison.

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