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Medal of Honor Recipient

James Smith

U.S. Navy · Civil War

MOH-RC-003301Source-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: 1864

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.

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Medal of Honor

August 5, 1864

Mobile Bay, Alabama, USA

Rank at action
Captain of the Forecastle
Service
U.S. Navy
Conflict
Civil War
Unit or command
USS Richmond

The Citation

Sources ↓
As captain of a gun on board the U.S.S: Richmond during action against rebel forts and gunboats and with the ram Tennessee, 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, Smith fought his gun with skill and courage throughout the prolonged battle which resulted in the surrender of the rebel ram Tennessee and in the successful attacks carried out on Fort Morgan.

Sources & record notes

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

  1. James 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-003316
Transcription status
Legacy full text · current reference profile matched
Last source check
2026-09-01
Recorded order reference (not verified against the original)
45
Accredited to
New York
Archive transcription SHA-256
bc928a05a9a318f7d70ac54a6402732685a910da5e65295f36620899852b6d11

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

The USS Richmond profile is selected by ship, rank, and Mobile Bay action.