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Medal of Honor Recipient

John Williams

U.S. Navy · Civil War

MOH-RC-003312Source-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: 1861

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

June 26, 1861

Matthias Point, Virginia, USA

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

The Citation

Sources ↓
Serving as captain of the maintop of the U.S.S. Pawnee in the attack upon Mathias Point, 26 June 1861, Williams told his men, while lying off in the boat, that every man must die on his thwart sooner than leave a man behind. Although wounded by a musket ball in the thigh he retained the charge of his boat; and when the staff was shot away, held the stump in his hand, with the flag, until alongside the Freeborn.

Sources & record notes

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

  1. John Williams — 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-003327
Transcription status
Legacy full text · current reference profile matched
Last source check
2026-09-01
Recorded order reference (not verified against the original)
11
Accredited to
Louisiana
Archive transcription SHA-256
130af9947fb2518d02630922021a21b1344c82c6df14ae9c16fe304d4bee7228

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

The USS Pawnee profile is selected by vessel, rank, and Matthias Point action, distinct from the Mohican and Commodore Perry recipients.

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