Medal of Honor
January 13, 1865–January 15, 1865
Fort Fisher, North Carolina, USA
- Rank at action
- Coxswain
- Service
- U.S. Navy
- Conflict
- U.S. Civil War
- Unit or command
- U.S.S. New Ironsides
The Citation
Sources ↓Willis served on board the U.S.S. New Ironsides during action in several attacks on Fort Fisher, 24 and 25 December 1864; and 13, 14 and 15 January 1865. The ship steamed in and took the lead in the ironclad division close inshore and immediately opened its starboard battery in a barrage of well_directed fire to cause several fires and explosions and dismount several guns during the first 2 days of fighting. Taken under fire as she steamed into position on 13 January, the New Ironsides fought all day and took on ammunition at night, despite severe weather conditions. When the enemy troops came out of their bombproofs to defend the fort against the storming party, the ship's battery disabled nearly every gun on the fort facing the shore before the ceasefire order was given by the flagship.
Sources & record notes
General Order comparison: pending. Current-profile review does not mean that the underlying original order has been examined.
- Richard Willis — 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-002778
- 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
- Pennsylvania
- Archive transcription SHA-256
- 48101cdcbe1618ba8a1c0d321a055078b29e5cc053d0757597b9a01d05bfba3b
Legacy transcription retained without substantive editing; rendered current reference profile comparison is documented in the Phase 10 evidence snapshot.
Current official reference profile confirms identity and core action metadata; legacy citation and source-row provenance are retained; General Order comparison remains pending.