Adam Duncan (sailor) explained

Adam Duncan
Birth Date:c. 1833
Birth Place:Sullivan, Maine
Placeofburial Label:Place of burial
Allegiance:United States
Branch:United States Navy
Serviceyears:1859–1864
Rank:Boatswain's Mate
Battles:American Civil War
Battle of Mobile Bay
Awards:Medal of Honor

Adam Duncan (born, date of death unknown) was a Union Navy sailor in the American Civil War and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Mobile Bay.

Duncan was born in 1833 in Sullivan, Maine, and joined the Navy from Boston. He served during the Civil War as a boatswain's mate and gun captain on the . At the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, he "fought his gun with skill and courage" despite heavy fire. For this action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor four months later, on December 31, 1864. Duncan was discharged in November 1864,[1] having served a total of six years in the Navy.[2]

Duncan's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

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, Duncan 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.

Notes and References

  1. https://archive.org/stream/massachusettssol71931mass#page/852/mode/2up Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War
  2. Web site: Lost to History » Medal of Honor Historical Society of the United States .