Samuel Walker Davis (January 23, 1846 - May 5, 1914) was a Union Navy sailor in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

, for his actions at the

Battle of Mobile Bay The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864, was a naval and land engagement of the American Civil War in which a Union fleet commanded by Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, assisted by a contingent of soldiers, attacked a smaller Confederate fle ...

Military service

Born in 1846 in

Brewer, Maine Brewer is a city in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. It is part of the Bangor metropolitan area. The city is named after its first settler, Colonel John Brewer. The population was 9,672 at the 2020 census. Brewer is the sister city ...

, Davis was still living in that city when he joined the Navy. He served during the Civil War as an

ordinary seaman __NOTOC__ An ordinary seaman (OS) is a member of the deck department of a ship. The position is an apprenticeship to become an able seaman, and has been for centuries. In modern times, an OS is required to work on a ship for a specific amount ...

on the . At the

on August 5, 1864, he acted as a look-out for

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel mine, anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are ...

s (then known as "torpedoes") despite heavy fire. For this action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor four months later, on December 31, 1864.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Ordinary Seaman, U.S. Navy, Accredited to: Maine, G.O. No.: 45, 31 December 1864 Davis's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

On board the U.S.S. ''Brooklyn'' during successful attacks against Fort Morgan, rebel gunboats and the ram ''
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
'' in Mobile Bay, on 5 August 1864. Despite severe damage to his ship and the loss of several men on board as enemy fire raked her decks from stem to stern, Davis exercised extreme courage and vigilance while acting as a look-out for torpedoes and other obstructions throughout the furious battle which resulted in the surrender of the prize rebel ram ''Tennessee'' and in the damaging and destruction of batteries at Fort Morgan.

Death and burial

Medal of Honor recipient Samuel W. Davis died on May 5, 1914, of chronic diffuse nephritis at the

Peter Bent Brigham Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH or The Brigham) is a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. He was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in

. Davis' death notice in the May 7, 1914, Boston Herald newspaper read:

DAVIS - In this city, May 4, Samuel W. Davis, aged 63 yrs. Funeral services will be held at the funeral parlors of W. H. Graham, 1770 Washington st. Thursday afternoon, at 2 o'clock. Relatives and friends invited to attend. Burial at Brewer, Me.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Samuel W. 1846 births 1914 deaths People from Brewer, Maine People of Maine in the American Civil War Union Navy sailors United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor