Antonio Williams (seaman)

He showed courage as a storm wrecked his ship off Nags Head.

Born in Malta in 1825, Antonio Williams entered the United States Navy and served as a seaman aboard USS Huron.

Huron was an iron-hulled, steam-powered warship that also carried sails. Commissioned in the mid-1870s, the vessel operated in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico before undertaking the voyage that would end in disaster.

On 23 November 1877, USS Huron departed Hampton Roads, Virginia, bound southward on a scientific cruise toward Cuban waters. During the night the ship encountered severe weather along the North Carolina coast. In the early hours of 24 November, Huron ran aground near Nags Head.

At first, the crew attempted to save the ship. The vessel was stranded close to shore, but the short distance did not make escape easy. Heavy seas struck the hull, and the ship soon heeled over. Ninety-eight officers and enlisted men lost their lives.

Williams survived. His courage and fidelity during the loss of Huron brought the Medal of Honor. The official citation records those qualities without describing particular rescues or assigning a number of lives saved to him. His decoration recognised courage during a naval disaster rather than action against an enemy.

Williams lived for more than three decades after the wreck and later settled in Bristol, England. He died there in July 1908 and was buried in Greenbank Cemetery. His grave preserves a link between the Maltese-born sailor, his American naval service and the English city where he spent his later life.

Medal of Honor citation

For courage and fidelity displayed in the loss of the U.S.S. Huron, 24 November 1877.