Charles H. Foy

Charles H. Foy was a veteran sailor of the United States Navy whose courage and professional discipline during the final months of the American Civil War earned him the Medal of Honor. Born in 1809 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Foy belonged to an older generation of professional seamen by the time the Civil War began. Unlike many wartime volunteers who entered military service for the first time after 1861, surviving records portray Foy as an experienced mariner whose naval service placed him aboard several United States vessels before his most famous assignment aboard USS Rhode Island. Congressional Medal of Honor Society Archival research associated with Green-Wood Cemetery records Foy as a career seaman and indicates that he entered Civil War-era naval service at Boston on July 8, 1861. His documented assignments included service aboard USS Ohio, USS North Carolina, and later USS Rhode Island. These assignments placed him within a wartime Navy undergoing extraordinary expansion as the United States attempted to blockade the Confederate coastline, protect maritime supply routes, and support major amphibious operations. Foy eventually served as a quartermaster, and after further service and reenlistment returned to USS Rhode Island, where he held the specialized rating of Signal Quartermaster. Green-Wood A Signal Quartermaster performed duties that were particularly important aboard a warship operating as part of a large fleet. The position combined the traditional navigational and deck responsibilities associated with quartermasters with responsibility for naval signaling and communications. During battle, accurate observation and rapid transmission of signals were essential because ships needed to coordinate formation changes, firing instructions, movement, and orders from the flagship. Foy therefore occupied a position in which calm attention and reliable execution of duty could directly affect the ship’s effectiveness during a complex fleet engagement. By late 1864, USS Rhode Island had joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. The vessel had been converted into an auxiliary cruiser and carried a substantial battery of heavy naval guns. In December 1864 she participated in the first Union attempt to capture Fort Fisher, the immense Confederate fortification guarding the approaches to Wilmington, North Carolina. That attempt failed, but Union commanders quickly prepared a second expedition. USS Rhode Island returned with Rear Admiral David D. Porter’s fleet for the renewed attack in January 1865. Naval History and Heritage Command Fort Fisher possessed enormous strategic importance. By early 1865, Wilmington was the Confederacy’s most important remaining Atlantic port, and Fort Fisher protected the river approaches used by blockade runners carrying military supplies into Confederate territory. Capturing the fort would severely restrict the Confederacy’s ability to receive overseas supplies and would further isolate General Robert E. Lee’s armies. The second expedition combined the firepower of Porter’s naval squadron with Union ground forces under Major General Alfred H. Terry. Naval History and Heritage Command On January 13, 1865, the Union fleet moved into position and began an enormous bombardment of Fort Fisher. USS Rhode Island was assigned to the fleet’s third line of battle, one of approximately forty warships taking direct part in the naval attack. For three days, naval guns hammered Fort Fisher and the nearby Federal Point batteries while Union troops landed and prepared for the decisive assault. The fleet collectively brought hundreds of guns into action, making the operation one of the largest naval bombardments of the Civil War. Naval History and Heritage Command It was during the fighting of January 13–15, 1865 that Signal Quartermaster Charles H. Foy performed the service for which he would receive the Medal of Honor. His official citation does not describe a single isolated dramatic act. Instead, it recognizes something equally important in naval warfare: sustained courage, discipline, and faithful performance of duty throughout a prolonged engagement. Foy remained at his assigned duties aboard USS Rhode Island while the vessel operated against Fort Fisher and the Federal Point defenses, carrying out his responsibilities with conspicuous steadiness throughout the battle. Congressional Medal of Honor Society The danger was considerable. On January 15, Union forces launched their final assault. A naval landing force of more than two thousand sailors and Marines attacked from the seaward side while Army troops assaulted from the landward approach. The naval assault suffered particularly heavy losses. Although Foy’s citation does not place him in that landing party, it specifically connects his distinguished service aboard USS Rhode Island with the violent engagement and the severe casualties sustained during the attempt to storm the fort. Naval History and Heritage Command By the end of January 15, Fort Fisher had fallen to Union forces. Its capture closed the defensive gateway protecting Wilmington and represented a major strategic blow to the Confederacy. The port itself fell soon afterward, depriving Confederate forces of their last major Atlantic connection to international trade and military supply. Foy’s individual contribution formed part of this larger combined Army-Navy victory during the final months of the Civil War. Naval History and Heritage Command Medal of Honor Charles H. Foy’s verified decoration is the Medal of Honor, awarded for his service aboard USS Rhode Island during the operations against Fort Fisher and the Federal Point batteries from January 13 through January 15, 1865. At the time, his verified rank was Signal Quartermaster, United States Navy. His award was authorized through General Order No. 59, dated June 22, 1865, only a few months after the end of the major Civil War fighting. The award was not posthumous. Congressional Medal of Honor Society The historical importance of Foy’s Medal of Honor is also connected to the early development of the decoration itself. The Navy Medal of Honor was the first Medal of Honor authorized by the United States, created by Congress and signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on December 21, 1861. During the Civil War it was initially intended for enlisted naval personnel, including sailors and Marines, who distinguished themselves through gallantry and notable professional conduct. The award criteria and design evolved considerably in later decades, eventually becoming the modern decoration reserved for extraordinary valor. Naval History and Heritage Command For the historical ribbon system being used in this project, Foy’s decoration should therefore be represented as Medal of Honor 1862–1912 Navy. This correctly identifies him as a Navy recipient from the Civil War period, rather than incorrectly assigning him one of the Army versions. No additional device or clasp has been verified for his Medal of Honor. Foy survived the war, but his postwar life was brief. Congressional Medal of Honor Society records state that he died on May 30, 1866, in Brooklyn, New York, only about a year after receiving formal recognition for his wartime service. He was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, where cemetery and Medal of Honor research identifies his burial in Section 10, Lot 13324. Congressional Medal of Honor Society Charles H. Foy’s legacy is distinctive because his Medal of Honor story is not built around command rank, a dramatic solo charge, or the capture of an enemy flag. Instead, it represents the importance of professional courage under sustained combat conditions. As a Signal Quartermaster aboard USS Rhode Island, Foy performed the communications and shipboard duties entrusted to him while his vessel took part in one of the Civil War’s largest and most consequential naval operations. His steadiness throughout the bombardment and assault on Fort Fisher earned official recognition through the Medal of Honor, permanently linking his name with the Union victory that helped close the Confederacy’s final major Atlantic supply route.