Charles Rice

Charles Rice was a United States Navy sailor and Medal of Honor recipient whose most distinguished service came during the American Civil War, particularly in the dangerous naval operation against Fort Fisher, North Carolina, in December 1864. He was born in 1840 in Russia, Maine, and his military record later became associated with Portland, Maine, the place to which his Medal of Honor service was officially accredited. Congressional Medal of Honor Society Rice entered the Union Navy during the Civil War and served in the engineering department of steam-powered naval vessels. At the time of the action for which he earned the Medal of Honor, his rating was Coal Heaver. This was an essential engineering-room position aboard a nineteenth-century steam warship. Coal heavers supplied coal to the fire rooms, helping maintain the steam pressure that powered the ship's engines and other machinery. Rice later attained the rating of Fireman Second Class, which is his highest verified naval rank or rating. This distinction is important for his profile: Coal Heaver was his rating at the time of his Medal of Honor action, while Fireman Second Class represents his highest verified rating. The Congressional Medal of Honor Society records both distinctions and identifies his service branch as the United States Navy. Congressional Medal of Honor Society During the latter part of the Civil War, Rice served aboard USS Agawam, a double-ended side-wheel gunboat serving with the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. Agawam operated in the waters of Virginia and North Carolina and took part in operations against Confederate defenses and supply routes. Its service eventually brought Rice into one of the most unusual naval missions attempted during the war. Naval History and Heritage Command By late 1864, Wilmington, North Carolina, had become strategically important to the Confederacy. The port remained one of the principal gateways through which blockade runners could bring military supplies into Confederate territory. Protecting the approaches to Wilmington was the formidable Fort Fisher, positioned near the mouth of the Cape Fear River. Union naval leaders wanted to neutralize Fort Fisher so that Wilmington could be closed to blockade-running. Rear Admiral David D. Porter assembled a large naval force for operations against the fort. Before the main bombardment and amphibious assault, however, the Union Navy attempted an extraordinary plan: a vessel packed with explosives would be brought close to Fort Fisher and detonated in hopes that the blast would damage the fortifications and disrupt the Confederate defenders. Naval History and Heritage Command The vessel chosen for this mission was the former steamer Louisiana, which was converted into what was effectively a giant floating bomb. Large quantities of explosives were placed aboard her, and a volunteer crew was required to take the dangerous vessel toward Fort Fisher. Charles Rice volunteered for this operation. His decision placed him among a small group of sailors from USS Agawam who accepted an assignment involving unusual and obvious danger. They knew that they would be aboard a vessel loaded with explosives, operating close to enemy-held fortifications, and would have to escape before the charges detonated. On the night of 23 December 1864, the powder boat was towed toward Fort Fisher by the steamer USS Wilderness. The operation was conducted carefully to reduce the chance that Confederate forces would detect what the Union sailors were attempting. Near the fort, the tow was released and the explosive-laden vessel continued toward shore. Rice and the other volunteers assisted in bringing the powder boat into position. The Medal of Honor citation records that the vessel approached to within roughly 300 yards of the beach. Congressional Medal of Honor Society The crew then prepared the vessel for destruction. Fuses and fires were started, and another anchor was dropped in an attempt to position the vessel correctly toward shore. Once the dangerous preparations had been completed, Rice and the other volunteers transferred back to Wilderness and withdrew from the immediate area. Congressional Medal of Honor Society The escaping crew moved approximately twelve miles offshore before the powder boat exploded. The detonation occurred in the early hours of December 24 and produced an enormous flash and concussion. Naval records describe the explosion as spectacular, but the military effect was far smaller than Union planners had hoped. The blast failed to seriously damage Fort Fisher or destroy its defenses. Naval History and Heritage Command Although the explosive attack did not achieve its intended tactical result, the failure of the weapon did not diminish the danger faced by the sailors who volunteered to place it near the enemy fort. Commander Alexander C. Rhind and the men selected from Agawam had taken part in an operation regarded by senior naval officers as exceptionally hazardous. Naval History and Heritage Command The larger Union attack followed. Naval vessels bombarded Fort Fisher beginning on December 24, while troops attempted operations ashore. The December assault ultimately failed, and Union forces withdrew. Fort Fisher would finally fall during a renewed Union attack in January 1865. For Charles Rice, however, the December powder-boat mission became the defining action of his military career. His official Medal of Honor record states that he served aboard USS Agawam as a member of the volunteer crew of the powder boat exploded near Fort Fisher on 23 December 1864. The Navy's official Civil War Medal of Honor roster independently records Rice as a Coal Heaver, U.S. Navy, USS Agawam, Fort Fisher, 23 December 1864. Naval History and Heritage Command Rice was not awarded the medal posthumously. He survived the operation and remained alive to receive the nation's recognition. On 12 May 1865, Charles Rice was formally presented with the Medal of Honor aboard USS Agawam, then lying off New Bern, North Carolina. The presentation came after the Civil War's principal Confederate armies had collapsed and only weeks after the end of the conflict's major fighting. Congressional Medal of Honor Society The Medal of Honor itself had originated during the Civil War. The Navy Medal of Honor was authorized in 1861, before the Army version was established the following year. During the war, it became the principal federal decoration available to recognize extraordinary conduct by enlisted sailors and Marines. For Rice's database profile, the historically appropriate medal category is: Medal of Honor 1862–1912 Navy — No device or clasp. No additional star, clasp, bar or other award device has been verified for Charles Rice's Medal of Honor. It is also important not to confuse the stars incorporated into some later Medal of Honor ribbon designs with separate award devices. Rice received one Medal of Honor, and there is no evidence supporting an additional award or repeat-award attachment. A separate Navy Civil War Medal is not included in his final verified rack. The project requires every medal to have recipient-specific entitlement evidence rather than being added merely because a sailor served during the qualifying conflict. That approach follows the client's zero-assumption rule: eligibility cannot automatically be converted into proven entitlement. Rice's role aboard Agawam also explains why his combat specialty is best classified under Engineering rather than Infantry, Artillery or Surface Naval command. A Coal Heaver and later Fireman Second Class belonged to the steam engineering establishment of the ship. His everyday naval duties were directly connected with the machinery and fire-room system that made a steam warship operational. Nevertheless, his Medal of Honor was not awarded simply for routine engineering duty. It resulted from his voluntary participation in the Fort Fisher powder-boat mission—a special operation far outside the normal work of a coal heaver. The distinction is significant. Rice did not command a ship or military unit. He was not serving as a senior officer and was not acting as a naval gun captain. He was an enlisted engineering sailor who voluntarily joined a hazardous mission requiring a small crew to take an explosive-filled vessel into waters immediately adjacent to a major Confederate fortress. His actions demonstrate how the Civil War Medal of Honor frequently recognized enlisted sailors who accepted extraordinary risks while carrying out highly specialized missions. In Rice's case, the operation was unusual even by wartime naval standards. The powder boat itself failed strategically. It did not destroy Fort Fisher, and the first Union assault against the fort was unsuccessful. Yet the Medal of Honor recognized the conduct of Rice and his fellow volunteers rather than claiming that the mission had achieved a decisive military victory. That distinction is essential to an accurate account of his service. Rice's courage lay in accepting and completing the dangerous assignment despite the possibility that the explosive vessel might detonate prematurely or that Confederate defenders might discover the operation before the crew escaped. After the Civil War, the surviving authoritative Medal of Honor records provide comparatively little detail about Rice's civilian career. His military record therefore remains the best-documented portion of his life. Later biographical records place his death in 1895, decades after the war, but his lasting historical identity remains tied overwhelmingly to his naval service and the Fort Fisher operation. Charles Rice's military career can therefore be summarized through several clearly verified milestones. He served in the United States Navy, performed engineering duties as a Coal Heaver, later attained the rating of Fireman Second Class, served aboard USS Agawam, and volunteered for the powder-boat operation against Fort Fisher on 23 December 1864. For that dangerous service he received the Medal of Honor, which was presented to him aboard USS Agawam on 12 May 1865. Congressional Medal of Honor Society His final verified medal record is: Medal of Honor 1862–1912 Navy — No device or clasp. Charles Rice is remembered as a United States Navy Civil War veteran, an engineering sailor of USS Agawam, and a Medal of Honor recipient whose willingness to volunteer for the explosive powder-boat mission at Fort Fisher placed him among the enlisted sailors recognized for extraordinary service during the closing months of the American Civil War.