Hendrick Sharp

Hendrick Sharp was a Spanish-born United States Navy sailor whose long naval career placed him in some of the most important maritime operations of the American Civil War. Born in Málaga, Spain, in 1815, Sharp eventually made his way to the United States and became a professional sailor. By the time the Civil War began, he was already an experienced Navy man rather than a new wartime recruit. Official Navy Medal of Honor records later stated that by 1864 he had accumulated approximately thirty-two years of naval service, making him a seasoned veteran when he performed the action that earned him the nation’s highest military decoration. Sharp joined USS Richmond at Norfolk on September 27, 1860, when the steam sloop-of-war was first placed in commission. Richmond would become one of the most active Union warships of the Civil War, and Sharp’s service aboard her carried him through a remarkable sequence of operations along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and on the Mississippi River. When his existing term of naval service expired in 1863, Sharp did not leave the Navy. He reenlisted for another three-year term and continued serving aboard Richmond. His decision kept him with the ship through the later stages of the Civil War and eventually brought him to Mobile Bay, where his courage under fire would receive national recognition. Before Mobile Bay, Sharp had already experienced years of combat. He served aboard Richmond during operations at the Head of the Passes of the Mississippi, one of the early attempts by Union naval forces to gain greater control of the river approaches leading toward New Orleans. He also fought during the bombardment of Fort McRee near Pensacola, Florida. During that engagement Sharp was struck by a severe splinter wound in his left hand. The injury permanently disabled two of his fingers. After the ship’s surgeon treated the wound, Sharp nevertheless returned to his gun and continued serving at his battle station using his right hand until the action ended. That incident demonstrated that the courage later recognized at Mobile Bay was not an isolated episode in Sharp’s career. Years before receiving the Medal of Honor, he had already shown determination to remain at his gun despite a serious combat wound. Sharp continued serving aboard Richmond as Union naval operations intensified against Confederate positions along the lower Mississippi. He participated in the actions against Forts Jackson and St. Philip, the formidable defenses guarding the river approach to New Orleans. Union naval forces under Flag Officer David G. Farragut successfully passed the forts in April 1862 and defeated the Confederate vessels attempting to block their advance. Richmond took part in the fighting against Confederate gunboats and other vessels below New Orleans. Sharp was also present during the action against the Chalmette batteries and during the surrender of New Orleans. The capture of the city represented one of the most important Union naval victories of the war because New Orleans was the Confederacy’s largest city and a major commercial center controlling access to the Mississippi River. Sharp’s combat experience continued farther upriver. Navy records credit him with participation in two actions against the Confederate batteries at Vicksburg. The heavily fortified city represented a major obstacle to complete Union control of the Mississippi, and naval vessels repeatedly faced dangerous artillery fire while operating near its defenses. On March 14, 1863, Sharp was aboard Richmond during Farragut’s attempt to pass the Confederate batteries at Port Hudson, Louisiana. The operation was exceptionally dangerous. Union vessels moved upriver at night under concentrated Confederate artillery fire. Several ships were damaged or forced back, and the frigate USS Mississippi was lost. Richmond also suffered during the attempt and was unable to complete the passage. Sharp survived the action and remained with the Navy as operations against Port Hudson continued. During the subsequent siege, Sharp served as captain of a 9-inch gun in a naval battery positioned ashore behind Port Hudson. The battery was commanded by Lieutenant Commander Edward Terry. His service in this role demonstrates the versatility expected of Civil War sailors: Sharp was not limited to firing guns from the deck of a ship but also operated heavy naval ordnance from positions on land when required. He also served as captain of a gun in a naval battery established at Baton Rouge under Terry’s command. These assignments gave Sharp extensive experience with heavy naval artillery well before the action for which he became famous. By 1864, the strategic focus of Union naval operations on the Gulf Coast had shifted toward Mobile Bay, Alabama. Mobile remained one of the Confederacy’s most important ports. Although the Union blockade had restricted Confederate commerce, the bay continued to provide access for blockade runners and remained protected by powerful forts, mines—then commonly called torpedoes—and Confederate warships. Rear Admiral David G. Farragut assembled a powerful naval force to penetrate those defenses. USS Richmond formed part of Farragut’s fleet. On August 5, 1864, the Union ships entered Mobile Bay in one of the most celebrated naval engagements of the Civil War. The approach was extremely dangerous. Fort Morgan guarded the entrance with heavy artillery, while Confederate vessels waited inside the bay. The channel had also been protected by underwater mines. Early in the battle, the Union monitor USS Tecumseh struck a mine and sank rapidly, creating confusion in the attacking formation. Despite the loss, Farragut continued the advance. Aboard USS Richmond, Seaman Hendrick Sharp served as captain of a 100-pounder rifle gun positioned on the topgallant forecastle. The designation “captain of the gun” described his responsibility for directing the gun crew and ensuring that the weapon was loaded, aimed, and fired effectively. It was a demanding role requiring experience, discipline, and coordination, particularly when a ship was under heavy enemy fire. As Richmond advanced into the bay, Confederate batteries and vessels subjected the ship to intense fire. Enemy projectiles struck the vessel, damaged her structure, and caused casualties among the crew. Sharp remained at his gun. For approximately two hours of intense fighting, he continued directing and operating the 100-pounder rifle under short-range enemy fire. His performance was specifically noted for its coolness, skill, courage, and effectiveness. This was particularly significant because heavy naval guns of the period required coordinated teamwork. Powder charges and projectiles had to be handled carefully, the gun had to be run into firing position, aimed, discharged, controlled during recoil, and prepared again for the next shot. A gun captain needed to maintain discipline among his crew even as shells struck nearby and casualties occurred around them. Sharp did exactly that. USS Richmond and the rest of Farragut’s fleet successfully passed the Confederate defenses and entered the bay. The Union vessels then fought the Confederate naval force, including the powerful ironclad ram CSS Tennessee. Tennessee became the center of an intense close-range engagement. Union warships attacked the ironclad with gunfire and attempted to ram her. After suffering extensive damage and losing much of her ability to maneuver and fight, Tennessee eventually surrendered. The Battle of Mobile Bay ended as a major Union naval victory. The Confederate naval force in the bay was neutralized, and the defenses protecting Mobile’s maritime access were steadily reduced. Fort Morgan surrendered later in August, effectively ending Mobile Bay’s usefulness as a major Confederate blockade-running port. Hendrick Sharp’s conduct aboard USS Richmond during the battle was formally recognized with the Medal of Honor. The official Navy record identified him as Seaman, United States Navy, serving aboard USS Richmond. His citation emphasized that he was captain of the 100-pounder rifle gun on the topgallant forecastle and that, despite damage to the vessel and casualties caused by enemy fire, he continued fighting his gun with exceptional skill and courage throughout the engagement. His Medal of Honor recognition was recorded under General Order No. 45, dated December 31, 1864. The timing is important for the database classification. Sharp’s action occurred on August 5, 1864, and his official Medal of Honor record belongs to the Civil War-era Navy system. His correct verified database designation is therefore Medal of Honor 1862–1912 Navy — 1864. The Navy Medal of Honor had been established during the Civil War. Congress authorized the original naval Medal of Honor in December 1861, before the Army version was authorized the following year. It became the principal federal decoration available for recognizing extraordinary conduct by enlisted Navy and Marine Corps personnel. Sharp’s award therefore belongs to the earliest era in the history of the Medal of Honor. It also reflected a long record of professional naval service. Mobile Bay was the specific action for which the Medal of Honor was awarded, but Sharp arrived there after decades at sea and after repeated exposure to combat at Pensacola, New Orleans, Vicksburg, Port Hudson, Baton Rouge, and elsewhere. No additional star, bar, clasp, or other device has been verified for Sharp’s Medal of Honor. His final Medal of Honor entry therefore remains a single decoration without attachments. The Navy Civil War Medal is not included in his verified medal rack. That campaign decoration was created decades after the Civil War. Hendrick Sharp died in July 1892, well before the Navy established its later Civil War campaign medal system. Under the project’s branch-specific correction rules, he therefore should not receive the Army Civil War Campaign Medal, and the later Navy Civil War Medal should not be added to his record. Sharp continued to be identified in Navy records as a Seaman. No later higher verified naval rating has been established for him, so Seaman remains both his action-time rank and his highest verified rank for the database. The surviving historical record contains much more detail about Sharp’s naval service than about his private civilian life. What can be stated securely is that he was born in Málaga, Spain, around 1815, became a long-serving United States Navy sailor, was associated with New York in his official Medal of Honor accreditation, and spent decades in naval service. By 1864, official Navy records credited him with thirty-two years in the service. This makes him notably different from many Civil War Medal of Honor recipients who enlisted only after the outbreak of the conflict. Sharp belonged to an older generation of professional sailors whose experience became particularly valuable when the United States Navy expanded rapidly for wartime operations. Hendrick Sharp died in July 1892 in Portsmouth, Virginia. He was buried in the naval cemetery now known as the Captain Theodore H. Conaway Memorial Naval Cemetery in Portsmouth. For many years, the Medal of Honor connection associated with his grave was not properly recognized. More than a century after his death, research confirmed that the sailor buried there was the Hendrick Sharp who had received the Medal of Honor for Mobile Bay. In 2010, during a Memorial Day ceremony at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, a new grave marker identifying Sharp as a Medal of Honor recipient was formally unveiled. The ceremony restored visible recognition of the military distinction he had earned aboard USS Richmond nearly 146 years earlier. Hendrick Sharp’s legacy therefore encompasses far more than a single battle. He was a career sailor who had accumulated decades of naval experience before the Civil War, served aboard USS Richmond from the ship’s commissioning in 1860, reenlisted when his term expired, suffered a serious combat wound at Fort McRee, returned to his gun despite that wound, fought through the campaigns that opened the Mississippi, served in naval artillery batteries ashore, and ultimately took his place in the Union assault on Mobile Bay. At the center of that career remains August 5, 1864. As a Seaman and captain of a 100-pounder rifle gun aboard USS Richmond, Hendrick Sharp remained at his weapon while enemy fire struck the ship and casualties occurred around him. For approximately two hours he continued fighting his gun effectively against Confederate forts, gunboats, and the ironclad CSS Tennessee. His conduct helped contribute to one of the decisive Union naval victories of the Civil War and earned him the Medal of Honor. His final verified medal record remains Medal of Honor 1862–1912 Navy — 1864, with no verified device or clasp. No Navy Civil War Medal is added because Sharp died in 1892, before that later campaign decoration was established.