James Avery

James Avery served in the United States Navy during the American Civil War and held the rating of Seaman. His verified wartime service is most closely associated with USS Metacomet, a Union side-wheel gunboat that operated with Rear Admiral David G. Farragut’s West Gulf Blockading Squadron. Avery’s naval career placed him directly in one of the most important and dangerous naval operations of the war—the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864. USS Metacomet was a fast, heavily armed Union gunboat designed for operations along the Confederate Gulf Coast. By 1864, Mobile Bay in Alabama had become one of the Confederacy’s most important remaining ports. The entrance to the bay was protected by powerful coastal fortifications, including Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines, as well as Confederate naval forces and a field of underwater mines then commonly called torpedoes. Breaking through these defenses would require Union sailors to advance under heavy artillery fire while also facing the danger of mines and enemy warships. On the morning of August 5, 1864, Farragut’s fleet began its attack into Mobile Bay. USS Metacomet entered the battle as part of the attacking Union formation. Metacomet was initially lashed to the side of the larger sloop-of-war USS Hartford, Farragut’s flagship, a common tactic intended to help the wooden warships survive damage while passing the Confederate forts. As the fleet moved into the bay, Confederate artillery opened intense fire from Fort Morgan and other defensive positions. One of the most dramatic moments of the battle occurred when the Union monitor USS Tecumseh struck an underwater mine near the entrance to the bay. The explosion tore into the ironclad, and Tecumseh sank with extraordinary speed. Most of her crew went down with the vessel, while a small number of sailors managed to reach the surface and struggled in the water. The sinking took place while the Union fleet was still under direct Confederate fire. Stopping to rescue survivors exposed any rescue party to artillery and rifle fire and also placed the rescuing boat in waters known to contain mines. Nevertheless, a boat was lowered from USS Metacomet to attempt the rescue. Seaman James Avery was one of the members of that boat’s crew. Together with the other sailors assigned to the mission, he voluntarily entered the exposed waters and rowed toward the survivors of Tecumseh. Confederate forces continued firing during the rescue attempt, meaning Avery and his shipmates were operating with almost no protection while attempting to reach men in the water. The Metacomet boat crew succeeded in reaching survivors and bringing several of them to safety. The rescue became one of the most celebrated acts of courage during the Battle of Mobile Bay because the sailors involved deliberately exposed themselves to enemy fire and the danger of mines in order to save fellow Union sailors whose ship had just disappeared beneath the surface. Avery’s conduct during this rescue became the defining action of his military career. His Medal of Honor recognition was not based simply on being present at Mobile Bay or on general wartime service. It honored his personal participation in the hazardous effort to rescue members of USS Tecumseh’s crew while under enemy fire. After the rescue operation, USS Metacomet continued participating in the battle. Once the Union fleet successfully passed the Confederate forts, Metacomet was released from Hartford and became actively involved in pursuing and engaging Confederate vessels inside Mobile Bay. The Union fleet ultimately defeated the Confederate naval force, including the powerful ironclad CSS Tennessee. The Battle of Mobile Bay became one of the most important Union naval victories of the Civil War. The successful penetration of the bay dramatically reduced the usefulness of Mobile as a Confederate port and strengthened the Union blockade of the Gulf Coast. Although the city itself did not fall immediately, Confederate access to Mobile Bay was effectively crippled. For James Avery, however, the most important moment remained the rescue operation carried out during the opening stages of the battle. He was an enlisted sailor rather than a senior officer, yet his actions demonstrated the individual courage on which major naval operations depended. The rescue required discipline, teamwork, and a willingness to remain exposed while helping men who would otherwise have had little chance of survival. The Medal of Honor was the highest military recognition available to Avery. His award was formally announced under General Order No. 71 on January 15, 1866. His verified decoration for the historical database is therefore Medal of Honor 1862–1912 Navy — 1866, with no additional device or clasp. The Navy Medal of Honor had been authorized by Congress on December 21, 1861, making it the first Medal of Honor established by the United States. During the Civil War it was primarily used to recognize extraordinary gallantry, heroism, and devotion to duty by enlisted sailors and Marines. The Army version followed in 1862, but Avery’s decoration belongs specifically to the naval tradition established during the opening year of the conflict. Avery’s Medal of Honor therefore came from the earliest period in the history of America’s highest military decoration. His award was connected to direct combat conditions and a lifesaving mission performed during one of the war’s major naval battles. No star, clasp, bar, or other additional device has been verified with his Medal of Honor, so his award remains a single plain decoration. The action also illustrates the unique nature of naval courage during the Civil War. Avery was not fighting from an infantry line on land. He was serving aboard a warship in a confined and heavily defended bay, surrounded by artillery fire, enemy vessels, underwater mines, and the wreckage of a sinking monitor. When Tecumseh disappeared beneath the water, Avery’s duty suddenly changed from combat sailor to rescuer, but the danger remained just as immediate. Following the Civil War, Avery returned to civilian life. Surviving official military records preserve far more detail about his Medal of Honor action than about his later civilian career. For that reason, uncertain claims about his postwar employment or personal activities should not be expanded beyond what can be reliably documented. What remains historically secure is his service as a United States Navy sailor, his assignment aboard USS Metacomet, and his participation in the rescue at Mobile Bay. James Avery lived for more than three decades after the Civil War and died on October 11, 1898. By the time of his death, the United States Navy had changed dramatically from the wooden steamships and early ironclads of the Civil War era. Steel warships, modern naval artillery, and a rapidly expanding professional fleet were replacing the technology Avery had known during his service. His Medal of Honor nevertheless preserved the memory of a very specific moment on August 5, 1864. While USS Tecumseh sank in Mobile Bay and Confederate guns continued firing, Avery and his fellow sailors lowered a small boat from USS Metacomet and entered the dangerous waters to rescue survivors. Their mission demanded courage of a different kind from operating a ship’s gun or boarding an enemy vessel: they deliberately moved toward men in distress despite knowing that enemy fire could reach them at any moment. James Avery’s military legacy is therefore defined by service, courage, and rescue under fire. As a Seaman aboard USS Metacomet, he participated in one of the Union Navy’s greatest victories and risked his life to save fellow sailors during the sinking of USS Tecumseh. That action was formally recognized in 1866 with his single verified decoration: Medal of Honor 1862–1912 Navy — 1866 — no device or clasp.