James E. Sterling

Wounded Twice—He Kept the Guns Supplied

James E. Sterling was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1838. Little verified detail survives about his early life, but by the American Civil War he had entered the United States Navy and was serving aboard the screw sloop-of-war U.S.S. Brooklyn. His Navy rating was Coal Heaver, an enlisted position associated with the demanding work required to keep a steam-powered warship operating. During one of the Civil War’s most important naval battles, however, Sterling would be remembered not for routine engineering work but for refusing to abandon his combat station after being wounded.

By the summer of 1864, Mobile Bay in Alabama had become a major Union objective. Mobile remained one of the Confederacy’s most important Gulf ports, protected by formidable coastal defenses, Confederate gunboats, the ironclad ram Tennessee, and underwater mines then commonly called torpedoes. Rear Admiral David G. Farragut assembled a powerful naval force to force an entrance into the bay and break Confederate control of the approaches.

U.S.S. Brooklyn was assigned a prominent place in the attack. On the morning of August 5, 1864, Farragut’s fleet advanced toward Fort Morgan with wooden warships moving in paired formation and ironclads operating alongside them. Brooklyn led the column of wooden vessels as Confederate artillery began firing heavily from the fort.

The battle quickly became chaotic. The Union monitor Tecumseh struck a torpedo and sank with devastating speed. Brooklyn checked her advance amid uncertainty over the minefield ahead, while Confederate guns continued pouring fire into the approaching ships. Farragut’s flagship Hartford moved forward, and the fleet pressed deeper into Mobile Bay.

For Sterling and the other men aboard Brooklyn, the battle was fought under direct and punishing enemy fire. Confederate shells struck the ship as she passed Fort Morgan and engaged the defending vessels. Sterling was stationed where he was passing shells needed for the ship’s guns.

During the action, enemy fire wounded him.

The injury did not remove him from the fight. Sterling remained at his post and continued passing shell while Brooklyn stayed engaged. His Medal of Honor citation later emphasized this decision: although wounded as heavy enemy fire raked the ship’s decks, he continued carrying out his duty.

Then he was hit again.

The second wound was severe enough to leave him completely disabled. Only then was his work in the battle brought to an end. His courage was therefore not based on a single sudden act but on sustained performance under fire—remaining at his station after suffering one wound and continuing until another enemy strike physically prevented him from serving.

Brooklyn survived the passage into Mobile Bay despite serious battle damage. Once Farragut’s vessels had entered the bay, the naval fight continued against the Confederate squadron. The powerful ironclad Tennessee ultimately faced the concentrated force of the Union fleet and was compelled to surrender. The naval victory effectively shattered the Confederate defense inside the bay and became one of the most celebrated achievements of Farragut’s career.

Sterling’s conduct aboard Brooklyn was formally recognized before the year ended. His Medal of Honor was recorded under General Order No. 45, dated December 31, 1864. The decoration honored his actions at Mobile Bay on August 5 and specifically preserved the circumstances that distinguished him: he had been wounded, stayed at his post passing shell, and continued working until a second wound left him completely disabled.

The Medal of Honor itself was still a relatively new decoration. Created during the Civil War, it became the nation’s highest military award for extraordinary conduct in combat. Many sailors who fought at Mobile Bay received the decoration, reflecting the intensity of the naval engagement and the exceptional actions performed throughout Farragut’s fleet. Sterling’s award was directly connected to his service aboard Brooklyn under the concentrated fire of Fort Morgan and the Confederate naval forces.

What makes Sterling’s story particularly compelling is the simplicity of the duty he refused to abandon. He was not commanding the ship, directing the fleet, or holding an officer’s commission. He was an enlisted sailor carrying out essential work that allowed Brooklyn’s guns to remain supplied during battle. When enemy fire wounded him, he continued. His service ended only when a second strike made further action physically impossible.

The surviving historical record provides far less detail about Sterling’s life after the war than it does about those violent hours in Mobile Bay. He lived for more than three decades after the conflict and eventually died in Baltimore on December 12, 1900. He was buried in Western Cemetery in Baltimore, the same city in which he had been born.

His legacy remains tied to U.S.S. Brooklyn and the Battle of Mobile Bay. On August 5, 1864, Sterling stood at his station while Confederate fire swept the ship. One wound failed to drive him from his duty. He continued passing ammunition until another hit finally brought him down.

The Medal of Honor ensured that this act would not disappear into the larger story of Farragut’s famous victory. James E. Sterling entered history as a Coal Heaver of the United States Navy, but his distinction came from something universal to military courage: remaining at his post when injury gave him every reason to leave it.