James Machon

He Held His Post as Shells Burst Around Him

James Machon was born in 1848 in Derby, England, and later entered the United States Navy during the American Civil War. Still a young sailor, he served aboard USS Brooklyn and became one of the Navy men recognized for exceptional courage during the Battle of Mobile Bay, one of the most important naval victories of the conflict.

Machon entered naval service at the rating of boy, a designation commonly used for young enlisted sailors performing shipboard duties while learning the skills required for naval service. He later attained the rating of boy first class, the highest verified rating associated with his service.

By 1864, Machon was serving aboard USS Brooklyn, a powerful screw sloop-of-war that formed part of Rear Admiral David G. Farragut’s fleet operating against Confederate defenses along the Gulf Coast.

Mobile Bay, Alabama, was a major Confederate port and remained strategically important even as Union forces gained increasing control of the Mississippi River and other coastal positions. The entrance to the bay was heavily defended by Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines, Confederate warships, the ironclad CSS Tennessee, and underwater mines then commonly called torpedoes.

Farragut assembled a strong naval force to force its way past those defenses and establish Union control of the bay.

On August 5, 1864, the Union fleet advanced toward the entrance.

USS Brooklyn occupied a critical position in the attacking column.

As the ships moved into range, Confederate forts opened fire. Heavy artillery shells struck and burst around the vessels while Union gun crews returned fire against the shore batteries and enemy ships.

James Machon was assigned to Brooklyn’s powder division.

The powder division performed one of the most essential and dangerous functions aboard a warship. Ammunition had to be moved safely from protected storage areas to the guns so that the ship could maintain continuous fire. Sailors working around powder were surrounded by an additional danger: a single spark, exploding shell, or burning fragment could ignite ammunition with catastrophic consequences.

Machon’s station was close to the shell whips used to move ammunition.

During the Battle of Mobile Bay, that position came under severe enemy fire.

Bursting Confederate shells repeatedly struck around the station. The danger became so great that, according to his Medal of Honor record, the men at the position were driven away twice.

Machon remained.

Despite the shellfire and the obvious danger surrounding the powder station, he continued performing his duties throughout the engagement.

His courage did not consist of one isolated charge or a brief moment of action. Instead, it was demonstrated by remaining at an exposed and dangerous station when enemy fire had already forced others away.

Keeping the powder supply functioning was essential to Brooklyn’s ability to fight.

Without sailors carrying ammunition to the guns, even the most heavily armed warship could quickly lose its offensive power. Machon’s willingness to remain at his post therefore contributed directly to the ship’s continued combat effectiveness during the battle.

Around him, the naval engagement became increasingly intense.

USS Tecumseh struck a Confederate mine and sank rapidly, demonstrating the danger posed by the defensive minefield. Union ships continued forward despite the loss.

Brooklyn and the other vessels passed the forts and entered Mobile Bay, where the battle continued against Confederate naval forces.

The ironclad CSS Tennessee eventually confronted the Union fleet inside the bay. Farragut’s ships surrounded and attacked the Confederate vessel until it could no longer continue the fight and surrendered.

The Union victory at Mobile Bay was a major strategic achievement. Confederate naval resistance inside the bay was broken, and the effectiveness of Mobile as a major Confederate port was severely reduced.

Among the sailors recognized for courage during that victory was James Machon.

For his conduct aboard USS Brooklyn on August 5, 1864, Machon received the Medal of Honor.

His award was recorded under General Order No. 45, dated December 31, 1864.

The citation emphasized his steadfast performance in the powder division while enemy shells burst around his station. Twice the position had been cleared by the violence of the Confederate fire, yet Machon continued at his duty through the battle.

For a young sailor serving at the rating of boy, the action represented remarkable composure under fire.

The Medal of Honor permanently linked Machon’s name with the Battle of Mobile Bay and with the sailors of USS Brooklyn who maintained their stations during one of the fiercest naval engagements of the Civil War.

His broader service in the Union Navy is also represented by the Navy Civil War Campaign Medal.

The Navy Civil War Campaign Medal was authorized in 1908 to recognize qualifying service by members of the United States Navy and Marine Corps during the American Civil War. The year 1908 refers to the establishment and authorization of the decoration rather than to the date of Machon’s wartime action.

The two decorations recognize different aspects of his military service.

The Medal of Honor honors his specific courage aboard USS Brooklyn at Mobile Bay, while the Navy Civil War Campaign Medal represents his broader qualifying naval service during the conflict.

No devices are associated with either medal.

Much of James Machon’s later civilian life is less extensively documented than his wartime service, but the record of August 5, 1864, remains clear.

He was a young sailor assigned to one of the most dangerous areas of a fighting warship.

Enemy shells burst around his station.

Other men were driven away.

James Machon stayed at his post.

By continuing to serve in the powder division under relentless Confederate fire, he helped keep USS Brooklyn’s guns supplied during the Battle of Mobile Bay.

For that courage and devotion to duty, James Machon received the Medal of Honor.

Together with the Navy Civil War Campaign Medal recognizing his broader naval service, his decorations preserve the story of a young Union sailor who refused to abandon his duty while one of the Civil War’s greatest naval battles raged around him.