James Smith (Medal of Honor, 1872)

Keeping his composure, he saved men from a maritime disaster

James Smith was born in the Hawaiian Islands on 5 July 1838. He entered the United States Navy and was serving as a seaman in USS Kansas in 1872. His service placed him aboard a steam-powered naval vessel operating in Central American waters.

On 12 April 1872, near Greytown, Nicaragua, a boating disaster caused the deaths of Commander A. F. Crosman and other men. Smith took part in the effort to prevent further loss of life. His conduct was distinguished by calmness and sustained personal exertion amid the emergency.

The Medal of Honor citation did not describe a battle against an enemy. It recognised practical lifesaving during a dangerous accident at sea, when immediate action was needed to keep the disaster from claiming additional victims. Smith's efforts succeeded in reducing the loss of life even though Crosman and several others could not be saved.

He received the Medal of Honor on 9 July 1872. His decoration became part of the Navy's record of peacetime courage, alongside other awards for men who risked themselves in shipboard fires, storms and drownings. His recorded action belongs specifically to Kansas and the Greytown disaster.

Medal of Honor citation

Serving on board the U.S.S. Kansas, Smith displayed great coolness and self-possession at the time Comdr. A. F. Crosman and others were drowned near Greytown, Nicaragua, 12 April 1872, and by extraordinary heroism and personal exertion, prevented greater loss of life.