John Brown (Medal of Honor)

With two comrades he saved two sailors drowning off Eastport

John Brown was born in Denmark in 1838. He served in the U.S. Navy as captain of the afterguard aboard USS De Soto.

On May 10, 1866, off Eastport, Maine, Brown and two comrades rescued seamen James Rose and John Russell from drowning. His Medal of Honor citation identifies the two men saved and recognizes the heroic conduct of the rescuers. It does not give the cause of the emergency or describe the individual movements of each rescuer.

Brown's award was accredited to Maryland and was not posthumous. The cited official record does not supply his death date, burial place, or later service chronology. His award preserves recognition of a sailor's willingness to help shipmates in danger during a peacetime naval emergency.

Official Medal of Honor citation: For heroic conduct with two comrades, in rescuing from drowning James Rose and John Russell, seamen of the U.S.S. Winooski, off Eastport, Maine, 10 May 1866.