John Gordon Morrison

He Returned to the Guns as the Ironclad Passed

John Gordon Morrison was born in Ireland on 13 July 1838. As a young man he emigrated to the United States, arriving in 1855 and settling in Lansingburgh, New York, where he worked as a brush maker. His early experience at sea began before the American Civil War. In July 1857 he enlisted in the United States Navy and served aboard USS Wabash, taking part in operations connected with the capture of the filibuster William Walker in Central America. He later served aboard the supply ship USS Relief before leaving naval service in January 1859. That experience would become important when war returned him to military service under very different circumstances.

After returning to Lansingburgh, Morrison married Margaret McCabe in July 1859. When the Civil War began in 1861, he enlisted in the Union Army at Lansingburgh on 24 April and was mustered into Company A, 30th New York Volunteer Infantry, as a private on 1 June. His regiment moved south with Union forces operating in Virginia, but Morrison's previous seafaring experience soon opened another path. In February 1862 he volunteered for detached service with the Western Gunboat Flotilla and was assigned to the ironclad gunboat USS Carondelet.

This assignment placed Morrison at the center of the Union campaign for control of the western rivers. Carondelet operated in the hard-fought river warfare that accompanied the advance into Confederate territory. Morrison's naval experience made him valuable aboard ship, and he became closely associated with the vessel's gun crews. Although he remained connected to his New York infantry service, his wartime duties increasingly resembled those of an experienced sailor, and he ultimately became known by the rating of Coxswain.

The defining moment of Morrison's military career came on 15 July 1862 in the Yazoo River, Mississippi. USS Carondelet encountered the powerful Confederate ironclad CSS Arkansas, which was attempting to break through Union naval forces and reach the Mississippi River. The resulting engagement was fought at extremely close range. Carondelet suffered severe damage as Confederate fire struck the gunboat, killing and wounding members of the crew while escaping steam added to the confusion and danger below decks.

During the crisis, Morrison displayed the composure that would later form the heart of his Medal of Honor citation. When boarders were called on deck, he took a leading role. As Arkansas passed Carondelet, Morrison was among the first men to return to the guns, helping deliver another broadside against the Confederate ironclad. His steadiness under fire, particularly at a moment when the gunboat had been badly damaged and members of the crew were struggling with casualties, smoke, and steam, made a powerful impression on his superiors.

The official Medal of Honor citation later identified Morrison as Coxswain and praised both his heroic conduct and the example he provided to the crew during the battle. His formal military situation was unusual: during the Civil War he had entered service through the 30th New York Infantry and was serving on detached gunboat duty, while his experience and responsibilities aboard Carondelet led to his identification with the naval rating of Coxswain. After the engagement with CSS Arkansas, he was appointed Coxswain in recognition of his conduct.

Morrison continued serving in the western river campaign. In January 1863, Commander Henry A. Walke, who had commanded Carondelet, asked him to accompany him to the newly completed gunboat USS Lafayette. Morrison accepted and continued his service with the Mississippi Squadron. Lafayette subsequently participated in operations connected with the Vicksburg campaign, one of the decisive Union efforts to gain control of the Mississippi River. Morrison was discharged from this period of service in May 1863 and returned to Lansingburgh that summer.

His military career was not yet finished. In September 1864 Morrison enlisted again, this time in Company C of the 21st New York Cavalry. He served through the final phase of the Civil War and remained with the regiment until Union forces were discharged in May 1865. His service therefore stretched across infantry, gunboat, and cavalry operations, giving him an unusually varied wartime record.

On 22 June 1865, General Order No. 59 formally recorded Morrison's Medal of Honor recognition for his actions aboard USS Carondelet on the Yazoo River nearly three years earlier. The Medal of Honor had been created during the Civil War and was then the nation's principal military decoration for extraordinary courage. Morrison's award recognized not only his willingness to remain in the fight after Carondelet had been badly damaged, but also the leadership and presence of mind he showed when the crew was under intense pressure.

His broader Union Army service is also represented by the Army Civil War Campaign Medal. Established by the War Department in 1907, the decoration recognized qualifying Federal Army service during the Civil War. Morrison's Army service from 1861 through 1865 fell within the recognized campaign period. The medal itself was created after his death, so it represents his qualifying Civil War service rather than a decoration he personally received during his lifetime.

Following the war, Morrison eventually settled in Brooklyn, New York. He returned to civilian life and remained associated with fellow veterans, including participation in the Grand Army of the Republic. His wartime experiences, particularly the desperate encounter between Carondelet and CSS Arkansas, remained the defining episode of his military career.

John Gordon Morrison died in New York City on 9 June 1897. He was buried at Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn. His name later received a lasting naval memorial when the United States Navy named the destroyer USS Morrison in his honor during the Second World War.

Morrison's legacy rests on an extraordinary combination of Army service and river warfare. From an Irish immigrant and pre-war sailor to a Union infantryman, gunboat fighter, Coxswain, cavalryman, and Medal of Honor recipient, his career crossed several distinct forms of military service. At the center of that story remains the Yazoo River on 15 July 1862, when a badly damaged Union gunboat faced a Confederate ironclad and Morrison, rather than withdrawing from the danger, returned to the guns.