John Greene

Steadfast gun captain who fired until his rammed ship sank.

John Greene served in the United States Navy during the American Civil War and became one of the sailors whose courage in the campaign against New Orleans was recognized with the Medal of Honor. The surviving record does not securely establish his birth or death details, but his naval service and the action that brought him national recognition are firmly connected with USS Varuna and the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip.

Greene served aboard USS Varuna with the rating of Captain of the Forecastle. This was an experienced enlisted position in the nineteenth-century Navy, associated with responsibility and seamanship in the forward part of a warship. During combat he also served as captain of a gun, placing him directly within Varuna's fighting crew.

In April 1862, Union naval forces under Flag Officer David G. Farragut began the decisive operation against New Orleans. The Confederate-held city was protected from the lower Mississippi River by Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip, supported by obstructions, gunboats, and other Confederate vessels. Capturing or bypassing these defenses was essential if the Union Navy was to reach New Orleans and gain control of one of the Confederacy's most important ports.

During the early hours of 24 April 1862, Farragut's fleet moved past the forts under heavy fire. USS Varuna was among the vessels committed to the attack. As the Union ships advanced upriver, the fighting developed into a series of close-range encounters with Confederate naval forces.

Greene remained at his assigned gun aboard Varuna as the ship entered the fiercest part of the engagement. At extremely close range, the Union vessel came under intense enemy fire and was twice rammed by a Confederate vessel identified in the official Medal of Honor record as the rebel ship Morgan.

The repeated collisions caused devastating damage to Varuna. Even as the ship's condition deteriorated, Greene remained at his gun. Rather than abandon his fighting station as the vessel was being battered, he continued helping direct fire against the enemy. His Medal of Honor citation specifically emphasized his steadiness through the thickest of the fight and credited him with helping inflict damage on the opposing vessel.

Varuna's crew continued resisting even as the ship became increasingly difficult to save. Eventually, badly damaged and taking on water, Varuna was forced toward the bank and beached. The vessel subsequently sank. Greene's conduct during those final stages of the fight became the defining episode of his known military career.

His actions were especially significant because they occurred during one of the most important Union naval operations of the Civil War. Farragut's fleet succeeded in passing the forts, and New Orleans soon fell to Union forces. The loss of the Confederacy's largest city and major Gulf port was a severe strategic blow and strengthened Union control of the lower Mississippi.

Greene's service during the battle was formally recognized with the Medal of Honor. General Order No. 11, dated 3 April 1863, included him among the naval personnel honored for exceptional conduct. He was identified as Captain of the Forecastle and captain of a gun aboard USS Varuna.

His Medal of Honor was presented on 31 August 1863 aboard USS Essex. The decoration had been created only shortly before Greene's action, with the Navy Medal of Honor authorized during the opening period of the Civil War. At that time it represented the United States' principal national recognition for extraordinary courage and conduct by enlisted naval personnel.

Greene's award therefore belongs to the earliest generation of Navy Medals of Honor. It recognized a specific combat action: remaining at his gun while Varuna fought at close range, endured repeated ramming, suffered severe damage, and ultimately sank. No additional clasp, bar, star, or other device is associated with his Medal of Honor.

His wider Civil War naval service is represented by the Navy Civil War Campaign Medal. Unlike the Medal of Honor, the campaign medal was not a decoration for one individual act of heroism. It was established decades after the war to recognize qualifying naval and Marine Corps service during the conflict.

For Greene, the distinction between the two decorations is clear. The Navy Civil War Campaign Medal represents his broader wartime service as a Union sailor, while the Medal of Honor commemorates the extraordinary conduct he displayed aboard USS Varuna on 24 April 1862.

The surviving record provides far more detail about Greene's moment in battle than about his later civilian life. His historical reputation therefore rests principally on the fighting near Forts Jackson and St. Philip and the destruction of Varuna.

In that engagement, John Greene faced a situation in which his ship was under heavy fire, struck repeatedly at close quarters, and ultimately lost. He remained at his gun through the crisis and continued fighting until Varuna could fight no longer. That steadfastness earned him the Medal of Honor and secured his place among the Union Navy sailors recognized for courage during the American Civil War.