John Williams

Wounded, He Still Held the Flag Under Fire

John Williams was born in 1828 and entered the United States Navy before the American Civil War. By the opening months of the conflict, he was serving aboard USS Pawnee as Captain of the Maintop, an experienced enlisted rating that placed him among the sailors responsible for the demanding work of handling sails, rigging, and operations high above the ship’s deck.

His defining act of courage came during a dangerous expedition at Mathias Point, Virginia, in June 1861, only weeks after the Civil War had begun.

Union naval forces were operating along the Potomac River, where Confederate positions threatened shipping and communications near Washington. USS Pawnee participated in these early operations, and Williams joined a small-boat party sent toward shore during the action at Mathias Point.

The mission quickly became dangerous.

As the sailors worked close to Confederate-held ground, enemy troops opened fire. The naval party was forced to withdraw under musket fire while attempting to return to its boats.

Williams remained with his men during the retreat.

Rather than abandoning anyone in the confusion, he helped ensure that the sailors of his party reached the boat. His actions placed him directly in the path of enemy fire.

During the withdrawal, Williams was struck in the thigh by a musket ball.

Despite his wound, he continued directing the boat and refused to give up his responsibilities. Enemy fire also struck the boat’s flagstaff, breaking it.

Williams took hold of the remaining portion of the staff and kept the flag with him as the boat pulled away from the shore.

He continued holding it until the party reached USS Thomas Freeborn.

The scene captured the qualities for which Williams would later be recognized: physical courage, determination under fire, responsibility for the men around him, and an unwillingness to abandon the colors even after he had been wounded.

His conduct at Mathias Point occurred before the Medal of Honor had even been formally established.

Congress created the Navy Medal of Honor later in 1861 to recognize sailors and Marines who distinguished themselves through exceptional courage and conduct during the war.

Williams’s actions were subsequently reviewed and formally recognized.

Under General Order No. 11, dated April 3, 1863, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his gallantry during the Mathias Point operation.

By that time, Williams was serving aboard USS Ticonderoga.

The decoration honored a moment that had taken place nearly two years earlier, when he had remained in command of his boat despite being wounded and had carried the damaged flag safely away from Confederate fire.

No additional clasp, star, or device accompanied his Medal of Honor.

Williams continued his naval career long after the action that made him a Medal of Honor recipient. His service eventually extended well beyond the Civil War, with records showing that he remained connected to the Navy until 1878.

The wound he suffered at Mathias Point also remained part of his later life, and he received a pension connected to that wartime injury.

His Civil War naval service falls within the period later commemorated by the Navy Civil War Campaign Medal. That decoration was established after his lifetime to recognize qualifying Navy and Marine Corps service during the conflict.

The Medal of Honor, however, remained permanently tied to the events at Mathias Point.

Williams had entered the operation as a sailor responsible for his men and his boat.

He came under fire.

He was shot.

The flagstaff was broken.

Yet he continued his duty and carried the colors with him during the withdrawal.

John Williams died on October 3, 1885, at the Naval Asylum Hospital in Philadelphia.

He was buried in the Naval Plot at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

His story stands apart from those of several other Civil War Medal of Honor recipients who shared the name John Williams. The man remembered here was the Captain of the Maintop from USS Pawnee—the sailor wounded at Mathias Point who refused to abandon either his men or the flag.

In the opening months of the Civil War, when the outcome of the conflict was still uncertain and the United States Navy was fighting to secure the waterways around the capital, John Williams demonstrated courage in one of the war’s early naval actions.

Wounded by enemy fire and still responsible for his boat, he remained at his post.

When the flagstaff was shot away, he held on to what remained.

For that courage under fire, John Williams was awarded the Medal of Honor and earned a lasting place in the history of the United States Navy.