John Woon

Too Sick to Stand—Yet He Returned to His Gun

John Woon was born in England in 1823 and later entered the United States Navy. During the American Civil War, he served as a Boatswain’s Mate aboard USS Pittsburgh, one of the ironclad gunboats operating on the Mississippi River during the Union campaign against Vicksburg.

By the spring of 1863, Union forces were searching for a way to move troops south of Vicksburg and attack the Confederate stronghold from a more favorable direction. One of the major obstacles was Grand Gulf, Mississippi, where Confederate artillery batteries commanded the river and threatened any vessel attempting to pass.

USS Pittsburgh became part of the naval force assigned to attack those defenses.

On April 29, 1863, Union gunboats opened a heavy bombardment against the Confederate positions at Grand Gulf. The engagement developed into a prolonged artillery duel between the ironclads on the river and powerful batteries positioned on the heights above them.

John Woon entered the battle under circumstances that made his conduct especially remarkable.

For several days before the engagement, he had been ill and confined to his hammock.

Despite his condition, Woon insisted on returning to duty when USS Pittsburgh went into action.

Although his formal Navy rating was Boatswain’s Mate, during the battle he served as captain of one of the ship’s guns. This was a combat responsibility rather than a separate rank, placing him in charge of helping direct the gun crew as Pittsburgh exchanged fire with the Confederate batteries.

Woon remained at his station.

For more than two hours, he continued directing the gun while the battle raged around him.

USS Pittsburgh and the other Union ironclads were subjected to sustained Confederate fire. The ship suffered damage during the engagement, and members of the crew were killed or wounded as the opposing batteries fought to prevent the Union fleet from breaking through.

Woon continued fighting despite his illness.

Only when he had become physically unable to remain standing did he finally leave his station.

His conduct demonstrated a level of determination that went beyond simply remaining at a battle post. Woon had already been sick enough to be confined to his hammock, yet when his ship entered one of the most important naval engagements of the Vicksburg Campaign, he chose to return to his gun.

The Union fleet was unable to completely silence the Grand Gulf defenses during the daylight bombardment, but the operation remained strategically important.

Later that night, naval forces again engaged the Confederate positions while Union transports moved past the batteries. The broader campaign continued, eventually allowing Major General Ulysses S. Grant’s army to cross the Mississippi River below Vicksburg and advance inland.

Grand Gulf therefore became part of the chain of operations that led toward the eventual capture of Vicksburg.

For John Woon, however, April 29 became the defining day of his naval service.

His courage and devotion to duty aboard USS Pittsburgh were formally recognized by the United States Navy under General Order No. 17, dated July 10, 1863.

Woon received the Medal of Honor for his conduct during the battle at Grand Gulf.

The Navy Medal of Honor had been established during the Civil War to recognize extraordinary conduct by enlisted sailors and Marines. Woon’s award reflected the demanding nature of river warfare, where ironclad gunboats often fought fortified shore batteries at close range while operating in restricted waters.

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

Woon’s wider Civil War naval service also falls within the period later commemorated by the Navy Civil War Campaign Medal. That medal was established years after the war to recognize qualifying service by members of the Navy and Marine Corps during the conflict.

His Medal of Honor, however, remained directly connected to one action: Grand Gulf.

He had entered the battle after days of illness.

He had returned voluntarily to his gun.

He had remained there for more than two hours under Confederate fire.

And he had continued until his strength was finally exhausted.

Little reliable information survives about John Woon’s later life, and his date of death and burial location remain uncertain. What is firmly preserved is the record of his service aboard USS Pittsburgh and the courage he displayed on the Mississippi River in 1863.

His story is a reminder that battlefield heroism was not always expressed through a single spectacular charge or rescue.

Sometimes it was endurance.

Sometimes it was refusing to remain in a sick hammock while a ship went into battle.

And sometimes it meant staying at a gun until the body could no longer remain standing.

On April 29, 1863, Boatswain’s Mate John Woon did exactly that.

For his courage and devotion to duty at Grand Gulf, he received the Medal of Honor and earned a lasting place in the history of the United States Navy.