Benjamin Lloyd

Benjamin Lloyd was born in 1839 in Liverpool, England. He later came to the United States and entered the United States Navy, with his Medal of Honor record accredited to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the American Civil War he served aboard the Union Navy gunboat USS Wyalusing. His Medal of Honor record identifies his rating at the time of the heroic action as Coal Heaver, while later records identify his highest verified rating as Fireman Second Class. Congressional Medal of Honor Society In the nineteenth-century Navy, a coal heaver or fireman belonged to the engineering force that kept a steam-powered warship operating. Their work centered around the boilers, furnaces, coal supply, and propulsion machinery. It was difficult and physically demanding service, but Lloyd's place in history came not from routine engineering duty below decks. Instead, he volunteered for a dangerous special mission against one of the Confederacy's most formidable ironclad warships. USS Wyalusing was a double-ended, side-wheel gunboat commissioned in February 1864 and assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. In late April she arrived in the waters of Albemarle Sound, North Carolina. The Union Navy was facing a serious threat there from the Confederate ironclad ram CSS Albemarle, which had already helped Confederate forces regain control of Plymouth and had demonstrated that it could inflict serious damage on Union gunboats. Naval History and Heritage Command On May 5, 1864, Wyalusing and other Union vessels encountered Albemarle in battle. The Union gunboats opened fire, and Wyalusing maneuvered against the Confederate vessels supporting the ram. The engagement was intense but failed to destroy Albemarle. Darkness allowed the Confederate ironclad to withdraw back up the Roanoke River, leaving the Union Navy with the problem of how to eliminate a heavily armored opponent that remained protected near Plymouth. Naval History and Heritage Command A small group of sailors from Wyalusing then volunteered for an exceptionally hazardous attempt to destroy the ram by using explosive torpedoes—the nineteenth-century term commonly used for naval mines. The five men involved were Charles Baldwin, Alexander Crawford, John Lafferty, John W. Lloyd, and Benjamin Lloyd. Each would ultimately receive the Medal of Honor for his role in the operation. Naval History and Heritage Command Official Medal of Honor records date Benjamin Lloyd's action to May 25, 1864. The plan required the volunteers to move two heavy explosive devices through difficult terrain and position them against Albemarle. Lloyd participated in carrying the torpedoes across an island swamp separating waterways leading toward the Confederate vessel. The mission combined naval operations, swimming, overland movement through swamp, and covert work close to enemy positions. Congressional Medal of Honor Society Lloyd's assigned role became particularly important when the operation began to fail. He served as the boatkeeper, remaining responsible for the small craft needed by the raiding party. Other members of the group carried the explosives forward and attempted to position them against the Confederate ram. When Confederate sentries detected the operation before the torpedoes could be successfully placed, the sailors had to abandon the attack and escape. Congressional Medal of Honor Society The failed attack immediately created another danger: the volunteers risked capture deep inside territory controlled by Confederate forces. Lloyd helped members of the party escape and prevented their boat and activities from revealing the full details of the plan. His official citation specifically credited his assistance in rescuing the other men after they were detected. Congressional Medal of Honor Society The return to safety was itself a test of endurance. Lloyd spent approximately twenty-four hours exposed to rain and swamp conditions before successfully making his way back to USS Wyalusing. His Medal of Honor citation emphasized both his skill and courage during this difficult withdrawal. The expedition had failed in its primary objective, but the Navy judged the conduct of the volunteers to have demonstrated exceptional bravery. Congressional Medal of Honor Society The historical Navy Medal of Honor record summarizes Lloyd's conduct as volunteering for the attempt to destroy Albemarle and displaying courage, zeal, and sustained exertion despite the mission's failure. His award was recorded under General Order No. 45, dated December 31, 1864. Lloyd's Medal of Honor was therefore a wartime award and was not posthumous. Reading Rooms There is an important rank distinction in his record. The Medal of Honor citation identifies Lloyd as a Coal Heaver, which is the correct rating to associate with his heroic action. The Congressional Medal of Honor Society, however, lists his highest rank as Fireman Second Class. Surviving ship-log material also identifies Benjamin Lloyd as a second-class fireman during the expedition. For the project database, therefore, Fireman Second Class remains the correct highest-rank field, while Coal Heaver should be preserved as his Medal of Honor action rating. Congressional Medal of Honor Society The failure of Lloyd's mission did not end Union efforts against CSS Albemarle. Through the summer and autumn of 1864 the Navy continued searching for ways to destroy the Confederate ironclad. Finally, during the night of October 27–28, 1864, Lieutenant William B. Cushing successfully attacked Albemarle with a spar torpedo, sinking the ram and opening the way for renewed Union operations around Plymouth. USS Wyalusing subsequently participated in movements up the Roanoke and Middle Rivers during the campaign that followed. Naval History and Heritage Command Lloyd's act of heroism belongs to a distinctive part of Civil War naval history. He was not commanding a ship, firing the decisive shot in a fleet battle, or serving as an infantryman ashore. He was an enlisted engineer-rating sailor who volunteered for a covert mission requiring him to leave the relative protection of his gunboat and operate in swamp and river terrain close to an enemy ironclad. His courage was demonstrated not only in approaching the Confederate position but also in helping his comrades survive when the plan collapsed. That combination of voluntary exposure to danger, endurance, and assistance to the other members of the raiding party led to his award of the Medal of Honor. The surviving authoritative records contain very little reliable information about Benjamin Lloyd's life after the Civil War. The Congressional Medal of Honor Society records his birth in Liverpool in 1839 but does not provide a verified death date or burial location. Under the project's zero-assumption standard, those details should therefore remain unspecified rather than being filled with information from unsupported secondary sources. Congressional Medal of Honor Society Benjamin Lloyd's historical legacy remains permanently connected to USS Wyalusing and the Union Navy's campaign against CSS Albemarle. His mission did not destroy the Confederate ram, but heroism is not measured solely by whether an operation succeeds. Lloyd volunteered to participate in an extraordinarily dangerous attack, helped transport explosives through hostile terrain, remained responsible for the raiders' boat, assisted his comrades when the mission was discovered, and endured a difficult escape before returning safely to his ship. Those actions earned him a place among the Civil War recipients of the United States Navy Medal of Honor.