Richard Willis (Medal of Honor)

He Faced Fort Fisher From an Ironclad Under Fire

Richard Willis was born in 1826 in England. He later entered the United States Navy and served during the American Civil War, eventually becoming a coxswain aboard USS New Ironsides, one of the Union Navy’s powerful ironclad warships.

By late 1864, Fort Fisher in North Carolina had become one of the Confederacy’s most important remaining coastal strongholds. The fort protected the approaches to Wilmington, a major port that continued to receive supplies through the Union blockade. Its destruction became a major objective for Union naval and ground forces.

Willis served aboard New Ironsides during the first naval assault on Fort Fisher on December 24 and 25, 1864. The ironclad took part in the heavy bombardment of the Confederate defenses, firing against the fort while operating under the danger of return fire from shore batteries.

When the first attempt failed to capture Fort Fisher, Union forces returned in January 1865. New Ironsides again moved into position during the renewed operations of January 13 through 15, joining the intense naval bombardment that helped weaken and suppress the Confederate defenses before and during the final assault.

Willis remained at his duty through these engagements. His conduct during the repeated operations against Fort Fisher was later officially described as highly meritorious. His service took place aboard a heavily armed vessel operating close to fortified enemy positions during one of the largest combined naval and land operations of the war.

On January 15, 1865, Union forces finally captured Fort Fisher. The victory effectively closed Wilmington to Confederate blockade-running and removed one of the last major Atlantic ports available to the Confederacy.

Willis’s performance during the Fort Fisher operations brought him national recognition. Under Navy Department General Order No. 59, dated June 22, 1865, Richard Willis was awarded the Medal of Honor for his highly meritorious conduct during the several engagements with Fort Fisher in December 1864 and January 1865.

During his naval career, Willis later attained the rank of quartermaster, the highest verified rank associated with his service. His Medal of Honor action, however, had taken place while he was serving as a coxswain aboard New Ironsides.

Willis survived the war and lived for more than three decades afterward. He died in September 1896 in Vallejo, California. His exact burial place has not been securely identified.

Richard Willis’s Medal of Honor legacy was forged aboard an ironclad under the guns of Fort Fisher. Through repeated bombardments in December 1864 and January 1865, he performed his duties with distinction in one of the Union Navy’s most important final campaigns of the Civil War.