Robert B. Wood

Wounded in the Head, He Refused to Leave His Gun

Robert B. Wood was born in 1836 in New Garden, Columbiana County, Ohio. During the American Civil War, he entered the United States Navy and served as a coxswain. By the spring of 1863, he was attached to USS Minnesota and temporarily serving aboard USS Mount Washington, a posting that would place him in the middle of a violent engagement on Virginia’s Nansemond River.

In April 1863, Confederate forces were conducting operations around Suffolk, Virginia, while Union naval vessels worked along the Nansemond River to support Federal positions and challenge Confederate batteries established near the water. The river became an active battlefield as gunboats exchanged fire with artillery positioned along the shore.

On April 14, USS Mount Washington came under intense Confederate fire near the Norfleet House Battery.

The gunboat was repeatedly struck.

Enemy shells damaged the vessel and eventually hit its machinery, disabling its engines. Steam escaping from the damaged boilers created additional danger aboard the ship as artillery and musketry continued to strike around the crew.

Wood remained at his station.

During the engagement, he was struck in the head by a spent projectile, suffering a severe contusion. The injury could easily have justified leaving the exposed position, particularly as the vessel remained under sustained enemy fire.

He did not leave.

Wood continued performing his duties at his gun for approximately six hours while Confederate artillery and small-arms fire continued against the ship.

His conduct was not limited to simply remaining aboard.

At another critical moment, Wood took the risk of entering an open boat under heavy fire to carry a hawser, a heavy line that could be essential in helping a disabled vessel maneuver or receive assistance.

The decision placed him outside the protection offered by the ship itself and exposed him directly to enemy fire.

He carried out the task despite the danger.

Wood’s actions represented the type of courage required aboard a damaged warship when normal operations had begun to break down. Naval combat depended on sailors remaining disciplined even when machinery failed, crewmen were wounded, and the ship’s ability to move was compromised.

USS Mount Washington was in precisely that kind of situation.

The vessel had been hit repeatedly. Its engines were disabled. Steam and enemy fire created hazardous conditions across the ship. Yet Wood remained at his post and continued working his gun even after being injured.

His conduct during those hours became the basis for his Medal of Honor.

The engagement on the Nansemond River formed part of the wider fighting associated with the Confederate campaign against Suffolk. Union gunboats provided valuable support along the waterways, using their artillery against Confederate positions while also facing shore batteries capable of inflicting serious damage on the vessels operating within range.

Wood’s role was therefore part of a larger contest for control of the river and the approaches around Suffolk.

But his individual recognition came from what he did when his own ship was in immediate danger.

He had been wounded.

His vessel had been crippled.

Enemy fire continued.

Wood stayed at his gun.

Then, when another dangerous task had to be performed, he exposed himself again by taking the hawser through heavy fire.

His courage and coolness under those conditions were officially recognized in 1863. Robert B. Wood received the Medal of Honor for his conduct aboard USS Mount Washington during the action of April 14.

The Medal of Honor had only recently been created, making Wood one of the early naval recipients of the decoration during the Civil War. Many of those first awards recognized sailors who continued performing essential duties during shipboard emergencies, close-range engagements, shore bombardments, and operations in which vessels were exposed to intense enemy fire.

Wood’s recognition fits directly within that tradition.

His award did not depend on capturing a flag or defeating an enemy single-handedly. It recognized something equally important in naval warfare: remaining effective when a ship was damaged and danger had become overwhelming.

After the war, Wood returned to civilian life. His later years were far removed from the smoke, steam, and artillery fire of the Nansemond River, but the record of his conduct aboard Mount Washington remained preserved through the Medal of Honor.

He died on July 1, 1878, in Columbus, Ohio, and was buried at Grove Hill Cemetery in Hanoverton, Ohio.

Robert B. Wood’s legacy rests on endurance under fire.

He was struck in the head and remained at his station.

He continued working his gun for hours while his ship endured artillery and musketry.

When a dangerous task required carrying a hawser through enemy fire, he accepted the risk.

The vessel around him had been damaged, its engines disabled, and its crew placed in extreme danger.

Wood continued doing his duty.

For that courage aboard USS Mount Washington on April 14, 1863, Robert B. Wood received the Medal of Honor and earned a permanent place in the history of the United States Navy.