Thomas Bourne

He Kept Firing as His Warship Went Down

Thomas Bourne was born in England in 1834 and later made his way to the United States, where he entered service in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. His naval career placed him aboard warships operating in one of the conflict’s most strategically important theaters, and his conduct during the struggle for control of the Mississippi River would earn him the Medal of Honor.

By April 1862, Bourne was serving as a seaman aboard USS Varuna and held the demanding duty of gun captain. A gun captain was responsible for directing the operation of a naval gun and its crew during combat, a position requiring discipline, technical competence, and steadiness under fire. Those qualities became critically important when Varuna joined Flag Officer David G. Farragut’s fleet in the campaign against the Confederate defenses below New Orleans.

The Union objective was to pass Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip, two powerful Confederate fortifications guarding the lower Mississippi River. Capturing New Orleans would give the Union control of the Confederacy’s largest city and an important commercial center while opening the Mississippi to further Federal operations. During the early hours of April 24, 1862, Farragut’s ships began their dangerous passage through the Confederate defenses.

USS Varuna became heavily engaged as the Union fleet forced its way upriver. The ship fought at close range while exposed to intense enemy fire and attacks by Confederate vessels. Bourne remained at his gun as the battle developed around him, continuing to direct its fire despite the increasingly desperate condition of his ship.

During the engagement, Varuna was subjected to repeated ramming attacks while exchanging fire at extremely close range. The damage became severe, but Bourne did not abandon his station. He continued operating his gun and helped inflict damage on the enemy while the vessel was under sustained attack. His official recognition emphasized the steadiness with which he performed his duty throughout the heaviest fighting.

Varuna eventually became so badly damaged that she was forced toward the riverbank and sank. The loss of the vessel did not erase the effectiveness of her resistance. Her officers and crew had continued fighting until the ship could no longer remain afloat, and Bourne’s conduct at his gun became one of the individual acts singled out for national recognition.

For his actions during the battle of April 24, 1862, Bourne was awarded the Medal of Honor. His award was formally recorded under Navy General Order No. 11 on April 3, 1863. The recognition cited his service as a seaman and gun captain aboard USS Varuna and his cool, effective performance during the violent close-range fighting. At a time when the Medal of Honor itself was still a new decoration, Bourne became one of the Union sailors whose wartime actions helped establish its earliest naval tradition.

The battle in which Bourne distinguished himself was part of a major strategic victory. Farragut’s fleet successfully passed the forts and continued toward New Orleans, which soon fell to Union forces. The success transformed the naval situation on the lower Mississippi and dealt a serious blow to the Confederacy. Bourne’s Medal of Honor therefore arose from an action that was not only personally dangerous but also part of one of the most consequential naval operations of the Civil War.

Bourne continued serving after the loss of USS Varuna. By 1864 he had advanced to the rating of Chief Quartermaster and was serving aboard USS Essex. The promotion represented substantial responsibility within the enlisted structure of the Civil War-era Navy. A chief quartermaster was entrusted with important duties connected with navigation, steering, signals, and the operation of the ship, requiring both experience and reliability. Bourne’s progression from seaman and gun captain to Chief Quartermaster reflected the professional standing he had achieved during his naval career.

His Civil War service later qualified for recognition by the Navy Civil War Campaign Medal. The Navy Department established the decoration in 1908 for officers and enlisted personnel of the Navy and Marine Corps whose service fell within the recognized Civil War period. Bourne had died twenty years before the medal was created, so it should not be understood as a decoration he personally wore during his lifetime. Instead, it represents the later formal recognition of the Civil War naval service in which he had participated from the opening years of the conflict.

After leaving naval service, Bourne eventually settled in Michigan. The years following the war took him far from the gun deck of USS Varuna, but the distinction he had earned on the Mississippi remained part of his legacy. His Medal of Honor survived through later generations and is now preserved at the Michigan Heroes Museum in Frankenmuth, providing a tangible connection to his service and to one of the most dramatic naval campaigns of the Civil War.

Thomas Bourne died on March 22, 1888, in Michigan. He was buried at Poe Cemetery near Jones, Michigan. His death came more than two decades after the war, but his place in American military history had already been secured by the events of April 24, 1862.

Bourne’s story is defined most clearly by the final battle of USS Varuna. As his ship endured close-range fire, repeated ramming, devastating damage, and eventual sinking, he remained at his gun and continued fighting. That steadfast performance earned him the Medal of Honor and preserved his name among the Union Navy sailors whose courage helped force the passage of the Mississippi and change the course of the Civil War.