Thomas Jones

He Stayed at His Gun Through Fort Fisher’s Fury

Thomas Jones was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1820. His early life is only lightly documented, but by the American Civil War he had entered the United States Navy and was serving as a coxswain aboard USS Ticonderoga. His wartime career placed him in the final phase of the struggle for control of the Confederacy’s Atlantic coastline, where naval gunfire and amphibious operations became increasingly important to Union strategy.

USS Ticonderoga was a steam-powered sloop-of-war that joined the massive Union naval force assembled against Fort Fisher, North Carolina. The fort guarded the approaches to Wilmington through the Cape Fear River and protected what had become one of the Confederacy’s most important remaining connections to overseas trade. By late 1864, taking Fort Fisher had become a major Union objective.

Jones held the formal Navy rating of Coxswain, but during the attacks on Fort Fisher he also served as captain of a gun. These were different responsibilities: Coxswain was his naval rating, while captain of a gun described his combat duty in the ship’s battery. In battle, that position required him to help direct the operation of a naval gun and keep its crew functioning while the ship maneuvered and exchanged fire with enemy batteries.

The first major assault began on December 24, 1864, when the Union fleet opened a tremendous bombardment of Fort Fisher. USS Ticonderoga took her place in the attacking line and engaged the Confederate defenses. The bombardment continued into December 25 as Union warships attempted to suppress the fort’s guns and prepare the way for an assault from land.

During these operations, Ticonderoga experienced a devastating accident. A 100-pounder Parrott rifle burst aboard the ship, killing eight men and wounding twelve. The explosion added sudden destruction and confusion to an already dangerous engagement in which Confederate batteries were returning heavy fire.

Jones remained at his duties. As captain of a gun, he continued serving with skill and courage despite the enemy fire and the shock created by the explosion aboard his ship. His later Medal of Honor citation specifically remembered his performance during these first two days of fighting, establishing that he continued to carry out his combat responsibilities under circumstances that had caused severe casualties among the crew.

The December expedition ultimately failed to capture Fort Fisher. Union ground forces withdrew, but the strategic importance of the position ensured that the effort would not end there. A second expedition was organized, again supported by a powerful naval force under Rear Admiral David D. Porter.

On January 13, 1865, USS Ticonderoga returned to the battle line as the second operation against Fort Fisher began. Once again Jones faced the Confederate defenses from his gun station. Ticonderoga maintained carefully directed fire against the shore batteries while Union troops prepared for the final assault.

The bombardment continued through January 14 and into January 15. Jones remained steadfast throughout the renewed engagement. Ticonderoga’s fire helped reduce the effectiveness of Confederate guns that threatened the Union assaulting columns. The Navy’s role was crucial: its sustained bombardment weakened the fortifications, suppressed artillery positions, and supported the soldiers who eventually fought their way into the defensive works.

On January 15, Union forces finally captured Fort Fisher after fierce fighting. The fall of the fort opened the way toward Wilmington and removed the principal defense protecting the last major Confederate seaport on the Atlantic coast. The victory therefore had consequences far beyond the battlefield itself, further isolating the Confederacy during the closing months of the war.

Jones’s conduct during both the December 1864 and January 1865 attacks was recognized with the Medal of Honor. His award was formally associated with General Order No. 59 of June 22, 1865. The citation emphasized not a single brief act, but his sustained courage and effectiveness through repeated combat—first during the December bombardments and again when Ticonderoga returned for the decisive January assault.

The Medal of Honor was still a relatively new decoration during the Civil War. Congress had authorized the Navy Medal of Honor in 1861, and it became the principal national decoration used to recognize extraordinary conduct by enlisted sailors and Marines. Jones belonged to that earliest generation of recipients. His Medal of Honor reflected the personal courage he demonstrated while keeping his gun in action aboard a warship exposed to enemy batteries and catastrophic casualties.

His wider wartime naval service is also commemorated by the Navy Civil War Campaign Medal. Established in 1908, decades after the conflict, the medal recognized qualifying Navy and Marine Corps service performed between April 15, 1861, and April 9, 1865. Jones had died before the medal was created, but his documented Civil War naval service fell within the qualifying period. The campaign medal therefore represents the broader service of which his Medal of Honor action at Fort Fisher formed the most distinguished chapter.

Jones survived the Civil War and lived for more than a quarter century after the fighting ended. He died in Annapolis, Maryland, on December 11, 1892, and was buried in the United States Naval Academy Cemetery. His resting place connects his memory permanently with the naval service in which he earned the nation’s highest military decoration.

Thomas Jones is remembered not because he commanded a fleet or held senior rank, but because he continued doing his duty when the deck around him had become a place of destruction. Under Confederate fire, after a heavy naval gun exploded and killed or wounded twenty men aboard his ship, he remained at his station. He returned weeks later for the renewed assault and again helped keep Ticonderoga’s guns firing against Fort Fisher. His Medal of Honor preserved that record of courage, while his Civil War service places him among the sailors whose persistence helped break one of the Confederacy’s final coastal strongholds.