William A. Stanley

Wounded at His Gun—He Refused to Leave

William A. Stanley served in the United States Navy during the American Civil War and earned the Medal of Honor for extraordinary determination during the Battle of Mobile Bay. Serving aboard USS Hartford as a shell man, Stanley was part of the gun crew that fought through one of the most important naval engagements of the war. His official record preserves a striking account of a wounded sailor who refused to abandon his duty while the battle was still raging.

Stanley’s exact early life and personal background are not fully documented in the surviving authoritative records available for his military service. What is clearly established is that he served aboard USS Hartford, the flagship of Rear Admiral David G. Farragut during the Union Navy’s campaign against Mobile Bay, Alabama.

By the summer of 1864, Mobile Bay remained one of the Confederacy’s most important ports on the Gulf Coast. Its entrance was protected by Confederate forts, naval forces, underwater mines then commonly called torpedoes, and the powerful ironclad CSS Tennessee. The Union Navy prepared a major operation to force its way into the bay and neutralize the Confederate naval defenses.

On August 5, 1864, USS Hartford entered the battle as part of Farragut’s attacking fleet. Stanley was assigned to the ship’s No. 8 gun crew as a shell man. In a naval gun crew, the shell man played an essential role in maintaining the weapon’s rate of fire by handling and passing ammunition needed by the gun crew. Under combat conditions, the work exposed sailors to tremendous danger from enemy fire, flying fragments, and the violent effects of naval artillery.

The fighting in Mobile Bay was intense. Union vessels came under fire while attempting to pass the Confederate defenses, and casualties occurred throughout the fleet. During the engagement, Stanley was severely wounded while carrying out his duties at No. 8 gun.

Despite his injury, he refused to leave his station.

Stanley continued passing shells to the gun crew even after being wounded. His condition deteriorated as he lost blood, but he remained at his post and continued performing his duty until he was physically unable to stand. Only when the effects of his wounds made further service impossible did he leave the position.

The official naval account emphasized this determination. His recognition was based not simply on being wounded in battle, but on his refusal to abandon his combat duty while he was still capable of contributing to the fight. His actions reflected the discipline required aboard a warship in combat, where the effectiveness of each gun depended on every member of its crew continuing to perform a specific task.

The Battle of Mobile Bay became one of the Union Navy’s most significant victories of the Civil War. Farragut’s fleet successfully entered the bay, overcame Confederate naval resistance, and ultimately defeated CSS Tennessee. The operation greatly weakened Confederate control of Mobile Bay and further tightened the Union blockade of the South.

Stanley’s act of courage occurred within this larger victory, but his individual distinction remained centered on the No. 8 gun of USS Hartford. As shells were needed and the battle continued around him, he remained with the gun crew despite his wound and continued supplying ammunition until blood loss finally forced him to stop.

For his conduct during the battle, William A. Stanley was awarded the Medal of Honor under General Order No. 45, dated December 31, 1864. The award placed him among the sailors recognized for exceptional courage during the Mobile Bay operation.

His Medal of Honor was therefore directly connected to the duties of a naval gun crew. Unlike awards associated with the capture of a flag, command of an assault, or rescue of another serviceman, Stanley’s recognition reflected persistence under fire and devotion to his assigned combat responsibility. His willingness to remain at his station after being seriously wounded ensured that the No. 8 gun crew could continue receiving ammunition during a critical naval battle.

USS Hartford itself became closely associated with the history of Mobile Bay. As Farragut’s flagship, the vessel occupied a central position in the Union attack and in the larger story of the battle. Stanley’s service aboard the ship connected his personal act of courage with one of the most celebrated naval operations of the American Civil War.

The surviving official records do not provide enough reliable evidence to reconstruct every stage of Stanley’s life before or after his naval service. His precise later career and death details remain less clearly documented than his wartime action. For that reason, his historical legacy rests primarily on the verified events of August 5, 1864.

William A. Stanley’s story is preserved in only a few official lines, but those lines reveal an extraordinary moment of courage. Wounded while serving as a shell man aboard USS Hartford, he refused to leave his gun crew, continued passing ammunition, and remained at his station until loss of blood made it impossible for him to continue.

That determination during the Battle of Mobile Bay earned him the Medal of Honor and secured his place among the sailors whose courage helped shape one of the Union Navy’s defining victories of the Civil War.