William Wells

William Wells was born in 1832 in Germany and later came to the United States, eventually entering service in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. His surviving official naval records identify him simply as William Wells, with no securely verified middle name or middle initial. His Medal of Honor record was accredited to New York, but that accreditation should not be confused with his German birthplace. Wells ultimately attained the enlisted naval rating of Quartermaster, a position that demanded experience, seamanship, vigilance, and an ability to assist with navigation and the handling of a warship under demanding conditions. Wells entered documented wartime service aboard USS Brooklyn in September 1861. The steam sloop-of-war would soon become part of Flag Officer David G. Farragut's West Gulf Blockading Squadron and take part in one of the Union Navy's boldest early operations: forcing the Mississippi River defenses below New Orleans. Wells therefore gained significant combat experience well before the action that later earned him the Medal of Honor. In April 1862, Farragut prepared his fleet to pass Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip, two powerful Confederate fortifications guarding the river approach to New Orleans. The forts, river obstructions, Confederate gunboats, and other defensive measures made the passage extremely dangerous. Farragut nevertheless chose to take his warships directly through the defenses during the night and early morning of April 24, 1862. USS Brooklyn, with Wells aboard, was heavily engaged as the fleet fought past the forts and Confederate vessels. For Wells, the battle came at a terrible personal cost. Official Navy records state that during the fighting at Forts Jackson and St. Philip he suffered two wounds in his left leg and a severe wound to the head. The head injury was particularly serious. The ship's surgeon later certified that it caused opacity of the cornea and loss of vision in Wells's right eye. Despite these injuries, Wells survived and continued his naval career. His later Medal of Honor service is therefore especially striking: he returned to active duty after already being seriously wounded in one of the Union Navy's most dangerous operations. The breakthrough below New Orleans became one of the Union's great strategic victories of 1862. Farragut's fleet defeated or bypassed the Confederate river defenses and reached New Orleans, forcing the surrender of the South's largest city and one of its most important commercial centers. Wells's official service record also confirms his participation aboard USS Brooklyn in operations against Confederate batteries below Vicksburg later in 1862. He was therefore already an experienced combat sailor who had faced fortified positions, Confederate naval forces, serious wounds, and extended campaigning before reaching Mobile Bay. In September 1863, Wells transferred to USS Richmond. The steam sloop-of-war had already earned an extensive combat history on the Mississippi and Gulf Coast, and Wells joined her as Union naval forces increasingly focused on the remaining Confederate strongholds along the Gulf of Mexico. By 1864, one of the most important of these was Mobile Bay, Alabama. Mobile Bay was protected by formidable Confederate defenses. Fort Morgan dominated the main entrance, while Fort Gaines guarded another approach. Confederate naval forces operated inside the bay, including the powerful ironclad ram CSS Tennessee. Perhaps most dangerous of all were underwater explosive devices—then commonly called torpedoes—placed in the approaches to the harbor. Rear Admiral David G. Farragut nevertheless decided to force his fleet into the bay and destroy or neutralize its defenses. The attack began on the morning of August 5, 1864. USS Richmond, commanded by Captain Thornton A. Jenkins, advanced as part of Farragut's wooden fleet. The ships were paired together so that if one became disabled, its partner might help carry it through the dangerous channel. As the fleet approached Fort Morgan, Confederate artillery opened intense fire. The danger became immediately apparent when the Union ironclad USS Tecumseh struck a mine and sank with shocking speed. The disaster temporarily disrupted the fleet's advance, but Farragut pressed forward. The Union vessels continued past Fort Morgan and into Mobile Bay while exchanging fire with Confederate batteries and warships. During this battle, William Wells served as a leadsman and lookout aboard USS Richmond. These responsibilities were vital to the safety of the ship. As a leadsman, a sailor used a weighted lead line to measure the depth of water beneath the vessel. In confined or dangerous waters, accurate depth readings could mean the difference between safely advancing and grounding a warship under enemy fire. As a lookout, Wells also had to remain constantly alert to navigational hazards, enemy movements, signals, and changing battlefield conditions. The work required extraordinary concentration even in calm conditions. On August 5, Wells had to perform it while Confederate artillery was striking Richmond and men around him were being killed and wounded. Enemy fire repeatedly swept the ship's exposed decks. Smoke, cannon blasts, splintering wood, casualties, and the movements of other warships filled the battle area. Yet Wells remained at his station and continued his duties with exceptional coolness and close attention. His courage was not a matter of a single spectacular gesture. It was the sustained discipline required to continue performing an essential navigational duty while his ship was under direct and prolonged attack. The fighting lasted for approximately two hours during its most intense phase. USS Richmond and the other Union vessels engaged Confederate gunboats and the defenses around Fort Morgan. After the fleet successfully entered the bay, the Confederate ironclad CSS Tennessee continued the battle and attempted to fight Farragut's vastly larger force. Union ships concentrated on the ironclad, firing at close range and attempting to ram her. Eventually Tennessee suffered sufficient damage to its steering and equipment that further resistance became impossible. The Confederate ram surrendered. For the Union Navy, the victory was decisive. The Battle of Mobile Bay greatly reduced Confederate control of the Gulf Coast. Fort Gaines soon surrendered, and Fort Morgan eventually fell after subsequent Union operations. Although the city of Mobile itself remained in Confederate hands until 1865, its usefulness as a major blockade-running port was effectively broken. William Wells had played his part in that victory not from the quarterdeck as a commanding officer, but from a working sailor's station where the safety and navigation of USS Richmond depended on his continued attention. His conduct was formally recognized by the United States Navy. Wells received the Medal of Honor under General Order No. 45, dated December 31, 1864. The award recognized his skill, courage, and steadiness during the Battle of Mobile Bay, particularly his ability to perform his duties despite the punishment inflicted on USS Richmond and the casualties suffered around him. The official Navy record identifies his rank as: Quartermaster, United States Navy This should remain his formal project rank. Some later transcriptions of his citation contain the phrase “landsman and lookout,” but the older official Navy Medal of Honor roll specifically identifies Wells as Quartermaster and describes his duties as leadsman and lookout. For the final historical profile, Quartermaster is therefore the correct rank and leadsman/lookout describes his battle duty rather than a separate rank. Wells's Medal of Honor was not posthumous. Historical Medal of Honor records indicate that the decoration was presented to him at Lisbon aboard USS Colorado. His recognition thus came while he was still living and connected with naval service. For the historical ribbon system used in this project, his verified decoration should be represented as: Medal of Honor 1862–1912 Navy — No device. No V device, star, clasp, or other attachment should be placed on Wells's Medal of Honor. What makes William Wells's military career particularly notable is that Mobile Bay was not an isolated episode of courage. His official Navy record documents a broader pattern of dangerous Civil War service. He had joined USS Brooklyn in 1861, fought through the passage of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, faced Confederate ironclads and gunboats near New Orleans, participated in operations below Vicksburg, suffered multiple serious wounds—including permanent damage to his right eye—and nevertheless returned to active service. He then joined USS Richmond and continued into the campaign against Mobile Bay. His Medal of Honor should therefore be understood in the context of an experienced combat sailor who had already endured severe injury and years of naval warfare. Wells's performance at Mobile Bay also illustrates the importance of ordinary enlisted specialists aboard a nineteenth-century warship. A naval battle depended upon far more than admirals and gun captains. Quartermasters, lookouts, leadsmen, engineers, firemen, ammunition handlers, and other sailors had to continue doing highly technical jobs amid smoke, noise, damage, casualties, and confusion. For Wells, maintaining focus was itself an act of courage. A mistaken depth reading or failure to recognize a developing hazard could endanger an entire vessel. Yet as USS Richmond passed one of the most heavily defended waterways on the Confederate coast, Wells maintained his position and performed his duties throughout the engagement. The strongest authoritative Medal of Honor records preserve far more detail about Wells's Civil War service than about his life afterward. Some later secondary accounts provide a death date and burial information, but those details are not consistently preserved in the strongest current institutional recipient record. Under the project's zero-assumption rule, they should not be presented as locked biography facts until stronger recipient-specific documentation confirms them. William Wells's enduring legacy therefore rests securely on his naval service. He was a German-born immigrant who entered the United States Navy, served aboard two major Union warships, participated in some of the most important naval campaigns of the Civil War, survived wounds severe enough to permanently damage his eyesight, and returned to combat. On August 5, 1864, aboard USS Richmond, he remained vigilant as a leadsman and lookout while Confederate fire swept the ship. The battle ended with the defeat of Confederate naval resistance in Mobile Bay and the surrender of CSS Tennessee. For his composure and devotion to duty under that intense fire, Quartermaster William Wells received the Medal of Honor. His story represents a form of heroism fundamental to naval warfare: the disciplined sailor who continues performing an essential duty while the ship and everyone aboard it are in immediate danger.