John C. Donnelly

Who was John C. Donnelly?

John C. Donnelly was a Union Navy sailor in the American Civil War and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Mobile Bay.

Born in 1839 in England, Donnelly immigrated to the United States and was living in New York when he joined the U.S. Navy. He served during the Civil War as an ordinary seaman on the USS Metacomet. At the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, he was among the crew of a small boat sent from Metacomet to rescue survivors of the USS Tecumseh, which had been sunk by a naval mine. Despite intense fire, the boat crew was able to pull ten Tecumseh men from the water. For this action, Donnelly was awarded the Medal of Honor a year and a half later, on January 15, 1866. Five other members of the boat crew also received the medal: Seaman James Avery, Quarter Gunner Charles Baker, Captain of the Forecastle John Harris, Seaman Henry Johnson, and Landsman Daniel Noble.

Donnelly's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

Served on board the U.S.S. Metacomet. As a member of the boat's crew which went to the rescue of the U.S.