Joseph B. Noil

Who was Joseph B. Noil?

Joseph Benjamin Noil was a United States Navy sailor and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor.

Joseph B. Noil enlisted in the Navy from New York; when he re-enlisted for a three year hitch on December 29, 1874, he was described as thirty-four years old, born in Nova Scotia and a "Negro". His civilian occupation was as a caulker, and he was five feet, six inches tall.

While serving on USS Powhatan at Norfolk, Virginia on December 26, 1872, he saved a drowning shipmate, Boatswain J.C. Walton. For his conduct on this occasion, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

On May 25, 1881, Noil, promoted to the rating of Captain of the Hold and serving on the USS Wyoming, was admitted to the Naval Hospital Norfolk, Virginia, suffering from paralysis. About a week later, he was transferred to Saint Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he died on March 21, 1882, and was buried in the hospital graveyard under the name of "Joseph B. Noel". His grave was discovered by Don Morfe, who is one of a number of dedicated people who have made it their mission to identify and photograph the known resting places of Medal of Honor recipients.