Adam Duncan (sailor)

Adam Duncan
Born	1833 Sullivan, Maine
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1859 - 1864
Rank	Boatswain's Mate
Unit	USS Richmond
Battles/wars	American Civil War  • Battle of Mobile Bay
Awards	Medal of Honor

Adam Duncan (born 1833, date of death unknown) 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.

Duncan was born in 1833 in Sullivan, Maine, and joined the Navy from Boston. He served during the Civil War as a boatswain's mate and gun captain on the USS Richmond. At the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, he "fought his gun with skill and courage" despite heavy fire. For this action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor four months later, on December 31, 1864.^[1][2] Duncan was discharged in November 1864,^[3] having served a total of six years in the Navy.^[4]

Duncan's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

As captain of a gun on board the U.S.S. Richmond during action against rebel forts and gunboats and with the ram Tennessee in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Despite damage to his ship and the loss of several men on board as enemy fire raked her decks, Duncan fought his gun with skill and courage throughout the prolonged battle which resulted in the surrender of the rebel ram Tennessee and in the successful attacks carried out on Fort Morgan.^[2]

References

1. "Adam Duncan". Hall of Valor. Military Times. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
2. "Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients (A–L)". Medal of Honor Citations. United States Army Center of Military History. June 26, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
3. Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War
4. http://www.mohhsus.com/lost-to-history