Peter Howard (Medal of Honor)

Peter Howard
Born	1829 France
Died	1875 Brooklyn, New York
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1861 - 1867
Rank	Acting Ensign
Unit	USS Mississippi
Awards	Medal of Honor

Peter Howard (1829 in France – March 25, 1875 in New York) was a United States Navy Boatswain's Mate, who earned the Medal of Honor for his actions while serving on board the USS Mississippi during the American Civil War.

Howard joined the Navy from Boston in May 1861.^[1] Following his MOH action, he was promoted to Acting Ensign in November 1863, and discharged in November 1867.^[2]

Medal of Honor citation

• Rank and organization: Boatswain's Mate, U.S. Navy.
• Born: 1829 France.
• Accredited to: Massachusetts.
• General Orders No.: 17, 10 July 1863.

Citation:

Served on board the USS Mississippi during the action against Port Hudson, 14 March 1863. Running aground during the darkness and in the midst of battle while exposed to a devastating fire from enemy shore batteries, the Mississippi was ordered abandoned after a long and desperate attempt to free her. Serving courageously throughout this period in which a steady fire was kept up against the enemy until the ship was enveloped in flames and abandoned. Howard acted gallantly in his duties as boatswain's mate. Soon after the firing of the Mississippi and its abandonment, it was seen to slide off the shoal, drift downstream and explode, leaving no possibility of its falling into enemy hands.

References

1. Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War, Vol VIII
2. Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War, Vol VII

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.

• "American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients". United States Army Center of Military History,. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
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