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Photo # NH 105366:  Medal of Honor awarded to Seaman Albert Burton, 1865

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Seaman Albert Burton, USN, (1838-????)

Albert Burton, born in 1838 in England, enlisted in the U.S. Navy from New York and served as a Seaman in the steam frigate Wabash during the American Civil War. On 15 January 1865, during the assault on Fort Fisher, North Carolina, Burton gallanty advanced through enemy fire, entered the fort, but was then forced to withdraw due to the retreat of the body of men behind him. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his conduct in that action.

This page features the only image we have concerning Albert Burton.


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Photo #: NH 105366

U.S. Navy Medal of Honor


Reverse of a Medal of Honor awarded to Seaman Albert Burton, of USS Wabash, for his conduct during the assault on Fort Fisher, North Carolina, 15 January 1865.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 26KB; 525 x 765 pixels

 



U.S. Navy Medal of Honor citation of Seaman Albert Burton, USN (as printed in the official publication "Medal of Honor, 1861-1949, The Navy", page 18):

"Served on board the U.S.S. Wabash in the assault on Fort Fisher, 15 January 1865. Advancing gallantly through the severe enemy fire while armed only with a revolver and cutlass which made it impossible to return the fire at that range, BURTON succeeded in reaching the angle of the fort and going on, to be one of the few who entered the fort. When the rest of the body of men to his rear were forced to retreat under a devasting fire, he was forced to withdraw through lack of support, and to seek the shelter of one of the mounds near the stockade from which point he succeeded in regaining the safety of his ship."


If you want higher resolution reproductions than the "Online Library's" digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


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Page made 24 December 2007