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Rank and organization: Seaman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1838, England. Accredited
to: New York. G.O. No.: 59, 22 June 1865. Citation: 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 devastating 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.
This data was extracted from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Senate, Medal of Honor Recipients: 1863-1973 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1973)
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