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Rank and organization: Boatswain's Mate, U.S. Navy. Born: 1829 France.
Accredited to: Massachusetts. G.O. No.: 17, 10 July 1863. Citation: Served
on board the U.S.S. 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.
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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