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Rank and organization: Landsman, U.S. Navy. Place: Plymouth, N.C. Born:
1845, New York. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 45, 31 December 1864.
Citation: King served on board the U.S. Picket Boat No. 1, in action, 27
October 1864, against the Confederate ram, Albemarle, which had res1sted
repeated attacks by our steamers and had kept a large force of vessels
employed in watching her. The picket boat, equipped with a spar torpedo,
succeeded in passing the enemy pickets within 20 yards without being discovered
and then made for the Albemarle under a full head of steam. Immediately
taken under fire by the ram, the small boat plunged on, jumped the log
boom which encircled the target and exploded its torpedo under the port
bow of the ram. The picket boat was destroyed by enemy fire and almost
the entire crew taken prisoner or lost.
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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