Peter Williams (Medal of Honor)

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Peter Williams
Bornc. 1831
Norway
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUnited States Navy
Years of service1862–1867
RankActing ensign
Commands heldUSS Clematis
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War
 • Battle of Hampton Roads
AwardsMedal of Honor

Peter Williams (born c. 1831, date of death unknown) was a Union Navy sailor in the American Civil War who received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor. He earned the award for steering USS Monitor throughout the Battle of Hampton Roads, the first combat between ironclad warships in history.

Biography

Born in 1831 in Norway, Williams immigrated to the United States and lived in California. He worked as a civilian sailor for nine years before joining the U.S. Navy in New York on January 27, 1862, for a three-year term of service. His enlistment papers record him as being 5 feet 4 inches tall with blue eyes, brown hair, and a "florid" complexion. Following brief assignments to

receiving ship USS North Carolina, Williams was transferred to the newly built USS Monitor, the first ironclad warship of the Union Navy, by March 6, 1862.[1] He served on Monitor as a seaman and quartermaster, a position responsible for navigation of the ship.[1][2][3]

Depiction of the ironclads at the Battle of Hampton Roads, Monitor on the right

At the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862, Williams stood at the ship's wheel and steered Monitor throughout an engagement with the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia (formerly known as Merrimack). This battle represented the first meeting in combat of two ironclad warships. Williams was particularly noted for moving Monitor away from Virginia when the latter attempted to ram Monitor and again when Monitor's Captain John Lorimer Worden was wounded. Shipmate John Driscoll recalled of Williams: "Peter saw more of her [the Virginia] than anyone else. He say right into the bore of the gun ... Pete says, 'Captain, that is for us,' and rip! she came." For his actions during the battle, Williams was awarded the Medal of Honor a year later on April 3, 1863. He was the only person to receive the Medal of Honor for service on Monitor.[2][3]

Weeks after the battle, Williams was promoted to mate (March 25) and then to

West Gulf Blockading Squadron. Williams was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy on November 9, 1867, after nearly six years of service.[1]

Williams is one of the hundreds of Medal of Honor recipients who are considered "lost to history", as his place of burial and other biographical details outside of his naval service are unknown.[4]

Medal of Honor citation

Williams's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

  • Rank and organization: Seaman, U.S. Navy
  • Accredited to: Pennsylvania
  • G.O. No.: 11, 3 April 1863

Serving on board the U.S.S. Ironclad Steamer Monitor, Hampton Roads, 9 March 1862. During the engagement between the U.S.S. Monitor and the C.S.S. Merrimack, Williams gallantly served throughout the engagement as quartermaster, piloting the Monitor throughout the battle in which the Merrimack, after being damaged, retired from the scene of the battle.[3]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 9781596294554
    .
  2. ^
    Military Times
    . Retrieved April 17, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "Medal of Honor Recipients: Civil War (S–Z)". United States Army Center of Military History. February 25, 2016. Archived from the original on September 10, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
  4. ^ "Lost to History". Medal of Honor Historical Society of the United States. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
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