John Williams (Medal of Honor, 1861)

Williams was born in about 1831 in Elizabethtown, New Jersey.^[1] He served as a Boatswain's Mate aboard the USS Mohican. He earned his medal in action on November 7, 1861, at Hilton Head, South Carolina.^[2] He died in Brooklyn, New York on October 30, 1899, and is now buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery.^[1]

Medal of Honor citation reads:

For extraordinary heroism in action, serving as Captain of an 11-inch gun aboard the USS Mohican during action of the main squadron of ships against the heavily defended Forts Beauregard and Walker on Hilton Head, South Carolina, and against ships of the Confederate Fleet, 7 November 1861. Cool and courageous at his battle station, Boatswain's Mate Williams maintained steady fire against the enemy while under the fort batteries during a four-hour engagement which resulted in silencing the batteries of the forts and in the rout of the rebel steamers.^[1]