John Harris was a Union Navy sailor who received the Medal of Honor for his service on the United States Ship Metacomet in Mobile Bay during the American Civil War.
Career
Born in 1839 in Scotland, Harris was living in New York when he joined the Navy. He served during the Civil War as a captain of the forecastle on the United States Ship Metacomet. At the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, he was among the crew of a small boat sent from Metacomet to rescue survivors of the United States Ship Tecumseh, which had been sunk by a naval mine (then known as a "torpedo").
Despite intense fire, the boat crew was able to pull ten Tecumseh men from the water.
Membership
As captain of the forecastle on board the United States.S. Metacomet, Harris was a member of the boat"s crew which went to the rescue of the officers and crew of the United States. Monitor Tecumseh, when that vessel was struck by a torpedo in passing the enemy forts in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864 Harris braved the enemy fire which was said by the admiral to be "one of the most galling" he had ever seen, and aided in rescuing from death 10 of the crew of the Tecumseh, thereby eliciting the admiration of both friend and foe.