Thomas Harcourt (Medal of Honor)

Thomas Harcourt

Born	c. 1841 Boston, Massachusetts, US
Allegiance	United States of America Union
Service / branch	United States Army United States Navy
Years of service	1863 - 1864 (USA) 1864 - 1865 (USN)
Rank	Ordinary Seaman
Unit	USS Minnesota
Battles / wars	American Civil War • Second Battle of Fort Fisher
Awards	Medal of Honor

Thomas Harcourt (c. 1841 – Unknown) was a U.S. sailor stationed aboard the USS Minnesota during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Second Battle of Fort Fisher on January 15, 1865.

Military service

Harcourt enlisted in the Army from Haverhill, New Hampshire in 1863, but transferred to the Navy in April 1864 and was assigned to the Union frigate USS Minnesota. He later deserted in April 1865.

On January 15, 1865, the North Carolina Confederate stronghold of Fort Fisher was taken by a combined Union storming party of sailors, marines, and soldiers under the command of Admiral David Dixon Porter and General Alfred Terry. Harcourt was one of nine crewmen from the USS Minnesota who received the Medal of Honor for their actions during the battle.

Medal of Honor citation

"The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Ordinary Seaman Thomas Harcourt, United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism in action on board the U.S.S. Minnesota in the assault on Fort Fisher, 15 January 1865. Landing on the beach with the assaulting party from his ship, Ordinary Seaman Harcourt advanced to the top of the sand hill and partly through the breach in the palisades despite enemy fire which killed or wounded many officers and men. When more than two-thirds of the men became seized with panic and retreated on the run, he remained with the party until dark when it came safely away, bringing its wounded, its arms and its colors."

General Orders: War Department, General Orders No. 59 (June 22, 1865)

Action Date: January 15, 1865

Service: Navy

Rank: Ordinary Seaman

Division: U.S.S. Minnesota

Notes

References

Ammen, RADM USN, Daniel (1885). The Atlantic Coast. The Navy in the Civil War. Vol. II. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons. OCLC 166312281.
Matthews, Franklin (1915). Our Navy in Time of War (1861-1915). New York, NY: D. Appleton and Company. OCLC 940844432.
Porter, ADM USN, David Dixon (1886). The Naval History of the Civil War. New York, NY: The Sherman Publishing Company. OCLC 280729.

External links

"Thomas Harcourt". Hall of Valor. Military Times. Retrieved September 6, 2010.

American Civil War

Origins

Origins	Timeline leading to the War Bleeding Kansas Border states Compromise of 1850 John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry Kansas-Nebraska Act Lincoln–Douglas debates Missouri Compromise Nullification crisis Origins of the American Civil War Panic of 1857 Popular sovereignty Secession South Carolina Declaration of Secession States' rights President Lincoln's 75,000 volunteers
Slavery	African Americans Cornerstone Speech Crittenden Compromise Dred Scott v. Sandford Emancipation Proclamation Fire-Eaters Fugitive slave laws Plantations in the American South Positive good Slave Power Slavery in the United States Treatment of slaves in the United States Uncle Tom's Cabin
Abolitionism	Abolitionism in the United States Susan B. Anthony James G. Birney John Brown Frederick Douglass William Lloyd Garrison Lane Debates on Slavery Elijah Parish Lovejoy J. Sella Martin Lysander Spooner George Luther Stearns Thaddeus Stevens Charles Sumner Caning Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad

Combatants
Theaters
Campaigns
Battles
States

Combatants

Union	Army Navy Marine Corps Revenue Cutter Service
Confederacy	Army Navy Marine Corps

Theaters

Major campaigns

Major battles

Involvement

States and
territories

Cities

Leaders

Confederate

Military	R. H. Anderson Beauregard Bragg Buchanan Cooper Early Ewell Forrest Gorgas Hill Hood Jackson A. S. Johnston J. E. Johnston Lee Longstreet Morgan Mosby Polk Price Semmes E. K. Smith Stuart Taylor Wheeler
Civilian	Benjamin Bocock Breckinridge Davis Hunter Mallory Memminger Seddon Stephens

Union

Military	Anderson Buell Burnside Butler Du Pont Farragut Foote Frémont Grant Halleck Hooker Hunt McClellan McDowell Meade Meigs Ord Pope D. D. Porter Rosecrans Scott Sheridan Sherman Thomas
Civilian	Adams Chase Ericsson Hamlin Lincoln Pinkerton Seward Stanton Stevens Wade Welles

Aftermath

Constitution

Reconstruction Amendments

Reconstruction

Post-
Reconstruction

Monuments
and memorials

Union	List Grand Army of the Republic memorials to Lincoln
Confederate	List artworks in Capitol memorials to Davis memorials to Lee Removal

Cemeteries

Veterans

Related topics

Military	Arms Campaign Medal Cavalry Confederate Home Guard Confederate railroads Confederate revolving cannon Field artillery Medal of Honor recipients Medicine Naval battles Official Records Partisan rangers POW camps Rations Signal Corps Turning point Union corps badges U.S. Balloon Corps U.S. Home Guard U.S. Military Railroad
Political	Committee on the Conduct of the War Confederate States presidential election of 1861 Confiscation Act of 1861 Confiscation Act of 1862 Copperheads Diplomacy Emancipation Proclamation Habeas Corpus Act of 1863 Hampton Roads Conference National Union Party Politicians killed Radical Republicans Trent Affair Union Leagues U.S. Presidential Election of 1864 War Democrats
Music	Battle Hymn of the Republic Dixie John Brown's Body A Lincoln Portrait Marching Through Georgia Maryland, My Maryland When Johnny Comes Marching Home Daar kom die Alibama
By ethnicity	African Americans German Americans Irish Americans Italian Americans Native Americans Catawba Cherokee Choctaw Seminole
Other topics	Baltimore riot of 1861 Battlefield preservation Bibliography Confederate war finance Confederate States dollar Espionage Confederate Secret Service Great Hanging at Gainesville Great Revival of 1863 Gender issues Juneteenth Naming the war New York City Gold Hoax of 1864 New York City riots of 1863 Photographers Richmond riots of 1863 Salt Supreme Court cases Tokens U.S. Sanitary Commission Women soldiers
Related	List of films and television shows about the American Civil War

This biographical article related to the United States Navy is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

This article about a person of the American Civil War is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

Categories:

Military service

Medal of Honor citation

See also

Notes

References

External links