page_title: William Phinney
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: William Phinney / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: Battle of Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864 (1890), by Xanthus Russell Smith, oil on canvas, 40" x 66", 1930 gift of Henry Huddleston Rogers. The monitor ships are CSS Tennessee (left), shown surrendering, and USS Chickasaw (foreground). Admiral Farragut's USS Hartford is right, and USS Winnebago, left.
context_page_description: William Phinney was a Union Navy sailor in the American Civil War and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Mobile Bay.
context_section_description: Born in 1824 in Norway, Phinney immigrated to the United States and was living in New York when he joined the Navy. He served during the Civil War as a boatswain's mate on the USS Lackawanna. At the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, Lackawanna engaged the CSS Tennessee at close range and Phinney distinguished himself as captain of an artillery gun. For this action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor four months later, on December 31, 1864.
caption: CSS Tennessee under heavy attack during the Battle of Mobile Bay
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