branch birth_place allegiance unit awards placeofburial_label battles birth_date rank article_title name
united states navy philadelphia , pennsylvania united states richmond 1860 6 medal of honor place of burial american civil war battle of mobile bay 1831 captain of the top william jones -lrb- sailor -rrb-
 william jones
william jones -lrb- sailor -rrb-

william jones -lrb- born 1831 , date of death unknown -rrb- 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 .
born in 1831 in philadelphia , pennsylvania , jones was still living in that city when he joined the navy .
he served during the civil war as a captain of the top and gun captain on the .
at the battle of mobile bay on august 5 , 1864 , he `` fought his gun with skill and courage '' despite heavy fire .
for this action , he was awarded the medal of honor four months later , on december 31 , 1864 .
jones 's official medal of honor citation reads : as captain of a gun on board the u.s.s. `` richmond '' during action against rebel forts and gunboats and with the ram `` tennessee '' in mobile bay , 5 august 1864 .
despite damage to his ship and the loss of several men on board as enemy fire raked her decks , jones fought his gun with skill and courage throughout the prolonged battle which resulted in the surrender of the rebel ram `` tennessee '' and in the damaging and destruction of batteries at fort morgan .
