Congress Gives Thanks-- Part 3: Union Naval Officers

Congress also gave its thanks to these Union naval officers:

**  Admiral David G. Farragut

**  Admiral David D. Porter

**  John L. Worden, who commanded the USS Monitor in its epic battle with the CSS Virginia.

**  Captain John A. Winslow, commanded the USS Kearsarge in its battle with the CSS Alabama.

--Old Secesh

John H. Winslow, USN-- Hero of the Kearsarge

I came across an interesting blog about people buried in Boston's Forest Hills Cemetery. One of those is noted Civil War Navy man, John H. Winslow, who commanded the USS Kearsarge in its battle against the CSS Alabama.

Winslow was born in Wilmington, NC, but had New England ancestry. He entered the Navy in 1827 and fought in the Mexican War. In 1863, he took command of the USS Kearsarge and in 1864 was involved in the famous one hour twenty minute fight with the Confederate Raider Alabama off Cherbourg, France.

Of the 370 projectiles fired at the Kearsarge, only 28 struck. One 100-pdr shell exploded in the smokestack and another shell struck and became lodged in the sternpost and was allowed to remain there for the rest the ship's career. Only three men on the Kearsarge was injured. It fired 173 shells at the Alabama.

Because of the victory, Winslow was promoted to commodore and he became a rear admiral in 1870.

He died in Roxbury soon after retirement while living on Kearsarge Street, so named after his ship. His coffin was draped with the ship's battle flag. The Winslow family plot is on Orange Path and a huge boulder on it is from Mount Kearsarge, New Hampshire.

From Forest Hills Educational Trust, http://foresthillstrust.blogspot.com.

A Real Hero. --Old B-Runner