CDV, Admiral Andrew H. Foote

He died while on active service in 1863

From the personal collection of Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin. Irwin has the distinct honor of being the first recipient of the Medal of Honor in U.S. military history by date of action, February 13, 1861

(1806-63) He entered the navy in 1822, and sailed in the West Indies, off Africa, and along the China coast. He was appointed commander of the western flotilla at the beginning of the Civil War, and in Feb. 1862, with the cooperation of Gen. U.S. Grant, captured Fort Henry on the...  

Photograph, the Rebel Gunboat CSS Teaser

This gunboat served both the Confederate and Union navies during the Civil War

The "Teaser" was built at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was purchased by the State of Virginia in 1861, and she was assigned to the naval forces in the James River, Va., with Lieutenant James Henry Rochelle, of the Virginia State Navy, in command. Upon the secession of Virginia from the Union, the "Teaser" became known as the "CSS Teaser" and was a part of the Confederate States Navy, and continued to operate in Virginia waters....  

CDV, Masters Mate David King Perkins, U.S. Navy

Served on the U.S. Steamer Seminole

(1843-93) He enlisted on January 30, 1863 at Boston, Massachusetts, as Masters Mate, and was assigned to duty onboard the U.S. Steamer Seminole. He remained serving on this vessel until November 15, 1865, and during the last year of the war, he was promoted to rank of "Acting Ensign." The U.S.S. Seminole was a steam sloop-of-war launched in the Pensacola, Florida Navy Yard in 1859, and was used early in the war on the eastern seaboard. At the time David had this photograph taken he was at the...  

CDV, Commodore Charles Wilkes, U.S. Navy

He became a Northern hero after arresting Confederate diplomats Mason & Slidell in what became known as the famous "Trent Affair"

(1798-1877) Born in New York City, he was a very distinguished United States naval officer. He entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman in 1818, was prominent in the department of charts and instruments, and in 1838 he commanded a squadron of 6 ships and scientists to Antarctica, where an area there is named "Wilkes Land." Promoted to captain in 1855, at the outbreak of the Civil War, he was...  

Photograph, Admiral David G. Farragut, U.S. Navy

Coined the famous phrase, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" at the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864!

(1801-1870) He entered the navy as a Midshipman in 1810 after having been virtually adopted by Commodore David Porter. The friendship between the two families began when Porter's father was buried on the same day as Farragut's mother in New Orleans. He fought in the Mexican War and was awaiting orders at his Norfolk, Va. home when the Civil War broke out. Told that a person with Union sentiments could not live in Virginia, he...