Daniel Dickinson Stevens (December 19, 1839 – November 7, 1916) was a United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 sailor during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 who received America's highest military decoration the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

 for his actions at the Second Battle of Fort Fisher

Second Battle of Fort Fisher

The Second Battle of Fort Fisher was a joint assault by Union Army and naval forces against Fort Fisher, outside Wilmington, North Carolina, near the end of the American Civil War...

Biography

In mid-January 1865, Stevens was serving as a quartermaster

Quartermaster

Quartermaster refers to two different military occupations depending on if the assigned unit is land based or naval.In land armies, especially US units, it is a term referring to either an individual soldier or a unit who specializes in distributing supplies and provisions to troops. The senior...

 on the when the ship took part in the bombardment of Fort Fisher, North Carolina

Second Battle of Fort Fisher

The Second Battle of Fort Fisher was a joint assault by Union Army and naval forces against Fort Fisher, outside Wilmington, North Carolina, near the end of the American Civil War...

. For his conduct during this action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Before leaving the Navy, Stevens reached the rank of Chief Quartermaster. He died at age 76 and was buried in Walnut Grove Cemetery, Danvers, Massachusetts

Danvers, Massachusetts

Danvers is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts, Danvers is most widely known for its association with the 1692 Salem witch trials, and for its famous asylum, the Danvers State Hospital.-17th century:The land...

.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and Organization:

Quartermaster, U.S. Navy. Born: 1840, Sagnange, Tenn. Accredited to: Massachusetts. Letter July 15, 1870, Secretary of the Navy to Hon. S. Hooper.

Citation:

On board the U.S.S. Canonicus during attacks on Fort Fisher, on January 13, 1865. As the Canonicus moved into position at 700 yards from shore, the enemy troops soon obtained her range and opened with heavy artillery

Artillery

Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...

 fire, subjecting her to several hits and near misses until late in the afternoon when the heavier ships coming into line drove them into their bombproofs. Twice during the battle, in which his ship sustained 36 hits, the flag was shot away and gallantly replaced by Stevens.

See also

• List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: Q–S