American Civil War Medal of Honor Recipient. He was issued the award on December 31, 1864 for his actions as a coxswain on board the Navy sloop-of-war USS Brooklyn at the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864. As a young man, he worked on whaling ships out of the Pacific Northwest, then sailed the Pacific Ocean as a merchant mariner. He then joined the US Navy and served on the sloop-of-war USS Dale, suppressing the African slave trade. When the American Civil War broke out, he was involved in the Union blockade at the mouth of the Mississippi River and was present at the capture of New Orleans, Louisiana in 1862. Two years later, he participated in the Battle of Mobile Bay for which he was received the Medal of Honor. Following the war, he settled in Toledo, Ohio and worked for the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway. He died at the age of 79. His Medal of Honor citation reads: "On board the U.S.S. Brooklyn during action against rebel forts and gunboats and with the ram Tennessee, in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Despite severe damage to his ship and the loss of several men on board as enemy fire raked her decks from stem to stern, Halstead fought his gun with skill and courage throughout the furious battle which resulted in the surrender of the prize rebel ram Tennessee and in the damaging and destruction of batteries at Fort Morgan."
American Civil War Medal of Honor Recipient. He was issued the award on December 31, 1864 for his actions as a coxswain on board the Navy sloop-of-war USS Brooklyn at the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864. As a young man, he worked on whaling ships out of the Pacific Northwest, then sailed the Pacific Ocean as a merchant mariner. He then joined the US Navy and served on the sloop-of-war USS Dale, suppressing the African slave trade. When the American Civil War broke out, he was involved in the Union blockade at the mouth of the Mississippi River and was present at the capture of New Orleans, Louisiana in 1862. Two years later, he participated in the Battle of Mobile Bay for which he was received the Medal of Honor. Following the war, he settled in Toledo, Ohio and worked for the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway. He died at the age of 79. His Medal of Honor citation reads: "On board the U.S.S. Brooklyn during action against rebel forts and gunboats and with the ram Tennessee, in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Despite severe damage to his ship and the loss of several men on board as enemy fire raked her decks from stem to stern, Halstead fought his gun with skill and courage throughout the furious battle which resulted in the surrender of the prize rebel ram Tennessee and in the damaging and destruction of batteries at Fort Morgan."
Bio by: William Bjornstad
Inscription
MEDAL OF HONOR
COX US NAVY
USS BROOKLYN
Gravesite Details
cemetery ID 14795, interred 07/26/1916
Family Members
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