John Elliot Hart (April 4, 1824 – June 11, 1863) was an officer in the Union Navy during the American Civil War. He died in June 1863 on board his ship USS Albatross while taking part in the Union attempt to blockade the Mississippi River. He is best known for the unusual circumstances of his burial in Louisiana, which the town of St. Francisville, Louisiana, commemorates every year in a three-day festival called "The Day the War Stopped." Early life Hart was born in 1824 in New York City to a family with 200-year roots there. His father was Benjamin Franklin Hart and his mother was Sarah Ann Copp. The family had a strong Navy tradition. His grandfather John Elliot Copp, for whom he was named, and his uncle Ezekiel Bishop Hart were both killed serving in the Navy during the War of 1812. He moved to Schenectady, New York, in the 1850s, and in 1855 he married Harriet "Hattie" Van Vorst, the mayor's daughter. They had one surviving child, Abraham Elliot Hart, as well as a son and daughter who died in infancy. In 1857 he joined the local Masonic lodge and rose to the rank of Master. Naval career Hart was appointed a midshipman in the Navy on February 2, 1841. He served in the Brazil Squadron aboard USS Marion and USS John Adams, and in 1846 he circumnavigated the globe aboard USS Constitution. In late 1846 he was admitted to the newly opened United States Naval Academy and graduated as a Passed Midshipman in the class of 1847. He served on various ships including USS St. Lawrence, USS Michigan, and USS Jamestown. While serving on Jamestown he was promoted to Lieutenant. He took a leave of absence in the late 1850s, then served in the Mediterranean aboard USS Iroquois. Following the outbreak of the Civil War he served aboard USS Vincennes, and was part of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron on the Mississippi River under Admiral David Farragut. He was appointed a Lieutenant Commander on July 16, 1862. In August 1862 he was transferred to the gunship USS Albatross, and in October 1862 he was put in command of Albatross when the captain was relieved of his post. The Albatross and other ships engaged two Confederate steamers in the Red River near Fort DeRussey on May 4, 1863. It was later claimed that Albatross had shelled St.