U.S. Marine Corps and Medal of Honor
SGT ISAAC N. FRY
MarDet USS Ticonderoga
FRY, Isaac N.
Orderly Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps
G.O. Navy Department, No. 59
Medal of Honor Citation:
On board the U.S.S. Ticonderoga during attacks on Fort Fisher, 13 to 15 January 1865. As orderly sergeant of Marine guard, and captain of a gun, Orderly Sergeant Fry performed his duties with skill and courage as the Ticonderoga maintained a well-placed fire upon the batteries to the left of the palisades during the initial phases of the 3-day battle, and thereafter, as she considerably lessened the firing power of guns on the mount which had been turned upon our assaulting columns. During this action the flag was planted on one of the strongest fortifications possessed by the rebels.
Source: Department of Veterans Affairs
Recommended Reading: American Civil War Marines 1861-65. Description: The part played in the Civil War by both the Union and Confederate Marine Corps is overshadowed by the confrontations of the great armies. Nevertheless, the coastal and river campaigns were of real importance, given the strategic significance of Gen. Winfield Scott’s Anaconda Plan, the Federal blockade of southern ports, and the struggle for the Mississippi River. Marines wearing blue and grey fought in many dramatic actions afloat and ashore – ship-to-ship engagements, cutting-out expeditions, and coastal landings. This book offers a comprehensive summary of all such battles, illustrated with rare early photographs, and meticulously researched color plates detailing the often obscure minutiae of Marine uniforms and equipment. “A welcome addition for buffs, military historians, and anyone remotely interested in studying the Marine Corps.”
Civil War Marines
American Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients
U.S. Navy and Naval Operations in North Carolina
Fort Fisher: The Gibraltar of the South
U.S. Naval Bombardment and Assault of Fort Fisher
Recommended Reading: Hurricane of Fire: The Union Assault on Fort Fisher (Hardcover). Review: In December 1864 and January 1865, Federal forces launched the greatest amphibious assault the world had yet seen on the Confederate stronghold of Fort Fisher, near Wilmington, North Carolina. This was the last seaport available to the South--all of the others had been effectively shut down by the Union's tight naval blockade. The initial attack was a disaster; Fort Fisher, built mainly out of beach sand, appeared almost impregnable against a heavy naval bombardment. When troops finally landed, they were quickly repelled. Continued below…
A second attempt succeeded and arguably helped deliver one of the death blows to a quickly fading Confederacy. Hurricane of Fire is a work of original scholarship, ably complementing Rod Gragg's Confederate Goliath, and the first book to take a full account of the navy's important supporting role in the assault.
Recommended Reading: Lincoln's Navy: The Ships, Men and Organization, 1861-65 (Hardcover). Review: Naval historian Donald L. Canney provides a good overview of the U.S. Navy during the Civil War, describing life at sea, weapons, combat, tactics, leaders, and of course, the ships themselves. He reveals the war as a critical turning point in naval technology, with ironclads (such as the Monitor) demonstrating their superiority to wooden craft and seaborne guns (such as those developed by John Dahlgren) making important advances. The real reason to own this oversize book, however, is for the images: more than 200 of them, including dozens of contemporary photographs of the vessels that fought to preserve the Union. There are maps and portraits, too; this fine collection of pictures brings vividness to its subject that can't be found elsewhere.