DOB/DOD: February 14, 1837 (England) – October 19, 1908 (Bath, NY); 71 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
ENLISTMENT: September 5, 1863, in Hartford, Connecticut, into Company K, 8th Connecticut Infantry. Enlisted in the U.S. Navy on May 3, 1864.
DISCHARGE: April 15, 1865.
NOTE: He lived in Bristol, Connecticut, when he enlisted in 1863.
FAMILY: Family information is unknown.
MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION
AWARDED FOR ACTIONS DURING: Civil War
BRANCH OF SERVICE: Navy
ASSIGNED TO: U.S.S. Agawam
GENERAL ORDERS: War Department, General Orders No. 45 (December 31, 1864)
AGE ON THE DAY OF THE EVENT: 27
CITATION:
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Seaman James Roberts, United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving on board the U.S.S. Agawam, as one of a volunteer crew of a powder boat which was exploded near Fort Fisher, North Carolina, 23 December 1864. The powder boat, towed in by the Wilderness to prevent detection by the enemy, cast off and slowly steamed to within 300 yards of the beach. After fuses and fires had been lit and a second anchor with short scope let go to assure the boat’s tailing inshore, the crew again boarded the Wilderness and proceeded a distance of 12 miles from shore. Less than two hours later, the explosion took place, and the following day fires were observed still burning at the fort.
WEBMASTER NOTE: One of five recipients of the Medal of Honor from Connecticut who were aboard the U.S.S. Agawam. The others were William Garvin, Robert Montgomery, John Neil, and James Sullivan.
From the Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY) October 20, 1908
THREE BATH HOME VETERANS ARE DEAD BY VIOLENT MEANS
Bath, Oct 19 – James Roberts, a member of the state Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home, was found at an early hour this morning lying in the Conhocton River near the home. The presence of the body in the water, near the D.L.&W. railroad bridge, coupled with the fact that Roberts’s skull is fractured and his body bears cuts and wounds, gives rise to the theory that he was struck by a D.L.&W. train as he was walking on the railroad bridge, and his body thrown off the bridge into the river.
Roberts was about 60 years old. He served during the war with a Massachusetts regiment of volunteers and also in the Navy. For many years, he was a resident of Buffalo before his entrance to the home in 1903. Coroner John E. Hasson was summoned, and at his direction, the body was removed to the home morgue. The coroner will conduct an inquest.
Buried in Bath National Cemetery, San Juan Avenue, Bath, New York; Section I, Row 26, Grave 2. Photo from FindAGrave.com.
WEBMASTER NOTE: The New York State Soldiers and Sailors Home was established in 1878 to care for “him who shall have borne the battle,” in Lincoln’s words. It served as a retirement home, nursing home, or poorhouse for New York State veterans of the Civil War. Residents from other states lived in the home, presumably men who had served in or with New York units. Spanish War veterans were later admitted, and then a broad range of New York State veterans. As the Civil War population declined, the facility was federalized in the 1920s, even before there was a Veterans Administration.
Due to its proximity to the home, there are five Medal of Honor recipients buried in Bath National Cemetery:
Private George Grueb, 158th New York Infantry; Section A, Row 2, Grave 3
Sgt John Kiggins, 149th New York Infantry; Section H, Row 32, Grave 9
Private George Ladd, 22nd New York Cavalry; Section C, Row 6, Grave 6
Sgt Charles E. Morse, 62nd New York Infantry; Section J, Row 4, Grave 24
And Seaman James Roberts —
END