SHIPMAN, WILLIAM
Rank and Organization: Coxswain, U.S. Navy. Born: 1831, New York, N.Y. Accredited
To: New York. G.O. No.: 59, 22 June 1865.
Citation:
On board the U.S.S. Ticonderoga in the attack upon Fort Fisher on 15 January 1865. As
captain of No. 2 gun, stationed near the 100-pounder Parrott rifle when it burst into
fragments, killing 8 men and wounding 12 more, Shipman promptly recognized the effect
produced by the explosion and, despite the carnage surrounding them, and the enemy's fire,
encouraged the men at their guns by exclaiming "Go ahead, boys! This is only the
fortunes of war!"
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