b. 1838 New York. d. 02/12/1870 Woodside, New York.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 23/12/1864 Fort Fisher, North Carolina.
Conlan was born in 1838 in New York City, which made him about 26 years old when his actions earned him the Medal of Honor on Dec. 23, 1864, during the First Battle of Fort Fisher, North Carolina.
For most of the Civil War, Fort Fisher saw very little combat, but that changed in late 1864 when the Union wanted to capture the last port the Confederacy held on the Atlantic Ocean.
The first part of the Union plan involved Conlan, who was serving aboard the USS Agawam, and several other sailors who volunteered to pack an old steam ship, the USS Louisiana, with tons of explosives. Union naval leaders planned to blow up the ship, a move that would level part of the fort or at least dislodge its guns.
To prevent detection by the enemy, the Louisiana was towed late at night into shallow waters by another vessel, the USS Wilderness. It steamed to within about 300 yards of the northeast bastion of Fort Fisher.
Once it was in place, Conlan and the crew lit an elaborate fuse-and-clockwork system and then built fires in the propeller shaft. The commander threw down an anchor with a short scope to make sure the boat got as close to the beach as possible. The men then abandoned the Louisiana and were pulled in a smaller boat to the Wilderness, which sailed about 12 miles from shore, where the rest of the fleet was located.
Unfortunately, an undertow and offshore breeze had pulled the Louisiana off course, according to the history website. So when the ship exploded less than two hours after it was abandoned, it caused no damage to the fort. Fires could still be seen burning there the next day, but the fort’s walls were still standing. The only thing the explosion did was alert the Confederate service members of an imminent attack.
While the mission proved to be a complete failure, the 10 men who volunteered for it, including Conlan, were awarded the Medal of Honor for their bravery.
Conlan only had a few years to cherish it, though. He died on Dec. 2, 1870.
MOH CITATION:
Conlan served on board the U.S.S. Agawam, as one of a volunteer crew of a powder boat which was exploded near Fort Fisher, 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 2 hours later the explosion took place, and the following day fires were observed still burning at the forts.
BURIAL LOCATION: CALVARY CEMETERY, WOODSIDE, NEW YORK. (UNMARKED).
LOCATION OF MEDAL: UNKNOWN.