The Medal of Honor is the highest award for bravery that can be given to any individual in the United States.
In judging men for receipt of the medal, each service has established its own regulations. The deed must be proved by incontestable evidence of at least two eyewitnesses; it must be so outstanding that it clearly distinguishes the recipient's gallantry beyond the call of duty from lesser forms of bravery; it must involve the risk of his life; and it must be the type of deed which, if he had not done it, would not subject him to any justified criticism.
CORPORAL John Freeman Mackie
Born in New York City, New York, on 1 October 1835, John Freeman Mackie was a silversmith by profession prior to joining the Corps. In 1861 he served aboard the USS Savannah, but on 1 April 1862 he was transferred to the USS Galena as corporal of the Marine Guard. He served aboard that vessel until 10 November 1862, and it was while a member of that detachment that he displayed his gallantry which earned for him the nation’s highest military decoration.
During the attack on the Confederate Fort Darling on the James River at Drurys Bluff (near Richmond, Virginia) on 15 May 1862, Cpl Mackie rallied the Marine Guard after the entire Third Division of the four IX-inch Dahlgren Guns and 100 Pound Rifle was killed or wounded. He cleared the deck and resumed the action without awaiting orders