Richard Stout (1836 – August 6, 1896) was a Union Navy sailor during the American Civil War and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Stono River.
On January 30, 1863, Stout was serving as a Landsman on the USS Isaac Smith when his ship was ambushed and captured by Confederate forces while operating on the Stono River in South Carolina. For his conduct during this action, in which he was badly wounded, Stout was awarded the Medal of Honor on April 16, 1864.
Stout died at age 59 or 60 and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Owego, New York
Union Sailor Lost His Right Arm and Won the Medal of Honor Landsman Richard Stout was honored for his sacrifice and service. by Berry Craig in O&P BUSINESS NEWS November 1, 2010
Confederate artillerymen did more than disable the gunboat U.S.S Isaac Smith. They shot off sailor Richard Stout’s right arm.
It looked like Stout would bleed to death. But he ignored an order to seek medical aid.
“He managed with the assistance of a comrade to stop the rapid discharge of blood from his wound, and with the crippled arm stayed at his post and fought until the Smith surrendered,” according to Deeds of Valor: How America’s Heroes Won the Medal of Honor, a book published in 1902.
Firsthand account
Landsman Stout lost his limb, but not his life, on Jan. 30, 1863, in an artillery ambush on the Stono River near Charleston, S.C. The Smith had been sent upriver to scout for the enemy.
The Smith was part of a Union fleet that was blockading the Carolina coast around Charleston. She and another gunboat, the U.S.S. McDonough, were based in Stono Inlet.
The Smith was a 450-ton, cannon- bristling, converted Hudson River pleasure steamer. She was shot up and captured just upriver from the town of Legareville, S.C., Deeds of Valor read.
“Arriving in this locality late in the afternoon, the vessel was suddenly and unexpectedly attacked by several batteries of siege and field guns hidden in the woods bordering the river banks,” the narrative explained. “The Isaac Smith had just anchored opposite Grimball’s plantation, when the rebels opened fire.”
The Smith had a lookout atop her mast but he failed to see the camouflaged gun emplacements. The Smith’s captain, Acting Lieutenant F.S. Conover, “…engaged the enemy at once,” the book read. “As the Federal vessel’s battery was inadequate to silence the hostile batteries, she tried to escape down the river, being exposed to the guns of two batteries for the distance of a mile and a half.
“When abreast of one of the batteries, some 200 yards off, a shot disabled her engine, and the vessel grounded. Eight men had been killed and 17 wounded, some of them mortally.”
Under fire
In an official report of the battle, Conover reported that he “saw immediately that we were trapped, and that my only course was to get the vessels below the batteries if possible, and fight them with a more even chance of success. For upward of a mile, on account of a bend in the river, we were obliged to receive the raking fire of between 20 and 30 guns without being able to reply, except occasionally with our pivot.”
The “pivot” was a large rifled cannon mounted on a carriage that swiveled. The vessel also carried eight smaller smooth bore guns.
“As soon as our broadside could be brought to bear, we opened upon the enemy with shell and grape, from 200 to 400 yards distant,” Conover added. “At one time I had hopes of getting by without any very serious loss, but a shot in our steam chimney effectually stopped the engine, and with no wind, little tide, and boats riddled with shot, we were left entirely at the mercy of the enemy. Under these circumstances, with the fire of some 30 guns, according to their own account … and a large body of riflemen concentrated upon us, with the shot tearing through the vessel in every direction, and with no hope of being able to silence such a fire, I deemed it my duty to surrender. Had it not been for the wounded men, with whom the berth deck was covered, I might have blown up or sunk the ship, letting the crew take their chance of getting on shore by swimming, but under the circumstances I had no alternative left me. I need hardly say ... that the order to haul down the colors was the most difficult and heartrending one I ever gave. We had 8 men killed and 17 wounded, one of whom…died soon after being removed from the vessel.”
Meanwhile, the McDonough rushed to the aid of her stricken sister. She arrived too late; the Smith was surrendering.
“Three heavy field batteries were firing upon the McDonough, and she had to retire,” Deeds of Valor read. “So the Isaac Smith fell into the enemy’s hand, and all her survivors became prisoners of war.”
Reward for service
Also in his report, Conover praised Stout as one his “men who behaved particularly well” under fire. He noted that the sailor “lost [his] right arm.”
The Navy awarded Stout the Medal of Honor on April 16, 1864. The citation reads: “Serving on board the U.S.S. Isaac Smith, Stono River, 30 January 1863. While reconnoitering on the Stono River on this date the U.S.S. Isaac Smith became trapped in a rebel ambush. Fired on from two sides, she fought her guns until disabled. Suffering heavy casualties and at the mercy of the enemy who was delivering a raking fire from every side, she struck her colors out of regard for the wounded aboard, and all aboard were taken prisoners. Carrying out his duties bravely through this action, Stout was severely wounded and lost his right arm while returning the rebel fire.”
Long life
The Rebels repaired the Smith and renamed her, the Stono.
In June 1863, the steamer, loaded with cotton, crashed into a Charleston harbor breakwater trying to run the Union blockade. Apparently, the Confederates burned the ship when they abandoned Charleston shortly before the war ended in 1865.
In the 1870s and 1880s, Smith returned to the water as a steamboat pilot transporting tourists to and from Hiawatha Island in the Susquehanna River between Owego and Apalachin, N.Y. The island was a popular holiday destination.
Stout steered the steamer Owego on its first trip to the island – June 16, 1874, according to Karen Bernardo, an Owego librarian.
“The steamboat was extremely fancy, with chandeliers, marble tables, and carpeting … Food was served on the island in ‘Hiawatha’s Wigwam’ and a dance band played tunes. Captain Truman, one of the stockholders in the company [that operated the boat] was in charge of the steamboat but Richard Stout manned the wheel,” Bernardo said.
She added that eventually a hotel called the Hiawatha House was built on the island. In 1884, a new steamboat, the Marshland, was built to haul passengers. To help provide more docking space for the new boat, Stout was hired to build a wing dam in the river, according to Hiawatha Island: Jewel of the Susquehanna, a book by Emma Sedore.
Stout died on Aug. 6, 1896, 33 years after losing his arm. He was 59 or 60 years old. Though was born in 1836, his birth day is apparently unknown. The ex-sailor was buried in Owego’s Evergreen Cemetery, where a special Medal of Honor footstone marks his grave.
“Obviously Richard Stout’s disability didn’t disable him at all, and he lived a long and productive life on the river,” Bernardo said.
Medal of Honor Citation
Rank and organization: Landsman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1836, New York. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 32, April 16, 1864. Citation: Serving on board the U.S.S. Isaac Smith, Stono River, 30 January 1863. While reconnoitering on the Stono River on this date the U.S.S. Isaac Smith became trapped in a rebel ambush. Fired on from two sides, she fought her guns until disabled. Suffering heavy casualties and at the mercy of the enemy who was delivering a raking fire from every side, she struck her colors out of regard for the wounded aboard, and all aboard were taken prisoners. Carrying out his duties bravely through this action, Stout was severely wounded and lost his right arm while returning the rebel fire
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