Lewis A. Horton

Lewis Augustine Horton (May 26, 1842 — June 8, 1916) was an American sailor in the Union Navy during the American Civil War and recipient of the Medal of Honor.

Biography Horton was born in Bristol County, Massachusetts on May 26, 1842. He enlisted in May 1861 at the beginning of the Civil War. During the first years of the war, he served as a seaman aboard the USS Massachusetts. In the summer of 1861, Horton along with 10 other sailors were captured by Confederate forces. Following a winter in Libby Prison, Richmond, Virginia, Horton was paroled in March 1862. Following his reenlistment, Horton was assigned to the USS Rhode Island. He earned his Medal of Honor on December 30, 1862, for helping rescue the crew of the USS Monitor during its sinking. Later on in the war, Horton lost both his arms following a gunnery accident on November 3, 1863. After the war, he worked in a U.S. Customs House in Boston. Horton died in 1916 and is now buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Massachusetts.