William A. Stanley

William A. Stanley (born 1831, date of death unknown) was a Union Navy sailor in the American Civil War and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Mobile Bay.

Born in 1831 in Massachusetts, Stanley was still living in that state when he joined the Navy. He served during the Civil War as a shell man on Admiral David Farragut's flagship, the . At the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, he was severely wounded by a Confederate artillery shell but remained at his post manning the ship's number 8 gun until unable to continue due to blood loss.