Doctor William Longshaw Jr. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | April 26, 1836 Manchester, England |
| Died | January 15, 1865 (aged 25) Fort Fisher, North Carolina |
| Buried | Woodlawn Cemetery, Everett, Massachusetts |
| Service | Union Navy |
| Years of service | 1862 – 1865 |
| Rank | Acting Assistant Surgeon |
| Battles / wars | |
| Memorials | USS Longshaw (DD-559) |
| Alma mater | |
William Longshaw Jr. (April 26, 1836 – January 15, 1865) was a physician who volunteered for service in the United States Union Navy during the American Civil War. Longshaw obtained medical and pharmacy training in Boston, New York City, and New Orleans, receiving his medical degree from the University of Michigan. He was appointed acting assistant surgeon by the navy in 1862, serving aboard USS Yankee, Passaic, Penobscot, Lehigh, and finally his squadron's flagship Minnesota.
On several occasions Longshaw's gallantry and courageous actions under direct enemy fire were mentioned in reports by flag-level superiors like Rear Admirals John Dahlgren and David Dixon Porter and Secretary of the Navy Gideon Wells. Supporting the navy's amphibious landing in the Second Battle of Fort Fisher on January 15, 1865, Longshaw went onshore with the landing party and was active in tending to numerous wounded and dying during the assault. After rescuing an unconscious sailor in danger of drowning from the rising tide, Longshaw responded to the cry of a wounded marine and while treating him was shot in the head and died instantly.
After a 1913 plea for recognition by United States Navy medical director James Duncan Gatewood, in 1943 the navy commissioned a Fletcher-class destroyer Longshaw named in honor of the assistant surgeon. That vessel was lost to shore battery fire in the Battle of Okinawa and received nine battle stars for its World War II service.