I recently rewrote the Wikipedia entry for the Joint Expedition Against Franklin of 3 October 1862 ( http://enwp.org/JEAF ). The article lists seven Union servicemembers that received the Medal of Honor (MOH), and this list is sourced to the US Army Center of Military History's lists of Civil War MOH recipients. However, I've come across what I think is a discrepancy, and would appreciate another look at the matter.

This page ( http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwaral.html ) lists James H. Burbank as receiving his MOH for participating "[a]t Blackwater, near Franklin, Va., 3 October 1862"; the only action on that date and time is the JEAF, as referenced above. HOWEVER, Burbank's citation is for "Gallantry in action while on detached service on board the gunboat Barney." Not only do I have zero sources for any vessel named Barney in the action, I can't find any online except for this one citation. Furthermore, this very message board ( http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/cwnavy/webbbs_config.pl?noframes;read=2133 ) came to the same conclusion three years ago or so.

Can anybody help me understand this apparent discrepancy? How did Burbank receive an MOH for action on a vessel that apparently wasn't present for the date/time/action for which he was awarded?

Thank you for your time.

THOR
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:pd_THOR