Wikipedia:Today's featured article/January 2, 2025
Benjamin Jackson (January 2, 1835 – August 20, 1915) was a Canadian sailor and farmer who was a decorated veteran of the American Civil War. He began his career as a commercial seaman at 16 years old and started a farm in his mid twenties. During the American Civil War, he served for a year in the Union Navy and was deployed in the Union blockade of the Confederate coastline. As a gun captain aboard the USS Richmond, he served in the Battle of Mobile Bay. He disarmed multiple naval mines and once picked up a live shell and threw it from the deck of the Richmond. He likely earned an enlistment bounty, as well as prize money by capturing multiple blockade runners. He developed bronchitis, suffered a serious hand injury, and eventually received a Civil War Campaign Medal. After the war, he lived the rest of his life in Lockhartville, Nova Scotia. He retired from commercial sailing in 1875 but continued managing his farm. His grave remained unmarked until 2010, when a headstone was erected. (Full article...)