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Photo # NH 79439:  Chief Steward Jesse W. Covington

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Chief Steward Jesse W. Covington, USN (Retired), (1889-1966)

Jesse Whitfield Covington was born on 16 September 1889 in Haywood, Tennessee. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy as an Apprentice Seaman in January 1908 and, following recruit training, served as an Ordinary Seaman on board the receiving ship Pensacola, and then as a Seaman on the cruisers California, Pennsylvania, and St. Louis. He reenlisted in April 1912 and during the next three years served on board USS Iris and the receiving ships at San Francisco and Mare Island, California. From June 1915 until the end of World War I in November 1918, Covington was assigned to the destroyer Stewart in the rating of Ship's Cook. On 17 April 1918, while that ship was on escort duty in French waters, the American steamer Florence H. accidentally exploded in Quiberon Bay. Stewart went to her assistance. Risking his life, Covington dove overboard to rescue a survivor who was surrounded by exploding powder boxes. For his "extraordinary heroism" on this occasion, Ship's Cook Third Class Covington was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Covington subsquently served on board the destroyers Ingraham and Greene, and the cruiser Charleston, eventually being promoted to Ship's Cook, First Class. After a brief tour at Naval Air Station, San Diego, California, he returned to sea duty in December 1921 on board USS Aroostook. In June 1922, he received orders to Combat Squadron Three, then served in a myraid of other aviaton squadrons. Covington reenlisted in April 1924 and was assigned to the Naval Base at San Diego and to the battleship Arizona. He was promoted to Chief Steward in the late 1920s, during his final enlistment, in which he had shore duty at Naval Training Station, San Diego, and sea duty on the battleships Arizona and Nevada. Chief Steward Jesse W. Covington transferred to the Fleet Reserve in January 1931 and was retired in May 1935. He died at Richmond, Virginia on 21 November 1966 and is buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Portsmouth, Virginia.

This page features the only image we have concerning Jesse W. Covington.

For a presentation on another USS Stewart Sailor who also received the Medal of Honor for rescuing survivors of the S.S. Florence H., see:

  • Ensign Frank M. Upton, USNRF, (1896-1962).


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the "Online Library's" digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."

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    Photo #: NH 79439

    Chief Steward Jesse W. Covington, USN


    Halftone reproduction of a photograph, copied from the official publication "Medal of Honor, 1861-1949, The Navy", page 115.
    Ship's Cook Third Class Jessie W. Covington, of USS Stewart, received the Medal of Honor for "extraordinary heroism" on 17 April 1918 when he risked his life while rescuing an exhausted survivor of the explosion of the American S.S. Florence H.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 80KB; 590 x 765 pixels

     



    Medal of Honor citation of Ship's Cook Third Class Jesse Whitfield Covington (as printed in the official publication "Medal of Honor, 1861-1949, The Navy", page 115):

    "For extraordinary heroism following internal explosion of the Florence H., on 17 April 1918. The sea in the vicinity of wreckage was covered by a mass of boxes of smokeless powder, which were repeatedly exploding. JESSE W. COVINGTON, of the U.S.S. Stewart, plunged overboard to rescue a survivor who was surrounded by powder boxes and too exhausted to help himself, fully realizing that similar powder boxes in the vicinity were continually exploding and that he was thereby risking his life in saving the life of this man."


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the "Online Library's" digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


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    Page made 13 November 2007
    Link added 10 June 2008