Commander James Harmon Ward was part of a Union blockade of the Confederate Port Conway, while aboard the USS Thomas Freeborn. On June 27, 1861, during the Battle of Mathias Point, James H. Ward became the first Navy Officer die from the U.S. Civil War.
The World War 1 naval ship the USS Ward (DD-139) was named after Commander James Harmon Ward. In addition, Fort Ward, one of the 166 forts defending, Washington during the American Civil War, was named after Commander Ward.
