05/06/2026
If not for the heroic actions of Richmond Pearson Hobson, Magnolia Grove would not be preserved as a state shrine to his memory as it is today! Come visit us Friday and Saturday, from 10 to 4, or by appointment!
On April 29, 1933, Greensboro (Hale County) native Richmond Pearson Hobson was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions he took during the Spanish-American War nearly 35 years earlier. The action the medal recognized took place in Santiago Harbor, in June 1898, and involved the sinking of the USS Merrimac. Hobson and Admiral William T. Sampson devised a plan to prevent Spanish vessels from taking advantage of the fact that one of their ships had penetrated the American blockade of the harbor. The plan was for Hobson and a crew of seven to guide the Merrimac into the narrow part of the harbor's entrance and sink it. As they were maneuvering the Merrimac into position, the Spanish fired upon it and the ship's steering was disabled. As the Merrimac drifted out of Hobson's control, he tried to sink it by exploding five torpedoes. Only two were detonated. The Merrimac did sink but not at the harbor entrance and the channel was left open. Hobson and his crew were captured by the Spanish and held as prisoners of war until the war ended the next month. Though the blockade attempt failed, Hobson and his crew received a heroes' welcome for their courageous exploits upon their return to the United States. Hobson resigned from the Navy in 1903, after 18 years of active service. In 1906, he was elected a U.S. congressman from Alabama's Sixth District and served four terms between 1907 and 1915. In June 1934, long after his retirement, Hobson was promoted to Rear Admiral by a special act of Congress, in recognition of the physical stresses he suffered while in the service and his congressional work as a champion of U.S. Naval supremacy. Image shows a headshot of Hobson, sporting a neatly trimmed handlebar mustache, in a suit and bowtie. (Photograph courtesy of the Library of Congress) Click here to read the EOA article: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/richmond-pearson-hobson/
