James Avery (c. 1825 – October 11, 1898) was an American Civil War Union Navy sailor who received the Medal of Honor while serving aboard USS Metacomet.

At the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, he was among the crew of a small boat sent from Metacomet to rescue survivors of USS Tecumseh, which had been sunk by a naval mine (then known as a "torpedo").

[2][3] Many years after the war Avery was serving as a berth-deck cook and it was discovered by the captain that he had won a medal of honor.

God knows it was hard to see them being murdered without much chance for escape" This incident was reported in the New York Times on January 16, 1898.

As a member of the boat's crew which went to the rescue of the U.S. monitor Tecumseh when that vessel was struck by a torpedo in passing the enemy forts in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864, S/man Avery braved the enemy fire which was said by the admiral David Farragut to be "one of the most galling" he had ever seen, and aided in rescuing from death 10 of the crew of the Tecumseh, eliciting the admiration of both friend and foe.