Robert Augustus Sweeney (February 20, 1853 – December 19, 1890) was a sailor in the United States Navy and is one of only nineteen servicemen, and the only African American, to receive the Medal of Honor twice, both for peace-time actions.

While Kearsarge was anchored in Hampton Roads on that day, Seaman E.M. Christoverson fell from a Jacob's ladder attached to the ship's lower boom and landed in the water.

Christoverson's inability to swim, combined with a strong tidal current and rough seas, led to him quickly beginning to sink.

Together, Sweeney and Bernadon were able to keep Christoverson afloat and, once their shipmates had thrown them a rope, pulled him back aboard ship.

Probably because Commander Brown recommended both men, the official citation incorrectly stated Sweeney was a member of the crew of Jamestown.