On board the USS Ticonderoga in the attack upon Fort Fisher on 15 January 1865. As captain of No. 2 gun, stationed near the 100-pounder Parrott rifle when it burst into fragments, killing 8 men and wounding 12 more, Shipman promptly recognized the effect produced by the explosion and, despite the carnage surrounding them, and the enemy’s fire, encouraged the men at their guns by exclaiming “Go ahead, boys! This is only the fortunes of war!”