Veteran in crisis? Dial 988 then press 1 · Text 838255 Next observance: Navy Birthday · October 13

Boatswain's Mate · U.S. Navy

James F. Sullivan

Boatswain's Mate James F. Sullivan, Navy, received the Medal of Honor for actions on April 21, 1882 in Newport, Rhode Island (Interim 1871–1899).

Boatswain's Mate James F. Sullivan, a sailor in the U.S. Navy, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on April 21, 1882 in Newport, Rhode Island — a peacetime act of courage recognized in the Interim 1871 - 1899 period. At the time he was serving with U.S. Training Ship New Hampshire. Sullivan was about 25 years old.

One other service member also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day.

Sullivan was born in 1857 in Lowell, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. His Medal of Honor is credited to Massachusetts. Sullivan died on March 17, 1917 in Lowell, Massachusetts, at the age of about 60. He is buried at St. Patrick Cemetery in Waltham, Massachusetts. Records also list him as Garvey, Michael J..

Official Medal of Honor citation

For jumping overboard from the U.S. training ship New Hampshire, at Newport, R.I., 21 April 1882, and rescuing from drowning Francis T. Price, third class boy.

Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.

Places

  • Born: Lowell — map
  • Died: Lowell — map
  • Buried: St. Patrick Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Massachusetts →

Timeline

  1. 1857
    Born in Lowell, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
  2. April 21, 1882
    Act of valor — Newport, Rhode Island
    Age about 25. U.S. Training Ship New Hampshire
  3. March 17, 1917
    Died in Lowell, Massachusetts
    Age about 60.
  4. Resting place
    St. Patrick Cemetery
    Waltham, Massachusetts

Biography

James F. Sullivan (1857–1917) was a United States Navy sailor and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor.

From the Wikipedia article “James F. Sullivan”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Also honored for actions on April 21, 1882

Same unit

More Interim 1871–1899 recipients from Massachusetts

Sources. Service and award details compiled from the recipient record of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Wikidata and Wikipedia. The narrative summary is generated from these records. Spotted an error? Send a correction.