Landsman Michael Cassidy, a sailor in the U.S. Navy, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on August 5, 1864 at Mobile Bay, Alabama during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with U.S.S. Lackawanna. Cassidy was about 27 years old.
97 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. He later rose to the rank of Ordinary Seaman.
Cassidy was born in 1837 in Ireland — one of 258 recipients born in Ireland. His Medal of Honor is credited to New York, New York. Cassidy died on March 18, 1908 in Hampton National Soldier's Home, Virginia, at the age of about 71. He is buried at Hampton National Cemetery in Hampton, Virginia.
Cassidy is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 678 credited to New York.
Official Medal of Honor citation
Served on board the U.S.S. Lackawanna during the successful attacks against Fort Morgan, rebel gunboats and the ram Tennessee in Mobile Bay, on 5 August 1864. Displaying great coolness and exemplary behavior as first sponger of a gun, Cassidy, by his coolness under fire, received the applause of his officers and the gun crew throughout the action which resulted in the capture of the prize ram Tennessee and in the destruction of batteries at Fort Morgan.
Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.
Battles and campaigns
Also served in: American Civil War.
Places
Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New York →
Timeline
- 1837Born in Ireland
- August 5, 1864Act of valor — Mobile Bay, AlabamaAge about 27. U.S.S. Lackawanna
- March 18, 1908Died in Hampton National Soldier's Home, VirginiaAge about 71.
- Resting placeHampton National CemeteryHampton, Virginia
Biography
Michael Cassidy (c. 1837 – March 18, 1908) was a Union Navy sailor in the American Civil War and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Mobile Bay. Born in 1837 in Ireland, Cassidy immigrated to the United States and was living in New York when he joined the Navy. He served during the Civil War as a landsman on the USS Lackawanna. At the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, Lackawanna engaged the CSS Tennessee at close range and Cassidy distinguished himself as the sponger on a gun crew. For this action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor four months later, on December 31, 1864.
From the Wikipedia article “Michael Cassidy (sailor)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →
