Landsman Patrick Dougherty was a sailor in the U.S. Navy who received the Medal of Honor for his actions on August 5, 1864 at Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay, Alabama during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with U.S.S. Lackawanna. Dougherty was about 20 years old.
97 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day.
Dougherty was born in 1844 in Ireland — one of 258 recipients born in Ireland. His Medal of Honor is credited to New York, New York.
Dougherty 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
As a landsman on board the U.S.S. Lackawanna, Dougherty acted gallantly without orders when the powder boy at his gun was disabled under the heavy enemy fire, and maintained a supply of powder throughout the prolonged action. Dougherty also aided in the attacks on Fort Morgan and in the capture of the prize ram Tennessee.
Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.
Battles and campaigns
Also served in: American Civil War.
Places
- Born: Ireland — map
Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New York →
Timeline
- 1844Born in Ireland
- August 5, 1864Act of valor — Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay, AlabamaAge about 20. U.S.S. Lackawanna
Biography
Patrick Dougherty (born about 1844, date of death unknown) 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 about 1844 in Ireland, Dougherty immigrated to the United States and was living in New York when he joined the U.S. 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 the powder boy at the gun Dougherty was manning became a casualty.
From the Wikipedia article “Patrick Dougherty (Medal of Honor)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →
