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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Assistant Surgeon · U.S. Army

Richard J. Curran

Assistant Surgeon Richard J. Curran, Army, received the Medal of Honor for actions on September 17, 1862 in Antietam, Maryland during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War September 17, 1862Born in Ireland

Assistant Surgeon Richard J. Curran was a soldier in the U.S. Army who received the Medal of Honor for his actions on September 17, 1862 in Antietam, Maryland during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with 33d New York Infantry. Curran was 28 years old.

18 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on March 30, 1898, 35 years after the action. He later rose to the rank of Surgeon.

Curran was born on January 4, 1834 in Ennis, County Clare, Ireland — one of 258 recipients born in Ireland. His Medal of Honor is credited to Seneca Falls, Seneca County, New York. Curran died on June 1, 1915, at the age of 81. He is buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Rochester, New York.

Curran is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 678 credited to New York.

★ Medics & Corpsmen

Official Medal of Honor citation

Voluntarily exposed himself to great danger by going to the fighting line, there succoring the wounded and helpless, and conducting them to the field hospital.

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

Timeline

  1. January 4, 1834
    Born in Ennis, County Clare, Ireland
  2. September 17, 1862
    Act of valor — Antietam, Maryland
    Age 28. 33d New York Infantry
  3. March 30, 1898
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. June 1, 1915
    Died
    Age 81.
  5. Resting place
    Holy Sepulchre Cemetery
    Rochester, New York

Further reading

Also honored for actions on September 17, 1862

Hillary Beyer Second Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1862 JC John Joice Carter Second Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1862 BC Benjamin Ham Child Corporal · Army Civil War · 1862 Charles Franklin Cleveland Private · Army Civil War · 1862 John Cook Bugler · Army Civil War · 1862 Oliver Duff Greene Major & Assistant Adjutant General · Army Civil War · 1862 TG Theodore W. Greig Second Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1862 IG Ignatz Gresser Corporal · Army Civil War · 1862 MH Marcus M. Haskell Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1862 Thomas Worcester Hyde Major · Army Civil War · 1862 SJ Samuel Johnson Private · Army Civil War · 1862 AL Adolph Libaire Captain · Army Civil War · 1862

See all 19 recipients for September 17, 1862 →

More Civil War recipients from New York

GB Gurdon H. Barter Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1865 Johann Christoph julius Langbein Musician · Army Civil War · 1862 Miles M. Oviatt Corporal · Marine Corps Civil War · 1864 Benjamin Franklin Tracy Colonel · Army Civil War · 1864 John Curtis Gilmore Major · Army Civil War · 1863 AB Asa Betham Coxswain · Navy Civil War · 1864
Sources. Service and award details compiled from the recipient record of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. The narrative summary is generated from these records. Spotted an error? Send a correction.