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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Coxswain · U.S. Navy

Thomas Irving

Coxswain Thomas Irving, Navy, received the Medal of Honor for actions on November 16, 1863 at Charleston Harbor, South Carolina during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War November 16, 1863Born in England

Serving as a sailor in the U.S. Navy, Coxswain Thomas Irving received the Medal of Honor for his actions on November 16, 1863 at Charleston Harbor, South Carolina during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with U.S.S. Lehigh. Irving was about 21 years old.

7 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. He later rose to the rank of Acting Master's Mate.

Irving was born in 1842 in England — one of 98 recipients born in England. His Medal of Honor is credited to New York, New York.

Irving 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. Lehigh, Charleston Harbor, 16 November 1863, during the hazardous task of freeing the Lehigh, which had grounded, and was under heavy enemy fire from Fort Moultrie. Rowing the small boat which was used in the hazardous task of transferring hawsers from the Lehigh to the Nahant, Irving twice succeeded in making the trip, while under severe fire from the enemy, only to find that each had been in vain when the hawsers were cut by hostile fire and chaffing.

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

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Life beyond the battlefield

  • Occupations: coxswain

Source: Wikidata.

Places

  • Born: England — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New York →

Timeline

  1. 1842
    Born in England
  2. November 16, 1863
    Act of valor — Charleston Harbor, South Carolina
    Age about 21. U.S.S. Lehigh

Biography

Thomas Irving (born 1842, 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 helping to free his grounded ship. Born in 1842 in England, Irving 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 coxswain on the USS Lehigh. On November 16, 1863, Lehigh was in Charleston Harbor providing support for Union troops on shore when the ship ran aground on a sand bar and came under heavy fire from Fort Moultrie. Despite intense Confederate artillery fire, Irving and fellow sailor Gunner's Mate George W.

From the Wikipedia article “Thomas Irving (Medal of Honor)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Also honored for actions on November 16, 1863

JB Joseph E. Brandle Private · Army Civil War · 1863 FG Frank S. Gile Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1863 GL George W. Leland Gunner's Mate · Navy Civil War · 1863 JS John H. Starkins Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863 FS Frederic William Swift Lieutenant Colonel · Army Civil War · 1863 WW William Williams Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1863 HY Horatio Nelson Young Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1863

More Civil War recipients from New York

JH James Samuel Hill Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 ✦ Oliver Duff Greene Major & Assistant Adjutant General · Army Civil War · 1862 Edwin Goodrich First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1864 JS John Schiller Private · Army Civil War · 1864 AJ Andrew Jones Chief Boatswain's Mate · Navy Civil War · 1864 HM Harry J. Mandy First Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864
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.