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Civil War
Matthew McClelland
First Class Fireman · U.S. Navy
U.S. Navy
14 March 1863 · USS Richmond
- Branch
- U.S. Navy
- Era
- Civil War
- Home state
- New York
- Action
- USS Richmond
The citation
Official citation
Serving on board the U.S.S. Richmond in the attack on Port Hudson, 14 March 1863. Damaged by a 6_inch solid rifle shot which shattered the starboard safety_valve chamber and also damaged the port safety_valve, the fireroom of the Richmond immediately became filled with steam to place it in an extremely critical condition. Acting courageously in this crisis, McClelland persisted in penetrating the steam_filled room in order to haul the hot fires of the furnaces and continued this gallant action until the gravity of the situation had lessened.
Sources
- U.S. Army Medal of Honor citation index
- Wikipedia. Linked only. The article text is not copied here.
