DOB/DOD: 1838 (Ireland) – September 5, 1903 (Farmington, CT); 64 or 65 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married Ellen Scanlan (?-1917).
ENLISTMENT: December 9, 1863, in Massachusetts.
DISCHARGE: November 14, 1865, in Richmond, Virginia
FAMILY: Born to Conor (1800-1850) and Mary Killoran Scanlon (1800-?)
* Last name also spelled Scanlon in some places.
MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION
AWARDED FOR ACTIONS DURING: Civil War
BRANCH OF SERVICE: Army
UNIT: Company A, 4th Massachusetts Cavalry
DATE OF ISSUE: January 21, 1897 (33 years later)
AGE ON THE DAY OF THE EVENT: 25 or 26 years old
CITATION:
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Private Patrick Scanlan, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 24 May 1864, while serving with Company A, 4th Massachusetts Cavalry, in action at Ashepoo River, South Carolina. Private Scanlan volunteered as a member of a boat crew which went to the rescue of a large number of Union soldiers on board the stranded steamer Boston, and with great gallantry assisted in conveying them to shore, being exposed during the entire time to a heavy fire from a Confederate battery.
From the Fall River Globe January 20, 1897
AFTER MANY YEARS
Medals Bestowed on Union Soldiers for Gallantry During the War
WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 20. – Nearly 38 years ago, on May 24, 1864, the steamer Boston. with a large number of Union soldiers on board was stranded ed in the Ashepoo River, and a volunteer boat’s crew went to their rescue through a storm of rebel missiles. Dr. George W. Brush, now of Brooklyn, New York, then captain of the fourth United States Infantry, voluntarily commanded the boat’s crew, and with great gallantry succeeded in conveying them to the shore, being exposed during the entire time to a heavy fire from a rebel battery.
Captain Brush at this late day had been awarded a medal of honor, and medals have also been awarded to the following soldiers, who voluntarily participated in the rescue, as members of the boat’s crew: Patrick Scanian, late Sergeant Company A, Fourth Massachusetts Volunteers; John Duffy, late Private Company B, Fourth Massachusetts Cavalry Volunteers; William Downey. late Private Company B, Fourth Massachusetts Cavalry Volunteers (probably now of New Bedford), and David Gifford, late Private Company B, Fourth Massachusetts Cavalry Volunteers.
Buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery, 644 Huckleberry Hill Road, Avon Connecticut. Photos by Jeff DeWitt.
END