James F. Sullivan (1857–1917) was a
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
sailor and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
.
Biography
Born in 1857 in
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...
, Sullivan joined the Navy from that state. By April 21, 1882, he was serving as a
boatswain's mate on the training ship . On that day, while ''New Hampshire'' was at
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
, he and another sailor, Chief Boatswain's Mate
Jeremiah Troy, jumped overboard and rescued Third Class Boy Francis T. Price from drowning. For this action, both Sullivan and Troy were awarded the Medal of Honor two and a half years later, on October 18, 1884.
Sullivan's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
For jumping overboard from the U.S. Training Ship ''New Hampshire'', at Newport, R.I., 21 April 1882, and rescuing from drowning Francis T. Price, third class boy.
See also
*
List of Medal of Honor recipients during peacetime
Prior to 1963, the Medal of Honor could be awarded for actions not involving direct combat with "an enemy of the United States" or "opposing foreign force (actions against a party in which the U.S. is not directly engaged in war with).DoD Awards ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, James F.
1857 births
1917 deaths
Military personnel from Lowell, Massachusetts
United States Navy sailors
United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients
Non-combat recipients of the Medal of Honor