Patrick Regan (born 1852, date of death unknown) 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 1852 in

Cobh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. With a population of around 13,000 inhabitants, Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour and home to Ireland's ...

(then known as Queenstown),

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, Regan immigrated to the United States and was living in New York City when he joined the U.S. Navy. He served as an

ordinary seaman __NOTOC__ An ordinary seaman (OS) is a member of the deck department of a ship. The position is an apprenticeship to become an able seaman, and has been for centuries. In modern times, an OS is required to work on a ship for a specific amount o ...

on the . On the morning of 30 July 1873, ''Pensacola'' was in the harbor of

Coquimbo Coquimbo is a port city, commune and capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo is situated in a valley south of La Serena, with which it forms Greater La Serena with more than ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, when a northerly gale began. During the high winds, one of Regan's crewmates, Ordinary Seaman Peter Linguist, fell into the water while trying to re-board the ship from a small boat. When he resurfaced, his head struck the boat and he was knocked unconscious. Wearing heavy clothing and boots, Linguist quickly began to sink. Regan witnessed the event from the ship's

gun deck The term gun deck used to refer to a deck aboard a ship that was primarily used for the mounting of cannon to be fired in broadsides. The term is generally applied to decks enclosed under a roof; smaller and unrated vessels carried their guns o ...

and, when he realized the sailor was drowning, jumped through a

porthole A porthole, sometimes called bull's-eye window or bull's-eye, is a generally circular window used on the hull of ships to admit light and air. Though the term is of maritime origin, it is also used to describe round windows on armored vehicles ...

and rescued him. ''Pensacolas captain, John H. Upshur, sent word of Regan's act to his superiors that very day, and Regan was notified two months later, on 6 October, that he would be awarded the Medal of Honor. Regan's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

Serving on board the U.S.S. ''Pensacola'', Regan displayed gallant conduct in the harbor of Coquimbo, Chile, 30 July 1873.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Regan, Patrick 1852 births 19th-century Irish people Irish sailors in the United States Navy Year of death missing People from Cobh Military personnel from New York City Irish emigrants to the United States United States Navy sailors United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients Irish-born Medal of Honor recipients Non-combat recipients of the Medal of Honor Military personnel from County Cork

Biography

See also

References