Pinkerton Ross Vaughn, Sr. (1841 – August 22, 1866) was a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

sergeant during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. He was awarded the nation's highest military decoration for valor—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. ...

, for his actions aboard the during a battle with

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

artillery batteries at

Port Hudson, Louisiana Port Hudson is an unincorporated community in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States. Located about northwest of Baton Rouge, it is known primarily as the location of an American Civil War battle, the siege of Port Hudson, in 1863. G ...

on March 14, 1863. Vaughn is one of the first two Marines to be awarded the Medal of Honor in the history of the Marine Corps.

Biography

Vaughn was born in Downingtown, Pennsylvania in 1841 (alternate birth year: 1839), the son of Matthew Vaughn (1804–1874) and Ann Vaughn (1804–1893). He enlisted for military service as his nation was descending into secession and civil war. After enrolling in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in October 1860, Vaughn officially mustered in with the U.S. Marine Corps at the Marine Barracks in Philadelphia on October 31. During his service, he obtained the rank of sergeant and served aboard the USS ''Tennessee'' and USS ''Mississippi''. The steam-powered and 17-gun warship USS ''Mississippi'' was part of the U.S. Navy fleet commanded by Admiral David Farragut that battled with Confederate artillery batteries on March 14–15, 1863, shortly before and prelude to, the Union army's battle and

siege of Port Hudson The siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana, (May 22 – July 9, 1863) was the final engagement in the Union campaign to recapture the Mississippi River in the American Civil War. While Union General Ulysses Grant was besieging Vicksburg upriver, Ge ...

, Louisiana. On July 10, 1863, Vaughn was awarded the Medal of Honor (Navy version) for his actions during the night of March 14 aboard the ''Mississippi''. He was "commended for zeal and courage displayed in the performance of unusual and trying service while the vessel was aground and exposed to a heavy fire". He was honorably discharged in Philadelphia on November 7, 1864. Vaughn and Sergeant John Mackie () were the first Marines to be awarded the Medal of Honor. Vaughn returned home to Pennsylvania after he was discharged, and secured work as a brakeman with a trolley company in Philadelphia. On May 18, 1865, he married Elizabeth A. Getty (1840–1903) in Philadelphia. A native of New Jersey, she was a daughter of Andrew and Ann Getty. Their only child, Pinkerton Ross Vaughn, Jr. (1866–1913), was born in February 1866. On August 22, 1866, Vaughn was severely injured in a trolley car accident and died later that day. He was laid to rest at Philadelphia's Laurel Hill Cemetery on August 27. The ''West Chester Village Record'' reported on his death as follows: USS Mississippi 1863

Fatal Accident - On Wednesday, the 22nd, while the 3d stock train on the Penna. rail road was going east, one of the brakemen named Pinkerton R. Vaughn, was struck on the head by an overhead Bridge west of City Avenue, causing death in about 40 minutes. He was 25 years old and leaves a wife and one child. He was buried from his late residence 32d and Bearing st. West Philadelphia. Mr. Vaughn served all through the war in the navy and received a medal of honor from the War Department for bravery while in action. It seems hard that he should meet so untimely a death. M.S. Chalfount of West Chester was the conductor on the train. The parents of the deceased reside at Downingtown.

Vaughn's widow, Elizabeth, died in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

on December 26, 1903. She was laid to rest beside her deceased husband at the

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery is ...

in Philadelphia. Pinkerton Ross Vaughn, Jr. died from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

at the Almshouse Hospital in Blackwood, New Jersey, on December 24, 1913, at the age of 47. He was laid to rest in the same cemetery.

Medal of Honor citation

Vaughn's Medal of Honor citation reads: Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps.
Born: 1839, Downingtown, Pa.
Accredited to: Pennsylvania.
G.O. No: 17, 10 July 1863. Citation:

Serving on board the U.S.S. ''Mississippi'' during her abandonment and firing in the action with the Port Hudson batteries, 14 March 1863. During the abandonment of the ''Mississippi'' which had to be grounded, Sergeant Vaughn rendered invaluable assistance to his commanding officer, remaining with the ship until all the crew had landed and the ship had been fired to prevent its falling into enemy hands. Persistent until the last, and conspicuously cool under the heavy shellfire, Sergeant Vaughn was finally ordered to save himself as he saw fit.

References

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughn, Pinkerton R. 1841 births 1866 deaths United States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipients United States Marines Union Marines People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War People from Downingtown, Pennsylvania American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Road incident deaths in Pennsylvania

Biography

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References