Thomas Horan (1839 – January 1, 1902) was an

Irish-American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

soldier who fought with the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

in 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 ...

. Horan received his country's highest award for bravery during combat, 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 actions taken on July 2, 1863, during the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

Early years

Horan was born in 1839, the first of seven children to Michael and Mary Horan of Ireland. When Horan was around 8–10 years old, the family moved to America, likely to escape the Great Famine. They settled in

Dunkirk, New York Dunkirk is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. It was settled around 1805 and incorporated in 1880. The population was 12,743 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Dunkirk i ...

where Thomas worked as a laborer alongside his father.

Civil War service

Horan enlisted in the Union army on May 14, 1861, as a private. By November he was promoted to corporal, and again to sergeant in September 1862. In 1863, he was at the

where he captured the flag of the

8th Florida Infantry The 8th Florida Infantry Regiment was a unit of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Serving in the Army of Northern Virginia throughout the war; it fought in most battles of the Eastern Theater. In the summer of 1862, the 8 ...

. For this action, he was awarded the

on April 5, 1898. Horan also fought in the

Battle of the Wilderness The Battle of the Wilderness was fought on May 5–7, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Arm ...

where he was wounded on May 7, 1864.

Medal of Honor citation

References

External links

Thomas Horan on Find A Grave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horan, Thomas 1839 births 1902 deaths American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor People of New York (state) in the American Civil War United States Army Medal of Honor recipients