Harry L . MacNeal Harry L . MacNeal ( March 22 , 1875 – March 13 , 1950 ) was a United States Marine who was a recipient of America ' s highest military decoration , the Medal of Honor , for his actions during the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish - American War . He was one of fifteen Marines , all enlisted men , to receive the Medal of Honor during the war , and the only Marine Corps recipient for this particular battle . Military service . A Philadelphia native , MacNeal enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in Philadelphia on November 16 , 1896 . During the Spanish - American War , as a private in the United States Marine corps he was stationed on the armored cruiser , which served as the flagship of Commodore Winfield Scott Schley during the Battle of Santiago de Cuba on July 3 , 1898 . This was the largest naval engagement of the war . During the five - hour battle , one of the " Brooklyn " ' s guns became jammed . Two other men attempted , but failed to clear it . MacNeal then volunteered to clear the shell with a hand rammer . He had to crawl along the gun ' s barrel and expose himself to " murderous fire from the enemy batteries " , in addition to having to contend with the blasts from the forward turret , which nearly knocked him overboard . However he succeeded in his task and " resumed his duties as coolly as if what he had done were a matter of everyday routine " . The American fleet sustained casualties of only one dead , Chief Yeoman George H . Ellis ( 1874 – 1898 ) of the Brooklyn , and two wounded ; Lt . J . P . J . Ryan , Asst engineer and fireman J . Bevins , both also of the Brooklyn . There were less than 10 other men on the US ship who suffered only minor bruises or abtrasions , due to the jolting gun fire of their own ships , wereas The entire Spanish Squadron of six ships was lost , sustaining 474 casualties . MacNeal received the Medal of Honor on August 9 , 1899 , almost a year to the day after the war ended . From late 1899 till December 1901 , he was stationed at Cavite the Philippines , returned to the United States in early December 1901 , was sick in the hospital for two weeks , and discharged with an " excellent " record on 26 December 1901 . A strange incident transpired 5 years later , where he re - enlisted on 4 January 1906 into the Marines at the New York navy yard , but was considered " deserted " with the transcription note mentioning that he failed to show up for assigned duty at Portsmouth Navy yard in February of the same year . He did register for the draft in WWI , and also registered for the Draft in WWII at the age of 63 . As a civilian he had worked primarily as a department store manager in New Jersey since the early 1900s . He married after his discharge from the marines , and raised a family in New Jersey . MacNeal died on March 13 , 1950 , and is buried in Clifton , New Jersey . Medal of Honor citation . Rank and organization : Private , U . S . Marine Corps . Born : March 22 , 1879 , Philadelphia , Pa . Accredited to : Pennsylvania . G . O . No . : 526 , August 9 , 1899 . Citation : On board the U . S . S . Brooklyn during action at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba , 3 July 1898 . Braving the fire of the enemy , MacNeal displayed gallantry throughout this action . Notes . Harry L Macneal is listed as being born on 22 March 1879 , in both his WWI and WWII draft registrations .