branch birth_place allegiance unit awards placeofburial_label battles birth_date rank article_title name
united states navy ireland united states lackawanna 1862 6 medal of honor place of burial american civil war battle of mobile bay 1844 landsman patrick dougherty -lrb- medal of honor -rrb-
 patrick dougherty
patrick dougherty -lrb- medal of honor -rrb-

patrick dougherty -lrb- born 1844 , date of death unknown -rrb- was a union navy sailor in the american civil war and a recipient of the u.s. military 's highest decoration , the medal of honor , for his actions at the battle of mobile bay .
born in 1844 in ireland , dougherty immigrated to the united states and was living in new york when he joined the u.s. navy .
he served during the civil war as a landsman on the .
at the battle of mobile bay on august 5 , 1864 , `` lackawanna '' engaged the at close range and the powder boy at the gun dougherty was manning became a casualty .
dougherty voluntarily took over the powder boy 's duties , supplying gunpowder to his artillery piece throughout the battle .
for this action , he was awarded the medal of honor four months later , on december 31 , 1864 .
dougherty 's official medal of honor citation reads : as a landsman on board the u.s.s. `` lackawanna '' , dougherty acted gallantly without orders when the powder boy at his gun was disabled under the heavy enemy fire , and maintained a supply of powder throughout the prolonged action .
dougherty also aided in the attacks on fort morgan and in the capture of the prize ram `` tennessee '' .
