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Medal of Honor Recipient

John Purness Chatham

U.S. Navy · China Relief Expedition (Boxer Rebellion)

MOH-RC-002244Source-based record

The award

Representative medal image: early Navy star design and striped ribbon. Not a portrait or a photograph of this recipient’s own medal.
Navy Medal of HonorAction-era reference: 1900

Portrait not yet available. Representative medal shown.

About this image

Presentation date is not usable for design selection. This is an action-era reference; a later presentation or replacement medal may differ.

Medal imagery and historical designs →

Medal of Honor

June 13, 1900–June 22, 1900

China

Rank at action
Gunner's Mate Second Class
Service
U.S. Navy
Conflict
China Relief Expedition (Boxer Rebellion)
Unit or command
U.S.S. Newark

The Citation

Sources ↓
In action with the relief expedition of the Allied Forces in China, 13, 20, 21 and 22 June 1900. During this period and in the presence of the enemy, Chatham distinguished himself by his conduct.
Separately preserved current-source wording

Captured from the linked current recipient source; it is not a new comparison with an original General Order.

In action with the relief expedition of the Allied forces in China, 13, 20, 21, and 22 June 1900. During this period and in the presence of the enemy, Chatham distinguished himself by his conduct.

Sources & record notes

General Order comparison: pending. Current-profile review does not mean that the underlying original order has been examined.

  1. John Purness Chatham — current Society profile ↗Congressional Medal of Honor Society · Checked 2026-08-30

    current identity, service, action metadata, and citation comparison

Transcription, metadata & provenance notes
Award ID
MOH-AW-002254
Transcription status
Legacy full text · current reference profile matched
Last source check
2026-08-30
Recorded order reference (not verified against the original)
55
Other source date wording
1900-06-20
Accredited to
Maryland
Archive transcription SHA-256
a269af2328d9414a2bb0077cd748c7a8461507d321db3536570c2a14ce00c437

Legacy transcription retained without substantive editing; rendered current reference profile variants documented in the Phase 10 evidence snapshot.

The inherited rank-1 Society candidate was confirmed by substantive comparison of identity, service, rank, unit or command, action context, and citation; candidate rank or successful rendering alone was not treated as verification. The current authoritative source expands or normalizes the inherited name from John Purnell Chatham to John Purness Chatham; both renderings remain preserved. The current source documents the following alias or alternate identity form(s) on the same controlled identity: John Purnell Chatham. The controlled canonical unit or command is U.S.S. Newark; the inherited wording Not documented remains preserved as a separately attributed variant. The current authoritative evidence controls the action date as 1900-06-13 through 1900-06-22 and classifies the action under China Relief Expedition (Boxer Rebellion); the inherited unnormalized date and conflict values remain preserved in the audit record. The controlled historical action place is China; the complete inherited geocoder value China remains preserved in the audit evidence. The Society structured action date is 1900-06-20 through 1900-06-22; additional or conflicting date context in the rendered citation and supplemental official evidence is preserved separately. The inherited full citation remains canonical and checksum-protected; current rendered wording is preserved separately where transcribed. No underlying General Order was examined, so the exact-order gate remains pending and no General Order verification is claimed.

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