Medal of Honor
February 13, 1879
at sea, northeast Atlantic, west of the English Channel
- Rank at action
- Captain of the Top
- Service
- U.S. Navy
- Conflict
- Interim 1871 - 1899
- Unit or command
- U.S.S. Constitution
The Citation
Sources ↓For courageous conduct in going over the stern of the U.S.S. Constitution at sea, 13 February 1879, during a heavy gale, and cutting the fastenings of the ship's rudder chains.
Sources & record notes
General Order comparison: pending. Current-profile review does not mean that the underlying original order has been examined.
- Joseph Matthews — Congressional Medal of Honor Society recipient profile ↗Congressional Medal of Honor Society · Checked 2026-09-02
current identity, service, action metadata, and citation comparison
Transcription, metadata & provenance notes
- Award ID
- MOH-AW-003394
- Transcription status
- Legacy full text · current reference profile matched
- Last source check
- 2026-09-02
- Recorded order reference (not verified against the original)
- 326
- Accredited to
- Pennsylvania
- Archive transcription SHA-256
- fde3b77018988a51cc90cef5a4be203562eb4df8c3899fcf5732052460e388f5
Legacy transcription retained without substantive editing; rendered current reference profile comparison is documented in the Phase 10 evidence snapshot.
Current official reference profile confirms identity and core action metadata; exact legacy citation text and checksum are retained; General Order comparison remains pending.