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Medal of Honor Recipient

Thomas Cavanaugh

U.S. Navy · Interim 1871 - 1899

MOH-RC-002239Source-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: 1898

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.

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Medal of Honor

November 14, 1898

at sea between Cat Island and Nassau

Rank at action
Fireman First Class
Service
U.S. Navy
Conflict
Interim 1871 - 1899
Unit or command
U.S.S. Potomac

The Citation

Sources ↓
On board the U.S.S. Potomac during the passage of that vessel from Cat Island to Nassau, 14 November 1898. Volunteering to enter the fireroom which was filled with steam, Cavanaugh, after repeated attempts, succeeded in reaching the auxiliary valve and opening it, thereby relieving the vessel from further danger.

Sources & record notes

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

  1. Thomas Cavanaugh — 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-002249
Transcription status
Legacy full text · current reference profile matched
Last source check
2026-08-30
Recorded order reference (not verified against the original)
503
Accredited to
New York
Archive transcription SHA-256
9e773973013412324a762a6ffe7e23b6a6876712954e43f84fca453b25d7eec6

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 controlled canonical unit or command is U.S.S. Potomac; the inherited wording Not documented remains preserved as a separately attributed variant. The current authoritative evidence controls the action date as 1898-11-14 and classifies the action under Interim 1871 - 1899; the inherited unnormalized date and conflict values remain preserved in the audit record. The controlled historical action place is at sea between Cat Island and Nassau; the complete inherited geocoder value Nassau, The Bahamas remains preserved in the audit evidence. 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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