John Lafferty or Laverty (June 19, 1842 – November 13, 1903) was a sailor in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

and is one of only 19 people in history to receive the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

twice.

Biography

According to his first Medal of Honor citation John Lafferty was born in June 1842 in New York City. According to the second, John Laverty was born in 1845 in

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. Its county town is Omagh. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the cou ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

.Owens, Ronald J. ''Medal of Honor: Historical Facts & Figures'', Turner Publishing Company, 2004
He is also recorded as having been born in Dublin, Ireland in 1849. His first award was due to his service aboard the . He participated in a plan to destroy the rebel ram in the

Roanoke River The Roanoke River ( ) runs long through southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the ...

, May 25, 1864. He was one of five ''Wyalusing'' crew members to be awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery during the Civil War (the others being Coal Heaver Charles Baldwin, Fireman Alexander Crawford, Coal Heaver Benjamin Lloyd, and Coxswain John W. Lloyd). He earned his second award while serving on board the , a wooden hulled sloop built in 1868, at Callao Bay,

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, September 14, 1881. During his Civil War service he enlisted as John Lafferty, and his first Medal is recorded under this name. However, when he re-enlisted in the Navy, he used John Laverty, which appears to be his real name and is used on his government-issue headstone. Laverty died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 13, 1903, and buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, where his grave can be found in the Naval Asylum Plot.

Medal of Honor citation

;''1st Award'' Rank and organization: Fireman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1842, New York, N.Y. Accredited to: Pennsylvania. G.O. No.: 45, December 31, 1864. Citation:

Served on board the U.S.S. ''Wyalusing'' and participated in a plan to destroy the rebel ram ''Albemarle'' in Roanoke River, 25 May 1864. Volunteering for the hazardous mission, Lafferty participated in the transfer of two torpedoes across an island swamp and then served as sentry to keep guard of clothes and arms left by other members of the party. After being rejoined by others of the party who had been discovered before the plan could be completed, Lafferty succeeded in returning to the mother ship after spending 24 hours of discomfort in the rain and swamp."John Lafferty", Congressional Medal of Honor Society
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;''2nd Award'' Rank and organization: First Class Fireman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1849, Ireland. Accredited to: California. G.O. No.: 326, October 18, 1884. Citation:

Serving on board the U.S.S. ''Alaska'' at Callao Bay, Peru, September 14, 1881. Following the rupture of the stop-valve chamber on that vessel, Laverty hauled the fires from under the boiler.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lafferty, John 1842 births 1903 deaths United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients Military personnel from New York City United States Navy sailors American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor Non-combat recipients of the Medal of Honor Double Recipients of the Medal of Honor Burials at Mount Moriah Cemetery (Philadelphia) People from County Tyrone

Biography

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References