Matthew McClelland (November 1832 – January 30, 1883) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

sailor and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration 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 ...

for his actions in 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 ...

Military service

Matthew McClelland was born November 1832 in

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. McClelland enlisted July 12, 1861 for three years and served on the USS North Carolina from that date to July 27, 1861 as a Second Class Fireman. He then served on the USS Richmond from July 28, 1861 to August 29, 1864 as a First Class Fireman and the USS Princeton from August 30, 1864 to honorable discharge on September 9, 1864. During the Civil War, McClelland served as a First Class Fireman aboard the

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

. As a fireman, McClelland's duties were to tend to the ship's steam

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centra ...

s. In the prelude to the

siege of Port Hudson The siege of Port Hudson (May 22 – July 9, 1863) was the final engagement in the Union (American Civil War), Union campaign to recapture the Mississippi River in the American Civil War. While Union General Ulysses S. Grant, Ulysses Grant was S ...

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, Rear Admiral

David Farragut David Glasgow Farragut (; also spelled Glascoe; July 5, 1801 – August 14, 1870) was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first Rear admiral (United States), rear admiral, Vice admiral (United State ...

attempted to move a flotilla of ships, including the ''Richmond'', up the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

past the town of Port Hudson. On March 14, 1863, the flotilla reached the town and came under heavy fire from

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. The enemy guns inflicted severe damage on the Union flotilla, forcing most of the ships to turn back. During the battle, the ''Richmonds fireroom, which housed its boilers, was damaged by an enemy shell and began to fill with hot steam. McClelland entered the room and "hauled the fires", or put out the furnaces, to prevent further danger. For his actions he was awarded the Medal of Honor four months later, on July 10, 1863.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: first class fireman, U.S. Navy. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 17, 10 July 1863. McClelland's official Medal of Honor Citation reads:

Serving on board the U.S.S. Richmond in the attack on Port Hudson, 14 March 1863. Damaged by a 6-inch solid rifle shot which shattered the starboard safety-valve chamber and also damaged the port safety-valve, the fireroom of the Richmond immediately became filled with steam to place it in an extremely critical condition. Acting courageously in this crisis, McClelland persisted in penetrating the steam-filled room in order to haul the hot fires of the furnaces and continued this gallant action until the gravity of the situation had lessened.

Death and burial

McClelland died of pulmonary catarrh and irritation of the heart, and his remains were initially stored at the vault of

Lafayette Cemetery Lafayette Cemetery was a cemetery in the Passyunk Square neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was established in 1828 and originally intended for 14,000 burials but over time fell into disrepair and became overcrowded with 47,000 buria ...

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on February 4, 1883. His remains were then transferred February 5, 1883 to Mount Moriah Cemetery,

and buried February 11, 1883. McClelland's death notice in the February 3, 1883 Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper read:

McClellan, - On the 30th ult., Matthew McClellan, in the fifty-first year of his age. The relatives and friends of the family, also Energetic Lodge, No. 643, IOOF; Great Western Division, No. 334,
Sons of Temperance The Sons of Temperance was and is a brotherhood of men who promoted the temperance movement and Benefit society, mutual support. The organization was started in New York City in 1842. In the 1840s, it spread quickly across the United States and ...
; G.W. Town Post, No. 46, G.A.R.; employees of League Island Navy Yard, are respectfully invited to attend the funeral, on Sunday afternoon, at 2 o'clock, from his late residence, No. 1026 Dickinson street. To proceed to Lafayette Cemetery.

In 2006, the Medal of Honor Historical Society of the United States incorrectly assumed that McClelland's body had been moved from Lafayette Cemetery in Philadelphia to Evergreen Memorial Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania during the mass reinterment in 1947. Evergreen Memorial Park went out of business and became part of Rosedale Cemetery in 1960. A VA Medal of Honor grave marker was placed near the mass grave in Rosedale Cemetery in error. His actual burial site at Mount Moriah Cemetery was discovered in 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McClelland, Matthew 1832 births 1883 deaths American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor Burials at Mount Moriah Cemetery (Philadelphia) Military personnel from Philadelphia People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War Union Navy sailors United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients Irish-born Medal of Honor recipients

Military service

Medal of Honor citation

Death and burial

See also

References