Lt. Timothy Donoghue, Medal of Honor

Timothy Donoghue (1825-1908)

Civil War Medal of Honor Recipient. His true name was Timothy Donahue. He served as a Private in the Union Army in Company B, 69th New York Infantry. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for action on December 13, 1862 at Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Medal of Honor

DONOGHUE, TIMOTHY

Rank and organization: Private, Company B, 69th New York Infantry. Place and date: At Fredericksburg, Va., 13 December 1862. Entered service at:------. Birth: Ireland. Date of issue: 17 January 1894. Citation: Voluntarily carried a wounded officer off the field from between the lines; while doing this he was himself wounded.

Reprinted from the New York Daily News November 20,2006

After almost a century in an unmarked Brooklyn grave, a Civil War hero whoes valor earned him the Medal of Honor finally has a toombstone.

Timothy Donoghue, an Irish born soldier who volunteered with the 69th Regiment and carried a wounded comrade out of harms way during the Battle of Vicksburg in 1862, now has a proper tombstone in Holy Cross Cemetery.

"It's very heartwarming to see this kind of thing," said Donoghue's great grandson, John Arendt, 66, of Sag Harbor, L.I.--one of more than 100 descendants of Donoghue who gathered for yesterday's dedication.

The gravesite ceremony included a color guard and a 21-gun salute performed by Veterans of the Fighting 69th.

"He's one of ours and once your in the 69th, your ours forever" said Tom Fitzsimmons, retired Commander of the Veteran Corps.

Locating Donoghue's final resting palce was apparently the work of an amateur historian researching the gravesites of reciprents of the medal, the nation's highest honor.

According to his Medal of Honor citation, Donoghue then 38, "voluntarily carried a wounded officer off the field from between the lines. While doing this, he was himself wounded.

Bill Costigan, 55, another great grandson, said the occasion had inspired the gathering of Donoghue dependants--some of whom had never met until yesterday.

Donoghue died on March 19, 1908, and the medal was passed down for generations until the family presented it to the 69th Regiment, which placed it on display on Lexington Avenue and 24th Street.

After the ceremony, the regiment and family gathered there for a lunch of corned beef and cabbage.

Looking at the medal, now on display in a glass case, Costigan said " All my life, I've never gotten to see this medal.

Links

• http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/5011570/person/-1510571791

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8204685