Michael O'Regan (Medal of Honor)

Private Michael O'Regan (July 22, 1846 – May 28, 1933) was an American soldier in the United States Army who served with the 8th U.S. Cavalry regiment during the Apache Wars. O'Regan was one of several soldiers who received the Medal of Honor for gallantry in fighting Apache Indians in the Arizona Territory between August and October 1868.

Michael O'Regan
Born(1846-07-22)July 22, 1846
Fall River, Massachusetts, United States
DiedMay 28, 1933(1933-05-28) (aged 86)
Fall River, Massachusetts
Place of burial
Saint Patrick's Cemetery
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchUnited States Army
Years of servicec. 1868–1870
RankPrivate
Unit8th U.S. Cavalry
Battles/warsIndian Wars
Apache Wars
AwardsMedal of Honor

Biography

Michael O'Regan was born in Fall River, Massachusetts on July 22, 1846. He later enlisted in the United States Army in Boston, Massachusetts and joined Company B in the 8th U.S. Cavalry regiment. A participant in the Apache Wars during the late 1860s, O'Regan was part of a small cavalry group of approximately fifty troopers tasked with protecting settlers from Apache raiding parties in the Arizona Territory between August and October 1868. During that ninety-day period, O'Regan and his colleagues faced the Apaches in heavy fighting, especially in ambushes and sniper attacks, during their patrols. O'Regan was among the thirty-four soldiers who were received the Medal of Honor, in one of the U.S. Army's largest presentations of the medal at the time, for "bravery in scouts and actions against Indians" on July 25, 1869.[1][2][3][4][5][6] O'Regan returned to Fall River after leaving the army and died on May 28, 1933, at the age of 86. He was interred in Saint Patrick's Cemetery.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Private, Company B, 8th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: Arizona, August to October 1868. Entered service at:------. Birth: Fall River, Mass. Date of issue: 24 July 1869.

Citation:

Bravery in scouts and actions against Indians.[7]

See also

References
  1. Beyer, Walter F. and Oscar Frederick Keydel, ed. Deeds of Valor: From Records in the Archives of the United States Government; how American Heroes Won the Medal of Honor; History of Our Recent Wars and Explorations, from Personal Reminiscences and Records of Officers and Enlisted Men who Were Rewarded by Congress for Most Conspicuous Acts of Bravery on the Battle-field, on the High Seas and in Arctic Explorations. Vol. 2. Detroit: Perrien-Keydel Company, 1906. (pg. 145)
  2. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. Medal of Honor recipients, 1863-1978, 96th Cong., 1st sess. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1979. (pg. 307)
  3. Manning, Robert, ed. Above and Beyond: A History of the Medal of Honor from the Civil War to Vietnam. Boston: Boston Publishing Company, 1985. ISBN 0-939526-19-0
  4. Yenne, Bill. Indian Wars: The Campaign for the American West. Yardley, Pennsylvania: Westholme Publishing, 2006. (pg. 139) ISBN 1-59416-016-3
  5. Sterner, C. Douglas (1999). "MOH Citation for Michael O'Regan". MOH Recipients: Indian Campaigns. HomeofHeroes.com. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
  6. Army Times Publishing Company. "Military Times Hall of Valor: Michael O'Regan". Awards and Citations: Medal of Honor. MilitaryTimes.com. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
  7. "Medal of Honor recipients". Indian War Campaigns. United States Army Center of Military History. June 8, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
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