William Henry Harrison Seeley

William Henry Harrison Seeley, VC (1 May 1840 – 1 October 1914) was an American who fought with the British Royal Navy during the Shimonoseki Campaign in Japan and was a recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was the first American-born recipient of the VC.

William Henry Harrison Seeley
Born(1840-05-01)1 May 1840
Topsham, Maine
Died1 October 1914(1914-10-01) (aged 74)
Dedham, Massachusetts
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Navy
RankOrdinary Seaman
UnitHMS Euryalus
Battles/warsShimonoseki Campaign
AwardsVictoria Cross
Part of a series on
Dedham, Massachusetts
History
People
  • Selectmen
  • Town Clerks
  • Businesspeople
  • Clergy
  • Military
  • Sportspeople
  • Writers
Places
Organizations
Businesses
Education

Details

He was 24 years old, and an ordinary seaman in the Royal Navy during the Shimonoseki Campaign in Japan when, on 6 September 1864 at Shimonoseki, during the capture of the enemy's stockade, Ordinary Seaman Seeley of HMS Euryalus distinguished himself by carrying out a daring reconnaissance to ascertain the enemy's position, and then, although wounded, continuing to take part in the final assault on the battery.[1][2] He was presented his medal at Southsea on 22 September 1865 together with Thomas Pride and Duncan Gordon Boyes who also won their Victoria Crosses at Shimonoseki. He was the first American citizen to win the Victoria Cross. His medal is not publicly displayed.

gollark: Added to your submission grappling profile.
gollark: I'm mostly intending to avoid it because the industry is apparently awful and nobody can actually make big software projects actually work.
gollark: I tried writing Haskell malware once, but unfortunately it was unable to actually do anything but maliciously non-terminate.
gollark: Various potentially lethal cognitohazards.
gollark: See, if you use Discord with foolishly rounded corners, you miss all the exciting corners of avatars.

References
  1. "No. 22913". The London Gazette. November 18, 1864. p. 5471.
  2. "No. 22913". The London Gazette. November 18, 1864. p. 5472.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.