View source for Pinkerton R. Vaughn

{{short description|American medal of honor recipient (1839-1866)}}
{{Infobox military person
|name=Pinkerton Ross Vaughn, Sr.
|birth_date= 1839
|death_date= August 22, 1866
|birth_place= [[Downingtown, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
|death_place= [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
|placeofburial= [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]], Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
|placeofburial_label= Place of burial
|image= Moh right.gif
|image_size= 90
|alt= A light blue neck ribbon with a gold star shaped medallion hanging from it. The ribbon is similar in shape to a bowtie with 13 white stars in the center of the ribbon.
|caption=Medal of Honor
|nickname= 
|allegiance= {{Flagicon|USA|1858}} [[United States|United States of America]]<br/>[[Union (American Civil War)|Union]]
|branch= [[File:USMC logo.svg|25px]] [[United States Marine Corps]]
|serviceyears= 1860 - 1864
|rank=[[File:Confederate States of America Sergeant-Artillery.svg|20px]] [[Sergeant#United States|Sergeant]]
|unit= {{USS|Mississippi|1841|6}}
|battles= [[American Civil War]]
|awards= [[Medal of Honor]]
}}
'''Pinkerton Ross Vaughn Sr.''' (1839 – August 22, 1866) was a [[United States Marine Corps]] sergeant who served during the [[American Civil War]]. He was the second Marine to be awarded the [[Medal of Honor]] for his actions aboard the {{USS|Mississippi|1841|6}} during a battle with [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] artillery batteries at [[Port Hudson, Louisiana]], on March 14, 1863.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/pga.05757/ |title=Admiral Farragut's fleet engaging the rebel batteries at Fort Hudson, on March, 14th 1863 (photo/print) |publisher=Library of Congress |accessdate=26 March 2019}}</ref>

==Biography==
Vaughn was born in [[Downingtown, Pennsylvania]] in 1839,<ref name=Schuon/> the son of Matthew Vaughn and Ann Vaughn.

He enlisted for military service as his nation was descending into secession and civil war. After enrolling in [[Philadelphia]] in October 1860, Vaughn officially mustered in with the U.S. Marine Corps at the Marine Barracks in Philadelphia on October 31.<ref>"Vaughn, Pinkerton R.", in "Muster Rolls of the United States Marine Corps" (Philadelphia, October 1861). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.</ref> During his service, he obtained the rank of sergeant and served aboard the USS ''Tennessee'' and USS ''Mississippi''.<ref name=CivilWarMOHRecipients>{{cite web |url=https://history.army.mil/html/moh/civwarmz.html |title=Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients (M-Z) |publisher=U.S. Army Center of Military History |accessdate=26 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803035113/https://history.army.mil/html/moh/civwarmz.html |archive-date=3 August 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=Schuon/> The steam-powered and 17-gun warship USS ''Mississippi'' was part of the U.S. Navy fleet commanded by [[David Farragut|Admiral David Farragut]] that battled with Confederate artillery batteries on March 14–15, 1863, shortly before and prelude to, the Union army's battle and [[siege of Port Hudson]], Louisiana.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ironbrigader.com/2011/02/09/admiral-farragut-passes-port-hudson-batteries-march-14-1863/ |title=Admiral Farragut Passes Port Hudson Batteries March 14, 1863 (August 21, 2018) |publisher=Iron Brigader |accessdate=26 March 2019}}</ref>

On July 10, 1863, Vaughn was awarded the Medal of Honor (Navy version) for his actions during the night of March 14 aboard the ''Mississippi''. He was "commended for zeal and courage displayed in the performance of unusual and trying service while the vessel was aground and exposed to a heavy fire".<ref>"Pinkerton R. Vaughn", in ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=PM5BAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22Pinkerton+R.+Vaughn%22&pg=PA117 Record of Medals of Honor Issued to the Officers and Enlisted Men of the United States Navy Marine Corps and Coast Guard, 1862-1817, Roll of Honor]'', p. 117. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1917.</ref> He was honorably discharged in Philadelphia on November 7, 1864.<ref name=Schuon>{{cite book |last1=Schuon |first1=Karl |title=U.S. Marine Corps Biographical Dictionary |date=1963 |publisher=Franklin Watts, Inc. |location=New York |pages=231-232 |url=https://archive.org/details/usmarinecorpsbio017890mbp/page/n248/mode/1up?view=theater&q=Pinkerton |access-date=26 November 2024}}</ref> Vaughn and Sergeant [[John F. Mackie|John Mackie]] ({{USS|Galena}}) were the first Marines to be awarded the Medal of Honor.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mcrc.marines.mil/1stmcd/Unit-Home/Cpl-John-F-Mackie/ |title=Cpl Mackie's Actions (''G.O. 17: July 10, 1863. 2 Marines awarded the MOH)'' |publisher=U.S. Marine Corps, Marine Corps Recruiting Command, 1st Marine Corps District |accessdate=March 28, 2019}}</ref> While Mackie was the first Marine nominated to receive the award, Vaughn was the first to physically receive the award.<ref>{{cite web |title=The First Marine Corps Medals of Honor |url=https://www.usmcmuseum.com/uploads/6/0/3/6/60364049/1st_usmc_moh.pdf |website=www.usmcmuseum.com |publisher=National Museum of the Marine Corps |access-date=1 December 2024}}</ref>

Vaughn returned home to Pennsylvania after he was discharged, and secured work as a brakeman with a trolley company in Philadelphia. On May 18, 1865, he married Elizabeth A. Getty in Philadelphia. A native of New Jersey, she was a daughter of Andrew and Ann Getty.<ref>"[https://www.fold3.com/image/32399724 Navy Widows' Certificates: Vaughn, Pinkerton R. (5205)], pp. 4-5. Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (made accessible via the partnership between the Wikipedia Library and Fold3; registration required).</ref> Their only child, Pinkerton Ross Vaughn Jr., was born in February 1866.<ref>"Pinkerton Ross Vaughn, Jr.", in Death Certificates. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia City Archives and Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1913.</ref> On August 22, 1866, Vaughn was severely injured in a trolley car accident and died later that day. He was interred at Philadelphia's [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] on August 27.<ref>"[http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/olive/apa/civilwar/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=DEB%2F1866%2F08%2F25&id=Ar00108&sk=857F7A11 Vaughn]" (death and funeral notice). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: ''Daily Evening Bulletin'', August 25, 1866, p. 1.</ref><ref>"Pinkerton Ross Vaughn" (Sr.), in Death Certificates. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia City Archives and Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1913.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Pinkerton Ross Vaughn |url=https://remembermyjourney.com/memorials/pinkerton-ross-vaughn?id=95Eyrdw5 |website=remembermyjourney.com |publisher=webCemeteries |access-date=25 November 2024}}</ref> The ''West Chester Village Record'' reported on his death as follows:<ref>"Fatal Accident". West Chester, Pennsylvania: ''West Chester Village Record'', August 1866.</ref>

[[File:USS Mississippi 1863.jpg|thumb|USS ''Mississippi'', circa 1863.]] 
<blockquote>Fatal Accident - On Wednesday, the 22nd, while the 3d stock train on the Penna. rail road was going east, one of the brakemen named Pinkerton R. Vaughn, was struck on the head by an overhead Bridge west of City Avenue, causing death in about 40 minutes. He was 25 years old and leaves a wife and one child. He was buried from his late residence 32d and Bearing st. West Philadelphia. Mr. Vaughn served all through the war in the navy and received a medal of honor from the War Department for bravery while in action. It seems hard that he should meet so untimely a death. M.S. Chalfount of [[West Chester, Pennsylvania|West Chester]] was the conductor on the train. The parents of the deceased reside at [[Downingtown, Pennsylvania|Downingtown]].</blockquote>

==Medal of Honor citation==
[[File:US Navy Medal of Honor (1862 original).png|70px|right]] Vaughn's Medal of Honor citation reads:

Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps.<br />
Born: 1839, Downingtown, Pa.<br />
Accredited to: Pennsylvania.<br />
G.O. No: 17, 10 July 1863.

Citation:<ref name=CivilWarMOHRecipients/>

<blockquote>Serving on board the U.S.S. ''Mississippi'' during her abandonment and firing in the action with the Port Hudson batteries, 14 March 1863. During the abandonment of the ''Mississippi'' which had to be grounded, Sergeant Vaughn rendered invaluable assistance to his commanding officer, remaining with the ship until all the crew had landed and the ship had been fired to prevent its falling into enemy hands. Persistent until the last, and conspicuously cool under the heavy shellfire, Sergeant Vaughn was finally ordered to save himself as he saw fit.</blockquote>

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|American Civil War}}
*[[List of Medal of Honor recipients]]
*[[Pennsylvania in the American Civil War]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
:{{ACMH}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughn, Pinkerton R.}}
[[Category:1839 births]]
[[Category:1866 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century births]]
[[Category:American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor]]
[[Category:Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia)]]
[[Category:Date of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:People from Downingtown, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Union Marines]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipients]]
[[Category:United States Marines]]