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On May 24, 1864, the Union steamer Boston was stranded under fire on the Ashepoo River in South Carolina, while carrying a number of Union soldiers. The commander of a small Union gunboat volunteered to carry twenty-five sharpshooters to the vessel to protect it, but then retreated under heavy enemy fire and refused to continue the dangerous rescue. Second Lieutenant George Brush and four soldiers of the 4th Massachusetts Cavalry noted the plight of the stranded soldiers. Under Lieutenant Brush's leadership, the five men voluntarily took a boat which, under continuous fire from a Confederate battery, went to the stranded steamer to ferry the soldiers to the shore. In all, nearly 400 soldiers were rescued, the fire from the enemy being so fierce that some were killed in the boat that took them to shore. Still the volunteer crew of five persisted until all the men were removed from the Boston, and she was set afire to prevent her storehouses from being captured by the enemy. Lieutenant Brush was awarded the Medal of Honor for this heroic rescue, along with cavalrymen: Private William Downey, Private John Duffey, Private David Gifford, and Private Patrick Scanlan. |
Photo Courtesy of Bill Sweeney
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