Born at Washington, D.C. on February 21, 1837, he earned
the Medal of Honor while serving aboard the USS Richmond on March 14, 1863, during the Civil War. He was also known as “John Rush” and was known in the Navy by that name.
He died on April 29, 1916 and was laid to rest in Section 17 of Arlington National Cemetery.
RUSH, JOHN
Rank and organization: First Class Fireman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1835 Washington, D.C. Accredited to: District of Columbia. G.O. No.: 17, 10 July 1863.
Citation:
Serving on board the U.S.S. Richmond in the attack on Port Hudson, 14 March 1863. Damaged by a 6_inch solid rifle shot which shattered the starboard safety_valve chamber and also damaged the port safety valve, the fireroom of the Richmond immediately became filled with steam to place it in an extremely critical condition. Acting courageously in this crisis, Rush persisted in penetrating the steam_filled room in order to haul the hot fires of the furnaces, and continued this action until the gravity of the situation had been lessened.
Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.
Reviewed by: Michael Howard