George Frederick Phillips, (March 8, 1862 – June 4, 1904) was a U.S. Navy Machinist First Class who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Spanish–American War in 1899.
Phillips was born to Andrew and Elizabeth Ross Phillips, both natives of Ireland. He began his professional life as a mechanic for the Intercolonial Railway in Moncton. Phillips later worked on liners for the Mallory Steamship Company between New York and Texas.
U.S. military service in the Spanish American Waredit
During the Spanish–American War he was aboard a ship that made its way to the entrance to the harbor at Santiago de Cuba. There, the USS Merrimac, a 3362-ton collier, was supplying coal to U.S. warships. On June 3, 1898, in a daring attempt to bottle up the Spanish cruiser squadron, the Merrimac was scuttled inside the entrance of Santiago Harbor in an attempt to block the passage of the Spanish fleet headed by Admiral Cervera.[2] Under heavy fire from the Spanish shore batteries, Machinist First Class Phillips displayed extraordinary heroism throughout this operation. He and seven of his fellow sailors were captured as prisoners of war and were released a month later with American victory.
In recognition of his valor, on November 2, 1899, he was awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest United States military decoration.
Discharge and deathedit
Phillips was discharged from the Navy in August 1903, and died in 1904 at the age of 42 in Cambridge, Massachusetts; his body was returned home to Canada where he was interred in the Fernhill Cemetery in his hometown of Saint John, New Brunswick.
Medal of Honor citationedit
Rank and organization: Machinist First Class, U.S. Navy. Born: March 9, 1864, Coles Island, New Brunswick, Canada. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 529, November 2, 1899.
Citation:
In connection with the sinking of the U.S.S. Merrimac at the entrance to the harbor of Santiago de Cuba 2 June 1898. Despite heavy fire from the Spanish shore batteries, Phillips displayed extraordinary heroism throughout this operation.
. Archived from the original on July 26, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
January 01, 1970
george, frederick, phillips, march, 1862, june, 1904, navy, machinist, first, class, received, medal, honor, actions, during, spanish, american, 1899, born, 1862, march, 1862coles, island, brunswickdiedjune, 1904, 1904, aged, cambridge, massachusettsplace, bur. George Frederick Phillips March 8 1862 June 4 1904 was a U S Navy Machinist First Class who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Spanish American War in 1899 George Frederick PhillipsBorn 1862 03 08 March 8 1862Coles Island New BrunswickDiedJune 4 1904 1904 06 04 aged 42 Cambridge MassachusettsPlace of burialFernhill Cemetery Saint John New BrunswickAllegiance United StatesService wbr branch United States NavyYears of service1898 1903RankMachinist First ClassUnitUSS MerrimacBattles warsSpanish American WarAwardsMedal of Honor Contents 1 Background 2 U S military service in the Spanish American War 3 Discharge and death 4 Medal of Honor citation 5 See also 6 ReferencesBackground editPhillips was born to Andrew and Elizabeth Ross Phillips both natives of Ireland He began his professional life as a mechanic for the Intercolonial Railway in Moncton Phillips later worked on liners for the Mallory Steamship Company between New York and Texas U S military service in the Spanish American War editPhillips went to Galveston Texas where he joined the United States Navy in March 1898 1 During the Spanish American War he was aboard a ship that made its way to the entrance to the harbor at Santiago de Cuba There the USS Merrimac a 3362 ton collier was supplying coal to U S warships On June 3 1898 in a daring attempt to bottle up the Spanish cruiser squadron the Merrimac was scuttled inside the entrance of Santiago Harbor in an attempt to block the passage of the Spanish fleet headed by Admiral Cervera 2 Under heavy fire from the Spanish shore batteries Machinist First Class Phillips displayed extraordinary heroism throughout this operation He and seven of his fellow sailors were captured as prisoners of war and were released a month later with American victory In recognition of his valor on November 2 1899 he was awarded the Medal of Honor the highest United States military decoration Discharge and death editPhillips was discharged from the Navy in August 1903 and died in 1904 at the age of 42 in Cambridge Massachusetts his body was returned home to Canada where he was interred in the Fernhill Cemetery in his hometown of Saint John New Brunswick Medal of Honor citation editRank and organization Machinist First Class U S Navy Born March 9 1864 Coles Island New Brunswick Canada Accredited to New York G O No 529 November 2 1899 Citation In connection with the sinking of the U S S Merrimac at the entrance to the harbor of Santiago de Cuba 2 June 1898 Despite heavy fire from the Spanish shore batteries Phillips displayed extraordinary heroism throughout this operation See also edit nbsp Biography portal List of Medal of Honor recipients List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Spanish American WarReferences edit Profile The Merrimac s Engineer Boston Globe June 11 1898 page 5 This article incorporates text from the public domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Chief Machinist George F Phillips USN 1862 1904 Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Naval Historical Center Department of the Navy Archived from the original on July 26 2010 Retrieved September 29 2010 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title George Frederick Phillips amp oldid 1218176194, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
