{{Short description|United States Navy Medal of Honor recipient}} {{for|the American aerospace engineer|Thomas Patrick Cavanaugh}} {{Infobox military person |name= Thomas Cavanaugh |birth_date= {{Birth date|1869|5|10}} |death_date= |birth_place= Ireland |death_place= |burial_place= |burial_label= Place of burial |image= |caption= |nickname= |allegiance=United States |branch= United States Navy |service_years= |rank= Fireman First Class |commands= |unit= U.S.S. Potomac |battles= Spanish–American War |awards= Medal of Honor |other_work= }} '''Thomas Cavanaugh''' (born May 10, 1869) was an American sailor serving in the United States Navy during the Spanish–American War who received the Medal of Honor for bravery.
==Biography== Cavanaugh was born May 10, 1869, in Ireland, and after entering the navy he was sent as a Fireman First Class to fight in the Spanish–American War aboard the {{USS|Potomac|AT-50|6}}.<ref name=AMOHW>{{Cite web |accessdate = July 3, 2010 |title = CAVANAUGH, THOMAS |work = Medal of Honor recipients, War With Spain |publisher = United States Army Center of Military History |url = http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/warspain.html |archive-date = June 12, 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100612003615/http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/warspain.html |url-status = dead }}</ref>
==Medal of Honor citation== Rank and organization: Fireman First Class, U.S. Navy. Born: 10 May 1869, Ireland. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 503, 12 December 1898.
'''Citation:'''
<blockquote>On board the U.S.S. Potomac during the passage of that vessel from Cat Island to Nassau, 14 November 1898. Volunteering to enter the fireroom which was filled with steam, Cavanaugh, after repeated attempts, succeeded in reaching the auxiliary valve and opening it, thereby relieving the vessel from further danger.<ref name=AMOHW/></blockquote>
==See also== {{Portal|Biography}} *List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Spanish–American War
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Hall of Valor|2940|accessdate=July 3, 2010}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavanaugh, Thomas}} Category:1869 births Category:19th-century Irish people Category:Irish sailors in the United States Navy Category:Year of death missing Category:United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients Category:United States Navy sailors Category:People from North Dakota Category:Irish emigrants to the United States Category:Irish-born Medal of Honor recipients Category:Spanish–American War recipients of the Medal of Honor Category:Date of death missing