Name William Belpitt | Unit USS Monocacy | |
Born May 3, 1860Ryde, New South Wales ( 1860-05-03 ) Rank Captain of the Afterguard | ||
William Henry Belpitt (born May 3, 1860, date of death unknown) was a United States Navy sailor and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor.
Biography
Belpitt was born on May 3, 1860, in Ryde, New South Wales, Australia. By October 7, 1884, he was serving in the U.S. Navy as Captain of the Afterguard on the USS Monocacy. On that morning, while Monocacy was at Fuzhou, China, he jumped overboard and rescued a Chinese man whose canoe had capsized. For this action, Belpitt was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Belpitt's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
On board the U.S.S. Monocacy, Foochow, China, 7 October 1884. Jumping overboard from that vessel on the morning of this date, Belpitt sustained, until picked up, a Chinaman who had been thrown into the water by the capsizing of a canoe.
Belpitt later returned to Australia, and was buried in Sydney at an unknown date.