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Seaman John (or Juan) Ortega (born in 1840 in Spain), was the first Hispanic sailor to be awarded the United States' highest military decoration for valor in combat — the Medal of Honor — for having distinguished himself during the South Atlantic Blockade by the Union Naval forces during the American Civil War. ==Biography== Ortega, a resident of Pennsylvania, was a Spanish immigrant who joined the Union Navy from his adopted home state of Pennsylvania in 1863.〔(Profile )〕 Ortega was assigned to during the American Civil War. The ''Saratoga'', commissioned in 1843, was the third ship of the United States Navy christened with that name. It was a sloop-of-war under the command of Commander George Musalas Colvocoresses. On January 13, 1864, Secretary of the United States Navy Gideon Welles, ordered Commander Colvocoresses and USS ''Saratoga'' to proceed to Charleston, South Carolina, and report to Rear Admiral Dahlgren for duty in the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron in what is known as the Union blockade. This was a massive effort by the Union Navy to prevent the passage of trade goods, supplies, and arms to and from the Confederate States. Ortega was a member of the landing parties from the ship who made several raids in August and September which resulted in the capture of many prisoners and the taking or destruction of substantial quantities of ordnance, ammunition, and supplies. A number of buildings, bridges, and salt works were destroyed during the expedition. For his actions Seaman John Ortega was awarded the Medal of Honor and promoted to acting master's mate in August 1864. He deserted from the Navy in June 1865. 〔http://www.history.navy.mil/books/callahan/reg-usn-o.htm〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「John Ortega」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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