George Hollat

George Hollat, later identified in historical research as George C. Holah, was born in London, England, in 1846. He eventually came to the United States and entered the United States Navy during the American Civil War. His Medal of Honor-era service was accredited to New York. Because surviving records use both George Hollat and George C. Holah, the two names must be understood as referring to the same sailor rather than two different individuals.

Hollat entered naval service while still very young. During the Civil War he held the rating of Third Class Boy, an enlisted Navy rating commonly used for younger members of a ship’s crew. His verified wartime assignment connected with his heroic action was aboard USS Varuna, a Union gunboat operating as part of the naval forces assigned to the lower Mississippi River.

By the spring of 1862, Union strategy placed enormous importance on capturing New Orleans. The city was the Confederacy’s largest commercial center and controlled a critical position on the Mississippi River. Flag Officer David G. Farragut was given the task of taking a naval force upriver, breaking through the Confederate defenses below the city, and opening the way for Union occupation.

The principal fixed defenses protecting New Orleans from the south were Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip. The two Confederate forts stood on opposite sides of the Mississippi River and were supported by obstacles, artillery, and a group of Confederate vessels prepared to attack any Union ships that successfully passed the forts.

Farragut organized his fleet into divisions for the attempt to run past the defenses. USS Varuna formed part of the first division under Captain Theodorus Bailey. The plan required the Union vessels to pass through a gap in the river obstructions during darkness, endure the fire of the forts, and then engage Confederate naval forces above them.

During the early morning hours of April 24, 1862, Farragut’s ships began their passage. Confederate batteries opened fire as the Union vessels moved upriver. The darkness, smoke, gunfire, river current, and confusion made the operation extraordinarily dangerous.

USS Varuna succeeded in passing the forts but soon became involved in intense close-range fighting with Confederate vessels. The battle above Forts Jackson and St. Philip developed into a chaotic series of encounters in which ships exchanged gunfire at extremely short range and attempted to ram one another.

George Hollat was at his battle station aboard Varuna during this fighting. Despite his youth and junior rating, he remained at his assigned position while the vessel came under extremely heavy enemy fire.

The official account of his conduct emphasized that he remained steadfast and courageous at his battle station throughout the dangerous action. He continued performing his duty even as Varuna suffered repeated damage and the situation aboard the ship became increasingly desperate.

Varuna was attacked by Confederate vessels including Governor Moore and the ram Stonewall Jackson. Governor Moore engaged the Union vessel at close range, while Stonewall Jackson subsequently rammed Varuna and inflicted additional severe damage.

The Confederate attacks opened serious damage in Varuna’s hull. Water entered the ship, and it became clear that the gunboat could not remain afloat indefinitely.

Even under these circumstances, Varuna’s crew continued fighting. The ship kept firing at its Confederate opponents while sinking, an episode that became one of the best-known naval actions of the campaign against New Orleans.

Hollat remained at his station through this critical period. Rather than abandoning his responsibilities as the vessel was struck, holed, and driven toward destruction, he continued his work while the ship’s guns remained engaged.

Eventually Varuna was forced toward the riverbank in a sinking condition. The gunboat was beached, but the crew’s resistance had inflicted severe damage on the Confederate vessels attacking it.

The destruction of Varuna did not prevent Farragut’s larger operation from succeeding. The Union fleet broke through the defenses and continued upriver toward New Orleans.

On April 25, Farragut’s force reached the city. With the Confederate military position around New Orleans collapsing and local forces unable to stop the Union fleet, the capture of the city became inevitable.

The fall of New Orleans was one of the earliest major strategic victories achieved by the Union Navy during the Civil War. It deprived the Confederacy of its largest city and one of its most important ports while strengthening Federal efforts to control the Mississippi River.

Within this major naval victory, Hollat’s personal conduct aboard Varuna attracted official attention. He had remained at his battle station during heavy fire, close-range combat, repeated ramming attacks, and the eventual sinking of his ship.

His action took place on April 24, 1862, but the Medal of Honor recognition associated with it came later. On April 3, 1863, his name was included in Navy General Order No. 11 in connection with the Medal of Honor.

The Navy Medal of Honor had been established during the Civil War. Congress authorized the naval decoration in 1861, before the Army version followed in 1862. It became the principal Federal decoration available for recognizing extraordinary courage and distinguished conduct by enlisted sailors during the conflict.

Under the project’s historical medal-period classification, Hollat’s award belongs to the Medal of Honor 1862–1912 Navy period. There is no verified clasp, star, bar, or other device associated with the decoration.

However, Hollat’s case contains a highly unusual and important complication. The same official Navy record that identifies his Medal of Honor also carries a forfeiture notation stating that the medal was forfeited because he had been charged with desertion.

This means his Medal of Honor history cannot be treated in the same way as that of a normal recipient whose decoration remained fully in force. His bravery aboard USS Varuna and the original Medal of Honor recognition are part of the historical record, but the later forfeiture is also part of that same official record and cannot be ignored.

Modern Medal of Honor institutions continue to list George Hollat among Civil War Medal of Honor recipients and preserve the account of his courage aboard Varuna. The Naval History and Heritage Command also retains the physical medal associated with him in its collection.

The existence of the medal in Navy custody is historically significant, but possession of the physical decoration by the Navy does not erase the forfeiture notation in the original record. For the client database, that distinction is essential.

Therefore, while his biography should explain that Hollat was named for the Medal of Honor for his April 24, 1862 conduct, the decoration should not presently be represented as a normal verified wearable medal in his final ribbon rack without a specific curator decision resolving the historical conflict.

For database purposes, the relevant historical decoration is Medal of Honor 1862–1912 Navy — 1863 — no device or clasp, but its status is forfeited rather than an unrestricted verified wearable award.

As a result, Hollat’s current verified wearable medal count remains zero. This does not mean that his actions aboard Varuna were invented or that the original Medal of Honor recognition did not occur. It means that the surviving official record contains a subsequent forfeiture that materially affects how the decoration must be represented.

The distinction between recognition and entitlement is particularly important in Hollat’s case. His gallantry during the battle is documented. His inclusion in the Medal of Honor record is documented. The later forfeiture notation is also documented. A historically accurate profile must preserve all three facts rather than selecting only the most favorable part of the record.

Hollat survived the Civil War era and lived into the twentieth century. Later historical research has identified his true name as George C. Holah, and he spent his later years in the United States.

Records place his death in Cleveland, Ohio, in January 1912. He was buried in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland. Surviving sources differ slightly regarding the exact January date of his death, so the month and year are safer than forcing an uncertain day into the narrative without further documentary confirmation.

George Hollat’s military legacy is therefore more complicated than that of most Civil War sailors associated with the Medal of Honor. As a young Third Class Boy aboard USS Varuna, he endured one of the most violent naval engagements of the campaign for New Orleans.

On April 24, 1862, while Farragut’s fleet forced its way past Forts Jackson and St. Philip, Hollat remained at his battle station while Varuna fought Confederate vessels at close range. Even after the ship was rammed, repeatedly damaged, and sinking, he continued performing his duty until the vessel could no longer remain afloat.

That conduct brought him Medal of Honor recognition in 1863 and placed his name in the historical record of the United States Navy. Yet the subsequent forfeiture for a desertion charge became an equally important part of his official award history.

George Hollat, or George C. Holah, should therefore be remembered both for the courage he displayed aboard USS Varuna and for the unusual documentary history of the decoration associated with that action. His story demonstrates why military award research must distinguish battlefield heroism, formal award recognition, and continuing entitlement rather than assuming that all three are always the same.