Oscar J. Upham

Oscar Jefferson Upham was a Private serving in the United States Marine Corps during the Boxer Rebellion who received the Medal of Honor for bravery.

Upham was born December 14, 1871 in Toledo, Ohio and enlisted into the Marine Corps in 1896 at the age ofbefore the start of the Spanish American War. He was sent to Mare island, California and after being there for a year was ordered to sea duty aboard the USS160Oregon. When the Spanish fleet tried to escape from the harbor at Santiago, Cuba on July 3, 1898, he was serving as a powder monkey for one of the sixinch guns on the Oregons bridge, he was given the order to shoot and Upham is credited as shooting the first shot which began the Spanish American War. .

Source: Wikipedia