<sod>On the morning of December 20, 1883, the training ship [[USS Jamestown (1844)|USS ''Jamestown'']] was at dock at the [[Brooklyn Navy Yard]] when it shifted berth and made fast alongside the [[USS Yantic (IX-32)|USS ''Yantic'']]. In the afternoon, at about 4:15, a boy named A A George belonging to the ''Jamestown'' fell overboard from a plank between the ''Jamestown'' and the ''Yantic''. The ship’s log of the ''Yantic'' stated that he ‘would have probably drown, if it had not been for the prompt action on the part of R. A. Sweeney (O. Sea) of this vessel, and one of the ''Jamestown's'' crew ([[J. W. Norris]]), who jumped overboard to his assistance’. The letter recommending Sweeney and Norris for Medals of Honor. was written by Commanding Officer of the ''Jamestown'', Commander Allen D. Brown. Probably because Commander Brown recommended both men, the official citation incorrectly stated Sweeney was a member of the crew of ''Jamestown''.<ref name=" Sweeney"/><ref>Ray Collins, ‘The facts about Robert A. Sweeney’, ''The Annals (Medal of Honor Historical Society''), Vol 9, No. 2, December 1986, pp. 32-35</ref><eod>
<sod>On the morning of December 20, 1883, the training ship [[USS Jamestown (1844)|USS ''Jamestown'']] was at dock at the [[Brooklyn Navy Yard]] when it shifted berth and made fast alongside the [[USS Yantic (IX-32)|USS ''Yantic'']]. In the afternoon, at about 4:15, a boy named A A George belonging to the ''Jamestown'' fell overboard from a plank between the ''Jamestown'' and the ''Yantic''. The ship’s log of the ''Yantic'' stated that he ‘would have probably drown, if it had not been for the prompt action on the part of R. A. Sweeney (O. Sea) of this vessel, and one of the ''Jamestown's'' crew ([[J. W. Norris]]), who jumped overboard to his assistance’. The letter recommending Sweeney and Norris for Medals of Honor. was written by Commanding Officer of the ''Jamestown'', Commander Allen D. Brown. Probably because Commander Brown recommended both men, the official citation incorrectly stated Sweeney was a member of the crew of ''Jamestown''.<ref name="Sweeney">George Lang; Raymond Collins; Gerard White. Medal of Honor Recipients 1863-1994, Facts on File, 1995, HB, 0 8160 3260 2, Vol 1, p. 330</ref>Sweeney died on December 19, 1890, at age 37 and is buried at [[Calvary Cemetery, Queens|Calvary Cemetery]] in [[Queens, New York]] in an unknown grave.<ref name=" Sweeney"/><ref name="findagrave"/><eod>