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Gunner's Mate · U.S. Navy

George W. Leland

Gunner's Mate George W. Leland, Navy, received the Medal of Honor for actions on November 16, 1863 at Charleston Harbor, South Carolina during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War November 16, 1863

Serving as a sailor in the U.S. Navy, Gunner's Mate George W. Leland received the Medal of Honor for his actions on November 16, 1863 at Charleston Harbor, South Carolina during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with U.S.S. Lehigh. Leland was about 29 years old.

7 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. He later rose to the rank of Acting Master's Mate.

Leland was born in 1834 in Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia. His Medal of Honor is credited to Georgia. Leland died on March 18, 1880, at the age of about 46. He is buried at Riverside Cemetery in Lewiston, Maine.

Leland is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 23 credited to Georgia.

Official Medal of Honor citation

Served on board the U.S.S. Lehigh, Charleston Harbor, 16 November 1863, during the hazardous task of freeing the Lehigh, which had grounded and was under heavy enemy fire from Fort Moultrie. Rowing the small boat which was used in the hazardous task of transferring hawsers from the Lehigh to the Nahant, Leland twice succeeded in making the trip, only to find that each had been in vain when the hawsers were cut by enemy fire and chaffing.

Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: Savannah — map
  • Buried: Riverside Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Georgia →

Timeline

  1. 1834
    Born in Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia
  2. November 16, 1863
    Act of valor — Charleston Harbor, South Carolina
    Age about 29. U.S.S. Lehigh
  3. March 18, 1880
    Died
    Age about 46.
  4. Resting place
    Riverside Cemetery
    Lewiston, Maine

Biography

George W. Leland (c. 1834 – March 18, 1880) was a Union Navy sailor in the American Civil War and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for helping to free his grounded ship. Born in about 1834 in Savannah, Georgia, Leland was still living in that city when he joined the Navy. He served during the Civil War as a gunner's mate on the USS Lehigh. On November 16, 1863, Lehigh was in Charleston Harbor providing support for Union troops on shore when the ship ran aground on a sand bar and came under heavy fire from Fort Moultrie.

From the Wikipedia article “George W. Leland”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Also honored for actions on November 16, 1863

JB Joseph E. Brandle Private · Army Civil War · 1863 FG Frank S. Gile Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1863 TI Thomas Irving Coxswain · Navy Civil War · 1863 JS John H. Starkins Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863 FS Frederic William Swift Lieutenant Colonel · Army Civil War · 1863 WW William Williams Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1863 HY Horatio Nelson Young Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1863
Sources. Service and award details compiled from the recipient record of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Wikidata and Wikipedia. The narrative summary is generated from these records. Spotted an error? Send a correction.