Veteran in crisis? Dial 988 then press 1 · Text 838255 Next observance: Navy Birthday · October 13
Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Ordinary Seaman · U.S. Navy

Luke M. Griswold

Ordinary Seaman Luke M. Griswold, Navy, received the Medal of Honor for actions on December 30, 1862 off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War December 30, 1862

Ordinary Seaman Luke M. Griswold, a sailor in the U.S. Navy, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on December 30, 1862 off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with U.S.S. Rhode Island. Griswold was about 25 years old.

5 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day.

Griswold was born in 1837 in Massachusetts. His Medal of Honor is credited to Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts. Griswold died on March 18, 1892 in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the age of about 55. He is buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Springfield, Massachusetts. His medal is held by Naval Historical Center, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, DC.

Griswold is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 265 credited to Massachusetts.

★ Rescue & Lifesaving

Official Medal of Honor citation

Served on board the U.S.S. Rhode Island which was engaged in saving the lives of the officers and crew of the Monitor, 30 December 1862. Participating in the hazardous rescue of the officers and crew of the sinking Monitor, Griswold, after rescuing several of the men, became separated in a heavy gale with other members of the cutter that had set out from the Rhode Island, and spent many hours in the small boat at the mercy of the weather and high seas until finally picked up by a schooner 50 miles east of Cape Hatteras

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

Places

  • Born: Bloomfield — map
  • Died: Springfield — map
  • Buried: Oak Grove Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Massachusetts →

Timeline

  1. 1837
    Born in Massachusetts
  2. December 30, 1862
    Act of valor — off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
    Age about 25. U.S.S. Rhode Island
  3. March 18, 1892
    Died in Springfield, Massachusetts
    Age about 55.
  4. Resting place
    Oak Grove Cemetery
    Springfield, Massachusetts

Biography

Luke M. Griswold (c. 1837-1892) was a recipient of the Medal of Honor. He was awarded the Medal of Honor "for extraordinary heroism in action while serving on board the U.S.S. Rhode Island which was engaged in saving the lives of the officers and crew of the U.S.S. Monitor, 30 December 1862 near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

From the Wikipedia article “Luke M. Griswold”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Also honored for actions on December 30, 1862

Lewis Augustine Horton Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1862 JJ John Jones Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1862 HL Hugh Logan Captain of the Afterguard · Navy Civil War · 1862 GM George Moore Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1862 CS Charles H. Smith Coxswain · Navy Civil War · 1862

Same unit

CF Charles H. Foy Signal Quartermaster · Navy Civil War · 1865 WS William Bradford Stacy Seaman · Navy Interim 1865–1870 · 1866 Maurice Wagg Coxswain · Navy Civil War · 1862

More Civil War recipients from Massachusetts

Joseph S. Manning Private · Army Civil War · 1863 JH John Hayes Coxswain · Navy Civil War · 1864 EL Edwin Leonard Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 MH Moses Harris First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1864 HT Henry Thielberg Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1863 Charles N. Gardner Private · Army Civil War · 1865
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.