George W. Leland (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.
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. Despite intense Confederate artillery fire, Leland and fellow sailor Coxswain Thomas Irving rowed a small boat trailing a hawser from Lehigh to another Union ironclad, the USS Nahant. Both times, the cable snapped due to friction and hostile fire. Officers were about to give an "abandon ship" order when three more sailors, Landsman Frank S. Gile, Landsman William Williams, and Seaman Horatio Nelson Young, volunteered to make one more attempt. This last effort was successful and Nahant was able to tow Lehigh off the sandbar to safety. For this action, all five sailors involved in the operation were awarded the Medal of Honor on April 16, 1864.[2][3][4]
Leland's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
Serving 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.
Leland died on March 18, 1880, at age 45 or 46 and was buried in Lewiston, Maine.[1]
george, leland, 1834, march, 1880, union, navy, sailor, american, civil, recipient, military, highest, decoration, medal, honor, helping, free, grounded, ship, born1834savannah, georgiadiedmarch, 1880, aged, place, buriallewiston, maineallegianceunited, states. George W Leland 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 George W LelandBorn1834Savannah GeorgiaDiedMarch 18 1880 aged 45 46 Place of burialLewiston MaineAllegianceUnited States of AmericaUnionService wbr branchUnited States NavyUnion NavyRankGunner s MateUnitUSS LehighBattles warsAmerican Civil WarAwardsMedal of HonorBorn in 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 1 2 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 Despite intense Confederate artillery fire Leland and fellow sailor Coxswain Thomas Irving rowed a small boat trailing a hawser from Lehigh to another Union ironclad the USS Nahant Both times the cable snapped due to friction and hostile fire Officers were about to give an abandon ship order when three more sailors Landsman Frank S Gile Landsman William Williams and Seaman Horatio Nelson Young volunteered to make one more attempt This last effort was successful and Nahant was able to tow Lehigh off the sandbar to safety For this action all five sailors involved in the operation were awarded the Medal of Honor on April 16 1864 2 3 4 Leland s official Medal of Honor citation reads Serving 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 Leland died on March 18 1880 at age 45 or 46 and was buried in Lewiston Maine 1 See also edit nbsp Biography portal nbsp American Civil War portalList of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients G LReferences edit a b George W Leland Hall of Valor Military Times Retrieved February 6 2013 a b Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients A L Medal of Honor Citations United States Army Center of Military History June 26 2011 Retrieved February 6 2013 Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients M Z Medal of Honor Citations United States Army Center of Military History June 26 2011 Archived from the original on February 23 2009 Retrieved February 6 2013 Bloom Alex July 12 2011 North Andover man won medal for Civil War heroism The Eagle Tribune North Andover Massachusetts Archived from the original on July 16 2011 External links editGeorge W Leland at Find a Grave Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title George W Leland amp oldid 1168011422, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
