David Lewis Gifford

David Lewis Gifford (September 18, 1844 – January 13, 1904) was a Union Army soldier in the American Civil War who received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor.[1] He was awarded the Medal of Honor, for extraordinary heroism shown on May 24, 1864, while serving as a Private with Company B, 4th Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry, at Ashepoo River, South Carolina. His Medal of Honor was issued on January 21, 1897.[2] He received his Medal of Honor following the steamer the USS Boston running aground on an Oyster bed, leaving 400 individuals within range of Confederate artillery. Gifford and four other men - led by George W. Brush - manned a small boat and ferried stranded soldiers to a safe area.[3][4]

David L. Gifford
Medal of Honor winner David Lewis Gifford
Born(1844-09-18)September 18, 1844
Dartmouth, Massachusetts
DiedJanuary 13, 1904(1904-01-13) (aged 59)
Dartmouth, Massachusetts
Buried
South Dartmouth Cemetery, Dartmouth, Massachusetts
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchUnited States Army
Union Army
United States Navy
Union Navy
Years of service1863 – 1864 (Army)
1864 – 1865 (Navy)
RankPrivate (Army)
Ordinary seaman (Navy)
UnitMassachusetts Company B, 4th Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War
Awards Medal of Honor

Gifford was born in Dartmouth, Massachusetts on September 18, 1844, and joined the Army in December 1863.[5] He was transferred to the Navy in June 1864, and was discharged with the rank of ordinary seaman in August 1865.[6]

In 1876 Gifford was the captain on a whaling ship that saved the lives of several passengers on the Strathmore, which had run aground near Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.[7]

Gifford died at the age of 59, on January 13, 1904, and was buried at the South Dartmouth Cemetery in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Where he was honored with a marker.[7] He was additionally honored with a statue outside the Dartmouth Middle School,[8] a project spearheaded by Dartmouth natives Doris Copley, and Beverly Morrison Glennon. His heroics were also the subject of a local Television film in Dartmouth.[9]

Medal of Honor citation

The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Private David L. Gifford, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 24 May 1864, while serving with Company B, 4th Massachusetts Cavalry, in action at Ashepoo River, South Carolina. Private Gifford volunteered as a member of a boat crew which went to the rescue of a large number of Union soldiers on board the stranded steamer Boston and with great gallantry assisted in conveying them to shore, being exposed during the entire time to a heavy fire from a Confederate battery.[10]

See Also

• List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: G–L

References
  1. "Medal of Honor Recipients". United States Army Center of Military History. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  2. "GIFFORD, DAVID L." Congressional Medal of Honor Society. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  3. "Valor awards for David L. Gifford". web.archive.org. 2014-08-12. Archived from the original on 2014-08-12. Retrieved 2022-07-24.
  4. Browne, Patrick (2019-01-28). "Dartmouth". Massachusetts Civil War Monuments Project. Retrieved 2022-07-24.
  5. Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War, Vol VI
  6. Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War, Vol VIII
  7. Brown, Curt. "Civil War hero receives marker for Medal of Honor". New Bedford Standard-Times. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
  8. Browne, Patrick (2019-01-28). "Dartmouth". Massachusetts Civil War Monuments Project. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
  9. Timberlake, Tom (26 April 2005). "Memorial efforts recognized". New Bedford Standard-Times. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
  10. "Valor awards for David L. Gifford". Military Times, Hall of Valor. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
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