George W. Cutter

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For the American poet, see George Washington Cutter.
George W. Cutter
Born1849
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUnited States Navy
RankLandsman
UnitUSS Powhatan
AwardsMedal of Honor

George W. Cutter (born 1849, date of death unknown) was a United States Navy sailor and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor.

Biography[]

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1849, Cutter joined the Navy from that state [1] in 1868. [2] By May 27, 1872, he was serving as a landsman on the USS Powhatan. On that day, while the ship was at Norfolk, Virginia, Seaman James Mitchell fell from Powhatan's rigging and landed in the water; he was rendered helpless in the fall. Cutter and two others, Second Assistant Engineer George Cowie and Ordinary Seaman Henry Couch, jumped overboard and saved Mitchell from drowning.[3] For this action, Cutter was awarded the Medal of Honor a month and a half later, on July 9.[1]

Cutter's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

On board the U.S.S. Powhatan, Norfolk, Va., 27 May 1872. Jumping overboard on this date, Cutter aided in saving one of the crew of that vessel from drowning.[1]

See also[]

  • List of Medal of Honor recipients during peacetime

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Medal of Honor recipients - Interim Awards, 1871–1898". Medal of Honor citations. United States Army Center of Military History. August 3, 2009. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
  2. ^ http://www.mohhsus.com/lost-to-history
  3. ^ Bennett, Frank Marion (1897). The steam navy of the United States. Pittsburgh: Warren & Company. p. 602.

External links[]


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