Years of service 1862 - 1865 Awards Medal of Honor | Died July 8, 1925 Name Luman Cadwell Rank First lieutenant | |
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Born May 22, 1836 ( 1836-05-22 ) Buried at Phelps Cemetery, Decorah, Iowa Allegiance United States of America Place of burial Decorah, Iowa, United States | ||
Service/branch United States Army | ||
Luman L. Cadwell (May 22, 1836 to July 8, 1925) was an American soldier who fought in the American Civil War. Cadwell received the country's highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor, for his action at the Alabama Bayou, Louisiana on 20 September 1864. He was honored with the award on 17 August 1894.
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Biography
Cadwell was born in 1836 and enlisted into the 2nd New York Veteran Cavalry. On September 20, 1864 Cadwell along with another soldier, Albert Westinghouse, swam across the 150 foot Alabama Bayou near New Orleans in order to retrieve a small boat which his company used to gain access to a Confederate camp stationed on an island in the middle of the Bayou and destroy buildings, supplies, artillery and capture Confederate forces.
Medal of Honor citation
Swam the bayou under fire of the enemy and captured and brought off a boat by means of which the command crossed and routed the enemy.