Charles Gidding

He tried to save a shipmate who fell from Plymouth's rigging

Charles Gidding, also recorded as Charles Giddings, was a United States Navy seaman whose Medal of Honor recognized an attempt to save a shipmate from drowning. Born in Bangor, Maine, in 1853, he served aboard the training ship USS Plymouth during the peacetime Navy of the 1870s.

### A rescue attempt at the Navy Yard

On July 26, 1876, while USS Plymouth was at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, a crewman fell from the ship’s rigging into the water. Gidding went to his aid in an effort to save his life. The citation does not say whether the rescue succeeded; it commends his attempt and the risk he accepted. The Navy Department issued the Medal of Honor to Gidding on August 9, 1876.

Gidding was accredited to Maine. He died on November 28, 1943, in Massachusetts and was buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Medford.

### Medal of Honor citation

Serving on board the U.S.S. Plymouth, Gidding showed heroic conduct in trying to save the life of one of the crew of that ship, who had fallen overboard from aloft at the Navy Yard, New York, 26 July 1876.

### Sources

- Congressional Medal of Honor Society, “Charles Giddings,” recipient record and citation. - U.S. Army, “Interim Awards 1871–1898,” Medal of Honor recipient citations. - Military Times, “Charles Gidding,” Hall of Valor recipient record.