George Low (Medal of Honor)

He kept a drowning shipmate afloat until a boat reached him.

George Low, also known as George L. Evatt, was born in Canada in 1847. He served as a seaman in the United States Navy aboard USS Tennessee.

On February 15, 1881, at New Orleans, Louisiana, gunner's mate N. P. Petersen fell overboard. Low jumped from the ship to help him. He kept Petersen afloat until a boat crew picked them up. The rescue earned Low the Medal of Honor for lifesaving courage in naval service.

Low died on March 2, 1912, in the Bronx, New York, and is buried at St. Michael's Cemetery in East Elmhurst. His award preserves the memory of a sailor who entered the water to sustain a shipmate until help arrived.

Medal of Honor Citation

For jumping overboard from the U.S.S. Tennessee at New Orleans, La., 15 February 1881, and sustaining, until picked up by a boat's crew, N.P. Petersen, gunner's mate, who had fallen overboard.