Henry Williams (Medal of Honor)

Repairing Constitution’s rudder in a heavy gale

Henry Williams earned the Medal of Honor aboard USS Constitution on February 13, 1879. A carpenter’s mate in the United States Navy, he went over the ship’s stern during a heavy gale to perform vital work on its rudder in the North Atlantic.

Born in Canada on February 6, 1834, Williams later attained the rank of carpenter. His Medal of Honor was presented aboard Constitution at the New York Navy Yard on September 7, 1879, by Lieutenant Commander Theodore F. Jewell.

Williams died in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey, on October 17, 1917, and is buried at West Laurel Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

Medal of Honor citation

For going over the stern of the U.S.S. Constitution, at sea, 13 February 1879, during a heavy gale, and performing important carpenter's work upon her rudder.