Lauritz Nelson

Cut wartime cables under fire to sever enemy communications.

Lauritz Nelson was born in Norway on 26 March 1860 and later emigrated to the United States. He joined the United States Navy in 1885, beginning a career that brought him to the gunboat USS Nashville during the Spanish-American War. By 1898 he was serving as a sailmaker's mate, a specialist rating connected with the maintenance of a ship's canvas equipment.

On 11 May 1898 Nashville participated in an operation to cut the undersea cables leading from Cienfuegos, Cuba. These communications connected Spanish forces on the island with the outside world. Sailors and Marines worked from small boats close to shore while Spanish defenders fired on them. The crews had to locate and lift the cables and cut them while exposed in their boats. Nelson continued the task under heavy fire, displaying the steadiness and courage recognized in his Medal of Honor citation.

He received the Medal of Honor for his part in the operation. The action was one of the Navy's significant small-boat operations during the war and brought recognition to numerous members of the cable-cutting parties. Nelson's award commemorated his personal conduct within that collective effort.

Nelson continued serving after the war and retired in 1905 as a chief boatswain's mate. He died on 19 September 1941 and was buried in Long Island National Cemetery at Farmingdale, New York. His grave identifies both his Navy service and his Medal of Honor. His medal has been associated with the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center at Duluth, Minnesota.

Official Medal of Honor citation

On board the U.S.S. Nashville during the operation of cutting the cable leading from Cienfuegos, Cuba, 11 May 1898. Facing the heavy fire of the enemy, Nelson displayed extraordinary bravery and coolness throughout this action.