Leonard Chadwick

He cut a cable in an exposed boat beneath enemy fire ashore.

Leonard Chadwick was born at Middletown, Delaware, on 24 November 1878. He enlisted in the United States Navy at Philadelphia in October 1895 and served aboard several ships before the Spanish-American War. In 1898 he was an apprentice first class in USS Marblehead.

On 11 May 1898, boats from Marblehead and Nashville approached Cienfuegos, Cuba, to cut submarine telegraph cables. The crews worked in exposed boats under increasingly heavy Spanish fire. Chadwick took part in cutting the cables despite the danger from shore. His conduct brought the Medal of Honor, awarded on 7 July 1899. The operation also formed part of the campaign service commemorated by his Spanish Campaign and Sampson medals.

After leaving the Navy, he went to southern Africa and served in Roberts' Horse during the South African War. His comrades selected him to receive one of the scarves knitted by Queen Victoria for distinguished colonial soldiers. The scarf was a personal royal distinction, separate from his American decoration. His selection was formally recorded in the London Gazette in June 1902.

Returning to civilian life, Chadwick settled in the Boston area. He worked in insurance and in the leather trade. An accident in 1923 injured his elbow and knee, and disability affected his later employment. He died at Boston on 18 May 1940.

His unusual military life connected the United States Navy's Cuban operations with mounted service in a British colonial war. His Medal of Honor and Queen's Scarf represented two distinct systems of recognition and two different periods of service.