David Lafayette Smith
Born: May 1, 1835 at Cameron, New York
Home Town: Bath, New York
Status:
Date of Issue: August 6, 1906
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Sergeant David Lafayette Smith, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 6 April 1862, while serving with Battery E, 1st New York Light Artillery, in action at Warwick Courthouse, Virginia. Sergeant Smith, when a shell struck an ammunition chest exploding a number of cartridges and setting fire to the packing tow, procured water and extinguished the fire, thus preventing the explosion of the remaining ammunition.