Denis John Francis Murphy (June 28, 1830June 19, 1901) was an American farmer and soldier. He received the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

for actions taken in service of the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Biography

Murphy was born in

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He married Bridget McGinnis. He and his wife owned a family farm in Glenmore (De Pere), and moved into Green Bay after the war—his injuries making it no longer possible to continue farming. He died on June 19, 1901, in Green Bay. He is buried in the Murphy Family Plot (along with his wife, parents, several of his 11 children and other relatives at the Allouez Catholic Cemetery in nearby

Allouez, Wisconsin Allouez is a village in Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 13,975 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Green Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Allouez is located between Green Bay to the north, and De ...

. Many of Murphy's descendants still live in Brown County, Wisconsin, with many more in other parts of the United States.

Military career

Murphy served in the

during the

. In the Summer of 1861, he enrolled in a volunteer company from Brown County known as the "De Pere Rifles", which was mustered into service as Company F of the

14th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment The 14th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Four of its members received the Medal of Honor for service in the Second Battle of Corinth, October 3 and 4, 1862 ...

. He received the

for his actions during the

Second Battle of Corinth The second Battle of Corinth (which, in the context of the American Civil War, is usually referred to as the Battle of Corinth, to differentiate it from the siege of Corinth earlier the same year) was fought October 3–4, 1862, in Corinth, M ...

, where he continued carrying his regiment's

colors Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...

despite being wounded three times. He was also wounded in the

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh (also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing) was fought on April 6–7, 1862, in the American Civil War. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater. The battlefield i ...

and

Battle of Iuka A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. He rose to the rank of

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

before being discharged due to disability in November 1862. After a brief recuperation, Murphy rejoined the war effort with a nine-month draftee regiment and was commissioned 2nd lieutenant of Company B,

34th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment The 34th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a conscripted infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 34th Wisconsin Infantry was composed of men drafted by state authorities under General Order No. 94 ...

. The 34th Wisconsin spent most of their brief enlistment on guard duty near

Columbus, Kentucky Columbus is a home rule-class city in Hickman County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 170 at the 2010 census, a decline from 229 in 2000. The city lies at the western end of the state, less than a mile from the Mississippi Ri ...

. Murphy had one final stint in the Union Army, when he was commissioned 1st lieutenant of Company D,

53rd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment The 53rd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army near the end of the American Civil War. Service The regiment was organized at Madison, Wisconsin, and mustered in during April, 1865. Right a ...

in April 1865. Only four companies of the 53rd Wisconsin Infantry were organized, but the regiment was never officially mustered into federal service, as the bulk of Confederate forces had surrendered by this time. Nevertheless, the four companies had been dispatched to

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 37,351. It is located on the west bank of t ...

. They were subsequently consolidated into the

51st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment The 51st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army near the end of the American Civil War. Service The 51st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was organized at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and mustered into Fe ...

. Murphy's Company D became Company I of the 51st Wisconsin Infantry. The 51st Wisconsin Infantry returned to Wisconsin in August and was mustered out of service.

Postbellum years

Murphy was active with the

Republican Party of Wisconsin The Republican Party of Wisconsin is a right-wing political party in Wisconsin and is the Wisconsin affiliate of the United States Republican Party (GOP). The state party chair is Paul Farrow. The state party is divided into 72 county parties f ...

in the 1870s and 1880s, and was a frequent attendee at state conventions. In 1878 and 1879 he was an unsuccessful candidate for

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

for Brown County's 3rd Assembly district (the mostly rural southern part of the county).

Legacy

He was awarded a ceremonial saber with the inscription "for valor at the Battles of Shiloh and Corinth." This saber was kept and handed down by his descendants until it mysteriously disappeared into the hands of a thus-far anonymous collector (who later attempted to sell it to the Neville Public Museum) in the mid-1990s. The Denis J. Murphy Army Reserve in

Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin Ashwaubenon () is a village in Brown County, Wisconsin, Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 16,963 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. A suburb of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Green Bay, Ashwaubenon is part of the ...

, is named after him.

Medal of Honor citation

His award citation reads "Although wounded three times, carried the colors throughout the conflict."

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1878, 1879)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 5, 1878 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 4, 1879

References

External links

*
Irish in the American Civil War
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Denis Military personnel from County Cork People from Green Bay, Wisconsin People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Union Army soldiers 1830 births 1901 deaths 19th-century Irish people Military personnel from Lowell, Massachusetts Irish-born Medal of Honor recipients Irish soldiers in the United States Army American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor Irish emigrants to the United States