John Henry Denig (September 8, 1838 – December 10, 1876) was a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

sergeant serving aboard the 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 ...

. 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 his actions in 1864 during the Battle of Mobile Bay. Denig was born in

York, Pennsylvania York ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Yarrick''), known as the White Rose City (after the symbol of the House of York), is the county seat of York County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the south-central region of the state. The populati ...

, on September 8, 1838, according to some army records. However, his family tombstone cites a date in 1845, making him 16 at the time of his enlistment in the Civil War. He enlisted in Marine Corps from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in June 1861 and served as a

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 ...

on the during the Battle of Mobile Bay,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. Mobile was the last

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

-held port on the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

east of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

, and its capture would complete the

Union blockade The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading. The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required the monitoring of of Atlantic ...

in the area. In the August 5, 1864, attack, ''Brooklyn'' engaged

Fort Morgan Fort Morgan can apply to any one of several places in the United States: *Fort Morgan (Alabama), a fort at the mouth of Mobile Bay *Fort Morgan, Alabama, a nearby community *Fort Morgan (Colorado), a frontier military post located in present-day Fo ...

and the . Throughout the two-hour battle, Denig fought "with skill courage", for which he was later awarded the Medal of Honor. Twenty-two of his shipmates also received the medal for their part in the battle, which ended with a Union victory. He was honorably discharged in September 1864.USMC History Division Denig died of health complications at age 38 and was buried in York's Prospect Hill Cemetery. He is one of two Medal of Honor recipients interred in the cemetery, the other being Charles H. Ilgenfritz.

Medal of Honor citation

On December 31, 1864, by Navy Department General Order Number 45, Denig was awarded the Medal of Honor. His citation reads:

On board the U.S.S. ''Brooklyn'' during action against rebel forts and gunboats and with the ram ''Tennessee'', in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Despite severe damage to his ship and the loss of several men on board as enemy fire raked her decks, Sgt. Denig fought his gun with skill and courage throughout the furious 2-hour battle which resulted in the surrender of the rebel ram ''Tennessee'' and in the damaging and destruction of batteries at Fort Morgan.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Denig, J. Henry 1838 births 1876 deaths People from York, Pennsylvania People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War Union Marines United States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipients American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References

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