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Quartermaster · U.S. Navy

Barnett Kenna

Quartermaster Barnett Kenna, Navy, received the Medal of Honor for actions on August 5, 1864 at Mobile Bay, Alabama during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War August 5, 1864Born in England

Serving as a sailor in the U.S. Navy, Quartermaster Barnett Kenna received the Medal of Honor for his actions on August 5, 1864 at Mobile Bay, Alabama during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with U.S.S. Brooklyn. Kenna was about 37 years old.

97 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day.

Kenna was born in 1827 in Canterbury, England — one of 98 recipients born in England. His Medal of Honor is credited to Newburyport, Essex County, Massachusetts. Kenna died on May 28, 1890 in Glouchester, Massachusetts, at the age of about 63. He is buried at Cherry Hill Cemetery in Glouchester, Massachusetts. Records also list him as Kenney, George B..

Kenna is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 265 credited to Massachusetts.

Official Medal of Honor citation

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 from stem to stern, Kenna fought his gun with skill and courage throughout the furious action which resulted in the surrender of the rebel ram Tennessee and in the damaging and destruction of batteries at Fort Morgan.

Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: Canterbury — map
  • Buried: Cherry Hill Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Massachusetts →

Timeline

  1. 1827
    Born in Canterbury, England
  2. August 5, 1864
    Act of valor — Mobile Bay, Alabama
    Age about 37. U.S.S. Brooklyn
  3. May 28, 1890
    Died in Glouchester, Massachusetts
    Age about 63.
  4. Resting place
    Cherry Hill Cemetery
    Glouchester, Massachusetts

Biography

Barnett Kenna (1827 – May 28, 1890) was a Union Navy sailor in the American Civil War and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Mobile Bay. Kenna was born in 1827 in Canterbury, England. He joined the US Navy from Boston in November 1861, and served during the Civil War as a quartermaster on the USS Brooklyn. At the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, he "fought his gun with skill and courage" despite heavy fire. For this action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor four months later, on December 31, 1864. He was discharged in January 1866. Kenna's official Medal of Honor citation reads: On board the U.S.S.

From the Wikipedia article “Barnett Kenna”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Also honored for actions on August 5, 1864

TA Thomas E. Atkinson Yeoman · Navy Civil War · 1864 JA James Avery Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1864 CB Charles Baker Quarter Gunner · Navy Civil War · 1864 WB William Blagheen Ship's Cook · Navy Civil War · 1864 JB John Brazell Quartermaster · Navy Civil War · 1864 JB John Brown Captain of the Forecastle · Navy Civil War · 1864 RB Robert Brown Captain of the Top · Navy Civil War · 1864 WB William H. Brown Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1864 WB Wilson Brown Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1864 JB John M. Burns Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1864 WC William M. Carr Master-at-Arms · Navy Civil War · 1864 MC Michael Cassidy Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1864

See all 98 recipients for August 5, 1864 →

Same unit

JB James Buck Quartermaster · Navy Civil War · 1862 HM Harry Lewis MacNeal Private · Marine Corps Spanish-American War · 1898

More Civil War recipients from Massachusetts

JJ John Jones Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1862 Marcus A. Hanna Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863 PH Peter Howard Boatswain's Mate · Navy Civil War · 1863 JS James N. Strong Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863 Charles H. Pinkham Sergeant Major · Army Civil War · 1865 BL Bartlett Laffey Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1864
Sources. Service and award details compiled from the recipient record of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Wikidata and Wikipedia. The narrative summary is generated from these records. Spotted an error? Send a correction.