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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Major · U.S. Army

Dennis Thomas Kirby

Major Dennis Thomas Kirby, Army, received the Medal of Honor for actions on May 22, 1863 in Vicksburg, Mississippi during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War May 22, 1863

Major Dennis Thomas Kirby was a soldier in the U.S. Army who received the Medal of Honor for his actions on May 22, 1863 in Vicksburg, Mississippi during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with 8th Missouri Infantry. Kirby was 27 years old.

99 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on January 31, 1894, 30 years after the action. He later rose to the rank of Brevet Brigadier General.

Kirby was born on September 15, 1835 in Niagara Falls, Niagara County, New York. His Medal of Honor is credited to St. Louis, St. Louis County, Missouri. Kirby died on April 18, 1922 in Bethesda (Walter Reed), Maryland, at the age of 86. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

Kirby is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 78 credited to Missouri.

★ Flags & Colors★ Gave Their Lives

Official Medal of Honor citation

Seized the colors when the color bearer was killed and bore them himself in the assault.

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

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: Niagara Falls — map
  • Died: Washington, D.C. — map
  • Buried: Arlington National Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Missouri →

Timeline

  1. September 15, 1835
    Born in Niagara Falls, Niagara County, New York
  2. May 22, 1863
    Act of valor — Vicksburg, Mississippi
    Age 27. 8th Missouri Infantry
  3. January 31, 1894
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. April 18, 1922
    Died in Bethesda (Walter Reed), Maryland
    Age 86.
  5. Resting place
    Arlington National Cemetery
    Arlington, Virginia

Biography

Dennis Thomas Kirby (September 15, 1835 – April 18, 1922) was a Union Army soldier in the American Civil War who received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor. Brevet Brigadier General Dennis T. Kirby was born in Niagara County, New York, September 15, 1837, and moved with his parents to Buffalo, New York, in 1847, and to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1854. He entered the service as captain, Company E, Eighth, Missouri Volunteer Infantry, June 25, 1861. He served in Missouri and Kentucky to February 1862. He was promoted lieutenant-colonel August 3, 1863.

From the Wikipedia article “Dennis T. Kirby”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Also honored for actions on May 22, 1863

CA Christian Albert Private · Army Civil War · 1863 WA William J. Archinal Corporal · Army Civil War · 1863 CA Clinton Lycurgus Armstrong Private · Army Civil War · 1863 DA David Ayers Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863 JA John G. k Ayers Private · Army Civil War · 1863 WB William H. Barringer Private · Army Civil War · 1863 MB Matthew Bickford Corporal · Army Civil War · 1863 TB Thomas A. Blasdel Private · Army Civil War · 1863 EB Emmer Bowen Private · Army Civil War · 1863 UB Uriah H. Brown Private · Army Civil War · 1863 WB William P. Brownell Coxswain · Navy Civil War · 1863 JB John C. Buckley Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863

See all 100 recipients for May 22, 1863 →

More Civil War recipients from Missouri

William Macky Wherry First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1861 CD Charles H. Depuy First Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 JP Joseph M. Pesch Private · Army Civil War · 1863 AP Ambrose Porter Commissary Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 CB Charles Bieger Private · Army Civil War · 1864 Joseph Leonard Follett Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1862
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.