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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Sergeant · U.S. Marine Corps

John Henry Denig

Sergeant John Henry Denig, Marine Corps, 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, 1864

Sergeant John Henry Denig, a Marine in the U.S. Marine Corps, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on August 5, 1864 at Mobile Bay, Alabama during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with U.S.S. Brooklyn. Denig was about 25 years old.

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

Denig was born in 1839 in York, York County, Pennsylvania. His Medal of Honor is credited to Pennsylvania. Denig died on December 14, 1876 in York, Pennsylvania, at the age of about 37. He is buried at Prospect Hill Cemetery in York, Pennsylvania.

Denig is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 380 credited to Pennsylvania.

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 the decks, Sgt. Denig fought his gun with skill and courage throughout the furious two-hour battle 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: York — map
  • Died: York — map
  • Buried: Prospect Hill Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Pennsylvania →

Timeline

  1. 1839
    Born in York, York County, Pennsylvania
  2. August 5, 1864
    Act of valor — Mobile Bay, Alabama
    Age about 25. U.S.S. Brooklyn
  3. December 14, 1876
    Died in York, Pennsylvania
    Age about 37.
  4. Resting place
    Prospect Hill Cemetery
    York, Pennsylvania

Biography

John Henry Denig (September 8, 1838 – December 10, 1876) was a United States Marine Corps sergeant serving aboard the USS Brooklyn during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions in 1864 during the Battle of Mobile Bay. Denig was born in York, Pennsylvania, 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 in June 1861 and served as a sergeant on the USS Brooklyn during the Battle of Mobile Bay, Alabama.

From the Wikipedia article “J. Henry Denig”, 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 Pennsylvania

BS Bernard A. Strausburgh First Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 ✦ SJ Samuel Johnson Private · Army Civil War · 1862 Charles Malone Betts Lieutenant Colonel · Army Civil War · 1865 James Monroe Reisinger Corporal · Army Civil War · 1863 JJ Joseph Esrey Johnson First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1864 JS John Wallace Scott Captain · Army Civil War · 1865
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.