Serving as a soldier in the U.S. Army, Private Joseph Rollin Prentice received the Medal of Honor for his actions on December 31, 1862 at Stone River, Tennessee during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with Company E, 19th U.S. Infantry. Prentice was 24 years old.
7 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on February 3, 1894, 31 years after the action.
Prentice was born on December 6, 1838 in Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio. His Medal of Honor is credited to Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana. Prentice died on August 7, 1908 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the age of 69. He is buried at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Hebron, Nebraska. His medal is held by Stones River National Battlefield, Murfreesboro, TN.
Prentice is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 75 credited to Indiana.
Official Medal of Honor citation
Voluntarily rescued the body of his commanding officer, who had fallen mortally wounded. He brought off the field his mortally wounded leader under direct and constant rifle fire.
Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.
Timeline
- December 6, 1838Born in Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio
- December 31, 1862Act of valor — Stone River, TennesseeAge 24. Company E, 19th U.S. Infantry
- February 3, 1894Medal of Honor presented
- August 7, 1908Died in Colorado Springs, ColoradoAge 69.
- Resting placeSacred Heart CemeteryHebron, Nebraska
