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Landsman · U.S. Navy

Lorenzo Denning

Landsman Lorenzo Denning, Navy, received the Medal of Honor for actions on October 27, 1864 in Plymouth, North Carolina during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War October 27, 1864

Landsman Lorenzo Denning was a sailor in the U.S. Navy who received the Medal of Honor for his actions on October 27, 1864 in Plymouth, North Carolina during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with U.S. Picket Boat No. 1. Denning was 21 years old.

15 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on December 31, 1864.

Denning was born on September 6, 1843 in Granby, Hartford County, Connecticut. His Medal of Honor is credited to New Britain, Hartford County, Connecticut. Denning died on February 8, 1865 in Salisbury, North Carolina, at the age of 21. He is buried at Salisbury National Cemetery. Records also list him as Deming, Lorenzo.

Denning is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 57 credited to Connecticut.

Official Medal of Honor citation

Denning served on board the U.S. Picket Boat No. 1 in action, 27 October 1864, against the Confederate ram Albemarle which had resisted repeated attacks by our steamers and had kept a large force of vessels employed in watching her. The picket boat, equipped with a spar torpedo, succeeded in passing the enemy pickets within 20 yards without being discovered and then made for the Albemarle under a full head of steam. Immediately taken under fire by the ram, the small boat plunged on, jumped the log boom which encircled the target and exploded its torpedo under the port bow of the ram. The picket boat was destroyed by enemy fire and almost the entire crew was taken prisoner or lost.

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

Timeline

  1. September 6, 1843
    Born in Granby, Hartford County, Connecticut
  2. October 27, 1864
    Act of valor — Plymouth, North Carolina
    Age 21. U.S. Picket Boat No. 1
  3. December 31, 1864
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. February 8, 1865
    Died in Salisbury, North Carolina
    Age 21.
  5. Resting place
    Salisbury National Cemetery

Further reading

Also honored for actions on October 27, 1864

SB Sylvester Bonnaffon Jr. First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1864 Jeremiah Z. Brown Captain · Army Civil War · 1864 AE Andrew Henry Embler Captain · Army Civil War · 1864 Daniel Griffin George Ordinary Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1864 RH Richard Hamilton Coal Heaver · Navy Civil War · 1864 Bernard Harley Ordinary Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1864 EH Edward J. Houghton Ordinary Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1864 Robert Henry King Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1864 DM Daniel J. Murphy Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 CO Charles Alvin Orr Private · Army Civil War · 1864 Alonzo Smith Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 Joseph Sewall Smith Lieutenant Colonel · Army Civil War · 1864

See all 16 recipients for October 27, 1864 →

More Civil War recipients from Connecticut

William B. Hincks Sergeant Major · Army Civil War · 1863 WH William Stone Hubbell Captain · Army Civil War · 1864 RM Robert William Montgomery Captain of the Afterguard · Navy Civil War · 1864 GC George W. Corliss Captain · Army Civil War · 1862 OP Oscar E. Peck Second Class Boy · Navy Civil War · 1862 CW Christopher W. Wilson Private · Army Civil War · 1864
Sources. Service and award details compiled from the recipient record of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. The narrative summary is generated from these records. Spotted an error? Send a correction.