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Boatswain's Mate · U.S. Navy

Richard Dennis

Boatswain's Mate Richard Dennis, 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, 1864

Boatswain's Mate Richard Dennis was a sailor in the U.S. Navy who 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. Dennis was about 38 years old.

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

Dennis was born in 1826 in Charlestown, Suffolk County, Massachusetts. His Medal of Honor is credited to Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Dennis died in 1889 in Charlestown, Massachusetts, at the age of about 63. He is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Malden, Massachusetts. Records also list him as Donallen, Dennis.

Dennis 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 successful attacks against Fort Morgan, rebel gunboats and 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, Dennis displayed outstanding skill and courage in operating the torpedo catcher and in assisting in working the bow chasers throughout the furious battle which resulted in the surrender of the prize 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: Charlestown — map
  • Died: Charlestown — map
  • Buried: Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Massachusetts →

Timeline

  1. 1826
    Born in Charlestown, Suffolk County, Massachusetts
  2. August 5, 1864
    Act of valor — Mobile Bay, Alabama
    Age about 38. U.S.S. Brooklyn
  3. 1889
    Died in Charlestown, Massachusetts
    Age about 63.
  4. Resting place
    Holy Cross Cemetery
    Malden, Massachusetts

Biography

Richard Dennis (c. 1826 - 1889 ) 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. Dennis was born in 1826 in Charlestown, Massachusetts. He joined the Navy from Boston in March 1864, and served during the Civil War as a boatswain's mate on the USS Brooklyn. At the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, he operated the ship's torpedo catcher (an early naval minesweeping device) and helped fire the bow chase gun despite heavy fire. For this action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor four months later, on December 31, 1864. He was discharged in February 1866.

From the Wikipedia article “Richard Dennis (Medal of Honor)”, 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

GH George White Hooker First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1862 RW Richard Welch Corporal · Army Civil War · 1865 Leopold Karpeles Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 William Marland First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1863 JH James Horton Gunner's Mate · Navy Civil War · 1864 DM Daniel J. Murphy Sergeant · Army 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.