John Denny (Medal of Honor)

John Denny (c. 1849 – November 28, 1901) was a Buffalo Soldier in the United States Army and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Indian Wars of the western United States.

John Denny
Sergeant John Denny
Bornc. 1849
Big Flats, New York, US
DiedNovember 28, 1901 (aged 52)
Place of burial
AllegianceUnited States
Service / branchUnited States Army
Years of service1867–1897
RankFirst Sergeant
Unit9th Cavalry Regiment
Battles / warsAmerican Indian Wars
AwardsMedal of Honor

Career

edit

Denny joined the Army from Elmira, New York in 1867, and, by September 18, 1879, was serving as a First Sergeant in Company C of the 9th Cavalry Regiment. On that day, his unit participated in an engagement against Chief Victorio and his band of Apaches at Las Animas Canyon, New Mexico, and Denny "[r]emoved a wounded comrade, under a heavy fire, to a place of safety." For his actions, Sergeant Denny was awarded the Medal of Honor fifteen years later, in January 1895.

Denny retired from the Army in September 1897 as a corporal. He received a pension but also worked at the Fort Robinson post exchange. He moved to the US Soldiers' Home in Washington, D.C. sometime in or after 1899 and died there in 1901[1] at the age of 52.[2] Denny was buried at the United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.[3]

Medal of Honor citation

edit

Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company C, 9th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Las Animas Canyon, N. Mex., September 18, 1879. Entered service at: 1867 Elmira, N.Y. Birth: Big Flats, N.Y. Date of issue: November 27, 189i.

Citation:

Removed a wounded comrade, under a heavy fire, to a place of safety.[4]

See also

edit

Notes

edit
  1. ^ Schubert, Frank N. (1997). Black Valor: Buffalo Soldiers and the Medal of Honor, 1870-1898. Scholarly Resources Inc. p. 57. ISBN 9780842025867.
  2. ^ "Health Office Record: Deaths". The Washington Post. December 12, 1901. p. 3. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
  3. ^ "John Denny". Veterans Legacy Memorial. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
  4. ^ "Indian War Period Medal of Honor recipients". Medal of Honor citations. United States Army Center of Military History. April 19, 2005. Archived from the original on November 6, 2009. Retrieved January 15, 2007.

References

edit
  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.