Lorenzo Denning

He Helped Sink an Ironclad, Then Died in Captivity.

Lorenzo Denning was a United States Navy sailor and Medal of Honor recipient who participated in the destruction of the Confederate ironclad CSS Albemarle during the American Civil War. Serving as a Landsman aboard U.S. Picket Boat No. 1, he joined a small naval force that attacked the ironclad near Plymouth, North Carolina, on the night of October 27–28, 1864. The mission succeeded, but Denning was captured and subsequently died in Confederate captivity before he could personally receive his Medal of Honor.

Denning was born on September 6, 1843, in Granby, Connecticut, to Gideon and Louisa Bidwell Deming. His family name appears as Deming in Connecticut historical and family records, while his Medal of Honor citation identifies him as Lorenzo Denning. An early Navy award register also recorded the surname as Demming.

He spent his early life in Connecticut, and local historical research identifies him as a mechanic living in New Haven before entering naval service. On January 19, 1864, he married Sarah J. Hubbard in New Britain, Connecticut.

During September 1864, Denning enlisted in the United States Navy. His documented naval service was brief, but within weeks he became associated with one of the most significant naval operations against a Confederate ironclad during the Civil War.

By October 1864, the Confederate ironclad CSS Albemarle had become a serious obstacle to Union naval operations in the waterways of northeastern North Carolina. Built to withstand conventional naval gunfire, the vessel had participated in the Confederate capture of Plymouth and had previously fought Union gunboats operating in Albemarle Sound.

The United States Navy had repeatedly attempted to neutralize the ironclad without success. Lieutenant William Barker Cushing subsequently organized an expedition to destroy it using a small steam launch fitted with a spar torpedo, an explosive charge mounted at the end of a projecting pole.

Denning became a member of the crew assigned to this mission aboard U.S. Picket Boat No. 1. The operation required the sailors to travel up the Roanoke River, approach Confederate defenses near Plymouth, and bring their small craft close enough to place the explosive charge against the ironclad's hull.

On the night of October 27, 1864, Cushing and his crew began their approach toward Plymouth. In his official report, Cushing recorded that thirteen officers and men accompanied him in the steam launch. They traveled upriver through an area guarded by Confederate pickets, attempting to reach the ironclad without alerting its defenders.

The crew initially passed the enemy's outer positions without being discovered. As the launch approached the Albemarle, however, Confederate sentries detected the vessel and opened fire.

Cushing continued the attack despite the gunfire. The ironclad was protected by a barrier of floating logs intended to prevent enemy boats from approaching its hull. The small Union launch struck the barrier and pushed forward until its spar torpedo could be positioned beneath the vessel.

Under intense fire, Cushing lowered the spar and detonated the explosive charge beneath the Albemarle's port bow.

The explosion tore a hole in the ironclad below the waterline, causing it to flood and sink. The blast and Confederate gunfire also disabled the attacking launch, leaving its crew exposed in the river.

Although the operation achieved its objective, the attacking force suffered devastating losses. Cushing escaped by swimming away from the scene, but most of the men accompanying him were captured or lost.

Denning was among those taken prisoner by Confederate forces following the attack. His capture ended his active naval service only weeks after his enlistment.

He was subsequently transported to the Confederate military prison at Salisbury, North Carolina. By late 1864, Salisbury had become severely overcrowded, with imprisoned Union servicemen facing shortages of food, inadequate shelter, disease, and high mortality.

Denning remained a prisoner as the winter of 1864–1865 continued. The surviving records establish his incarceration at Salisbury but do not identify the specific illness or medical condition responsible for his death.

Meanwhile, the United States government formally recognized the bravery demonstrated during the attack on CSS Albemarle. General Orders No. 45, dated December 31, 1864, recorded Denning's Medal of Honor recognition for his participation aboard U.S. Picket Boat No. 1.

The official citation described the launch's approach under Confederate fire, its passage through the defensive barrier, and the successful detonation of the torpedo beneath the ironclad. Denning's award acknowledged his service as a member of the crew that carried out the dangerous operation.

Although the award was authorized while Denning was still alive, he remained in Confederate captivity and did not personally receive the medal.

On February 8, 1865, Lorenzo Denning died at the Salisbury Confederate prison. He was twenty-one years old.

His precise burial place was never individually established. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs records that he was probably buried among unidentified Union prisoners in the collective burial trenches at what is now Salisbury National Cemetery in North Carolina.

Denning is also commemorated at Fairview Cemetery in New Britain, Connecticut, where a memorial marker stands in the Deming family plot. The marker honors his military service and death in captivity, although it does not establish that his remains were buried there.

In May 1991, local veterans and researchers gathered at Fairview Cemetery to dedicate a memorial recognizing his Medal of Honor. The ceremony followed historical research that connected the sailor listed in federal records as Lorenzo Denning with the Deming family of Connecticut.

Lorenzo Denning's military service lasted only a few months, yet it included an operation that destroyed one of the Confederacy's most formidable naval vessels. His documented contribution was service aboard the attacking launch under enemy fire, alongside the other members of Cushing's crew.

His Medal of Honor recognizes that participation in the destruction of CSS Albemarle. His subsequent death as a prisoner of war, before he could personally receive the decoration, remains an essential part of his military history.