Joseph Rollin Prentice (1838-1908) - Find a Grave Memorial

Civil War Medal of Honor Recipient. With the advent of the Civil War, Joseph Prentice was a farmer in the Indiana Territory, when enlisted in the Union Army at Fort Wayne. After his training, he served as a Private in Company E, 1st Battalion, 19th US Infantry. On December 31, 1862, Union forces were engaged with Confederate soldiers in a battle at Stone River Tennessee. Private Prentice voluntarily went out to rescue the body of his commanding officer, who had fallen mortally wounded. He brought his mortally wounded officer off the field under direct and constant enemy rifle fire. For most conspicuous gallantry, he was later awarded the Medal of Honor. After being wounded on May 30, 1864, in actions near Dayton, Georgia, he was discharged from the US Army. Returning to Indiana, he could no longer farm due to his injury. He later bought teams of horses and wagons and became successful in the freighting business. By the 1890s, he had retired from the freighting business when he was contacted by the US War Department. On February 3, 1894, he received his official citation and Medal of Honor, for his deed at Stone River in the Civil War. He died at age 70 in Blockner Hospital, Colorado.

Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith