The Delano Morey Medal of Honor Story

Quietly sitting in the collections of the Hardin County Historical Museum in Kenton, Ohio is a collection of medals that belonged to local resident Delano Morey. Among them is the Medal of Honor Morey was awarded in 1893 for his courage at the Battle of McDowell when he was just a 16-year-old private in the ranks of Co. B of the 82nd Ohio. Private Morey described the circumstances under which he was later awarded the medal to the editors of Deeds of Valor in the late 1890s.

Private Delano James Morey of Co. B, 82nd Ohio posed for this photo shortly before his death in 1911. He was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1893 for courageous actions taken during the Battle of McDowell in May 1862 when he was just a 16 year old boy. During the war, Private Morey was wounded twice at Second Bull Run and captured at Chancellorsville. As shown in the image above, he is missing his right hand but it is unclear whether he lost that hand during the war (his pension was granted for his wound to the left hip) or in an accident after the war. 

 

          We had been encamped all winter at Moorefield, Virginia, and when we were ordered to reinforce General Robert Milroy, a detail of 50 men of which I was a member were sent out to look for bushwhackers who infested the woods.

          After traveling over 50 miles over the roughest roads, we rejoined our regiment at McDowell on May 8, 1862, hungry as wolves, but supplied with a few choice specimens of poultry which we had incidentally taken as prisoners of war. Some of us were eating these with all the ardor of hungry men when the report of the pickets’ guns aroused us, and as this was to be our first battle, our chickens were left behind in our anxiety to have a brush with the enemy.

          But had we known the strength and numbers of the enemy, we should have been reluctant to attack them. But, eager for a fight, we advanced on Bull Pasture Mountain. We engaged them at this point and in the midst of the roar of battle came the erroneous order to fix bayonets and charge them.

          About 150 of us on the extreme right of the line from which the order emanated, fixed our bayonets, and charged the enemy down in the valley. Down the mountainside we went to within a hundred yards of them, when they opened fire on us. They fired too high and not a man was touched. We in turn emptied a volley into them when we found to our surprise that our 150 men were charging 4,000 of the enemy!

          No sooner were we aware of this fact than a hasty retreat was made up the mountainside. But I, noting two of the enemy some little distance from me, left the retreating men and made for the two sharpshooters with the intention of capturing them. When they saw me coming on the full run, they hastened to load their guns, but I was a little too quick for them. I leveled my empty gun at them and ordered them to surrender, which they promptly did, and I led the captives to my captain. I was 16 years old and each of my prisoners was old enough to be my father.

 

The Hardin County Historical Museum features several medals that belonged to Delano Morey in their military relic room. On the top row, the medal on the right was the original Medal of Honor presented to Morey, featuring the 1890s ribbon design. The medal on the left was the replacement medal he received when the MoH design was changed in 1904. The medal on the bottom row right is Morey's Ohio Veteran's Medal (missing the ribbon) while the medal on the left is his Grand Army of the Republic medal. The ribbon with three stars is a WW1 Victory ribbon that likely belonged to one of Morey's descendants. 

Delano Morey was awarded the Medal of Honor on August 14, 1893, the citation of which reads “After the charge of the command had been repulsed, he rushed forward alone with an empty gun and captured two of the enemy's sharpshooters.”

Delano James Morey was born July 14, 1845, in Licking County, Ohio, and enlisted in Co. B of the 82nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry on December 2, 1861. During the course of the war, Delano was wounded twice in the left hip on August 29, 1862, during the 82nd Ohio’s charge at Second Bull Run (see "Butchered at Bull Run") and laid upon the field for ten days before his wounds were attended. Morey was also captured the following year during the Battle of Chancellorsville (see "All That a Soldier Can Give") and spent 18 days in Libby Prison before he was exchanged. Despite his wounds, Morey re-enlisted with the regiment in early 1864 and served to the end of the war, mustering out July 24, 1865.

After the war, he returned home to Pleasant Twp., Hardin Co., Ohio and became a lumber dealer and farmer. He was issued a pension starting June 4, 1869, for that wound in his left hip and was awarded the Medal of Honor on August 14, 1893. Later that fall, the National Tribune did a small feature story on Morey and said of the captures that the Confederates “both had full beards and were old enough to be the boy’s father. It was quite comical to see them marching ahead of the smooth-faced youth.”

Dilno or Delano? A bit of confusion with the markers for our hero at Grove Cemetery in Kenton, Ohio. 

Delano Morey died April 24, 1911, in Kenton, Ohio and is buried at Grove Cemetery. His Medal of Honor is currently on display in the Hardin County Historical Museum in Kenton.

Sources:

Beyer, Walter F., and Oscar F. Keydel. Deeds of Valor: How America’s Heroes Won the Medal of Honor. Detroit: The Perrien-Keydel Co., 1901, pg. 32

“Comrade Delano J. Morey,” National Tribune, November 23, 1893, pg. 4

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