Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Charles Staley died as a result of contracting yellow fever during the Lower Mississippi Valley Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878.
The Memphis Police Department became understaffed after the resignations of more than 20 officers who fled the city with their families for safety. Only 31 officers remained on duty and at their assigned posts during the epidemic, including the Chief of Police. All 31 officers became sick, and 10 officers died from complications of yellow fever while carrying out their official police duties and caring for their families, who also became ill due to the epidemic.
Yellow fever is a viral hemorrhagic fever that does not spread from person to person through coughing, sneezing, or touching; it is transmitted by the bite of infected mosquitoes that breed in densely populated warm or humid areas. However, in 1878, people did not understand how the disease was transmitted or how to prevent it. The federal government convened a commission to investigate the outbreak and established the National Board of Health in 1879.The names of every officer who died in the line of duty from Yellow Fever will likely never be known, but ODMP researchers continue to uncover new cases as part of our mission to never forget the fallen. View all officers who died during the 1878 Yellow Fever Epidemic.
Yellow fever is a viral hemorrhagic fever that does not spread from person to person through coughing, sneezing, or touching; it is transmitted by the bite of infected mosquitoes that breed in densely populated warm or humid areas. However, in 1878, people did not understand how the disease was transmitted or how to prevent it.
The federal government convened a commission to investigate the outbreak and established the National Board of Health in 1879.
The names of every officer who died in the line of duty from Yellow Fever will likely never be known, but ODMP researchers continue to uncover new cases as part of our mission to never forget the fallen.
View all officers who died during the 1878 Yellow Fever Epidemic.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TN-059EFB41- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
148 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Patrolman Staley served with the Memphis Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Memphis community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Charles R. Staley is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In TN, 43 of 769 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 5.6% of this state's fallen. That is 3.5 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
At Memphis Police Department, 16 of 94 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 17% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Charles R. Staley's cause is highlighted.
How Charles R. Staley Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Charles R. Staley is highlighted in Sep.
Others Who Wore This Badge
93 officers from Memphis Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
