Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman John Huber 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.
Patrolman Huber survived the 1873 Memphis Yellow Fever epidemic. He was the only officer who had remained on duty in the city's Happy Hollow District, the area most affected by the epidemic. Chief of Police Phil Athy commended Patrolman Huber for his bravery in the annual report dated January 8, 1874. “I cannot but mention Patrolman J. J. Huber; he is a hero. All through the epidemic, he was the only man on duty in the infected district. Alone, with no partner to keep him company, or cheer him, he walked his beat, when, at every step, the solemn stillness of the air would seem a warning that told him of the fate of his dead comrades.”
He is buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, Tennessee.
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.
Patrolman Huber survived the 1873 Memphis Yellow Fever epidemic. He was the only officer who had remained on duty in the city's Happy Hollow District, the area most affected by the epidemic. Chief of Police Phil Athy commended Patrolman Huber for his bravery in the annual report dated January 8, 1874. “I cannot but mention Patrolman J. J. Huber; he is a hero. All through the epidemic, he was the only man on duty in the infected district. Alone, with no partner to keep him company, or cheer him, he walked his beat, when, at every step, the solemn stillness of the air would seem a warning that told him of the fate of his dead comrades.”
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- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 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 Huber gave the Memphis Police Department 5 years.
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 John J. Huber is one of 1 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,756 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 5.6 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
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. John J. Huber's cause is highlighted.
How John J. Huber Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. John J. Huber 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.
