Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Michael Cannon died as a result of contracting yellow fever during the Lower Mississippi Valley Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878.
Patrolman Cannon was on duty till just before midnight when he became suddenly ill. He was taken to his home in the 100 block of Front Street above the city jail, where he died the following day due to complications of Yellow Fever.
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 Cannon served with the Memphis Police Department for two years. He was survived by his wife and four small children. On October 4, 1878, three of his four children, aged between 5 and 14, died as a result of complications of yellow fever on the same day. His wife and son were also very ill due to the yellow fever at the same time, but they made a full recovery.
He is buried in a family plot with his wife and children at Calvary Cemetery in 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.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and four small children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TN-AF69A688- 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 Cannon gave the Memphis Police Department 2 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 Michael Cannon 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. Michael Cannon's cause is highlighted.
How Michael Cannon Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Michael Cannon is highlighted in Aug.
Others Who Wore This Badge
93 officers from Memphis Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
