Career
Kenna was born in 1827 in Canterbury, England. He joined the United States Navy from Boston in November 1861, and served during the Civil War as a quartermaster on the United States Ship Brooklyn. At the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, he "fought his gun with skill and courage" despite heavy fire.
He was discharged in January 1866.
Kenna died on May 28, 1890, at age 62 or 63 and was buried at Cherry Hill Cemetery in Gloucester, Massachusetts.