Damian Shiels's Blog, page 20

More Irish than the Irish: The Forgotten Irishmen of Gettysburg’s Wheatfield

Discussion of the Irish at Gettysburg is dominated by the Irish Brigade. Their contemporary and post-war fame– together with their striking battlefield monuments– have contributed to this continuing focus. As the most famed ethnic Irish formation of the conflict, their actions at Gettysburg have arguably even eclipsed those of the 69th Pennsylvania Infantry, the green flag unit which as a single regiment sustained substantially more mortal casualties than the entire Irish Brigade during the fighting. It may surprise some readers to learn that even within Gettysburg’s Wheatfield sector, where the Irish Brigade fought, they were not the formation to suffer the most Irish-born fatalities. Indeed, it is possible that they may actually be placed third when it comes to that dubious distinction.

I have discussed in many posts how a continuing focus on ethnic Irish units, particularly the Irish Brigade, has served to narrow both popular and historical discussion of the Irish during the American Civil War. Though storied formations like the Irish Brigade deserve attention, it is important to remember that the vast majority of the Irish in uniform served in non-ethnic formations; if we wish to fully examine topics surrounding the Irish experience, it is to these men and their families that we have to turn. In order to explore the degree to which these ethnic regiments and brigades have the capacity to dominate memory, I decided to look specifically at the Wheatfield sector on Gettysburg’s Second Day, and two other brigades that contained large numbers of Irish. The results of that analysis reveal that if we want to properly discuss the Irish experience in and around the Wheatfield– particularly in terms of losses– we have to look beyond the Irish Brigade. Our gaze must also fall upon the men of the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division of the Union Fifth Corps: the United States Regulars who entered the fight under the command of Colonel Sidney Burbank.

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The grave of Private John Conway at Gettysburg National Cemetery. A native of Doon, Co. Limerick, he was mortally wounded on 2nd July 1863 while serving with the 11th United States Infantry, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, 5th Corps (Find A Grave:OPPSheryl)

The Irish Brigade that advanced into the Wheatfield in the late afternoon of the 2nd July 1863 was by that point in the war a much reduced force of just over 530 men. By the time their fight at Stony Hill and eventual retreat from the Wheatfield was over, some 32 of them had been killed or mortally wounded– the Brigade suffered c. 37% casualties. As the Irishmen and their division were forced back by the Confederates, it was the United States Regulars who were called upon in an effort to stem the Rebel tide. Specifically, the two brigades of Regulars that formed part of the Fifth Corps’ Second Division (a division which also included Paddy O’Rorke’s 140th New York Infantry). The First Brigade under Colonel Hannibal Day consisted of the 3rd, 4th, 6th, 12th and 14th United States Infantry, amounting to more than 1500 men in total. Their companion brigade– which would lead the way at Gettysburg– was much smaller. Colonel Sidney Burbank’s Second Brigade was made up of the 2nd, 7th, 10th, 11th and 17th United States Infantry, and counted a little over 900 men in the ranks. Between them, Day and Burbank had hundreds of Irishmen under their command. (1)

Like the Union Navy (which was 20% Irish-born), the United States Regular service had long been a traditional source of employment for Irish emigrants. Immediately prior to the war it was dominated by Irishmen, and during the conflict 20% of all Regular enlistments were Irish. By the time these soldiers were thrown into the fight late on Gettysburg’s Second Day, there was little they could do to stem the Rebel push. From their position near Little Round Top, Burbank’s men, supported by Day’s, were directed into the Plum Run Valley and towards the Wheatfield. By the time they crossed Plum Run they began to take flanking fire from Confederate’s in Devil’s Den, but continued on towards their objective. Both brigades made it to a stone wall to the east of the Wheatfield, where they witnessed elements of Caldwell’s division (which included the Irish Brigade) being forced back by the attacking Rebels. Burbank’s men went in, with the left of their line moving through a stretch of Rose’s Woods, the right wheeling into the Wheatfield itself. Within minutes there were Confederates on their flank and threatening their rear; after a brisk firefight they had little option but to retrace their steps back to the stone wall. Still the enemy came on. With Southerners moving further to the right the Regulars risked being cut off, and both brigades now had to continue their retreat back from whence they had come. Recrossing Plum Run as Confederate bullets plunged into them from three sides, the orderly fashion in which they conducted their retreat was long remembered by those who witnessed it. Eventually they reached the cover of their own artillery, who commenced firing over their comrades’ heads to stem the ardour of the pursuing enemy. All told, the two Regular brigades had spent less than an hour in the Wheatfield sector. Day’s men had not even had an opportunity to directly confront the enemy, spending their time in reserve and retreat. Despite this, their losses were severe. Day’s Brigade suffered over 25% casualties, Burbank’s smaller formation a crushing 47%. Of these men, how many were Irish? (2)

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Officers of the 14th United States Infantry photographed in 1862 (Library of Congress)

Using John W. Busey’s work on the Union dead of Gettysburg as a baseline, I sought to uncover how many of the Regulars who were killed or mortally wounded at Gettysburg were Irish-born. Bear in mind that this is not a measure of how many of the Regulars regarded themselves as ethnically Irish-American, so is naturally an underestimate of that figure. It is immediately evident from looking at those who died that a number of the American, English and Canadian-born dead of Burbank’s and Day’s brigades were from Irish communities. Busey identified the birthplaces of a large number of the Regular dead, analysis which I have supplemented with additional research into the U.S. Army Register of Enlistments and Pension Files (Tables 1 & 2 below). This demonstrates that at a minimum 57 Irish-born men were killed or mortally wounded with the Regulars on Gettysburg’s Second Day. This figure may be as high as 63 (when those with Irish surnames but with no known nativity information are included). (3)

Of the total, 25 of the Irish-born fell in Day’s First Brigade. Busey identifies 97 total fatalities associated with the Brigade, making the Irish-born percentage almost 26%, or just over one in four. To reiterate, this is an underestimate of ethnic Irish/Irish-American losses, as it does not include those of unidentified nativity and those from Irish families born outside Ireland. The total ethnic Irish figure may well exceed the fatalities in the Irish Brigade (32), and are certainly comparable to them. More detailed analysis of the First Brigade’s slightly more than 1500 men is required to determine how many were Irish American, but again, it may well be comparable to the full size of the Irish Brigade, perhaps slightly fewer. The details of these Irish-born are included in Table 1 below. (4)

NAME
REGIMENT
AGE
OCCUPATION
BRIGADE
COMPANY
COUNTY


Sullivan, Patrick
3 United States Infantry
21
Peddler
1 Brigade
I
Cork


Sullivan, Peter
3 United States Infantry
28
Laborer
1 Brigade
F
Longford


Tighe, Patrick
3 United States Infantry
35
Laborer
1 Brigade
I
Leitrim


Beaty, James
3 United States Infantry
38
Soldier
1 Brigade
B
Galway


Pyne, John
3 United States Infantry
20
Tailor
1 Brigade
I
Clare


Carroll, Michael
4 United States Infantry
30

1 Brigade
H
Tipperary


Larkin, John
4 United States Infantry
21
Farmer
1 Brigade
K
Derry


McDonald, Roger
4 United States Infantry
29
Shoemaker
1 Brigade
H
Cavan


Patterson, Richard
4 United States Infantry
26
Laborer
1 Brigade
H
Clare


Reilly, John
4 United States Infantry
28
Soldier
1 Brigade
K
Dublin


McManaman, Peter
4 United States Infantry
41
Soldier
1 Brigade
H
Mayo


Donoghue, John
6 United States Infantry
26
Laborer
1 Brigade
G
Galway


Fenton, William
6 United States Infantry
21
Shoemaker
1 Brigade
H
Cork


Lennon, Joseph
6 United States Infantry
35
Soldier
1 Brigade
D
Dublin


Donovan, Michael
12 United States Infantry
18
Farmer
1 Brigade
D
Cork


Kenney, Daniel
12 United States Infantry
25
Farmer
1 Brigade
C
Offaly


Rogers, Hugh
12 United States Infantry
29
Soldier
1 Brigade
D
Derry


Cavanagh, Daniel
14 United States Infantry
20
Laborer
1 Brigade
G
Roscommon


Degnan, Patrick
14 United States Infantry
22
Laborer
1 Brigade
G
Leitrim


Eagin, James
14 United States Infantry
21
Laborer
1 Brigade
D
Offaly


Horan, Barney
14 United States Infantry


1 Brigade
D
Offaly


McManus, James
14 United States Infantry
21
Painter
1 Brigade
F
Fermanagh


Mulligan, Thomas H.
14 United States Infantry
25
Mason
1 Brigade
A
Longford


Murray, Thomas
14 United States Infantry
31
Carpenter
1 Brigade
F
Longford


Rooney, Martin
14 United States Infantry
18
Laborer
1 Brigade
F
Unknown

Table 1. Identified Irish-born dead of First Brigade, Second Division, Fifth Corps (Busey 1988 & Shiels 2018).

The same analytical technique was used to assess the losses in the Second Brigade. Of the slightly more than 900 men of Burbank’s Brigade, Busey identifies 134 who lost their lives. My work has confirmed a minimum of 32 of these men as Irish-born (again, not ethnically Irish/Irish American). This is just under 24% of the total, again some one in four. This figure matches the fatalities experienced by the Irish Brigade, but it should be noted that the Irish Brigade figure is a global one, not all of them were necessarily Irish-born. When one considers that it is improbable that more than 50% of Burbank’s men were Irish American (indeed likely somewhat fewer), it is clear that the Irish Regulars of the Second Brigade suffered a significantly higher real and proportional loss in the Wheatfield sector than did the Irish Volunteers of the Irish Brigade. The details of the Second Brigade Irish-born are included in Table 2 below.

NAME
REGIMENT
AGE
OCCUPATION
BRIGADE
COMPANY
COUNTY


Cooly, John
2 United States Infantry
33
Laborer
2 Brigade
B
Mayo


Cooper, John
2 United States Infantry
23
Laborer
2 Brigade
H
Laois


Selmon, John
2 United States Infantry
24
Laborer
2 Brigade
H
Limerick


Willis, John
2 United States Infantry
25
Laborer
2 Brigade
K
Tyrone


Hare, John
2 United States Infantry
32
Laborer
2 Brigade
I
Down


Stanton, James
2 United States Infantry
35
Boatman
2 Brigade
H
Mayo


Connolly, John
7 United States Infantry
21
Laborer
2 Brigade
I
Roscommon


McBride, Bernard
7 United States Infantry
21
Laborer
2 Brigade
B
Monaghan


Mee, John
7 United States Infantry
47
Soldier
2 Brigade
E
Galway


Wilson, William
7 United States Infantry
35
Turner
2 Brigade
E
Antrim


Gill, Michael
7 United States Infantry
30
Soldier
2 Brigade
I
Longford


Keenan, John
7 United States Infantry
29
Soldier
2 Brigade
A
Monaghan


Craig, James
10 United States Infantry
26
Soldier
2 Brigade
K
Down


Crotty, John A.
10 United States Infantry
42
Soldier
2 Brigade
D
Waterford


Davis, William R.
10 United States Infantry
26
Housepainter
2 Brigade
H
Cavan


Fenaughty, Michael
10 United States Infantry
26
Bugler
2 Brigade
G
Limerick


McGorman, Owen
10 United States Infantry
27
Soldier
2 Brigade
D
Offaly


McKenny, Peter
10 United States Infantry
29
Laborer
2 Brigade
G
Down


O’Keefe, Michael
10 United States Infantry
23
Shoemaker
2 Brigade
H
Tipperary


Kennedy, Michael
10 United States Infantry
26
Soldier
2 Brigade
D
Meath


Carlen, Michael
11 United States Infantry
27
Farmer
2 Brigade
E
Unknown


O’Keaffe, John
11 United States Infantry
21
Laborer
2 Brigade
F
Unknown


Roach, John
11 United States Infantry
22
Shoemaker
2 Brigade
G
Cork


Conway, John
11 United States Infantry
21
Laborer
2 Brigade
F
Limerick


Rochford, Henry
11 United States Infantry
28
Soldier
2 Brigade

Waterford


Cahill, William
17 United States Infantry
25
Farmer
2 Brigade
H
Unknown


Duffy, William
17 United States Infantry
26
Laborer
2 Brigade
D
Unknown


Landers, Michael
17 United States Infantry
27
Laborer
2 Brigade
H
Unknown


McNamee, Barney
17 United States Infantry
35
Laborer
2 Brigade
B
Unknown


Mehan, Patrick
17 United States Infantry
34
Laborer
2 Brigade
C
Unknown


Downey, John
17 United States Infantry
21
Carpenter
2 Brigade
D
Dublin?


McHugh, James
17 United States Infantry
23
Shoemaker
2 Brigade
B
Unknown

Table 2. Identified Irish-born dead of Second Brigade, Second Division, Fifth Corps (Busey 1988 & Shiels 2018).

The purpose of this analysis has not been in any way to diminish either the history, service or actions of the Irish Brigade, who rightly remain a major focal point for those interested in the Irish experience of the American Civil War. But at least 180,000 Irish-born served under Union arms; when those of non-Irish birth who considered themselves part of Irish American communities are included, the ethnic Irish contingent in the Federal military must have substantially exceeded 200,000 men. We cannot hope to understand the experience of these individuals, their families and their communities until we explore in detail the majority who did not serve in ethnic formations. The trials of the Irish U.S. Regulars in the Wheatfield sector serve as a case in point– theirs is demonstrably a story that should form an integral part of our discussion, analysis and memory of Irish involvement on this portion of the Gettysburg battlefield.

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The view across Plum Run towards the Wheatfield from Little Round Top. This was the ground traversed by the U.S. Regulars on 2nd July 1863 (Damian Shiels)

(1) Busey 1988: 64, 116, 118, 135, 221, Gottfried 2012: 118, 258, 260; (2) Johnson 2012: 202, 295, Pfanz 1987: 295-302,Gottfried 2012: 258, 260; (3) Busey 1988, US Army Register of Enlistments, Widows Pensions; (4) Busey 1988;

References

U.S. Army Register of Enlistments.

Civil War Widow’s Pensions Files.

Busey, John W. 1988. These Honored Dead: The Union Casualties at Gettysburg.

Gottfried, Bradley M. 2012. Brigades of Gettysburg: The Union and Confederate Brigades at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Johnson, Mark W. 2012. “Where are the Regulars?” An Analysis of Regular Army Recruiting and Enlistees, 1851-1865. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University at Albany, State University of New York.

Pfanz, Harry W. 1987. Gettysburg: The Second Day.

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Transatlantic Obligations: A New Source for Immigrant Remittance Networks

The Immigration and Ethnic History Society aims to promote the study of the history of immigration to the United States and Canada. Founded in 1965, the Society produces the Journal of American Ethnic History. I have just had a post published on their blog, aimed at highlighting the importance of the Civil War Widows’ & Dependent Files for the study of 19th century immigration. The post deals specifically with evidence for remittance networks, a topic I will be discussing in more detail at the Irish Famine Summer School which will be hosted at the Irish National Famine Museum next June. If you are interested in reading my post on the IEHS website you can do so by clicking here.

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An American Veteran, Irish Workhouse, Cupid…and a Terrier

New Yorker Marshall Bailey’s moment in the sun came late in life. The summer of 1910 found the elderly American Civil War veteran in dire straits, consigned to life as a pauper far from the country of his birth. His desperate circumstances made the events that momentarily propelled him into the spotlight all the more remarkable. As they unfolded, telegraphs clacked Marshall’s story across the Atlantic so that both Irish and American newspapers could cover it simultaneously. It would eventually be run in publications from Cork to Chicago, appearing under imaginative headlines such as “Cupid in the Workhouse” and “Pension and Bride All in One Bunch.” What good fortune had befallen Marshall Bailey to warrant such international coverage?

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Men from Oneida County, New York outside Petersburg during the American Civil War (Library of Congress)

Records suggest that Marshall Bailey was born around 1848 in Taberg, a hamlet in Oneida County, upstate New York. He was the eldest child of illiterate Irish emigrants John and Mary Bailey, who by 1860 were making their homes in the small hamlet of North Bay, near the shore of Oneida Lake. John was employed as a blacksmith, while Mary cared for Marshall and his four younger brothers and two younger sisters. It was when Marshall was just 16-years-old that he decided to go to war. He became a musician in Company K of the 81st New York Infantry at Annsville, New York on 21st April 1864. Assigned to the Army of the James, he served during the Bermuda Hundred campaign and was a witness to the horrors of Cold Harbor, the regiment’s worst experience of the war. He was wounded at the Second Battle of Petersburg on 15 June 1864, but recovered to muster out with his company in Virginia on 31st August 1865. (1)

Marshall Bailey wasn’t even 18-years-old by the time he left the army. Returning to Oneida, he moved back in with his parents, who were now residing in Annsville itself. During the conflict the family had grown; two new sisters brought the number of Marshall’s siblings to eight. to help support the family Marshall and his younger brother John became Canal Boatmen, probably serving the nearby Erie Canal. After 1870 Marshall’s trail goes cold, but it seems that he chose to use his canal experience to pursue a new career at sea. Decades later he found himself in the land of his parents, where his advancing years contributed to his hard times. Eventually he could no longer support himself– on 1st June 1906 he presented himself for indoor relief at the South Dublin Union Workhouse. Situated on the city’s southside, the Workhouse was then the largest in the country, covering 50 acres with thousands of inmates. A decade later it would become one of the rebel garrisons during the 1916 Rising. In the register Marshall was listed as a seaman with “no residence” while in the observations column it was remarked that he “belongs to U.S.A.”. Marshall’s first stint in the Workhouse ended on 18th May 1907, but unfortunately it would not be his last. By 1910 he had been back in the Workhouse for 723 days, seemingly destined to end his days a pauper. It was then that he received the news that changed not only his own fortunes, but also that of one of his fellow inmates. (2)

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The South Dublin Union Workhouse (Bureau of Military Archives)

Marshall Bailey was entitled to a United States pension. Though the South Dublin Union recorded it as being for his time as a seaman, it was actually for his wartime service in the 81st New York. Marshall had been well aware of this; in fact he first claimed a pension in 1871, presumably on the basis of his wartime wound. He likely thought that when he went to sea and ultimately to Ireland he could no longer draw those monies. If so, he was wrong. In 1910, Marshall learned that he was entitled to a lump sum payment, estimated by Irish newspapers as being worth £350 and by those in the United States as between $1500 and $1750. In a stroke, his circumstances had radically altered. Leaving the Workhouse, he moved into a house at 5 Prospect Terrace in Kilmainham, Dublin. He didn’t tarry in making his next move. While in the Union Workhouse he had fallen for a fellow inmate, and immediately set about making her his bride. It was this combination of windfall and marriage that so caught the imagination of newspapermen in Ireland and the United States. Typical of the reporting was that of the Irish Independent:

CUPID IN THE WORKHOUSE

Marshall Bailey, aged 70 [he was around 62], a veteran of the American Army, on returning from the land of the Stars and Stripes a few years ago [he had been born in America] entered the South Dublin Union Workhouse, and while there became enamoured of an inmate who is aged 35. Three months ago he discovered that his pension had accumulated to the extent of £350, and that it would continue during his lifetime. He accordingly offered his hand in marriage to the object of his affection, and the couple were married yesterday in the Catholic Church, James’s Street, by Father McGough. A large number of persons attended the wedding, and rice was liberally showered on the bridal party as they left the church. The happy bridegroom acknowledged the felicitations by throwing a large quantity of silver from the carriage window as he drove away, with his bride, and there was an exciting scramble for money in the street. (3)

The fact that Marshall threw money to those on the street was one of the details most enthusiastically communicated by the American papers. The Omaha Daily Bee in Nebraska further reported that the best man and bridesmaid at the ceremony were also Workhouse inmates. The woman that Marshall married was Elizabeth Noonan, a bootmaker’s daughter from Limerick. Elizabeth is likely the inmate recorded as entering South Dublin Union Workhouse on 14th January 1908. She was then recorded as a single, 30-year-old servant. When Elizabeth entered the Workhouse she was pregnant, likely a contributing factor in her inability to obtain employment, if not the primary reason she found herself destitute. When Marshall Bailey married Elizabeth in July 1910, he also became a stepfather to her young daughter, Mary. (4)

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Typical of the type of headlines Marshall’s story elicited was this in the Omaha Daily Bee, Nebraska. (Omaha Daily Bee)

For two months Marshall’s story was told and retold on both sides of the Atlantic. But what became of the unlikely family after 1910? The key to uncovering that lies with the family dog. In 1913 Marshall Bailey registered a female brown terrier for a dog licence. He did so in the townland of Allenagh, Co. Longford. That this is the same Marshall is confirmed by the 1911 Census of Ireland, which records 69-year-old Marshall Bailey, an ‘American Pensioner” in Feraghfad, Co. Longford living with his 39-year-old wife Elizabeth Bailey and 3-year-old stepdaughter Mary Noonan-Bailey. The couple had been married for one year. Why Longford? The most likely explanation is that Marshall’s family originally hailed from this part of the country, and as a result he had a connection (and possibly family) there. Marshall was able to enjoy his good fortune, both financial and familial, for some six years. The veteran of Cold Harbor and Petersburg passed away in Co. Longford on 18th March 1916, having led a life that had taken him on a remarkable journey from his childhood home near the shores of Oneida Lake in New York. It had been filled with highs and undoubtedly many lows, but in the end the service he had offered when he was still no more than a child helped to secure for him a measure of comfort and prosperity in rural Ireland during his final years. (5)

(1) New York Muster Roll Abstracts, 1850 Federal Census, 1860 Federal Census, Registers of Officers and Enlisted Mustered into Federal Military, 81st New York Infantry Roster; (2) 1865 New York State Census, 1870 Federal Census, South Dublin Union Admission Register, Gibney: Sites of 1916, South Dublin Union Board of Guardians Minute Book; (3) South Dublin Union Board of Guardians Minute Book, Marshall Bailey Pension Index Card, Irish Independent 12th July 1910; (4) Omaha Daily Bee 7th August 1910, 1911 Census, Irish Civil Marriage Index, South Dublin Union Admission Register; (5) Irish Dog Licence Registers, 1911 Irish Census, Marshall Bailey Pension Index Card;

References

Asbury Park Evening Press (New Jersey), 12th July 1910.

Buffalo Courier (New York), 31st July 1910.

Freeman’s Journal, 12th July 1910.

Irish Independent, 12th July 1910.

Omaha Daily Bee (Nebraska), 7th August 1910.

Skibbereen Eagle, 30th July 1910.

The Harrisburg Telegraph (Pennsylvania), 12th July 1910.

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Pennsylvania), 12th July 1910.

The Pittston Gazette (Pennsylvania), 12th July 1910.

The Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), 12th July 1910.

1850 Federal Census, Annsville, Oneida, New York.

1860 Federal Census, Annsville, Oneida, New York.

1865 New York State Census, Annsville, Oneida, New York.

1870 Federal Census, Annsville, Oneida, New York.

1911 Census of Ireland, Feraghfad, Longford Rural, Longford.

Irish Dog Licence Registers.

National Archives. NARA T289: Pension applications for service in the US Army between 1861 and 1900.

New York State Archives.Civil War Muster Roll Abstracts of New York State Volunteers, United States Sharpshooters, and United States Colored Troops.

New York State Archives. Registers of Officers and Enlisted Men Mustered into Federal Military or Naval Service during the Civil War.

New York Adjutant General 1901. Roster of the 81st New York Infantry. 

South Dublin Union Admission Registers.

South Dublin Union Board of Guardians Minute Books.

GIbney, John n.d. Sites of 1916: South Dublin Union. 

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“Fearless Captain Billy O'”: Forgotten Fenian of the American Civil War

2017 witnessed the 150th anniversary of the 1867 Fenian Rising. Although largely abortive, the events of that year proved inspirational for many in later generations of the nationalist movement. There were a number of events in Ireland to mark the occasion, particularly commemorating those individuals who participated in incidents around the country. Fenian veterans of the American Civil War– particularly those who fought to preserve the Union– played a central role in the Rising. But it is also worth reflecting on the many significant members of the Brotherhood who never had an opportunity to return to Ireland in 1867. They were not there because their lives had been snuffed out on the American battlefields of the 1860s. Almost totally forgotten in Ireland, I wanted to explore one of them– the man who Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa called “Fearless Captain Billy O’.” (1) 

With fearless Captain Billy O’

I joined the Fenian band,

And swore, one day to strike a blow,

To free my native land.

~ Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa, Rossa’s Recollections, 1898

Grave No. 3470 at Fredericksburg National Cemetery in Virginia bears the inscription “Capt. W. O’Shea, N.Y.” William O’Shea had led Company A of the 42nd New York Infantry– the Tammany Regiment– since the spring of 1863. Wounded facing Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg, he had survived to take the field once more in the 1864 Overland Campaign. On 12 May that year he was there when the Tammany men experienced one of the most horrifying clashes of the war at Spotsylvania’s Mule Shoe Salient. He was one of the multitude who did not survive. (2)

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Flowers spread along the remains of the Bloody Angle at Spotsylvania’s Mule Shoe Salient to remember the dead during the 150th commemorations of the engagement on 12th May 2014 (Damian Shiels)

 

Less than eight years before his death, Billy O’Shea’s name had been a household one in Ireland. In his native West Cork he had been a member of the Phoenix National and Literary Society, a secret organisation founded by Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa in the town of Skibbereen in 1856. Rossa would go on to become one of the most noted Fenians in history, and O’Shea was one of his first associates. The group’s name had been selected to indicate that “the Irish cause was again to rise from the ashes of our martyred nationality.” Growing up in one of the regions worst affected by the Famine, men like Rossa and O’Shea were convinced of the need to rid the country of British rule, and the organisation of the Phoenix Society was a response to that. The Society would eventually became a part of the newly formed Irish Republican Brotherhood, the American wing of which was known as the Fenian Brotherhood. (3)

The Phoenix Society was particularly strong in Skibbereen and O’Shea’s hometown of Bantry. It’s members set to nighttime drilling as they prepared for future action, but their activities came to the attention of the local Constabulary. In late 1858 an informer named Dan O’Sullivan Goula infiltrated the organisation, and by December the authorities had decided to move against key Phoenix members in Cork and Kerry. While Rossa and others were apprehended in Skibbereen, O’Shea was taken in Bantry. The Nation of 18th December 1858 reported his arrest and subsequent escort to Cork Gaol:

On Friday the 10th a party of fifteen of the Macroom police, under Head Constable Graham, escorted two prisoners to the county Cork gaol, one of whom was for robbery, the other, William O’Shea, was charged with being one of the members of an illegal society. He is about twenty years of age, a cabinet maker, and is from Bantry. He was arrested on Thursday night, and brought before Mr. Davis, R.M., by whom he was fully committed for trial. It is expected that some of the other members of the gang will be arrested in a few days. None of the prisoners lately arrested at Bantry and Skibbereen, it is stated, deny their participation in the illegal society; on the contrary, they boast of it. (4)

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1859 coverage of the Phoenix prosecutions in the English press. Among those named are William O’Shea and Patrick Downing, both of whom would serve in the 42nd New York Infantry during the Civil War (Manchester Guardian, 15th March 1859)

 

Goula gave evidence to the effect that the Phoenix Society was a secret organisation that intended to engage in armed rebellion against Britain. While the State sought additional proof to make their case, all but three of the Phoenix-men were released on bail. Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa, Morty Moynahan and William O’Shea were remanded in custody. Maintaining that Goula was lying, the prisoners refused offers of a deal which would see them freed if they admitted conspiracy. The situation further escalated when one of the Kerry Phoenix-men, Daniel Sullivan, was sentenced to ten years imprisonment. Rossa, Moynahan and O’Shea stood-firm for eight months, and remained incarcerated until they eventually accepted a deal; they plead guilty in July 1859 in return for their and Dan Sullivan’s freedom. (5)

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Mugshot of Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa, close friend of Billy O’Shea and perhaps the most famous of all the Fenians. Mastermind of the Dynamite Campaign, Patrick Pearse’s eulogy at his funeral in 1915 was a major signpost on the road to the 1916 Rising: “They have left us our Fenian dead, and while Ireland holds these graves, Ireland unfree shall never be at peace.” (Fenian Files)

 

The Phoenix National and Literary Society proved inspirational for many, particularly Fenians in the United States, where a number of the organisation’s original members ultimately found themselves. American-based Fenians regularly sought to use the name “Phoenix” afterwards, through publications such as New York’s Phoenix newspaper. Echoes of the Skibbereen secret society were even manifested in Federal uniform during the American Civil War. In 1859 New York Fenians founded the Phoenix Brigade (sometimes called the Phoenix Zouaves) to train for a future Irish war; they entered service as the 99th New York National Guard in 1864 (you can find out more about them here). The 164th New York Infantry, part of Michael Corcoran’s Irish Legion, also took the field during the conflict with the appellation of the “Phoenix Regiment.”

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The makeup of the New York based “Phoenix Brigade” of Fenians which marched in the St. Patrick’s Day parade of 1861 (New York Irish American Weekly 23rd March 1861)

 

Not long after his release from prison Billy O’Shea headed for the United States, where he took up work at his trade. He also quickly became a member of the Fenian Phoenix Brigade. On 22nd June 1861 he enlisted as a private in the Tammany Regiment, a formation that received finance from the Democratic political machine of the same name. By February of 1862 he had risen to Second Lieutenant. Though technically not an ethnic Irish unit, the 42nd was filled with Irishmen, and Billy O’Shea was far from it’s only Fenian. It’s first Lieutenant-Colonel was famed 1848 Young Irelander and one of the Fenian founders Michael Doheny. Among the other notable Fenians were Skibbereen brothers Denis and Patrick Downing, both original members of the Phoenix National and Literary Society who had been arrested in 1858; Morgan Doheny (Michael Doheny’s son); and Maurice Fitzharris (who returned to Ireland in order to take part in the Fenian Rising, see here). Michael Doheny left the unit after a few weeks, but many of the others saw hard service over the course of the conflict. At Gettysburg, the regiment faced Pickett’s Charge, an attack that took a major toll on Fenians both in the regiment and the Army of the Potomac more widely. On that occasion Patrick Downing wrote to Fenian leader John O’Mahony from the field to outline the organisation’s losses, which included the wounding of Billy O’Shea, Denis Downing and Maurice Fitzharris (you can read the full letter here). A further mark of the 42nd’s strong Irish links can be found in the amount of money the regiment gave in the weeks prior to Gettysburg for the relief of the poor in Ireland, money administered through the Fenians (you can see their names here). (6)

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Michael Doheny, 1848 Young Irelander and a founding member of the Fenians. Briefly Lieutenant-Colonel of the 42nd New York, his son Morgan served with the regiment through their service (Wikipedia)

 

What of Billy O’Shea himself? We know he had a speech impediment, and his stutter was particularly noticeable when he was under strain. He also had a quick wit. An oft-quoted incident took place on the Virginia Peninsula in 1862, when O’Shea and his men were tasked with destroying the Grapevine Bridge over the Chickahominy. While engaged in the effort one of General McClellan’s aides dashed up on his horse, demanding to know who was in command. O’Shea responded “I–I–I am in c–c–command.” The aide continued: “I want to know, sir, can artillery pass over?” It was clearly apparent that they could not. O’Shea replied “I–I am in com–com–command here to s–s–see that this br–br–bridge is p–p–prop–prop–properly destroyed; b–b–but you c–c–can get artillery across if it be f–f–fly–fly–flying artillery, and ca–ca–can travel on wings.” The unamused aide turned and rode off. (7)

Another account of Billy comes following his wounding at Gettysburg. Jeremiah O’ Donovan Rossa was then in New York, where he spent the months of June and July 1863 before returning to Ireland. Years later Rossa would recall:

In July, 1863, was fought the battle of Gettysburg. The day after the battle [this timeline seems unlikely] a carriage stopped at the door of the house in which I lived at New Chambers and Madison streets. I was told a man in the carriage wanted to see me. The man was William O’Shea of Bantry, who had spent eight or nine months with me in Cork Jail, a few years before then. He asked me to sit with him in the carriage; we drove to some hospital at the west side of Broadway; he registered his name on the books, gave up his money to the clerk, was taken to a ward, and a doctor called. he was dressed in the uniform of a captain; he was a captain in the Forty-second Tammany Regiment; his uniform was all begrimed with earth; he had fallen in the fight; he had four wounds on his body–one bullet having entered in front just below the ribs and come out at the back, and another having struck him in the wrist, traveling up his hand, come out near the elbow. He remained two weeks in that hospital; walked about among the friends in New York two weeks more, then rejoined his regiment, and got shot dead in the next battle [it was 10 months before his death]. While he was in New York, a brother of his was killed in battle [his brother Daniel, mortally wounded at Gettysburg]; he had the brother’s body brought on to New York, and buried in Calvary. As he and I were coming from Calvary, we met the funeral of the wife of Colonel [then Brigadier-General] Michael Corcoran going to Calvary, and with it we went into the graveyard again…in Ireland I familiarly called him “Billy O’.” (8)

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Signatures of officers of the 42nd New York appended to a promotion request in 1863. Among them are William O’Shea, Jas. Walter Tobin and Morgan Doheny (NARA M1064. Letters and their enclosures received by the Commission Branch of the Adjutant General’s Office, 1863-70)

 

Rossa’s recollections were hazy with the passage of years, but the two had clearly spent time together in July 1863. Through the decades that followed Rossa kept a memento of Billy O’, a letter he had received just after they parted:

U.S. General Hospital, No. 1, Annapolis, MD.,

August 17, 1863.

JER– You see I lose no time in jerking you a line as soon as I can.

Do, Jer., give me credit for being so prompt and thoughtful, as it is but seldom I claim praise. Now, for the history of my route to hereT.

I got in to Baltimore very peaceably indeed. I had a little trouble of mind on the cars, but I soon got over that. My uneasiness was caused by a beautiful New York girl that was going to Washington to a boarding school, to complete her studies.

I got into Baltimore about seven o’clock the next morning after leaving you. I wanted to be here in time, so as to save my distance, as the horse jockeys say, which I did in right good order. The next day, I was admitted into this hospital where I now rest. I’d have saved three or four hundred dollars by coming here first, instead of going to New York. Kiss Cousin Denis and Tim in remembrance of me. Remembrance to Mr. O’Mahony. Send a line as soon as you get any new to

BILLY O’. (9)

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Memorial to the 42nd New York Infantry, the Tammany Regiment, Gettysburg (Damian Shiels)

 

Billy O’Shea’s commitment to the Union cause during the Civil War did not dull his desire to take action on behalf of Ireland, and he remained an ardent Fenian throughout. Along with a number of others in the 42nd he was active in the Army of the Potomac’s Fenian Circle (see here); as late as February 1864 his name was among a number of subscribers (and Union officers) recorded as financially supporting the production of The Irish People in Dublin, a newspaper “expressly published for the cause of Ireland’s Independence.” Ultimately though it was the United States for whom he gave his life. News of his death was first broken in the Irish-American; a little less than a month after he fell those in Ireland were reading of it. The Irish People of 11th June 1864 carried the story:

The late fighting in Virginia has cost the Fenian Brotherhood and Ireland dear. The announcement of the deaths of Capt. O’Shea, Capt. Tobin [another Fenian in the 42nd] and Lieut. Brennan [97th New York] will be received with deep sorrow by our readers. They were brave and experienced officers, whom we hoped to see in the service of their own country, to whose cause they were devoted, heart and soul. Captain O’Shea was one of the “Phoenix Prisoners” of ’58. (10)

The Irish-American had originally received the news of O’Shea’s death straight from the field, printing it in their 28th May edition. It said of he and Tobin: “…none were braver or loved Ireland’s cause more truly…cut off in the prime of their manhood, many a kind friend will drop a tear when they hear of their early deaths.” His remains were initially buried at Brown’s Farm, Spotsylvania before being removed to their permanent place of interment at Fredericksburg National Cemetery.* Despite the breadth of his life-experience, Billy O’Shea was just 26-years-old when he died. (11)

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The grave of Captain William O’Shea, Fredericksburg National Cemetery (MVC- Find A Grave)

 

*The National Park Service Roster of Known Union Soldiers buried in Fredericksburg National Cemetery notes that the records of Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York also record his burial there, though perhaps this is a memorial to him. See here.

(1) Rossa’s 1898:174; (2) Kenna 2015:16, New York Muster Roll Database, 42nd New York Muster Roll:1049; (3) Kenna 2015:16, Rossa 1898:149, Shiels 2016: 35; (4) Kenna 2015: 16-38, Rossa 1898: 206-233, The Nation 18th December 1858; (5) Kenna 2015: 16-38, Rossa 1898: 206-233; (6) The Irish People 25th March 1865, Savage 1868:354, 267, Rossa 1898:87; (7) Wexler 2016: 147-8, Savage 1868:355; (8)  Rossa 1898:383; (9) Rossa 1898:384; (10) The Irish People 20th February 1864, The Irish People 11th June 1864; (11) New York Irish-American Weekly 28th May 1864, Wexler 2016: 339;

References

New York Irish-American Weekly, 28th May 1864.

The Irish People, 20th February 1864.

The Irish People, 11th June 1864.

The Irish People, 25th March 1865.

The Manchester Guardian, 18th March 1859.

The Nation, 18th December 1858.

Find A Grave Memorial Captain William O’Shea.

Kenna, Shane 2015. Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa: Unrepentant Fenian.

National Archives & Records Administration. M1064. Letters and their enclosures received by the Commission Branch of the Adjutant General’s Office, 1863-70.

National Park Service. Roster of Known Union Soldiers Buried in Fredericksburg National Cemetery.

New York Muster Roll Abstracts.

New York Adjutant General. Roster of 42nd New York Infantry.

O’Donovan Ross, Jeremiah 1898. Rossa’s Recollections 1830 to 1898.

Savage, John 1868. Fenian Heroes and Martyrs.

Shiels, Damian 2016. Heritage Centenary Sites of Rebel County Cork. 

Wexler, Fred 2016. The Tammany Regiment: A History of the Forty-Second New York Volunteer Infantry, 1861-1864.

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Photography Focus: A Rare Image of Thomas Francis Meagher and the Men of Bull Run

I was recently looking through some of the excellent images made available by the J. Paul Getty Trust when I came upon this striking stereograph view. The original label describes it as “Gen. Thomas Francis Meagher, surrounded by a portion of his command.” It is No. 2052 of the War Views: Army of the Potomac series published by E. & H.T. Anthony & Co. at 501 Broadway, New York. The image is rarely used, which is somewhat surprising given the strength of the composition. Despite the title, examination of the men clearly indicates that this is Thomas Francis Meagher before he was a General. Both his uniform and those pictured with him give it away– this is Thomas Francis Meagher as an officer in the 69th New York State Militia, surrounded by 69th New York zouaves of his Company K. Though the Getty catalogue entry dates the image to 1862-1864, this was exposed in the summer of 1861, likely in Virginia just prior to the Battle of Bull Run. The significance of this photograph has been recognised before, most notably by historian Joseph Bilby in The Irish Brigade in the Civil War. The high-resolution version provided by the Getty Trust presents us with an opportunity to examine it in close detail, a rare chance to see the faces of some of the ordinary men of the 69th who participated in that momentous engagement on 21 July 1861. We are left to wonder which of them were still standing afterwards.

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The original stereoscope view of Meagher surrounded by his men. The tents in the background suggest this may have been taken in Virginia prior to the First Battle of Bull Run (The J. Paul Getty Trust)

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A close up of Thomas Francis Meagher. His rank-insignia is clearly that of a Captain (The J. Paul Getty Trust)

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Faces of the Battle of Bull Run. A detail of some of the men surrounding Meagher. Many, if not most of these men would have been born in Ireland, and many, if not most, would have been Famine emigrants from the island. The “69” on their caps is clearly visible, as is a white Havelock (left), which some of the 69th New York State Militia wore at Bull Run (The J. Paul Getty Trust)

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Another detail of some of the Irishmen’s faces, with the “69” on their kepis (The J. Paul Getty Trust)

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One of the 69th New York State Militia drummer boys (The J. Paul Getty Trust)

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The other 69th New York State Militia drummer boy (The J. Paul Getty Trust)

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A focus on one of the 69th Irishmen. His uniform is clearly that of one of the Company K Zouaves. His blue Zouave jacket bore red embroidering (The J. Paul Getty Trust)

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Another close-up of one the 69th Zouaves in his distinctive jacket. This image provides us with what is surely the best view of ordinary members of the 69th New York State Militia at the time of Bull Run yet known (The J. Paul Getty Trust)

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A detailed view of the overall scene (The J. Paul Getty Trust)

 

*I am grateful to Harry Smeltzer of the excellent Bull Runnings  for his assistance and advice with this post, together with historians Joseph Bilby and Catherine Bateson. 

References

The J. Paul Getty Trust, Getty’s Open Content Program. Gen. Thomas Francis Meagher, surrounded by a portion of his command. [Army of the Potomac]; Edward and Henry T. Anthony & Co. (American, 1862 – 1902); about 1862 – 1864; Albumen silver print; 84.XC.979.1562. Gift of Weston J. and Mary M. Naef.

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The Unveiling of Louis Lang’s “Great Historical Picture”, New York, 1862

The 11th October 1862 was an auspicious day for those associated with the 69th New York State Militia. It was a little less than 15 months since they had returned– to great fanfare– from the Bull Run battlefield. Though the carnage since had dwarfed it in scale, the symbolism of that “first battle” remained powerful, and to none more so than those associated with the 69th. Now, many of the officers who had fought that day were gathered once more, this time for a more joyous occasion. That Saturday evening they joined other New York luminaries for the first viewing of a new painting that commemorated their homecoming. Congregating at the premises on 773 Broadway, the home to Goupil’s art dealership (often referred to as Knoedler’s, for it’s proprietor, German-born Michel Knoedler) they marvelled at the creation, some twelve feet in width, which portrayed the event. Appropriately, this image of immigrants was also executed by a foreign-born American– Louis Lang. (1)

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The artist Louis Lang (The Book Buyer)

Louis Lang had been born in Bad Waldsee, Württemberg around 1812. He had studied art in Stuttgart and Paris before making the move to Philadelphia, and after a brief period in Italy returned to live in New York in the late 1830s. Elected to the National Academy in 1852, his style was described as “characterized by brilliant but well-balanced coloring; his choices of subjects is sentimental and popular.” The painting he had produced for this occasion was a marvellous sight. It depicted the march of the 69th New York State Militia up Broadway on 27th July 1861, after they had disembarked at Pier No. 1 on their return from the front. The New York Daily Herald described it to their readers:

…the spectator is supposed to be at the head of Battery place looking towards Pier No. 1, the old Washington House being on the right, Castle Garden on the left, and our noble bay in the centre distance, alive with shipping of all kinds, amongst which are several vessels-of-war firing salutes and manning their yards. The painting contains over one hundred figures-many of them portraits- all composed and arranged in a most artistic manner. The sense of light and motion is very successfully conveyed, the color is effective and harmonious, and the eye wanders from one incident to another without the confusion usually attending crowded compositions. (2)

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Brigadier-General Michael Corcoran (Library of Congress)

The launch of the painting at Goupil’s was a major event, with luminaries from both New York society and the city’s Irish community. There was no doubt about the star guest, none other than Michael Corcoran himself, former Colonel of the 69th who had recently been exchanged after his capture at Bull Run. Back in the city where he enjoyed celebrity status, he was now a Brigadier-General in the midst of forming the brigade that became known as Corcoran’s Irish Legion. Among the many others on the invite list were noted Irish American Judge Charles P. Daly, famed historian George Bancroft and former Young Irelander and Fenian John Savage. Also present were military such as 69th veterans and Corcoran’s staff, a host of newspapermen and art critics, including representatives of the Albion, Home Journal, Leader, Vanity Fair and the Commercial Advertiser, and artists such as Irishman William John Hennessy. (3)

For the occasion of the unveiling Goupil’s had been fitted out at Lang’s direction. Items associated with the 69th New York State Militia were placed around the gallery, including muskets, flags, drums and equipment that they had taken to Bull Run. Among the colors hanging in the room was the famous “Prince of Wales” flag of the 69th. The evening began with the assembled guests spending a couple of hours examining the details of the painting, before the event moved to an adjacent room where light refreshments such as pickled tongue, salads and “Century Punch” had been prepared. At around 9.30pm Louis Lang called everyone to order, and proceeded to give an account of the origins of the painting and his reasons for undertaking it. He dwelt on the sadness he felt that Michael Corcoran was not among the figures he could include (due to his capture in the battle). He also revealed Judge Daly as the individual who suggested the introduction of a boy selling an image of Corcoran into the composition in order to represent the regiment’s leader. Lang concluded by telling those assembled that the absence of Corcoran from the painting was more than made up for by his physical presence at the unveiling, and he called on everyone to join him in raising a glass to the “health, prosperity and glory” of the General. Corcoran himself was next to speak, thanking Lang for his words. He commended the “able, conscientious and patriotic manner” in which Lang had depicted his men, and admitted that viewing the picture “called up many sad memories” as it caused him to think of those who had left but had not come back, dying on the battlefield while “lamenting that they had only one life to give to their adopted country.” His thoughts also turned to those who had returned to be depicted in the painting, only to have since fallen on other battlefields. Reflecting on his time in captivity, he recalled the letter he had received from his friend Captain Kirker (also present) telling him of the reception the regiment had received on it’s return to New York. He concluded by offering a toast to the health of the artist, stating that he would soon depart to the field once more with his old regiment, and promising that they would deport themselves in a way that would see those who came home worthy of a similar welcome to that of 1861. (4)

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The Return of the 69th New York after the Battle of Bull Run, 1861, by Louis Lang. The boy included at Judge Daly’s suggestion is depicted in the right foreground. (New York Historical Society)

The next to speak was Judge Daly. Addressing the painting itself, he remarked how Lang had succeeded in representing “the pomp and glory of war” but also war’s “darker shades.” He pointed to the presence of the wounded, the maimed and the widowed in the image, before addressing the war in a wider sense:

The Judge…in the most solemn and feeling matter alluded to the horrors of this most dreadful of all civil wars, and claimed the right, as an American by birth, though of Irish parents, without offence to his American brethren that they did not look on this struggle with the earnestness they should, but rather that they regarded it as a gala day affair, and that the immensity and grandeur of its operations swallowed up the details of its painful results and important consequences in the future. He declared his solemn belief that, unless they all looked upon it in its true aspect, there would be no conclusion of the strife until it had been brought to the heart and home of every one in the most awful manner. (5)

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Judge Charles P. Daly (Daceymarie)

It is interesting to note Daly’s view that there remained a widespread failure to appreciate the cost of the conflict, even a month after Antietam. It is likely that his Democratic background also influenced his remarks. Like Louis Lang, Judge Daly concluded by drawing attention to General Corcoran, noting with respect to the painting that “His absence was more noticed than his presence,” a comment that elicited resounding cheers. Following this portion of the evening Corcoran and his staff had to depart, as the latest portion of his new brigade had just arrived from Buffalo. As they left, Corcoran remarked that the date on the “Prince of Wales” flag reminded him of the coincidence that the 69th had been organised on 11th October, that it was the 11th October when they refused to parade for the Prince of Wales’ visit in 1860, and that now this painting was first exhibited on the same date. Those who remained in the gallery reportedly enjoyed the flow of wine and humour until the “wee hours o’morn.” (6)

An examination of the unveiling of Louis Lang’s painting allows us to place this striking composition in its historical context. It is both a celebration of the marital spirit of Irish New York and a call for their continued support of the Union war effort. At the same time, it reflects a realisation of what the prosecution of the war was costing in human terms. It is worth also considering the image as a commercial creation. Advertisements to view the image at Knoedler’s Gallery ran in the local press, and undoubtedly attracted considerable interest. The New York Irish-American Weekly concluded it’s report by encouraging readers not to be shy about putting their hands in their pockets to pay it a visit:

The picture is now, and will continue for some time, on public exhibition, at Mr. Knoedler’s Gallery, 772 Broadway, and as the work was an undertaking of pure and disinterested patriotism on the part of Mr. Lang, and has resulted in such a beautiful and substantial tribute to Irish loyalty and pluck, I trust that sons and daughters of old Inisfail will flock in crowds to the Gallery, and give the talented artist substantial proof of their heart appreciation of his success in portraying an event that has become historic. (7)

Recent years have seen Louis Lang’s creation undergo a complete restoration, and it is once again on view for the citizens of New York. Anyone wishing to see it today can do so at the New York Historical Society. 

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Advertisement for Lang’s painting of the return of the 69th, with admission prices, 25th October 1862. A reminder that the painting also served a commercial market (New York Irish-American Weekly)

(1) New York Irish-American 18th October 1862; (2) Appletons’ Cylcopaedia, National Academy, New York Daily Herald 13th October 1862; (3) New York Irish-American 18th October 1862; (4) New York Daily Herald 13th October 1862, New York Irish-American 18th October 1862; (5) New York Daily Herald 13th October 1862; (6) New York Daily Herald 13th October 1862, New York Irish-American Weekly 18th October 1862; (7) New York Irish-American Weekly 18th October 1862;

References

New York Daily Herald 13th October 1862.

New York Irish-American Weekly 18th October 1862.

New York Irish-American Weekly 25th October 1862.

Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography: Louis Lang.

National Academy Museum: Louis Lang.

New York Historical Society. Return of the 69th (Irish) Regiment, N.Y.S.M. from the Seat of War.

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Leave by Order of the KKK: Conflict in War & Peace for a Louisiana Irish Republican

In 1871 Irishman Luke Madden, who had ostensibly been a loyal Union man during the Civil War, made application to the Southern Claims Commission. His home during the conflict had been opposite the city of Vicksburg, on the Louisiana side of the Mississippi River. There he had suffered repeated loss to both sides during the protracted struggle for control of the region, and had even spent a number of months as a captive. His identification with the Republicans immediately after the war led to the issuance of a warning from the newly formed Ku Klux Klan– a remarkable official copy of which he had submitted to demonstrate his loyalty bona fides.

Luke Madden was born in Ireland around 1835, and emigrated to the United States in 1847 during the Great Famine. For a number of years he made his home in Pennsylvania, becoming a naturalized citizen in Clarion County in 1853. By the end of that decade he had relocated south, and on the eve of war he was a laboring contractor. He and his team, which included his brother Patrick, had secured a job to undertake ditching and levee work in the vicinity of the Brown & Johnston Plantation in Madison Parish, Louisiana. He spent most of his time around the settlement of Delta, which lay on the west bank of the Mississippi directly opposite the city of Vicksburg. Sometime after the outbreak of the war, he took charge of the Plantation itself, and formalised his position as a lessee under the Regulations of the Treasury Department when the region fell under Union control. Throughout the conflict, Luke Madden sought to maintain his business interests in what was one of the most contested landscapes of the American Civil War. Ultimately, the conflict brought him opportunity and hardship, and he suffered at the hands of both Union and Confederate forces through the course of the fighting. His efforts to seek compensation after war’s end record his version of the story, in which he claimed his long-standing support for Union.

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The Federal Canal under construction near Delta, Louisiana (Library of Congress)

During the summer of 1862 Union forces began construction of a canal on the west bank of the Mississippi in an effort to bypass Vicksburg’s guns. The location they chose was not far from Delta. The mammoth undertaking ultimately proved unsuccessful, but the works themselves consumed massive resources. The 75 wheelbarrows and shovels that Luke Madden had sitting on the bank of the river for his levee work proved too tempting a target. It wasn’t long before the U.S. transport steamer Laurel Hill arrived and commandeered the equipment. It was to prove the first in a long-line of Federal requisitions of Madden’s property. Around the same time a Union officer, who Madden remembered as a First Lieutenant in the 4th Wisconsin Infantry, confiscated his rifle.

Eventually the majority of Union troops moved on, but by early 1863 they were back. As Federal efforts to overcome Vicksburg intensified, the canal project was briefly reignited before mass manoeuvring became the order of the day as Grant sought to bring the city to heel. The reappearance of Federal soldiers, together with the lack of compensation he had received in 1862 was perhaps the catalyst for Madden’s decision on 4th May 1863 to seek a pass from the Confederate provost of Vicksburg. He needed one so that he cross the lines and drive his sheep to Redbone in Warrenton County, Mississippi, where presumably he sought to dispose of them. The timing of his departure coincided with the period when Grant’s forces began to close in for what would prove the decisive investment of Vicksburg, movements that encompassed fighting in Warrenton County. While he was gone, Federal troops, consistently on the look out for working animals, took eleven mules and two horses from his land in Madison Parish. Madden quickly passed back through the lines, seeking to determine “the condition of the negroes” on the Plantation and to see if they needed supplies. On 14th May 1863 he took the Oath of Allegiance to the United States.

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Copy of the 1863 Confederate Pass issued to Luke Madden (NARA)

Immediately following the fall of Vicksburg on 4th July 1863 Luke Madden went to work for the Union Quartermaster’s Department based there. He ran an express service and helped to supply newspapers and other items to naval officers stationed below the city. It was while undertaking this business that General John A. Logan took one of the Irishman’s better horses, promising that it would be returned after he completed a raid to Rocky Springs, though the animal never was. After two months in Vicksburg, Madden returned to Delta where he continued his farm business and operated a Government woodyard to supply Union needs. Even though the front lines moved on the war was never far away, and as it proved the worst was yet to come. On the night of 9th September 1864 a band of Confederate “guerrillas” swept down on Madison Township, confiscating goods from those they believed to be supporting the Union. At Luke Madden’s woodyard they made off with 12 mules, 2 horses, 2 wagons, an assortment of blankets, clothes, tobacco, coffee, flour and $1700 in cash. Led by a man known as Captain Disheron or Disheroon, reportedly a paroled prisoner, they also took Madden captive. While the supplies were disposed off in Franklin Parish, Louisiana, the captured man spent the following months in Shreveport, Louisiana and Tyler, Texas. He was not released until 27th May 1865, when he was exchanged at Red River Landing.

After his release, Luke Madden got permission from General Slocum to travel to Mississippi in search of the Rebel Captain who had stolen his property– Disheroon reportedly lived about 4 miles east of Grand Gulf. It is doubtful he was successful, but by 1871 he was seeking compensation for his losses to Federal forces through the Southern Claims Commission. As part of that process, he sought to demonstrate his loyalty to the Union. Firstly, he asserted that he had not voted on the Ordinance of Secession for Louisiana, claiming “I kept as near neutral as I could so as to keep out of difficulty, I would not have been safe if I had announced myself as a Union man.” He also noted that he had four full cousins– William, Pat, John and Luke Burns– who served in the Union military during the war. A series of affidavits were provided by locals to support his claim. His brother stated that he had given details on the positions of Rebel guns at Vicksburg to the Union Navy, while Edmund Jackson who lived nearby claimed that Madden had always provided the Union military with information on the best roads and routes. John T. Rankin, who had been a Union officer during the war, first met Madden in 1864 when he was doing work for the Union military. Rankin had relocated to Vicksburg (one of the despised “Carpetbaggers”), where he came to know the Irishman better and noted that he was a supporter of the Republicans in Louisiana during the Campaign of 1868. One of the strongest pieces of evidence in the Irishman’s support was given by elderly Bartlett Corbin, and African-American who had lived on the Brown & Johnson Plantation in Madison, and had possibly been a slave there. He had known Madden from the late 1850s, and spent a lot of time with him during the war. Bartlett testified that he “always heard him speak in favor of the Union” and “spoke against the rebels all the time.” He continued:

He was against slavery before the war and always spoke against it. Before the Union troops came down he spoke against the Confederacy all the time. I don’t know if he spoke that way to white people but he did to colored, I don’t think it would have been safe for him to talk to the white folks as he did to me…I never spoke with Luke Madden about the war in presence of white people until the Yankeys came…

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General John A Logan. “Black Jack” took Luke Madden’s grey horse during 1863 (Army Historical Foundation)

Another key piece of supporting evidence came from Alston Mygatt, President of the Mississippi Union League and a Republican State Senator for Mississippi:

I have known the claimant since the fall of 1863…I planted in 1865 on the plantation adjoining Brown and Johnson’s where claimant worked. Claimant had the reputation of being a man loyal to the United States Government. I am a loyal man, I opposed secession, I was not at home when the vote was taken on the adoption of the secession ordinance. I resided in April 1861 in Vicksburg, where I now reside, I never gave a dime for the aid of the Confederate Government. I have been persecuted for my Union sentiments, was twice arrested by the Rebels. People were afraid to speak to me on the street lest they should be suspected of being Union men. My whole family was ostracized on account of my Union sentiments. I organized in the year 1863 about the tenth of July a club of Union men, which club was recognized by the Commanding General…and at his request witness and Judge Houghton made out a list of Union men…Mr. Madden’s name was not on that list, because he resided in Louisiana. About the 1st September 1863 I was delegated by the Union Club to go to New Orleans and get the papers necessary to the establishment of a Loyal League in Vicksburg. I established the League and was one of its officers. I am at the present time [1871] President of the Grand Council of the Union League of Mississippi. I have acted with the Republican Party ever since the war, I was for two years a member of the State Republican Executive Committee. I was Chairman of that Committee from 1866 to 1868. I was a member of [the] Constitutional Convention in 1868 and am now State Senator. I have known Mr Madden continually since 1863. Know that he has acted with the Republican Party since the war…I have heard himself as decidedly opposed to the Rebellion and in favor of the Union cause. The claimant was regarded by his loyal neighbors as a Union man. I do not know that he was ever molested or threatened on account of his Union sentiments. I do not know that he ever contributed anything to the aid of either the Federal or Confederate Government.

Luke Madden’s claim amounted to one horse worth $300, 12 mules worth $1500, two horses worth $200, 72 wheelbarrows and shovels worth $324 and a rifle worth $20 to a total of $2344. Although most of his claims were accepted, his valuations were not, and he was ultimately awarded just $780. Whatever the reality of his Union support (be it ideological or opportunistic), the fact that the Irishman was imprisoned by Confederate guerrillas during the war suggests he was seen as someone who was too overt in his support for the Union war effort. It was likely his support for the Republican Party (individuals derogatorily referred to by Southern opponents as “Scalawags”) that drew the post-war ire of the Ku Klux Klan, leading to the ominous threat with which he was served.

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Luke Madden advertisement, Madison Times 5 September 1885 (Madison Times)

It is not clear what happened to Luke Madden after 1871. The 1880 Census for Delta records a man of the same name as a “Retain Grocer”, though he gave a different age. His shop at the Delta Depot ran advertisements in local newspapers across the next number of years. The Carroll Democrat reported that he was robbed and beaten by “Negro foot pads” at Delta in 1891 (his widow was later shot in the face during an attempted robbery in 1899). This Luke Madden, the Delta Merchant, passed away in 1895. Interestingly his death was recorded in the Vicksburg Daily Commercial Herald as follows:

Mr. Luke Madden, of Delta, La. a great favorite in this city where he is mourned by many old comrades and friends died Sunday morning at 2 o’clock, after a short but violent illness. He was a Confederate veteran, having enlisted as a member of the Madison Tips at the outbreak of the war, and his record in the service was unexcelled.

Luke Madden is not a common name, and the fact that both individuals were in business in the same relatively small place seems an unlikely coincidence. Yet the Luke Madden described in the 1895 obituary could not be further removed from the Luke Madden portrayed in the Southern Claims Commission, the man arrested by Confederate guerrillas and threatened by the KKK. Perhaps they are different people, but if not, it raises many intriguing questions about the reality of his life, and how he chose to portray himself to different groups.

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Luke Madden’s warning from the Ku Klux Klan (NARA)

References

1870 Census

The Carroll Democrat 6th June 1891

The Daily Commercial Herald 23rd April 1895

The Times-Democrat 12th December 1899

Union Citizen File for Luke Madden

Southern Claims Commission Claim No. 3171 of Luke Madden

The post Leave by Order of the KKK: Conflict in War & Peace for a Louisiana Irish Republican appeared first on Irish in the American Civil War.

A New Opportunity to Stamp Your Mark on Irish Commemoration of the American Civil War

As readers are aware, I have long lamented the lack of study and commemoration in Ireland of the hundreds of thousands of Irish emigrants whose lives were forever impacted by the American Civil War. We have made many efforts to see something done on this front, particularly during the 150th anniversary of the conflict, but ultimately extremely little occurred in Ireland to mark the occasion. A new opportunity has now presented itself, and I am asking readers to consider submitting proposals to see if, this time, we can make it a reality.

Back in 2013 I launched a campaign for readers to contact An Post, the Irish postal service, as they sought suggestions for themes for future Irish stamps (Stamp Your Mark on Irish Commemoration of the American Civil War). Many of you did so. Despite the fact the subject matter appeared to completely match all of An Post’s stated criteria, including being in an anniversary year, the proposal was rejected (My reaction to that is here: Has Ireland Missed the Last Opportunity to Remember Her Civil War Dead). Now, as part of the 2020 stamp programme, proposals are being sought for themes that specifically represent events or people of significance for the Global Irish Diaspora. The time seems right to once again make an effort to have this monumental event in the global Irish experience recognised.

The Irish Abroad Unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade have asked people to send a brief outline of their suggestions to them by Friday, 16th March 2018. The email for submissions is globalirishhub@dfa.ie and you can read the original call and criteria by clicking here. I would like to call on all readers of Irish in the American Civil War, wherever you may be based, to consider submitting a proposal that the Irish of the American Civil War be remembered on one of these stamps. If you could share this request as widely as possible I would be extremely appreciative. Please feel free to use the indicative text (below) or formulate your own. The more submissions that arrive requesting such a stamp, the harder it will be to ignore. Fingers crossed for a positive result!

The American Civil War is the only conflict in the Irish experience comparable to the First World War. Some 200,000 Irish-born men fought, at least 180,000 in order to preserve the American Union. The conflict led to the deaths of up to 35,000 Irish emigrants, leaving innumerable widows and orphans in Ireland, the United States, and among the Irish diasporas of Britain and Canada. The sacrifices of these individuals, part of the Famine generation, were the foundations upon which Ireland’s unique relationship with the United States has been built, yet they have never been properly recognised in Ireland. There is no event in the history of the Global Irish Diaspora to compare with this conflict and the time is now right to acknowledge its key importance in the Irish story. I would therefore like to call on you to dedicate one of the Global Irish Diaspora stamps to this seminal experience.

The post A New Opportunity to Stamp Your Mark on Irish Commemoration of the American Civil War appeared first on Irish in the American Civil War.

“A Brutal, Good Natured Face:” A New York Irish “Rowdy” in War and Peace

Irish in the American Civil War is fortunate to have Brendan Hamilton as a long-standing contributor to the site. Brendan’s painstaking research and analysis always makes for fascinating reading (see for example here and here). His latest piece is just as intriguing. It follows the remarkable life of Irishman Felix Larkin, who during the Civil War served as an officer in 15th New York Engineers. But Felix was also a man of New York’s rough and tumble underworld of gangs. His was a life led facing legends such as Bill “The Butcher” Poole and the Bowery Boys. It was a lifestyle which would ultimately brought his end. Brendan brings us the details. 

After Captain Felix Larkin met his untimely demise in November of 1868, his lengthy funeral procession included multiple state and municipal politicians, 46 carriages, and over 500 New York volunteer soldiers wearing badges of mourning. It was a memorial fit for a war hero, yet to many Americans, the dead Irish native represented a great deal beside that. Though relatively unknown today, this “sporting man” stood to his some of contemporaries as a representative of the same culture of brutality and corruption that bloodied the streets of Manhattan and helped to inspire the mythologized image of the mid-19th century New York gangster. It is a myth that endures in books like Herbert Asbury’s Gangs of New York and lives on in our time through the Martin Scorsese film of the same title and television depictions such as “Copper.” But truth is sloppier than fiction, and researching the historical figures behind the myths and legends often reveals complex, even contradictory portraits. The story of Felix Larkin is no exception. (1)

It is unclear exactly where Felix Larkin was born, but his proximity, both in neighborhood and principle occupation, to Larkins from the parish of Desertmartin in County Derry suggests he likely hailed from the same region. By the time of the 1855 New York State Census, he was living with his wife Margaret and three children on Hammersley Street (present day West Houston) in Manhattan’s Eighth Ward, in an area known today as SoHo. While the occupation he officially provided was “laborer,” Trow’s Directory reveals that within the year Larkin was running a rum shop on 73 King Street. According to period newspapers, this establishment served as a “disorderly den,” a gathering place for local rowdies and criminals of various stripes. Larkin himself was affiliated Lew Baker’s gang of “short boys.” Baker, a Welsh immigrant and former policeman, led this crew of political thugs to perform dirty work for Tammany Hall. They infamously engaged in street battles with nativist rival gangs like the Bowery Boys, and ultimately killed the legendary Bill “The Butcher” Poole in a drunken altercation at the Stanwix Hall saloon in 1855. (2)

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The killing of Bill “The Butcher” Poole at the Stanwix Hall. (Image: Murder by Gaslight)

In January 1856, Baker Gang members James “Bully” Nelson and Martin Michaels sought shelter in Larkin’s shop after brutally beating a policeman who had caught them throwing rocks and ice through the windows of a local building. A week later, police raided the saloon, rounding up Larkin and “seven or eight suspicious characters.” It is unclear with what crime Larkin was charged, or whether he did any time for the offense, but he disappears from Trow’s Directory for two years afterwards (1857-1858). His name reemerges in 1859, accompanied with a new saloon on 320 West Street. He again ran afoul of the law, and was convicted of assaulting a man on Hudson Street during a quarrel over a foot race. Larkin survived the ensuing fight despite getting stabbed by the other man and pelted with stones by an angry mob. His penalty for the crime consisted of a $10 fine. In the same year, he commanded a militia company, the Michael Murphy Guard, a 120-man organization that gathered for periodic drill and target shooting competitions in Hoboken, New Jersey. (3)

Felix Larkin’s role leading a quasi-military organization, the social opportunities commensurate with running a mid-19th century saloon, and his burgeoning political clout as a “short boy” and “queer bluffer,”* left him well-positioned for a commission in a Manhattan-based regiment at the onset of the Civil War. He was quickly enrolled as a First Lieutenant in Company A of the 15th New York Volunteers. Larkin’s saloon was, in fact, listed as one of two headquarters for the nascent regiment; it is likely, therefore, that Larkin played an important role in the unit’s recruitment. Company A was commanded by Captain Thomas Bogan, himself an Ulster-born, Eighth Ward saloon keeper with ties to Mayor Fernando Wood’s Mozart Hall political machine. While more of Company A’s recruits hailed from the Eighth Ward than any other part of New York, its numbers included men and boys from all over Manhattan, plus seven enlistees recruited in Troy, New York. The majority were Irish natives. Together they represented a broad cross section of New York’s working class: laborers, skilled tradesmen, shop clerks, and seamen, ranging in age from 13 to 51. It is impossible to say just how many of these men were affiliated with pre-war street gangs. One soldier, James Cusick, fits the name and age of a criminal who went by the moniker of “The Eighth Ward Man-eater” for his proclivity to bite opponents in brawls. He was later a suspect alongside Felix Larkin in an assault and robbery in a West Houston Street saloon. (4)

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Officers of the 15th New York Engineers (Library of Congress)

In June of 1861, the new regiment went into camp at Willett’s Point in Queens, where it received its first issue of uniforms, camp and garrison equipment, Model 1842 smoothbore muskets, and was officially mustered into federal service. Though it was recruited as an engineer unit, the regiment’s original designation was initially the 15th New York Volunteer Infantry. It arrived in Washington, D.C. on June 30th, 1861, where it was attached to McCunn’s Brigade and soon upgraded to British-made Enfield rifle muskets. The 15th’s first duties involved building fortifications and performing routine picket duties outside the capital. In October 1861, the regiment’s commander, Colonel John McLeod Murphy, was finally successful in securing his unit an official designation as an engineer regiment. The 15th New York Engineers was then ordered to Camp Alexander for specialized army engineer training. (5)

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“Pontoon Drill by Conversion,” Engineer Brigade (15th & 50th NY Engineers) (New York State Military Museum)

The spring of 1862 found Larkin and his comrades attached to Major General George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac. They played a vital role in the Peninsula Campaign, constructing siege works around Yorktown, clearing obstructions, and repairing and building bridges and roads to allow the army to cross the Chickahominy and move through the swamplands of eastern Virginia. At Elpham’s Landing, Larkin’s Company A was part of a three company detachment that constructed a floating wharf enabling Franklin’s Division to launch an amphibious landing and unload artillery and supplies while under enemy fire. (6)

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Larkin’s Company A, 15th New York Engineers building a corduroy road, purportedly during the Peninsula Campaign of 1862. It’s possible that the tall officer at right is Felix Larkin himself. (Library of Congress)

After McClellan’s withdrawal from the Peninsula, the 15th returned to D.C. area, where they resumed work on the capital’s defenses. On September 8, 1862, Felix Larkin was promoted to Captain of Company G. While the rowdy, devil-may-care attitudes of many of Larkin’s peers impeded their ability to succeed in a structured, military environment, this does not appear to have been the case for Captain Larkin. The 15th returned to the Army of the Potomac in November 1862, just in time for Major General Ambrose Burnside’s ill-fated Fredericksburg Campaign. On December 10, as one half of the army’s Engineer Brigade, they were assigned to laying pontoon bridges across the Rappahannock River to enable Burnside’s forces to enter the city. Here their working parties came under small arms fire from Confederate pickets on the opposite side of the river, compelling the remainder of the regiment to pick up their rifle muskets and return fire until Union artillery came to their support and drove the Confederates back. The 50th New York Engineers, their sister regiment in the brigade, faced stiffer opposition during their bridge construction. Hunkered down behind stone walls and concealed among the buildings and docks lining the shore, Confederate marksmen poured a deadly fire upon the 50th’s exposed work details. A detachment from the 15th, led by none other than Captain Bogan, was tasked with ferrying Union infantry across the Rappahannock in pontoon boats to clear the opposite bank. The harrowing, yet ultimately successful crossing, has been described by historians as “the first large-scale, boat-borne riverine crossing under fire in American military history.” Captain Bogan was later promoted to major for his role in the operation. (7)

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The 15th New York Engineers photographed with their pontoon bridges at Franklin’s Crossing, Virginia in May 1863. (Library of Congress via John Hennessy, Mysteries & Conundrums)

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The 15th New York Engineers photographed with their pontoon bridges at Franklin’s Crossing, Virginia in May 1863. (Library of COngress via John Hennessy, Mysteries & Conundrums)

The 15th participated in the Union retreat after the disastrous “Mud March” of January 1863, corduroying the muddy roads with logs to enable the army’s bogged-down wagons and artillery to return safely to camp. They performed numerous bridge-building duties during the Chancellorsville Campaign. The majority of the 15th, including Larkin, having enlisted for two years’ terms of service, returned to New York in June 1863 and were mustered out of federal service. While some of these men reenlisted in the 15th or other regiments, most returned to civilian life. Captain Larkin, it seems, returned to the life of a “rowdy.” By September 1865, he was, alongside the aforementioned “Eighth War Man-eater,” suspected in assaulting a man and robbing $766 from him. Larkin does not appear to have been charged with the crime, nor does the accusation appear to have affected his status as a city-appointed Street Inspector for the Eighth Ward. (8)

Larkin also continued managing his West Street saloon and quickly rose to prominence in the bare-knuckle boxing world. Though several articles referred to him as a “pugilist” and a “giant” of “extraordinary build,” I have not been able to find any specific references to organized bouts in which Larkin partook directly. His most prominent role during the postwar years was as a manager and financial backer for a younger fighter named Ned O’Baldwin. O’Baldwin, who went by the moniker of “The Irish Giant,” was a native of Lismore, County Waterford. O’Baldwin’s exploits, particularly his defeat of Andrew Marsden and his rivalry with Joe Wormald, were covered in newspapers across the U.S. and the U.K., but he regularly faced arrest by local authorities due to the illegality of prizefighting. (9)

An 1868 New York Herald article, reprinted in a San Francisco paper, provides a fascinating look into a gathering of various “notabilities” in the sporting world, as they assembled to front the cash for an upcoming O’Baldwin-Wormald bout:

The House of Commons–not the English legislative assembly, but Bob Smith’s house in Houston Street–was last night filled with the representative men of the sporting ilk. Early in the evening the drama of “Punch and Judy,” for bachelors only, was performed to an admiring crowd, who laughed over their ale as they listened to the ridiculous performance. Toward ten o’clock, the disciples of muscular humanity began to congregate at the outer bar, behind which the diamond-studded, rubicund and jolly Bob stood and dispensed liquors and cigars. Among the notabilities present was seen the towering, massive form of the “Benicia Boy,” [John C. Heenan] whose name will go down to posterity, if not further, linked with that of Tom Sayers. Then came Jem Ward–”Gentleman Jem”–who won eighteen out of twenty hard-fought battles in the old and glorious days when the P.R. flourished….Lew Baker–black-whiskered Lew–Mr. Solomons and Capt. Schultz are next in order. Felix Larkin–the unmistakable Felix–was there too. Felix is a great boy. He is engineer-in-chief when a fight is on hand and, like an old war horse, smells the battle from afar. His latest protege and prodigy is the Irish giant, Ned O’Baldwin, who is soon to try his fists with Joe Wormald. In fact it was this that assembled these delegates at the House of Commons last evening. The third installment of $100 was to be put up, and this is how it was done: At dusk the delegates skirmished around the room, shaking hands with each other and everybody else. Then the body marched in close order to the bar, and everybody treated almost everybody else, until about a hogshead of brandy, wine and whiskey was deposited in eager stomachs. Cigars were lighted, and Felix placed the “spondulix” on behalf of Ned O’Baldwin, and Mr. Solomons promptly covered it with a like amount for Wormald. “Smiling” was again in order, and the order was obeyed to a man. They drank heartily, every mother’s son of them. They know how to drink without making rye faces. (10)

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“The Irish Giant” Ned O’Baldwin. (via Murder by Gaslight)

The fight occurred in Lynn, Massachusetts, in October 1868. Larkin’s appearance left an enduring impression upon the spectators and journalists present. “Larkin is a heavy-built, broad-shouldered looking fellow,” wrote one correspondent, “with a brutal, good natured face; and one fellow in the crowd who offered to pay my hack fare if I would give him ‘a puff,’ said that Larkin weighed at ‘least twelve hundred pun s’help ‘im God.’” The bout that followed was brisk and ferocious. Just as O’Baldwin knocked Wormald down, twenty policemen charged into the ring, arresting both combatants as “the pimps, bruisers, and burglars fled like sheep.” (11)

Larkin escaped arrest in Massachusetts, only to be killed during a brawl in an Eighth Ward oyster saloon the following month. Though the newspaper stories and eyewitness accounts vary as to the particulars, the following narrative emerges: Larkin and his pals were out on a spree in the well into the wee hours of the night. They got hungry, and, upon finding no dining establishments remaining open, they proceeded to pound upon the door of Hugh Campbell’s oyster saloon, waking him and several employees who all resided in the same building. Campbell reluctantly agreed to serve them raw oysters and ham sandwiches, but Larkin demanded oyster stews and Campbell was unwilling to light the stove. Words were exchanged and a row ensued between Larkin and Campbell’s respective crews, Larkin drawing a pistol either immediately before or during the melee. Campbell, in turn, stabbed Larkin repeatedly, while the cook, Ann Hines, walloped Larkin on the head with some sort of club. By the time the police arrived, Larkin’s case was hopeless. His injuries included numerous stab wounds to the chest, head, and abdomen and multiple fractures to his skull. After an elaborate funeral procession, Larkin’s body was interred at Calvary Roman Catholic Cemetery in Queens. (12)

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“Frightful Murder.” Headline from the front page of the New York Evening Telegram, 25 Nov. 1868.

The killing was covered in newspapers throughout the nation. The New York press’s reactions to the incident were myriad. While one Herald reporter characterized it as “one of the most horrible murders which has been perpetrated in this city for years,” others were less sympathetic. “Larkins [sp],” wrote an Evening Telegram correspondent, “was a low, brutal rough [who] had muscle and availed himself of it to knock men down and stamp them into jelly.” Knowing Larkin and his associates’ brutal propensities, he argued, Campbell and his staff had every reason to fear for their lives and therefore acted in self defense. While the Herald reporter offered that Larkin’s friends described him as “good natured and kind of heart,” he also related sources who claimed Larkin ”when in liquor, [was] more fiend than man, and would hesitate no more over the doing of a deed of blood than he would over the eating of a good dinner.” Whether the killing was justified or not, it was undoubtedly tragic–a man was dead, leaving in his wake a widow and seven children, and Campbell and Hines were in jail facing murder charges. (13)

While well-known in his time, Felix Larkin has since been largely forgotten. His story, or what endures in the pages of old newspapers and public records, provides a glimpse into the bizarre, surprisingly public underbelly of mid-nineteenth century New York City and the characters who left that world to serve their country in the midst of its Civil War. In Larkin’s case, it seems ironic that a man whose life was so saturated with violence spent the bulk of his war service building bridges and bullet-stopping fortifications. One thing is clear–for two years in Virginia, Larkin and his New York Irish “roughs” performed a vital service to both the nation’s capital and the Army of the Potomac, the oft-overlooked but live-saving work of military engineers. “The rest,” to quote the poet Campbell McGrath, “I must pass over in silence.”

* “Queer Bluffer. The keeper of a rum-shop that is the resort of the worst kinds of rogues, and who assists them in various ways.” Matsell: 71.

(1) “Funeral…;” (2) 1855 NY State Census, Trow’s, “Attempt…,” “Haul…,” Anbinder: 275, Walling: 49-51; (3) “Attempt…,” “Haul…,” Trow’s, “Court…,” “Military;” (4) Muster Roll Abstracts, 15th NY Newspaper Clippings, “Major…,” Bogan, 15th NY Roster, 1860 Census, “Assault…,” Sing Sing Prison Registers; (5) 15th NY Newspaper Clippings, 15th NY Historical Sketch; (6) Ibid.; (7) Ibid., Muster Roll Abstracts, 15th NY Newspaper Clippings, “Major…,” Mackowski; (8) 15th NY Historical Sketch, 15th NY Roster, “Assault…,” Valentine: 64, Annual Report of the Comptroller; (9) Trow’s, “Bloody…,” “Frightful…,” Harding: 24-25, Redmond: 32, 263; (10) “The O’Baldwin and Wormald Mill…;” (11) “Battle of Giants;” (12) “Bloody…,” “Frightful…,” “The Two Murders,” “Funeral”;

References

“15th Regiment Engineers, New York Volunteers, Civil War Newspaper Clippings.” New York State Military Museum.

“15th Regiment, New York Volunteer Engineer Historical Sketch from The 3rd Annual Report Of The Bureau Of Military Statistics.” New York State Military Museum. 

1855 New York State Census, New York, NY.

1860 US Census, New York, NY.

Anbinder, Tyler. Five Points: The 19th-century New York City Neighborhood that Invented Tap Dance, Stole Elections, and Became the World’s Most Notorious Slum. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2001.

Annual Report of the Comptroller. New York: E. Jones & Co., 1867.

Asbury, Herbert. The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the New York Underworld. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928.

“Assault and Robbery.” The Sun [New York, NY] 26 Sept. 1865: 4. Old Fulton NY Postcards Web. Jan. 2018.

“Attempt by a Gang of Political Ruffians to Kill a Policeman–Arrest of Two of the Gang.” New York Daily Tribune 14 Jan 1856. Old Fulton NY Postcards Web. Dec. 2017.

“Battle of Giants.” New Orleans Republican 5 Nov. 1868: 4. Library of Congress: Chronicling America Web. Jan. 2018.

“Bloody Tragedy.” New York Herald 26 Nov. 1868: 5. Old Fulton NY Postcards Web. Dec. 2017.

Bogan, Thomas. “Fraud Exposed!” New York Tribune 3 Dec. 1860: 1. Old Fulton NY Postcards Web. Dec. 2017.

“Court of General Sessions.” The Sun [New York, NY] 23 Sept. 1859. Old Fulton NY Postcards Web. Dec. 2017.

“Frightful Murder.” Evening Telegram [New York, NY] 25 Nov. 1868: 1. Old Fulton NY Postcards Web. Dec. 2017.

“Funeral of Felix Larkin.” New York Herald 28 Nov. 1868: 6. Old Fulton NY Postcards Web. Dec. 2017.

Harding, William Edgar. The Champions of the American Prize Ring: A Complete History of the Heavy-weight Champions of America, with their Battles and Portraits. New York: Richard K. Fox, Proprietor Police Gazette, 1881.

“Haul of Disorderlies.” New York Daily Tribune 24 Jan. 1856. Old Fulton NY Postcards Web. Dec. 2017.

Mackowski, Chris and Kristopher D. White, “Before the Slaughter: How the Confederate Delaying Action in the Streets of Fredericksburg Set the Stage for the Bloodbath to Follow.” Hallowed Ground. Civil War Trust Web Jan. 2018.

“Major Thomas Bogan Dead.” The Sun [New York, NY] 28 Jul. 1906: 10. Old Fulton NY Postcards Web. Jan. 2018.

Matsell, George W. Vocabulum, Or, The Rogue’s Lexicon: Compiled from the Most Authentic Sources. New York: George W. Matsell & Co., 1859.

“Military Excursions.” New York Herald 9 Oct. 1859: 6. Old Fulton NY Postcards Web. Jan. 2018.

New York, Civil War Muster Roll Abstracts, 1861-1900 [database on-line]. Ancestry.com. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

New York, Sing Sing Prison Admission Registers, 1865-1939 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.

“The O’Baldwin and Wormald Mill–Putting Up the Stakes.” Daily Alta California [San Francisco, CA] 8 Oct. 1868. California Digital Newspaper Collection Web Jan. 2018.

Redmond, Patrick R. The Irish and the Making of American Sport, 1835-1920. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2014.

“Rosters of the New York Volunteers during the Civil War.” New York State Military Museum.

Trow’s New York City Directory, 1855-68.

“The Two Murders.” Evening Telegram [New York, NY] 27 Nov. 1868: 2. 10. Old Fulton NY Postcards Web. Dec. 2017.

Valentine, D.T. Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York. New York: Edmund Jones & Co., 1865.

Walling, George W. Recollections of a New York Chief of Police: An Official Record of Thirty-eight Years as Patrolman, Detective, Captain, Inspector and Chief of the New York Police. New York: Caxton Book Concern, 1887.

The post “A Brutal, Good Natured Face:” A New York Irish “Rowdy” in War and Peace appeared first on Irish in the American Civil War.

“God Has Called Your Husband…”: An Analysis of Death Notification Letters from the American Civil War

As regular readers are aware, my research over the last number of years has focused on identifying and analysing the correspondence of Union Irish soldiers in the American Civil War. Over the course of my work I have read hundreds of letters written to Irish families to inform them of their loved ones’ fate, and this correspondence has increasingly fascinated me. There are many questions we can ask of it, and I intend in the future to develop some of them into a full-length paper. In 2017 I was fortunate to have an opportunity to flesh out some of my thoughts in this area at the  excellent War Through Other Stuff Conference held at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland between 22 and 24 February. I wanted to take the opportunity to share the full presentation with readers of the site; the paper is reproduced in full below together with the slides from the accompanying powerpoint presentation. 

The National Archives in Washington D.C. is home to a collection known as the “Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Dependents of the Army and Navy Who Served Mainly in the Civil War and the War with Spain.” Each of these files-of which there are 1.28 million- contains documentation associated with the claims of individuals for financial support as a result of the death of a family member who had served in the U.S. military, the vast majority during the American Civil War. The files have their genesis in an act signed into law by Abraham Lincoln on 14 July 1862, which provided monthly pensions for both widows and men totally disabled by conflict. In the years that followed, a series of additional pension acts expanded and refined the initial entitlement criteria, part of which saw the inclusion of dependent parents, dependent siblings and minor children.

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The wide-ranging pension entitlements that became available to both Civil War veterans and the families of deceased servicemen in the decades following the war created oceans of documentation, unsurprising given that by 1893 some $165.3 million dollars a year- or 40% of the entire Federal budget- was being spent on pension entitlements. As a result, these files are perhaps the richest source of social information on individual families from the 19th century United States. That richness lies in the material that widows and dependents had to submit in order to demonstrate their pension entitlement, which included things such as affidavits, marriage certificates, baptismal certificates, proof of service, medical appraisals, and original letters written by deceased servicemen. Over recent years the focus of my research has been on these pension claims, particularly with respect to what they can tell us about Irish emigrant communities in the United States. This work has largely been conducted on the 11% of files that have been scanned and are available via the Fold3 website. During my work I have created a database of hundreds of Irish-American letters written before, during and after the conflict. Contained among much of this correspondence are letters that are the focus of my paper today, namely the communications informing families that their loved ones had died.

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Few historic documents intrude on the intimate emotional experiences of past people quite like the letters that brought them details of a loved one’s death. To read them is to at once imagine the first occasion on which they were read. The letters that brought the dreadful news could come from a variety of sources- officers, comrades, hospital staff, hospital volunteers and religious are the most common. In the majority of instances, correspondents sought to break the news as gently as possible. Many of the writers were aware that the words they chose were of extreme import, and were likely to serve as powerful agents of memory for the bereaved family. There is an awareness that their comments were likely to form a lasting picture in the family’s mind of their fallen kin’s final moments, of their character, of the death’s meaning, and- important in an 19th century context- if they had met a “good death.” When Captain Henry Abbott of the 20th Massachusetts wrote to the family of Meath native James Briody following his death on the streets of Fredericksburg in December 1862, he sought to give his mother pride in her son’s service:

I don’t wish to address to you the common words of condolence merely- I feel, myself, as well as you, too much the greatness of the loss. The first time, I saw James Briody, I was struck with his honest, manly, cheery face. I found him to be one of the two best of all recruits who joined my company. It gave me a great pang when I saw him lying dead in the street.

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Aside from showing that their service was valued, another common feature of the letters is an effort to assign meaning to the men’s death, and to comfort families with the knowledge that their loved one had willingly given their life for the Union. Michael Brady, Color Bearer of the 75th Ohio Infantry- whose mother had died at the height of the Famine in Ireland- was horrifically wounded at Second Bull Run in August 1862 when a ball had entered his chest, nearly severing his windpipe before passing through his right lung and exiting his back. Following his death in an Alexandria hospital, the Assistant Surgeon who had treated him wrote home that he was:

perfectly resigned to his fate. When I informed him that he must die he said “welcome be the will of God I could not lose my life in a better cause”…he was perfectly rational to the last and died like a good soldier and Christian.

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The number of letters that communicate a peaceful and relatively pain free death, and a life willingly given to the cause of Union, suggests that many writers may have been altering the facts in order to soften the blow. Not everyone was fortunate enough to be spared all the gory details. Mary Clark from Westmeath received two letters from the front in July 1863, informing her of her husband’s death at the Battle of Gettysburg. A comrade in the 65th New York penned a letter that explained how:

Your husband was laying on his back calmly talking of the “Union” when a fragment of a shell struck him nearly taking both legs off…He lingered for about 4 hours when death put an end to his sufferings…

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Occasionally it is possible to observe just what information correspondents chose to omit. Owen Fox was a young Irish emigrant in the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry who was mortally wounded battling Mosby’s Rangers at Mount Zion Church, Virginia in 1864. The regimental Chaplain Charles Humphreys wrote to his wife Ann of the incident:

Owen Fox was shot through the kidneys and I picked him up and tended on him all night till 3 o’clock in the morning when he died. After breakfast I was digging his grave when a rebel took me prisoner. He was buried by the kindness of a citizen. His brother Thomas Fox was taken prisoner not wounded.

The Chaplain’s brevity obscured some of the wider details of Owen’s death, which he elaborated on in his memoirs of the war, published in 1918. There he revealed that Owen had in fact surrendered to the Confederates, and had been shot by them while he begged for mercy. As he treated the soldier’s “ghastly wound” he tried to get a message from him for his wife and child, but his “agonies were too great; and he kept crying out even with his dying groans, “Chaplain, they shot me after I surrendered.” In his original letter, Humphreys had chosen to spare Owen’s widow these distressing details.

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Many of the Irish troops who lost their lives during the conflict were of the Catholic faith, and letting those at home know this had been recognised was important. Eugene Sullivan from Drimoleague, Co. Cork died of congestion of the brain in 1862 while serving with the 24th Ohio Infantry in Kentucky. A Catholic nun, Sister Mary Joseph, wrote to his wife that:

He did not speak while in the hospital being unconscious, but from his having on the scapulars we knew him to be a Catholic and sent for the priest who gave him absolution and anointed for death.

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The American Civil War was a conflict that had a transnational impact, affecting many thousands of people still living in Ireland. In late 1862 Eleanor Hogg was living in Boyle, Co. Roscommon, when a letter arrived from her nephew in New York. It told her that both her son Pat and husband Farrell were dead:

Deare aunt i have two inform about worse news Farrell listed in the Irish brigade that is the 88 regiment new york Volunteer he got wounded on the 29 of june and died of His wound on the 5 of August. He was Captured by the Enemy when he were wounded So they got their liberty and He died on his way Coming Back to the Capital of Washington

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We know from Eleanor’s pension file that she was illiterate, and so this letter must have been read aloud to her by a family member or friend. This greatly changes the context in which we view how this information was transmitted- rather than being a personal and private event, it was bereavement experienced in a social setting. This was certainly the case for Anna Heron, whose tale of loss is surely one of the most emotive in the files. On 27th June 1864, having heard her son, a private in Corcoran’s Irish Legion, was wounded at the North Anna River, she had her neighbor in New York pen a desperate letter for her:

My dear son I write you these few lines hoping to find you in good health as this leaves me in trouble about you. Dear son I wrote to you twice and I received no answer yet and if you are alive I hope you will write to me. Dear son ain’t you got anyone to write for you? Dear son I expected you in New York, the rest of your regiment came to New York that was wounded. For God sake dear son write to me.

A few day’s letter Anna’s letter was returned to her, with the following message scrawled on the back:

Washington Hall Branch

2 Div Gen Hospital

Alexandria Va June 29th 64

John E Herron died at this Hospital June 8 1864 with gunshot wound in left knee and was buried in this city in good order.

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For a fortunate few, the letter informing them of their loved one’s death might also have brought some final words. When Mary McNamara was informed of the discovery of her husband Hubert’s body on the Cold Harbor battlefield, the writer included fragments of a last letter that had been found in the dead man’s pocket. It told of how Hubert didn’t know the moment he might get killed or wounded, but that he trusted in God. He signed off by telling his wife and children “goodbye for a while”.

Ann Scanlan got a detailed description of her husband Patrick’s final thoughts, as he lay mortally wounded following the Irish Brigade’s charge at Fredericksburg:

He felt sensible, I think, that his end was approaching for he requested me to make a note of his feelings at that time- this was yesterday forenoon, I think. He did not talk a great deal as it hurt him to do so much. “After I am dead, write to my wife and tell her that I died a natural death in bed, having received the full benefits of my church.” “Say that I felt resigned to the will of God and that I am sorry I could not see her and the children once more. That I would have felt better in such a case before I died. It is the will of God that it should not be so, and I must be content to do without.” This was about the substance of what he said. I read it to him and he said it was all that would be necessary to write.

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The widows and dependent pension files at the National Archives offer us many avenues for research, but there are few as compelling as the bereavement correspondence, only included in applications by parents and widows out of necessity, as they sought to prove their relationship with the deceased. The emotional cost of war pours off the pages, exposing the human face of loss, and bringing poignancy to the mundane. Even today, such emotions are readily conjured in our mind when we read passages such as that written to Mary Sullivan about what her husband had left behind:

A letter of yours, a pair of beads and a little girl’s picture is all he left…I cut a piece of his hair off after his death which I will send you…

Time constraints have allowed us only a brief exploration of this resource, selecting only a small number of examples from the thousands in the files. Their analysis can expose for us how news of death in war was transmitted, received and in some cases dealt with in the 19th century. Perhaps most importantly, it shines further light on the scale of human cost of the American Civil War on Irish emigrants and their families, both in Ireland and the United States.

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The post “God Has Called Your Husband…”: An Analysis of Death Notification Letters from the American Civil War appeared first on Irish in the American Civil War.