Richard Curran in Later Life (U.S. Army Medical Department)

Richard Curran was born in Ennis, Co. Clare on 4th January 1838 (some sources cite 1834 as his year of birth). He emigrated with his family to the United States in 1850, and attended Harvard Medical School from where he graduated in 1859. With the outbreak of war Curran helped to raise two companies for service in upstate New York, before enlisting as a 22-year-old in the 33rd regiment. He initially mustered in as a Private in Company K on 22nd May 1861, but given his medical expertise he became Hospital Steward on 1st October that year, rising to Assistant Surgeon on 15th August 1862. (2)

When Curran arrived on the Antietam battlefield he had little time to seek out other surgeons before his unit were ordered forward. With no instructions as to where to report, he determined to follow his regiment into the action. Irwin’s brigade, of which the 33rd New York formed a part, were ordered into fighting on the Union right, and around noon they charged towards the Confederate positions near the Dunker Church. Although initially successful, the advance came to a halt when the 33rd and 77th New York on the brigade right were struck by a savage flanking volley from the West Woods. The brigade regrouped and rallied behind a ridge east of the Hagerstown Pike, where they would remain for much of the day. However they were far from safe, and those men wounded in the assault were now subjected to a merciless fire from sharpshooters and artillery. (3)

The Charge of Irwin’s Brigade around the Dunker Church at Antietam (Library of Congress)

Richard Curran had made it through the attack safely, and now took the time to assess the situation facing the 33rd New York. He remembered: ‘The ground of the battlefield at this point was a shallow valley looking east and west. The elevated land on the south was occupied by the Confederates, while the slight ridge on the north was held by our troops and batteries. From this formation of ground it was impossible for our wounded to reach the field hospital without being exposed to the fire of the enemy.’ Curran decided that he had to do something to help these men. Despite being repeatedly told to go to the rear lest he be killed, the Irish surgeon refused and moved between the wounded, administering what aid he could. (4)

As the day dragged on Assistant Surgeon Curran looked around to see if there were any suitable locations to gather the wounded men in a temporary field hospital. He finally found what he was looking for: ‘Close to the lines, and a little to the right, were a number of straw stacks. I visited the place and found that many of the disabled had availed themselves of this protection. Without delay I had the wounded led or carried to the place, and here, with such assistance as I could organize, although exposed to the overhead firing of shot and shell, I worked with all the zeal and strength I could muster, caring for the wounded and dying until far into the night.’ Curran remained worried that the straw stacks offering frail protection the men would catch light, as they were still being subjected to heavy fire. While the Clareman was treating the leg of one wounded soldier he briefly turned away to get a dressing for the injury. Turning back, Curran was horrified to see that the unfortunate man’s leg had in the meantime been carried off by a cannonball. (5)

The Temporary Field Hospital set up by Richard Curran behind Haystacks at Antietam (Deeds of Valor)

The bravery of Richard Curran at Antietam did not go unnoticed. In his official report of the fighting Colonel Irwin wrote: ‘Asst. Surg. Curran, Thirty-third New York Volunteers, was in charge of our temporary hospital, which unavoidably was under fire; but he attended faithfully to his severe duties, and I beg to mention this officer with particular commendation. His example is but too rare, most unfortunately.’ Curran stayed with the 33rd New York until they mustered out on 2nd June, 1863, but the medical man still felt he could offer more to the Union cause. Less than a month later, on 1st July, he became Assistant Surgeon in the 6th New York Cavalry, before joining up with the 9th New York Cavalry to serve as their Surgeon dating from 5th September 1864. He finished his war with the 9th, being discharged for the final time on 17th July, 1865. (6)

Richard Curran opened a drug store in Rochester, New York after the Civil War, and became active in politics with the Republican Party. He became an Assemblyman in the New York Legislature before being elected Mayor of Rochester in 1892. Curran was awarded the Medal of Honor on the 30th March 1898, nearly 36 years after the events to which it referred. His citation read: ‘Voluntarily exposed himself to great danger by going to the fighting line there succoring the wounded and helpless and conducting them to the field hospital.’ The Ennis native continued to spend his later years in Rochester, where he died on 1st January 1915 and was laid to rest in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. (7)

(1) Sears 2003: 256, New York State Military Museum: 33rd New York; (2) Medal of Honor Recipients from Harvard University, A-G Report 1902; (3) Beyer & Keydel 1901: 81, Official Records:409; (4) Beyer & Keydel 1901:81; (5) Beyer & Keydel 1901:81-82; (6) Official Records:411-12, A-G Report 1902, Civil War Pension Index Card; (7) Troy Weekly Times 10th March 1892, Proft 2002: 837;

References & Further Reading

Beyer, Walter F. & Keydel, Oscar F. 1901. Deeds of Valor: How America’s Heroes Won the Medal of Honor. Volume 1.

Medal of Honor Recipients from Harvard University

New York A.G. 1902. Annual Report of the Adjutant-General of the State of New York for the Year 1901

New York State Military Museum: 33rd New York

Official Records Series 1, volume 19, Part 1, Chapter 31. Report of Col. William H. Irwin, Forty-ninth Pennsylvania Infantry, commanding Third Brigade, of the battles of Crampton’s Pass and Antietam

Proft, R.J. (ed.), 2002. United States of America’s Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients and their Official Citations, Fourth Edition

Sears, Stephen W. 2003. Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam

Troy Weekly Times 10th March 1892: Political Posies. Floral Tributes to the New Mayor of Rochester

Richard Curran Civil War Pension Index Card

Richard J. Curran Grave

Antietam National Battlefield

Civil War Trust Battle of Antietam Page

The Dunker Church on the Antietam Battlefield. The Cornfield where the 105th New York fought is not far from this position (Library of Congress)

Howard Carroll had been born in Dublin, most probably in 1827. He was from a well to do family, with his mother being related to the Earl of Effingham. Having studied at Dublin University he emigrated to New York around 1855. Carroll worked as a Civil Engineer before the war and from soon after his arrival until 1861 he was employed by the New York Central Railroad. From 17th October 1861 the Irishman served as a Quartermaster for the 2nd Battalion, New York Light Artillery, which had initially been raised to provide artillery support directly for Meagher’s Irish Brigade. However, Carroll was keen to have a senior regimental role in the field. By early 1862 he was recruiting men in Rochester to this end, and on 27th March 1862 was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the 105th New York Infantry. (2)

The 105th New York had a large Irish contingent- companies G, H and I were dominated by Irishmen. They left New York for service in the field on 4th April, 1862. As part of Major-General Irvin McDowell’s III Corps in Major-General John Pope’s Army of Virginia they fought at Cedar Mountain and Second Bull Run. When the 105th’s original Colonel, James Fuller, resigned shortly after Cedar Mountain Carroll took over command of the regiment. Following the disastrous conclusion to the campaign, the 105th New York and it’s division joined the Army of the Potomac, and were now part of Major-General Joseph Hooker’s I Corps. It was as a part of this formation that Howard Carroll and his men crossed Antietam Creek on 16th September 1862, ready to strike the left flank of General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at first light the next day. (3)

On 17th September the 105th New York formed up with their brigade under the command of Brigadier-General Abram Duryea, part of Brigadier-General James B. Ricketts’ division. Ricketts positioned his three brigades to form the left wing of the I Corps assault on the Rebel positions; Duryea’s brigade with Colonel Carroll were to take the lead. As they began to advance at daybreak and cleared a patch of woodland (now called the North Woods) they began to come under Confederate artillery fire, and sustained their first casualties. The men deployed in line of battle on the northern edge of a cornfield, a position which during the course of the morning’s fighting would become carpeted with the dead and wounded of both sides, and go down in history as the scene of one of the bloodiest encounters in the Civil War. At 6 a.m. Colonel Howard Carroll and the 105th New York began to advance through the corn, eventually emerging with their brigade on the other side. Here they were greeted with a devastating volley which brought their line to a shuddering halt. Georgians under the command of Colonel Marcellus Douglass had risen to their feet to unleash a hail of lead at the Yankees as they emerged from the corn. The two sides blazed away at each other at a distance of only 250 yards, before both lines lay down to seek cover and continue the fight. As the minutes dragged by it became clear that there would be no support for Carroll and the other regiments of his brigade, and with Rebels now threatening his flank Duryea ordered a retreat back through the cornfield. In 30 minutes of fighting almost a third of the brigade had become casualties. Among them was thirty- five year old Colonel Howard Carroll. (4)

Carroll had entered the action on his horse, and during the fight was struck with a minie ball in the left calf. The wound was severe enough that the officer was carried from the field, but it was not thought mortal. After the injury was dressed the Irishman was sent via ambulance to Washington, an arduous journey which aggravated his condition. By the time he arrived in the capital his leg had become inflamed and he was suffering from a fever from which he would not recover. Howard Carroll died on 29th September 1862, one of the thousands of victims of the bloodiest day in American history. He is buried in Rural Cemetery, Albany, New York (Section 33, Lot 2). (5)

(1) Hunt 2003: 67; (2) Hunt 2003: 67, Clark 1867: 236- 237, New York State Military Museum: 2nd Battalion of Artillery (Light), New York State Military Museum: 105th Infantry Regiment; (3) New York State Military Museum: 105th Infantry Regiment, Clark 1867: 236-238, Hough 1864: 43, Hunt 2003: 67; (4) Sears 2003: 185-187, Clark 1867: 236; (5) Clark 1867: 238-239; Hunt 2003: 67;

References & Further Reading

Clark, Rufus W. 1867. The Heroes of Albany

Hough, Franklin B. 1864. History of Duryee’s Brigade

Hunt, Roger D. 2003. Colonels in Blue: Union Army Colonels of the Civil War- New York

Sears, Stephen W. 2003. Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam (first published 1983)

New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center

Antietam National Battlefield Park

Civil War Trust Battle of Antietam Page

Captain Patrick Clooney Memorial in Ballybricken Churchyard, Waterford

Captain Patrick Clooney of the 88th New York, Irish Brigade, was a native of Waterford. He had served with distinction in the Battalion of St. Patrick during the Papal War in 1860, and travelled to the United States in July 1861. He enlisted as a Private in Company K (Meagher’s Zouaves) of the 69th New York State Militia, with whom he fought at First Bull Run. Returning to New York he raised a company for the 88th New York Volunteers and was commissioned a Captain on 2nd October 1861. This regiment became part of the Irish Brigade, and Captain Clooney fought with it through the battles of the Peninsula Campaign in 1862. On 17th September 1862 at Antietam, Maryland, Clooney advanced with his regiment for the final time. Historian of the Irish Brigade David Power Conyngham tells of what happened to the Waterford native:

On the battle-field of Antietam his commanding form could be seen remarkably conspicuous among his comrades. High above the din of battle, his rich, manly voice could be heard encouraging his men and inspiring them to action. To see him unflinchingly and fearlessly stand, like one of the heroes of Grecian lore, sword in hand, his green plume waving in the wind, whilst the leaden hail flew thick and fast around him, you would perceive a sublimity of person, appearance, and of action no pen can portray nor words express. After receiving a severe gunshot wound in the knee, he would not leave the field, though he was urged and entreated repeatedly by his men to do so. No; he still kept his place, until a rifle-bullet passed through his body, killing him instantly. (1)

News of Patrick Clooney’s death in the Irish Brigade assault on the Bloody Lane at Antietam reached Waterford, and in 1863 locals erected a memorial to him in Ballybricken Churchyard near the place of his birth. The monument survives to this day, although it is in serious need of restoration. Waterford historian James Doherty has started a fund in order to finance this much needed work; if you wish to make a donation you can visit his site here.

Detail of Captain Clooney Memorial recording his rank and service

Detail of the memorial listing the Papal Battles in which Clooney fought: Castlefidardo, Spoleto and Perugia

Detail of the Clooney Memorial listing the Battles in which he fought with the Army of the Potomac: Manassas, Malvern Hill, Fair Oaks, Gaines Mill and Antietam

(1) Conyngham 1867: 560;

References & Further Reading

Conyngham, David Power 1867. The Irish Brigade and its Campaigns

Waterford Civil War Veterans

Antietam National Battlefield

Civil War Trust Battle of Antietam Page

Irishman Henry B. Strong was a clerk in New Orleans, Louisiana before the outbreak of the war. The forty year old was a married man who lived in the city and state that contributed more Irish soldiers to the southern cause than any other. In 1860 over 28,000 Irish lived in the State of Louisiana, and over 20,000 of them in New Orleans. Unsurprisingly it was a rare Louisiana regiment that did not count at least some Irish amongst their number. When war descended in 1861, Henry Strong recruited and commanded the Calhoun Guards, who would become part of the 6th Louisiana Volunteers. By August 1862 he had risen to command of the regiment, part of Brigadier-General Harry T. Hay’s famous Louisiana Brigade. (2)

The carnage in the Cornfield had already commenced before the 6th Louisiana were committed to the fight, as the Union I Corps began its assault and a savage artillery duel raged. Confederate positions in the Cornfield became hard pressed and turned to the Louisiana Brigade for support. The Irishmen and their comrades marched out of the West Woods and across the Hagerstown Pike, into a ploughed field 300 yards behind the frontline. Even though the men lay down to reduce their exposure, artillery began to take a toll on their numbers. Finally, with Lawton’s Georgia Brigade (under the command of Colonel Douglass) to their front enduring a storm of fire, Hay’s men went forward to the attack. The General ordered his men to commence firing as soon as they reached the first line, and they advanced a further 150 yards into the Cornfield, driving the enemy back towards the East Woods. The Irishmen fought for half an hour against Union troops positioned in the woods edge. They quickly found themselves in a horrendously exposed position, taking fire both in front from infantry and in flank from Union batteries. There was no option but to retreat. In a matter of minutes the brigade had been mangled. Of the 550 men that Harry T. Hays took into the fight, 323 became casualties. It was now just after 7am.  (3)

Hays pulled his brigade back to the Dunker Church and John Bell Hood’s Texans took up the fight. The Louisianans returned to the field shortly after midday, where they halted behind Hood’s men and were again subjected to artillery fire. They remained in position until 5pm. However, it had been the morning fighting that had done the damage. Of the just over 100 men of the 6th who entered the cauldron around the Cornfield, 11 were killed and 41 wounded. Colonel Henry B. Strong was not amongst those fortunate enough to have survived to regroup behind the Church. (4)

It would have been sensible if Henry Strong had chosen to advance that morning on foot, but he elected not to do so. Instead he rode into action, no doubt determined to set an example for his men. Mounted on his fine looking white horse, the Colonel became a target almost immediately. The regiment had barely entered the battle before he and his horse went down, in the south-east corner of the Cornfield near the edge of the East Woods. Lieutenant George Ring recalled that he was ‘killed while bravely leading his men in the charge’. When the Irishman went down Ring quickly rushed to his side, where he was himself hit: ‘I was struck with a ball on the knee joint while I was kneeling by Col. Strong’s body, securing his valuables. I got another ball on my arm and two on my sword in my hand, so you see I have cause to thank God that he has protected me in this great battle.’ Ring’s injuries bear testament to the storm of fire the men were then exposed to. As the battle teetered back and forth a Union officer picked up one of the Colonel’s gloves and waved it above his head in triumph. (5)

On the day after the Battle of Sharpsburg some men of the 6th Louisiana returned to collect the body of Colonel Henry B. Strong. His horse remained where it fell, stripped of its harness and equipment. William A. Frassanito has identified a Library of Congress image of a white horse lying dead with trees in the background as the very same animal that Strong rode into action. Photographed where it lay in the Cornfield, it has become a lasting image of the fighting.

This photograph taken in the Cornfield at Sharpsburg has been identified as the mount of Colonel Henry B. Strong, 6th Louisiana Volunteers*

The Irish Colonel himself remains something of an enigma. Little information is available on his life, and although he was born in Ireland, his county of origin is not recorded. James Gannon has sourced a photograph of him which appears in Irish Rebels, Confederate Tigers. One of the only other publications that he is included in is the Bowie List, published in 1869. This book details the then burial places of Confederate soldiers who died as a result of the battles of Antietam, South Mountain and Monocacy. The entry for the former New Orleans clerk reads simply: ‘In the hollow south of Dunkard Church, 75 steps and 10 feet east of a walnut stump towards pike.’

(1) Gannon 1998: 132- 135; (2) Gannon 1998: 328, 335, Gleeson 2001: 27, 35; (3) Hays O.R., Gannon 2001: 132- 139; (4) Ibid; (5) Gannon 1998: 136-137; (6) Antietam on the Web: Officers: Henry B. Strong, Gannon 1998: 138, Frassanito 1978, Western Maryland’s Historical Library: Bowie List

*With special thanks to Andy Hall at the Dead Confederates site for the use of the horse photograph, taken from his post ‘They lay as thick as autumn leaves’, which includes an account by Brigadier-General Alpheus S. William’s of seeing the dead animal on the battlefield.

References & Further Reading

Frassanito, William A. 1978. Antietam: The Photographic Legacy of America’s Bloodiest Day

Gannon, James P. 1998. Irish Rebels, Confederate Tigers: A History of the 6th Louisiana Volunteers, 1861- 1865

Gleeson, David T. 2001. The Irish in the South 1815- 1877

Sears, Stephen W. 1983. Landscape turned Red: The Battle of Antietam

Official Records 19 (Part 1) Report of Brigadier-General Harry T. Hays, 1st Louisiana Brigade

Antietam on the Web

Western Maryland’s Historical Library

Antietam National Battlefield

Civil War Trust Antietam Battlefield Page

Irish Brigade Memorial, Antietam (Image by crowolf via Flickr)

148 years ago today, a battle was being fought that would be remembered as the bloodiest single day in American history. Along the banks of Antietam Creek, Maryland, Union and Confederate soldiers clashed for some 12 hours. By day’s end, in the region of 22,720 men would be dead, wounded or missing. Among the troops that participated in the terrible struggle of September 17th 1862 were the soldiers of Meagher’s Irish Brigade, which included the 63rd New York State Volunteers, by now a largely veteran formation. As the battle unfolded, these Irishmen found themselves marching steadily towards the Rebel positions, which were centred on a naturally defensible sunken road.  This road would soon be christened with a name to match the horrors that unfolded there- The Bloody Lane.

The Lieutenant-Colonel of the 63rd New York at Antietam was Henry Fowler. After the battle, and while suffering from a serious wound resulting from it, he would have the unenviable task of recording the experiences of his Regiment on that fateful day. With the horrors of the engagement still fresh in his mind, it was not a task that he would find easy.

The Irish Brigade were called into action by Major-General Richardson, following which they crossed Antietam Creek and approached the enemy positions under cover of rising ground. Moving into a cornfield, the men were ordered to discard unnecessary equipment and shift from column into line of battle. They would have been aware that only moments now separated them from the fight. The 63rd and their companions set off, advancing towards the enemy. Fowler quickly found himself having to take command of the Regiment, as his Colonel, John Burke, disappeared during the early stages of the battle. The right of the Brigade was made up of the 69th New York and 29th Massachusetts, with the left composed of the 63rd New York and 88th New York. The 63rd advanced on the sunken lane to the right of the 88th.

As the Confederate fire intensified, Captain P.J. Condon and Lieutenant Thomas W. Cartwright of Company G quickly fell wounded. The trickle of officer casualties in the 63rd soon became a cascade. Captain M. O’Sullivan of Company F was also wounded, while Lieutenant P.W. Lydon commanding Company D, Lieutenant Cadwalader Smith of Company C and Lieutenant McConnell of Company K all fell dead. The right of the Regiment was practically destroyed. Fowler made his way to the left, where he found ‘Major (Bentley) close upon the line, and Captain  Joseph O’Neill, Company A, whose company had all fallen around him on the right, now assisting the Major on the left. Here also was the stalwart Lieutenant Gleason, Company H, raising and supporting the repeatedly falling colors, with Lieutenant John Sullivan commanding and pushing forward Company K; and here lay the slender form of Captain Kavanagh, Company I, cold in death; the brave and enthusiastic Lieutenant  R. P. Moore, Company E, passing from right to left, boldly urging his men to stand firm, and the gallant Lieutenant  George Lynch, Second Lieutenant Company G, bravely pressing on until he too fell, mortally wounded. The killed died as brave men, sword in hand, and amid the thickest of the fight. Major Bentley was now wounded, and retired to have his wound dressed.’

The inferno that the 63rd found themselves in is almost impossible to imagine. Fowler relates that their numbers were now less than 50 men; the colors were in ribbons and the staff was shot through, with no less than 16 men having fallen while carrying them. It was at this point that the Lieutenant-Colonel was himself wounded, and had to retreat to the rear. Against the odds, the 63rd and the Irish Brigade held, and their efforts played a key role in the eventual capture of the sunken road. Bloody Lane had earned its name. The 63rd’s losses were 202 officers and men killed, wounded or missing. The Brigade as a whole was shattered; it had lost 113 men killed, 422 wounded, and 5 missing.

Writing from his sickbed, Fowler described the 63rd sacrifice best: ‘It is now a solace to my mind, while suffering from my wound, to testify how gallantly and promptly each officer in his place and each company moved forward and delivered their fire in the face of the most destructive storm of leaden hail, that in an instant killed or wounded every officer but one and more than one-half the rank and file of the right wing. For a moment they staggered, but the scattered few quickly rallied upon the left, closing on the colors, where they nobly fought, bled, and died, protecting their own loved banner and their country’s flag, until the brigade was relieved.’

References & Links

Official Records 19, Pt. 1. Report of Brigadier- General  Thomas Francis Meagher, U. S. Army, Commanding Second Brigade, of the Battle of Antietam

Official Records 19, Pt. 1. Report of Lieutenant -Colonel  Henry Fowler, Sixty-Third New York Infantry, of the Battle of Antietam

Antietam National Battlefield Park

Save Historic Antietam Foundation

Thomas Livermore of the 5th New Hampshire recalled:

I was told, too, that a woman, who followed the Irish Brigade as laundress or nurse, went up with it, and standing with it in the fight, swung her bonnet around and cheered on the men.’

Charles C. Hale also of the 5th New Hampshire described the scene in more detail:

‘As our first brigade was forming to relieve them, (Meagher’s Irish Brigade attacking the Sunken Road) we saw “Irish Molly,” of the 88th New York, a big, muscular woman who had followed her husband in all the campaigns, and he a private soldier in the ranks. She was a little to the left of their line, apparently indifferent to the flying bullets, and was jumping up and down, swinging her sunbonnet around her head, as she cheered the Paddys on. Our regiment was maneuvering for position at the time, and the bullets that passed the Irishmen were pretty thick, so there was no time for anything else, as we were moving lively, but the glimpse that I got of that heroic woman in the drifting powder smoke, stiffened my back-bone immensely.’

References

Livermore, Thomas. Days and Events (5th New Hampshire)

Hale, Charles C. The Story of  My Personal Experience at the Battle of Antietam (Company C, 5th New Hampshire Volunteers)

Post Research by Robert McLernon