Private James Allen, 16th New York Infantry

James Allen was born in Ireland on 5th May, 1843. In September 1862 the then 19-year old was part of the Union force attempting to prise the Confederates from the South Mountain passes, as the Army of the Potomac attempted to fall on the then divided Army of Northern Virginia. Allen and his comrades in the 16th New York found themselves facing the enemy in Crampton’s Gap. He and his brigade advanced towards the Rebel positions under cover of a hedge and cornfield, where they formed into line of battle and prepared to advance. (2)

The 16th New York moved through the unharvested corn and towards the enemy who were positioned at the base of the mountain. They began to come under combined fire from Rebel artillery and infantry, with the latter located behind a stone wall and in a wood to their front. What became a forty-five minute firefight developed, and casualties began to mount. The regiment’s color-sergeant fell dead, shot through the forehead by a bullet. As the regiment realigned itself in the tall corn, Allen and one of his comrades named Richards became separated, and suddenly found themselves alone near the stone wall. Richards turned to the Irishman, asking “Now what have we to do, Jim?”. Allen replied: “Charge the wall, I reckon. That was what we came for.” (3)

They both charged forward at a group of Rebels behind the wall, who assumed the soldiers were part of a larger force. Much to the two Federals surprise, the enemy turned tail and fled. While pursuing the retreating Confederates Richards went down, struck with what would turn out to be a mortal wound in his left leg. Placing him against a tree, the Irishman continued to advance up the slope of the mountain. As the Rebels moved into the pass proper, one turned and fired, cutting Allen’s coat and shirt and grazing the skin of his right arm. Undeterred by his narrow escape, Allen stopped to load his gun and continue the fight. At this point the Irishman suddenly realized how horribly exposed he was. He quickly sought cover behind a wall that ran along the pass, behind which lay the enemy. There James Allen pondered his next move, one which would be the most important of his life. Retreat was not an option, as it would expose him to Confederate fire, and would make clear to the Rebels that they were being assailed by a solitary soldier. He saw only one possible way out. (4)

Allen decided that the best course of action was to continue to fool the Confederates into believing they faced superior numbers. In order to do this he had to maintain his confident display, and there was only one way to achieve this. No doubt after a deep intake of breadth, Allen threw himself over the wall and into the midst of the Confederates. Regaining his wits, he found himself confronted by 14 soldiers of the 16th Georgia Infantry. One of the men carried the regiment’s colors, and Allen determined to take it as a prize. He roared at the Rebels to surrender, doing so in such an authoritative and threatening manner that all the men complied. He retrieved the colors, and ordered his prisoners to stack their arms and remove their cartridge boxes. Once this was achieved, the Irishman quickly interposed himself between the Confederates and their weapons. (5)

Allen and his Confederate prisoners were engaged in conversation when Colonel Seaver of the 16th New York rode up. The commanding officer sent for a detachment to take control of the prisoners, and Private Allen continued up the mountain with his unit, still carrying the enemy colors with him. The fighting for the day was concluded, and the young Irishman had successfully pulled off a master-stroke of deception. Seaver was impressed enough to mention the incident in his official report. James Allen continued to serve following his discharge from the 16th New York in 1863, spending the final two years of the war as a member of the military railroad service. However, nothing would match his experience of 14th September 1862. (6)

James Allen was promoted to Corporal for his actions at Crampton’s Gap. Greater recognition was to follow on 11th September 1890, when the Irishman was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. His citation read: Single-handed and slightly wounded he accosted a squad of 14 Confederate soldiers bearing the colors of the 16th Georgia Infantry (C.S.A.). By an imaginary ruse he secured their surrender and kept them at bay when the regimental commander discovered him and rode away for assistance. After the war Allen moved to St. Paul, Minnesota where he lived at 173 South Wabasha Street, becoming a member of the Garfield Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. The color he captured ended up in Washington, and in later life Allen made efforts to secure the flag as a family heirloom, even making representations to Congress in relation to it. The courageous Irishman lived into his seventies, passing away on 31st August, 1913. He is buried in Oakland Cemetery, St. Paul, Minnesota. (7)

(1) Jones 1897:137; (2) Jones 1897:138, Official Records; (3) Jones 1897:138, Official Records, St. Paul Globe; (4) Jones 1897:138; (5) Jones 1897:138-139 (6) Jones 1897:139 (7) Jones 1897:139, Broadwater 2007: 8, St. Paul Globe;

References & Further Reading

Broadwater, Robert P. 2007. Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients

Congressional Medal of Honor Society

Jones, J. W. 1897. The Story of American Heroism: Thrilling Narratives of Personal Adventures During the Civil War

The Saint Paul Globe 4th September 1896. Badges of Daring, The Medal of Honor Conferred by Congress on American Soldiers. One St. Paul Man Wears One.

Official Records Series 1, Volume 19 (Part 1), Chapter 31. Report of Lieut. Col. Joel J. Seaver, Sixteenth New York Infantry, of the battle of Crampton’s Pass

Chronicling America

Civil War Trust Battle of South Mountain Page

James Allen Find A Grave Record

James P. Sullivan was born in Ireland on 21st June 1843, emigrating to the United States with his parents and two siblings while still an infant. They eventually settled in Wisconsin, where James grew up. On the outbreak of war the little Irishman from Juneau County enlisted in the 6th Wisconsin Infantry, a unit that was initially brigaded with the 2nd Wisconsin, 7th Wisconsin and 19th Indiana. These Western men would fight their war in the east, with the Army of the Potomac, and would win fame as the ‘Iron Brigade’. Sullivan rose to the rank of Sergeant in the regiment’s Company K, and in the 1880s began to write about his wartime experiences. He adopted the name ‘Mickey, of Company K’ and began producing pieces for The Milwaukee Sunday Telegraph; his description of the fighting at South Mountain appeared in 1888. (1)

Aerial View of South Mountain, Maryland

The portion of the fighting in which Sullivan and his comrades were involved was at Turner’s Gap. As light faded on the 14th September and with other Union forces pressing the Rebel flanks, it was decided to send the Westerners straight up the National Road towards the enemy in an effort to force a breakthrough. The brigade was not known as the ‘Iron Brigade’ just yet; that would be a name associated with them after this fight. For now their distinctive black Hardee hats led to them being called the ‘Black Hat Brigade’. Company K of the 6th Wisconsin and Company B of the 2nd Wisconsin were ordered to deploy in front of the brigade as skirmishers, and so James found himself out in front of the main body of troops (2):

The skirmishers pushed on up the side of the mountain and soon came in sight of the enemy’s skirmishers and opened fire on them. The ground was a cultivated field with a heavy wood on the right and Company K’s line extended from the woods down to the road. The field was pretty full of large stones, and now and again a huge boulder stood up and afforded both us and the enemy excellent cover. Lieutenants Ticknor and Upham [Lyman] directed the movement of our company, which was always “Forward,” and about all they had to do was follow the men who needed no urging. Part of the men would fire and then rush forward while the others covered them and had at the rebels and then the rear line would pass through to the front and lay down while the other kept up fire, and in that way it was a steady advance. (3)

Having advanced towards the enemy in this fashion Sullivan turned to see the brigade advancing behind him on either side of the turnpike. He was with a group of friends in the company:

Chamberlain, “Eph” Cornish, Corporal Wilcox and myself kept close together and formed a group of “comrades in battle.” Chamberlain, who was brave as a lion, kept continually rushing forward leading the squad, and of course we had to follow up and support him. It was now sundown and being in the shadow of the mountain it was getting dark very fast, and our fellows pushed the rebel skirmishers up to their line of battle, and our squad took shelter behind a big boulder and two of us fired from each side of it. (4)

Trapped between the two contending lines of battle, things were about to deteriorate for Sullivan and his comrades:

The 7th [Wisconsin] which was the line of battle behind us, opened fire and the skirmishers who had gradually moved to the right towards the woods had uncovered their front and were fighting the rebel skirmishers at close quarters, when a heavy line of battle rose up and advanced towards the right flank of the 7th, and then came the crash of their volley by regiment. I had been troubled with mumps for several days and my jaws had now reached a respectable rotundity and Lieutenant Upham had let me have a big silk handkerchief to tie about my face, but on entering the fight I took it off as it obstructed my range of vision, and when that crash came, either a bullet split in pieces against a stone or a fragment of the boulder hit me on the sore jaw, causing exquisite pain, and I was undetermined whether to run away or swear, when Cornish groaned, “Mickey, Chamberlain is killed and I’m wounded,” and then came another crashing volley and I felt a stinging, burning sensation in my right foot followed by the most excruciating pain, and as I sprang up I saw Corporal Wilcox topple over, wounded. (5)

An Irishman in the Iron Brigade

Out of the fight, he used his musket as a crutch to get back down the Mountain to seek out treatment. His brigade was unsupported in its attack and was unable to make ground against the Confederate defences, with darkness putting an end to the struggle. His battle over, Sullivan received medical attention at Frederick City, avoiding the carnage of Antietam. His wound led to him being discharged for disability, but the redoubtable Irishman re-enlisted in the 6th Wisconsin and was soon back among his companions in Company K, with whom he would serve the remainder of the war. His accounts of different battles and experiences have been brought together by William J.K. Beaudot and Lance J. Herdegen who published An Irishman in the Iron Brigade in 1993, making James Sullivan’s fascinating insights into the conflict available to all. The Battlefield of South Mountain is unfortunately still at risk, and was named on the Civil War Trust’s 2010 list of most endangered battlefields, due to the threat of development on the site. It is to be hoped such development will not take place. (6)

(1) Beaudot & Herdegen (eds) 1993: 1, 6-7; (2) Sears 2003: 141, Beaudot & Herdegen (eds) 1993:60; (3) Beaudot & Herdegen (eds) 1993:60; (4) Ibid: 61 (5) Ibid: 61-62; (6) Ibid: 4, 63,  Sears 2003: 142;

References & Further Reading

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

Sullivan, James P. (edited by William J.K. Beaudot & Lance J. Herdegen) 1993. An Irishman in the Iron Brigade

Hoptak, John David. 2011. The Battle of South Mountain

Civil War Trust Battle of South Mountain Page

South Mountain State Battlefield