Walt Whitman in 1887 (Library of Congress)

The American Civil War had been the defining moment of Walt Whitman’s life, and led him to create acclaimed poems such as O Captain! My Captain! and When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d, both of which deal with the death of Abraham Lincoln. Oscar Wilde certainly viewed Walt Whitman as America’s greatest poet. The Dubliner’s mother had purchased a copy of Whitman’s  Leaves of Grass in 1866 and had read passages to Oscar while he was a child. It was therefore unsurprising that Wilde should seek out Whitman when he had the opportunity to visit the United States. The meeting of the two wordsmiths was initially reported in the Philadelphia Press, and later syndicated to many other newspapers, such as the Portland Daily Express. Here Walt Whitman gave his thoughts on the occasion:

‘”Yes, Mr. Wilde came to see me early this afternoon,” said Walt, “and I took him up to my den where we had a jolly good time. I think he was glad to get away from lecturing, and fashionable society, and spend a time with an ‘old rough.’ We had a very happy time together. I think him genuine, honest and manly. I was glad to have him with me, for his youthful health, enthusiasm and buoyancy are refreshing. He was in his best mood, and I imagine that he laid aside any affectation he is said to have, and that I saw behind the scenes. He talked freely about the London literati and gave me many inside glimpses into the life and doings of Swinburne, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Morris, Tennyson and Browning”…”Wilde and I drank a bottle of wine downstairs,” he continued “and when we came up here, where we could be on ‘thee and thon’ terms, one of the first things I said was that I should call him ‘Oscar,’ ‘I like that so much,’ he answered, laying his hand on my knee. He seemed to me like a great big, splendid boy,” said Whitman, stroking his silvery beard. “He is so frank and outspoken and manly. I don’t see why such mocking things are written of him. He has the English society drawl, but his enunciation is better than I ever heard in a young Englishman or Irishman before. We talked here for two hours. I said to him, ‘Oscar you must be thirsty. I’ll make you some punch.’ ‘Yes, I am thirsty,’ he acknowledged, and I did make him a big glass of milk punch, and he tossed it off, and away he went.” (2)

Oscar Wilde also gave his record of the meeting:

‘There was big chair for him [Whitman] and a little stool for me, a pine table on which was a copy of Shakespeare, a translation of Dante, and a cruse of water. Sunlight filled the room, and over the roofs of the houses opposite were the masts of the ships that lay in the river. But then the poet needs no rose to blossom on his walls for him, because he carries nature always in his heart. This room contains all the simple conditions for art- sunlight, good air, pure water, a sight of ships, and the poet’s works.’ (3)

Oscar Wilde in 1882 (Library of Congress)

Aside from physically describing the meeting, Oscar Wilde gave his impressions of Whitman to the Boston Herald later that month. While on a general discussion regarding poets and their work, he revealed his deep admiration for Whitman:

‘”Do you know,” said Mr. Wilde, “that the greatest fault I have to find with you Americans is that you are not American enough. You are all to cosmopolitan. What I am wishing to meet is a true American. I mean a man of whom it can be said, He is entirely the product of American conditions.” “You will find that in Walt Whitman,” was suggested; “have you met Walt Whitman?” “Indeed I have,” said Mr. Wilde, his face kindling with enthusiasm. “I spent the most charming day I have spent in America with him. He is the grandest man I have ever seen. The simplest, most natural, and strongest character I have ever met in my life. I regard him as one of those wonderful, large, entire men who might have lived in any age, and is not peculiar to any one people. Strong, true and perfectly sane; the closest approach to the Greek we have yet had in modern times. Probably he is dreadfully misunderstood. If people would only know that no artist lives for praise; he only wants one thing, to be understood. I hope that America will not treat its great poets as England too often has. Now, in France, it is different; they are proud that they have poets and artists there, but in England they not only expect them to look to posterity for their fame, but also for their bread and butter.” (4)

The meeting between the two great writers excited public attention and commentary at the time. Wilde and Whitman met again in May 1882, although there is little record of what they discussed on that occasion. They clearly admired each other, and they would remain friends for many years to come. Oscar Wilde would go on to write works such as The Picture of Dorian Gray, Salomé and The Importance of Being Earnest before he was arrested and imprisoned in 1895 on charges of ‘sodomy’ and ‘gross indecency’- a result of his homo-sexuality, which was illegal in England at the time. Oscar was released in 1897 but only lived for a further three years, dying on 30th November 1890. Although Walt Whitman was almost 35 years his senior the American nonetheless outlived him by some 18 months; the man Wilde regarded as America’s greatest poet passed away on 26th March 1892.

(1) Scharnhorst 2008: 116; (2) Portland Daily Express 1882; (3) Scharnhorst 2008: 116; (4) Boston Herald 1882;

References & Further Reading

Portland Daily Express 23rd January 1882. Wilde and Whitman

Boston Herald 29th January 1882. Oscar Wilde

Scharnhorst, Gary 2008. ‘Walt Whitman and Oscar Wilde: A Biographical Note’ in Walt Whitman Quarterly Review Volume 25, Number 3, pp. 116-118

The Walt Whitman Archive

Oscar Wilde Society (UK)

Oscar Wilde Society (US)

The ballad was written in late 1862, before the regiment left their camp in Newport News,Virginia. It provides us with an insight into the mind of soldiers on campaign, and of the type of humour popular amongst them. It is entitled the ‘Rum Racker’s Club’ and was published in the Irish-Americanon 17th January, 1863.

Men of the 164th New York, Corcoran's Irish Legion (Library of Congress)

RUM RACKER’S CLUB

Let the revellers carouse,

In the halls of Bleak House,

As a right jolly, boisterous crew,

While the veteran McQuade,

At his favorite trade,

Is enliv’ning “The Monks of the Screw.”

Here we’re tethered like asses,

Short of whiskey and passes,

From the “field” to the poor “second sub;”

And the rich gormandizers,

On their smuggling advisers,

Have baptized us “The Rum-Rackers’ Club.”

Faith, it’s whispered in camp,

That we’ll soon have to tramp,

Where the epicure died in a week;

Where the white mellow pork,

Makes you squat like a Turk,

And imprints its own blush to your cheek.

Then, it’s “how are you, muc?”

Banaight leath, goose and duck,

How those “Phoenix Boys” thrive on the grub!

The confounded Rum-Rackers,

They can grind navy crackers,

And they’ve whiskey galore in their Club.

They say Casey’s a brick,

But when Murphy was sick

With the fever and jaundice and chills,

The fat sutler but laughed,

When we asked for a draught,

And he gave us old Holloway’s Pills.

The Provost Marshal’s Guard

Are officiously hard,

And suspiciously soft with a few,

For just under the rose,

And the General’s nose,

Sit the privileged “Monks of the Screw.”

But the transports are here,

Off the rickety pier,

Round the gallant old Cumberland’s grave;

And the boys in their pride,

Bless their chieftain and guide,

For they know that he’s skillful and brave.

Let us proudly go forth,

With our backs to the North,

As a chivalrous brotherly band,

And let those who return,

Be the beacons that burn,

On the road to our own “Native Land.”

The final elements of the generally comic ballad have added poignancy, as it gives us a snapshot of the Legion preparing to leave Newport News for Suffolk, where they would shortly afterwards fight in their first engagement, and sustain their first battlefield casualties. The meaning of all the references in the piece are unclear, although it is possible to interpret some of Oulahan’s terms. The ‘veteran McQuade’ is most likely Thomas McQuade, a member of Corcoran’s staff who had lost a leg at Bull Run. The ‘Monks of the Screw’ was the Order of St. Patrick, a political and charitable group who gained their nickname as a result of their drinking activities. ‘Holloway’s Pills’ were a famous patent medicine in the 1860s, which claimed to cure a wide variety of ills. ‘Cumberland’s grave’ refers to the USS Cumberland, which was rammed and sunk by the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia at Newport News on 8th March 1862.

As for the poet himself, Richard Oulahan was born in Co. Dublin and had emigrated to the United States around 1849. He mustered in as a First Lieutenant in the regiment’s Company A at the age of 35 on 19th December, 1862. He was destined not to serve long with the 164th, being wounded at the Battle of Suffolk on 24th April 1863; he was subsequently discharged due to disability on 4th September that year. Oulahan received a brevet-Major rank for his services. He was a committed Fenian both before and after the war, and was later an advocate of Home Rule- he carried out a correspondence with Charles Stewart Parnell on the issue.  His post-war career saw him working the Treasury Department, a position secured for him by noted newspaperman and politician Horace Greeley. Richard Oulahan died in Washington on 12th June, 1895, where his remains were interred in Mount Olivet Cemetery. (2)

(1) New York Irish-American 17th January 1863; (2) Roster of the 164th New York, New York Irish-American 17th June 1985, New York Herald 13th June 1895;

References

New York Irish-American 17th January 1863: Phoenix Regiment

New York Irish-American 17th June 1895: Obituary

New York Herald 13th June 1895: Obituary

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

Landsman Thomas E. Corcoran (Deeds of Valor)

Thomas E. Corcoran was born in Dublin on 12th October, 1839. He enlisted in the naval service on 6th October 1862, and was assigned as a Landsman to the river gunboat the USS Cincinnati, part of the Western Gunboat Flotilla. It was not his first time in the service- the New York resident had served on the USS North Carolina and the US Frigate Santee earlier in the war. His 1862 enlistment return noted that he was 24 years of age, 5 foot 6 inches in height, with gray eyes, dark hair and a fair complexion. (2)

In May of 1863 Corcoran and his comrades were given a tough assignment by their Admiral. They were to form part of a gunboat attack on Confederate batteries at Vicksburg, with the intention of clearing the way for an advance by General Sherman’s land-based infantry. General Ulysses S. Grant was besieging the Mississippi town, and had already seen two general assaults on the Rebel positions repulsed. It was hoped that the Cincinnati and her fellow ships could make a decisive contribution to a breakthrough at the ‘Gibraltar of the South.’ (3)

Lieutenant George M. Bache was the commander of the USS Cincinnati on 27th May 1863. In preparation for her run on the Vicksburg batteries, her guns were moved to the landward side and logs and hay were packed about the boat to provide it with extra protection. She set out towards the town at around 7 am, steaming slowly towards her destination. While still at extreme range, the Confederate gun known as ‘Whistling Dick’ began to fire on them, but to no effect. By 8.30 am the Cincinnati was in position and steamed at full speed for her target. She quickly came under harrowing fire from the Confederate batteries. Shell after shell struck home, hitting first the magazine, then the starboard tiller. Lieutenant Bache remembered how the plunging shots from the hills went ‘entirely through our protection- hay, wood and iron.’ Another shot penetrated the magazine, and water began to flood in. Further missiles struck the pilot house and two more smashed into the ship below the water-line. Within minutes the decks were strewn with the dead and dying- with his boat sinking, Bache had no option but to retreat upriver and attempt to escape the murderous fire. (4)

USS Cincinnati in 1862-1863 (US Naval Historical Center Photo #NH 63211)

The Lieutenant sought desperately for somewhere to beach the Cincinnati, hoping to save the boat and also the men on-board. However she was going against the current, and could only make an agonizingly slow 3 miles an hour. It seemed the crew’s luck was in when they appeared to gain the bank, moving close enough to throw a plank ashore. However, as they desperately tried to tie the vessel to a tree the rope suddenly gave way, and the ship slipped back into deep water. With her fate no sealed, the Cincinnati began to go down as the Confederate fire continued. The small boats which the crew might have relied upon to save themselves had been destroyed, and Bache had little option but to give the order to abandon ship. Those who could swim attempted to save themselves, but even men making for shore were not safe, as two shells plunged into the water, costing yet more men their lives. (5)

Lieutenant Bache nailed the colors to the mast as the boat went down. He was one of those unable to swim, and he must have considered his prospects for survival slim. All this time Landsman Corcoran had remained at his gun, and it was only now that he left his post. Along with fellow Irishman Seaman Martin McHugh, Scottish Boatswain’s Mate Henry Dow and Seaman Thomas Jenkins, the Dubliner decided to do all he could to save those who could not swim ashore themselves. Each man began swimming over and back between the ship and the shore, saving as many sailors as possible. With this completed, they then dashed into the bowels of the Cincinnati to try to get wounded men onto the upper deck, where they feverishly began repairing one of the severely damaged wooden boats. They succeeded in floating them ashore, their exertions saving the lives of a further six of their comrades. The bravery and ingenuity of Corcoran and his companions saved the lives of many of the crew; they managed not only to get many of the wounded off the boat, but also rescued Lieutenant Bache. (6)

Portrayal of Corcoran and his comrades swimming back and forth to the stricken Cincinnati saving as many men as possible (Deeds of Valor)

The USS Cincinnati sank in over 5 m of water, taking a number of men with her. The action cost the lives of at least 19 men killed, drowned or mortally injured, with a further 14 wounded and one man captured. The Union plan had failed, and the siege of Vicksburg would drag on until the towns eventual capitulation on 4th July. Despite the result, none other than General Sherman commented on the impressive efforts of the gunboat, stating: ‘the style in which the Cincinnati engaged the batteries elicited universal praise, and I deplore the sad result as much as any one could.’ (7)

Corcoran and his three comrades along with Scottish Quartermaster Thomas Hamilton, were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions on 27th May. The Dubliner received his medal on 10th July 1863. His citation read: ‘Served on board the U.S.S. Cincinnati during the attack on the Vicksburg batteries and at the time of her sinking. Engaging the enemy in a fierce battle, the Cincinnati, amidst an incessant fire of shot and shell, continued to fire her guns to the last, though so penetrated by shellfire that her fate was sealed. Serving bravely during this action, Corcoran was conspicuously cool under the fire of the enemy, never ceasing to fight until this proud ship went down, “her colors nailed to the mast.”‘ Thomas Corcoran later went on to serve with the USS Lexington and after the war returned to New York, where he married Mary Shalloon, from Luggacurran, Co. Laois. He spent his latter years working as a painter, taking pride in the occasional Medal of Honor events which he had the opportunity to attend. He died on 12th March 1904 and is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Queens County, New York. (8)

(1) Official Records: 40-41; (2) Jones 1897: 679-680, Naval Enlistment: 1862, Beyer and Keydel 1902: 46; (3) Beyer and Keydel 1902: 46; (4) Official Records 38-39, 42; (5) Beyer and Keydel 1902: 48, Official Records: 42; (6) Beyer and Keydel 1902: 48-49; (7) Official Records: 42-44 (8) Broadwater 2007: 53, Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Navy Widows Pension Files;

References & Further Reading

Beyer, Walter F. and Keydel, Oscar F. 1902. Deeds of Valor: How America’s Heroes Won The Medal of Honor: Volume 2

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

Naval Enlistment Weekly Returns 1855-1891

Navy Survivor’s Certificates

Navy Widows’ Pension File for Thomas E. Corcoran

Official records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series 1, Volume 25. Naval Forces on Western Waters (May 18, 1863 – February 29, 1864)

Thomas E. Corcoran Find A Grave Memorial

Civil War Trust Siege of Vicksburg Page

Vicksburg National Military Park

Llewellyn Traherne Bassett Saunderson, or ‘Welly’ to his friends, was a member of the Anglo-Irish gentry. His family owned Castle Saunderson in Co. Cavan, the county from which this adventurous Irishman hailed. Determined to try his hand with the Confederacy, he arrived in the South late in the war, with the intention of serving on the staff of one of the Rebel Generals. As the Confederacy entered its dying days, the veteran of the British 11th Hussars gained a position on the staff of cavalry General Fitzhugh Lee, the nephew of Robert E. Lee. To keep track of his brief service he kept a diary between 17th March and 14th April 1865. (1)

The grave of Llewellyn Traherne Bassett Saunderson, Deansgrange, Co. Dublin (Photo: Eamonn McLoughlin)

With the Confederacy collapsing, Welly recorded on the 31st March that he had to rise at 3.30 a.m. in the morning and ‘after a rough breakfast we all went down to General Pickett’s headquarters where a Council of War took place. We remained here for 3 hours or so, smoking and telling stories in a downfall of rain the whole time.’ On 1st April he noted that there was ‘bad news from Pickett’ as ‘he has lost 5,000 men out of 8,000, and the remainder are cut off from us.’ When their position was attacked by Sheridan, he wrote that ‘we had no idea that the enemy were so close to us…when all of a sudden about 250 Yankees let drive at us, it was so sudden that nobody could help being startled. I looked round and the whole regiment had disappeared.’ (2)

The Irish adventurer was present at the Battle of Sayler’s Creek on 6th April. Welly’s view of the conflict in which he had participated for only a few days was no doubt very different from the vast majority who witnessed the Army of Northern Virginia’s death throes:

‘Shells screaming, passed us, some bursting a few feet off us, volley of bullets coming in every direction. Every now and then, I heard bullets go with a thud into some unfortunate soldier, who would give a scream and all was over. I had a very narrow escape by a Parrot shell passing within 2 inches of my head and bursting within a foot of me, by coming in contact with a tree, a piece of it killing a man about a hundred yards off. It certainly was very exciting. People may talk about hunting, but a good battle is a 100 times more exciting.’ (3)

'Confederate War Veteran' marker at the grave of Llewellyn Traherne Bassett Saunderson, Deansgrange, Co. Dublin (Photo: Eamonn McLoughlin)

As the war drew to a close Fitzhugh Lee acknowledged the assistance he had received from the Cavan native. Following the surrender, the cavalry commander wrote to his uncle Robert E. Lee on 22nd April, commending his staff officers, including ‘Captain Llewellyn Saunderson, who, having just arrived from his native country, Ireland, joined me previously to the fall of Petersburg, and remained with me to the last.’ (4)

Llewellyn Traherne Bassett Saunderson returned to Ireland following his brief time in the Confederacy, forming part of the establishment in his home county. His brief Rebel service was clearly a source of great pride to him, and he certainly found the thrills he hoped for in war-torn Virginia. He is today one of the very few Confederate Irishmen who returned after the war, to ultimately being buried in the land of his birth.

*Special thanks to Eamonn McLoughlin for bringing this grave to light and for permission to use his photographs of the grave.

(1) Foreman 2010:758 (2) Ibid:761 (3) Ibid:770 (4) Ibid:777

References & Further Reading

Foreman, Amanda 2010. A World On Fire: An Epic History of Two Nations Divided

Civil War Trust Battle of Sayler’s Creek 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

Commander Stephen C. Rowan

Stephen Rowan was born in Dublin in 1808, emigrating to the United States with his father a few years later. He joined the navy in 1826 as a Midshipman, and served in the Pacific and Mediterranean prior to the Mexican War, where he commanded one of the naval battalions in California (1). Now, as the Commander of the Pawnee, he complied promptly with Gideon Welles’ instructions. The following day, 5th April, saw another dispatch to Rowan from the Secretary of the Navy. ‘Sir: After the Pawnee has been provisioned at Norfolk you will proceed with her to sea and on the morning of the 11th instant appear off Charleston bar, 10 miles distant from and due east of the light-house, where you will report to Captain Samuel Mercer, of the Powhatan, for special service. Should he not be there, you will await his arrival.’

On 10th April Rowan was able to report to Welles from off Cape Henry, informing the Secretary that he was at sea having been delayed somewhat by an easterly gale. The Pawnee was one of a number of ships that was steaming towards a location that was soon to achieve worldwide fame- Fort Sumter, South Carolina. The southern state had been the first to secede from the Union following the election of Lincoln, doing so on the 20th December 1860. Soon afterwards U.S. army Major Robert Anderson withdrew the men he commanded in Charleston to Fort Sumter, as tensions began to intensify with the local populace. The situation degenerated into a siege, and in March Brigadier-General P.G.T. Beauregard took charge of the Confederate forces opposing the Fort. The risk of war drew ever closer. As food supplies began to run low, Lincoln ordered naval vessels to attempt to resupply the fort. Stephen Rowan and the Pawnee was one of these vessels.

The Pawnee, Stephen Rowan's command in April 1861

At 7 o’clock on the morning of 12th April 1861 Rowan and the Pawnee arrived at their designated position off Charleston harbor. A small paddle-wheel steamer approached his ship, which proved to be the Harriet Lane. A boat from the steamer approached the Pawnee and Rowan was handed an order dated 5th April. The order outlined just what was expected of the Irishman and his crew; the seriousness of the situation must have been immediately apparent to all concerned. The order that Rowan read was from Secretary Welles to Captain Mercer, indicating that he was being given command of four steamers, the Powhatan, Pawnee, Pocahontas and Harriet Lane with the object of provisioning Fort Sumter. If the Charleston authorities allowed the Fort’s resupply the force could do so an withdraw. However, if they prevented it, Mercer and his force were to ‘protect the transports or boats of the expedition in the object of their mission, disposing of your force in such manner as to open the way for their ingress, and afford, so far as practicable, security to the men and boats, and repelling by force, if necessary, all obstructions toward provisioning the fort and reenforcing it; for in case of resistance to the peaceable primary object of the expedition a reenforcement of the garrison will also be attempted.’

Next on board Rowan’s ship was Captain Fox of the Baltic, one of the vessels charged with resupplying the Fort. He indicated that he intended to attempt to reach Sumter in boats, and asked for assistance in doing so. The Pawnee had a launch and a cutter armed to aid the Baltic. As the minutes passed, the Harriet Lane and the Baltic stood in towards the bar, but very shortly afterwards the Baltic came out again. Captain Fox informed Rowan the forts and batteries were firing on Fort Sumter. The Confederates had started firing on Major Anderson and his men in an attempt to force their surrender before the naval force could resupply them. The American Civil War had begun.

Bombardment of Fort Sumter, 1861, Engraving by George Edward Perine

Commander Rowan was able to observe that Fort Moultrie, Cumming’s Point, Fort Johnson and the sand and floating batteries were all firing at the Fort, which was responding with its own artillery. Captain Fox decided he would attempt to resupply the Fort the following morning, the 13th, with protection from Rowan. However, the Baltic grounded on Rattlesnake Shoal which further delayed any attempt until the following night. Meanwhile, the Pawnee noted a schooner passing close by, and suspecting it might be a ship belonging to the forces in Charleston Rowan fired three or four shots across her bows to force her to drop anchor. It transpired that it was a vessel from Philadelphia transporting ice, and the Irishman decided to commandeer her for the transfer of men and provisions. Events were destined to overtake Rowan’s plans. He describes what happened next: ‘This arrangement had scarcely been determined upon before a dense smoke issued from the weather side of Fort Sumter; for some time it was thought to be some floating fire craft dropped down against the walls to annoy and prevent the accuracy of Major Anderson’s fire. In two hours flames appeared above the ramparts on the opposite side of the fort from our position. At noon, or a little later, a body of flames curled far above the ramparts. We then became satisfied that the fort was on fire and feared that the gallant major and his little band would suffer severely….At about 2 o’clock the flagstaff on Fort Sumter was shot away, and we witnessed the sad spectacle of the fall of our flag, which we were so impotent to assist. In vain we looked for its reappearance over the fort; instead of this, the firing from Sumter became more and more weak, and at length ceased entirely.’

A boat was taken by Lieutenant Marcy under a flag of truce to the Confederate position at Cumming’s Point to determine if the Fort had surrendered. He returned with the news that it had. As part of the surrender terms the garrison of Sumter was allowed to depart with the ships. All that was left for Commander Rowan and the Pawnee to do was to assist in their transfer to the Baltic, and on 15th April he and the others made for Cape Henry.

Commander Stephen Rowan went on to perform well during the war, perhaps most notably in command of the naval contingent at New Bern during the Burnside Expedition. He remained in service until 1889 and achieved the rank of Vice Admiral. One wonders if he realised during those days in April 1861 that he was witnessing the start of a conflict that would drag on for four years and cause such untold death and destruction. He was one of the very few Union men who saw it all begin.

(1) Dougherty 2010: 18-19; Ayres 1910: 1

References & Further Reading

Ayres, Stephen Cooper 1910. Sketch of the Life and Services of Vice Admiral Stephen C. Rowan, U.S. Navy

Dougherty, Kevin 2010. Strangling the Confederacy: Coastal Operations in the American Civil War

Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies Series 1, Volume 4

Fort Sumter National Monument

Andrew Byrne’s memoirs were published thanks to the efforts of his grandson, retired Irish army Colonel Seamus B. Condon. The manuscript and an image of Byrne in Civil War uniform were kept in the family, until in 2008 Condon succeeded in having them published. Andrew Byrne did not have the benefit of much formal education, and it takes some time to adapt to his writing style and lack of punctuation. However, this is more than compensated for by the content, and the editor Nicola Morris has rightly retained the integrity of Byrne’s original work. This includes a number of poems written by Byrne about his life during the period. Among the highlights of the book are the numerous coloured sketches that Andrew Byrne produced to accompany his recollections. Although some are based on images in contemporary newspapers, others have been created from memory.

The first part of the book deals with Andrew Byrne’s pre Civil War experiences. He arrived in New Orleans in 1849, and finding it difficult to procure work, he embarked on his first experience in Uncle Sam’s army. He deserted and returned to Ireland in 1853, but came back to America in 1856 and re-enlisted in New York. He confessed about his previous desertion, and was pardoned on condition that he return to his original unit in the West. During this period Byrne served at locations such as Fort Martin Scott in Texas, Fort Union in New Mexico and Fort Buchanan in Arizona. Along the way he encountered Comanches and marched across vast tracts of the south-western United States.

The Battle of Beaver Creek, 26th June 1862

When his term of service expired in 1860 Andrew returned to Ireland, but when the Civil War broke out he determined to travel back to the United States and serve the Union. He chose to join the 65th New York Volunteer Infantry, otherwise known as the 1st U.S. Chasseurs. He described the unit as ‘cosmopolitan in its composition’ with about half of the men being American, followed by Irish, German, English and Scottish. As a result of his previous military experience he quickly began to climb the non-commissioned ranks, soon becoming a First Sergeant. The regiment’s first experience of the war came during the Peninsular Campaign, and Byrne gives a vivid account of his first view of the dead on a battlefield. He provides descriptions of the confusion and intensity of the Seven Day’s Battles, including Malvern Hill on 1st July 1862, in which he was seriously wounded in the left arm. Unable to retreat with the army, he was captured by the Confederates and sent to the notorious Libby Prison, Richmond. The horrors of Libby clearly stayed with Byrne for the rest of his life, with the images of the dead and dying impressed on his memory. He describes one soldiers plight: ‘I came to a Cot near the front door of the Libby a young soldier was lying stretched on the bed with a light dirty covering over him. He was a bad cace his face and arms were covered with flyes. When he made a slight motion with his arm the horrable insects rose from him like a Swarm of Bees. The flesh of his arms and face was red and scallded looking the flies were actually eating him alive.’

Andrew Byrne being carried from the field at Malvern Hill, 1st July 1862

Byrne was fortunate enough to be exchanged, but the seriousness of his injury would prevent him from returning to his regiment until August 1863. He does not describe the 1864 Overland Campaign in the same detail with which he handled the 1862 battles, relying more on presenting an overview than describing his personal experiences. Given the intensity of the fighting the 65th endured at locations such as the Wilderness and Spotsylvania, one wonders if these were difficult for him relive. He does provide some vignettes, however, with one of the more gruesome and poignant being his description of the impact of a cannonball on his regiment’s advancing line during the Battle of Cold Harbor: ‘Two men of my Regiment the front and rear rank were knocked out of the ranks with as much ease as if they were two chickens and dashed against the ground where they lay flat and motionless killed by a cannon ball. One was a German and the other an Irishman named Bermingham from Dublin MacNamara an Irishman next the German was splashed with blood and got pale and nervous he came down to me I saw the man was weak. I told him to go to the rear and sit down awhile. I was sorry for Bermingham, he was the victim of a drunken wife in New York who ruined him and his business.’

The Battle of Cedar Creek, 19th October 1864

Byrne’s regiment was redeployed to the Shenandoah Valley to serve with Sheridan, and he gives a particularly interesting account of his and his unit’s participation at the Battle of Cedar Creek on 19th October 1864. By now a Second Lieutenant, Byrne was wounded for the second time during this fight, being hit in the left hip. He rejoined the 65th for the final time in February 1865 as a First Lieutenant. He describes the anxious wait as the Union troops waited to assault the works at Petersburg, and the final days leading up to Appomattox when he and his comrades heard of Lee’s surrender.

The troops learn of the surrender of Lee, 9th April 1865

Andrew Byrne’s story did not end there, however. His first wife died in 1865, and Andrew once again returned to Ireland. He had by now became a Fenian and was one of a large number of ex Union officers in the movement. He was eventually arrested and forced to return to the United States, where he completed yet another stint in the military, serving as a non-commissioned officer in the 42nd Regiment U.S. Infantry from 1867 to 1869. He spent a number of years working in the building trade around New York and the mid-west, before eventually settling in Saratoga, New York. He met his second wife here and returned to Ireland with his new family for the final time in 1875.

This memoir is an extremely important addition to the body of writing on the Irish experience of the American Civil War. More than this, it offers an insight into the general Irish experience of emigration to the United States in the 19th century. Byrne never served in a distinctly Irish unit, but it is clear from his memoirs that no matter where you were in the U.S. army, you were never far from and Irish soldier. At one juncture he even ran into an old classmate of his from Dublin while serving in American south-west!

The impression one gets of Andrew Byrne in this book is of a highly intelligent, honest and conscientious man with a yearning for exploration and adventure. He did not see the Atlantic as a barrier never to be recrossed, and somewhat unusually made frequent trips between Ireland and his adopted home. After all his varied experiences it is perhaps of note that he eventually found the pull of Ireland too strong, and decided to live out his days in the city of his birth.

This book is highly recommended as a fine personal account of one Irishman’s experience of America in the 1800s. It deserves as wide a circulation as possible.

References

Byrne, Andrew J. (edited by Nicola Morris) 2008. Memoir of Andrew J. Byrne- Veteran of the American Civil War. Original Writing. 239pp.

Available to buy from Original Writing.

The Memorial to the ‘Manchester Martyrs’ in Glasnevin Cemetery. William Allen, Michael Larkin and Michael O’Brien were executed in England for the murder of a police officer during the rescue of two Irish Republican Brotherhood leaders.

Detail of the Manchester Martyr’s Memorial. Among the executed was Michael O’Brien, an American Civil War veteran who had fought with the Union army. One of the Irish Republican Brotherhood leaders who he helped to free was Thomas Kelly, who had served as an officer in the 10th Ohio Infantry and on the staff of General George Henry Thomas. Although buried in England, these executed men are commemorated by this memorial in Glasnevin Cemetery.

Another memorial in Glasnevin to a man buried elsewhere. This restored monument was erected by friends of William Dillon Walker, from Goldenbridge on the outskirts of Dublin. He joined the Federal army and was killed at the Battle of the Wilderness in May 1864.

A detail of the William Dillon Walker memorial at Glasnevin Cemetery. Though difficult to read, it records Walker’s service in the Papal Forces in the Italian War of 1860, where he was proclaimed a Knight of the Order of St. Sylvester. His later enlistment in the Union army and death at the Wilderness is also inscribed, surely one of the very few memorials to an individual in Ireland which specifically names an American Civil War battle.

The grave of John O’Mahony (1816- 1877). The Limerickman was the founding member of the Fenian Brotherhood which he set up while living in New York. He served as Colonel of the 99th New York National Guard towards the end of the Civil War.

Detail of John O’Mahony’s grave in Glasnevin Cemetery. He died in New York in 1877 and his body was transferred with much fanfare to Ireland for burial in Glasnevin Cemetery.

The grave of James Francis Xavier O’Brien (1828-1905) who was a member of the Fenian Brotherhood and also served as a Member of Parliament for the Irish Parliamentary Party. He was in America at the outbreak of the Civil War, and served briefly as an Assistant Surgeon for the Confederates in New Orleans.

A detail of James Xavier O’Brien’s grave. He had studied medicine at Queen’s College Galway and in Paris prior to travelling to Nicaragua to fight with William Walker, eventually settling in New Orleans.

The Jesuit section of Glasnevin Cemetery, where many of that order are buried. Amongst those who lie beneath this cross is Father John Bannon (1829- 1913), the ‘Confederacy’s Fighting Chaplain’. He was sent to St. Louis following his ordination, and when war broke out he served as Chaplain to the First Missouri Confederate Brigade. He was captured with his unit following the fall of Vicksburg in 1863. He subsequently returned to Ireland in an attempt to assist in the disruption of Union recruitment efforts on the island.

Detail of the inscribed cross recording the names of the Jesuits buried in the order’s plot in Glasnevin. ‘P. Joannes Bannon’ can be seen second from bottom. Bannon never returned to America following the war, instead remaining in Ireland and becoming a Jesuit.

References & Further Reading

Glasnevin Cemetery Trust

Faherty, William Baranaby S.J. 2002. Exile in Erin: A Confederate Chaplain’s Story: The Life of Father John B. Bannon

O’Duffy, Richard 1915. Historic Graves in Glasnevin Cemetery

Tucker, Phillip Thomas 1992. The Confederacy’s Fighting Chaplain: Father John B. Bannon