General Hospital No. 1 (Alms Hospital) in Richmond (Library of Congress)

A LETTER FROM A FEDERAL SOLDIER

A gentleman in this city, a native of Ireland, has received a letter from his brother who was a member of the 69th New York Regiment, under command of Col. Corcoran, was wounded at the battle of Manassas, and is now a prisoner in Richmond. Having been permitted to publish the letter, we append it here, as showing that “humanity is still the guiding star of our Government,” and that “a change has come over the spirit of the dreams” of some of our would-be conquerors. Here is the letter:

New Alms Hospital, 

Richmond, Va., July 30, 1861.

Dear Pat, 

I wrote you a few lines last week which a gentleman either posted or took on with him as he resided near Augusta. I know you were surprised to hear that I was in Richmond wounded; but if we had got our rights I would have been in New York the day the battle was fought, our term of service having expired the day before, but Old Abe or Scott would not let the regiment go home. Well, it served us right, when we were fools enough to fight in such a cause; but I hope the time will come when Irishmen will mind their own business.

Early in the fight, I got a ball in the thigh which broke the bone. I lay on the field 35 hours, a rain falling most of the time, and might have laid there since, if it was not for the kindness of the Southerners- enemies I cannot call them, for they have treated us more like brothers than anything else. I got a hard shaking on the railroad, but now, thank God! I am very comfortable here. I expect to have my leg set today. If it is I hope to recover soon, when I will be a much wiser man. Owing to the great number of wounded I could not be attended sooner: besides the doctor was afraid of mortification; but I think I am now safe, and that, with God’s help, I will have the use of my leg.

Dear Pat, you could not believe the way our soldiers were treated by Scott. There were eight regiments on the field whose time was up, but could not get home. But worse than all, they left the dead and wounded on the field, and never sent a flag of truce in to know how or what would become of us. It is Colonel Corcoran I blame for keeping us; he is now a prisoner here. Many is the heavy curse he got from wounded and dying men. I wish you could send a letter to my wife, poor creature; probably she thinks me dead. She lives at 212, West 26th street. Direct, care of Thos. Kiernan. Tell her I hope to be with her soon; also, that I am well treated; get meat three times a day, and splendid soup at dinner time.

I remain, dear Pat, your affectionate brother,

B.R. 

References

Daily Constitutionalist 6th August 1861: A Letter From a Federal Soldier

Brigadier-General Thomas Sweeny, Union Army of the Tennessee (Library of Congress)

William T. Sherman’s advance towards Atlanta had commenced early in the month of May, with the combined Union forces (consisting of the Army of the Cumberland, Army of the Tennessee and Army of the Ohio) taking on Joseph E. Johnston’s Confederate Army of Tennessee. By mid month actions such as those at Resaca, together with Sherman’s flanking movements, had forced the Confederates back. As both sides continued to manoeuvre for position, Union Brigadier-General Thomas W. Sweeny found that his division of the Army of the Tennessee was in close proximity to that of Confederate Major-General Patrick R. Cleburne. Both Sweeny and Cleburne were Irishmen, and indeed both originally hailed from the same county, Cork. Not only was Sweeny a Federal division commander, he was also a dedicated Fenian. He decided to take this opportunity to communicate with his fellow General, as described by Buck:

‘In this affair the opposing force to Cleburne was the division of that gallant one-armed Irishman, General Thos. W. Sweeny, who later, by flag of truce, sent a message to Cleburne that after the war was over they both would raise a Fenian army and liberate Ireland. Cleburne’s answer was that after this war was closed he thought both would have had fighting enough to satisfy them for the rest of their lives.’ (1)

Major-General Patrick Cleburne, Confederate Army of Tennessee (Library of Congress)

Although communications between opposing officers across the lines was not uncommon during the war, this incident and the message sent highlights the dual allegiance felt by many Irishmen. Cleburne would not get the opportunity to become involved with a Fenian Army even if he had wanted to; he was killed at the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee on 30th November 1864. Sweeny, who had lost his arm at the Battle of Churubusco during the Mexican War, would go on to become embroiled in controversy as the campaign intensified around Atlanta. A career officer, he was not enamoured with his Corps Commander Major-General Grenville M. Dodge, who was a political general, and whom Sweeny thought inept. On 25th July 1864 an argument erupted between them where the Irishman cursed his commanding officer and called him a liar. Dodge slapped him in the face and Sweeny returned the blow. Brigadier-General John W. Fuller was also present and when he intervened, both he and the fiery Irishman ended up exchanging blows while rolling around the tent floor. Sweeny was court-martialled, and though acquitted he did not serve in the field again during the conflict. The Corkman did get his wish of striking a blow against the British after the war, overseeing the ill-fated Fenian Invasion of Canada in 1866. Although he was arrested by U.S. authorities for his part in this, he was later released. Thomas Sweeny retired from the U.S. Army in 1870 and died in New York on 10th April 1892, where he is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn. (2)

(1) Buck 1908: 213; (2) Morgan 2005: 102-103, 152

References & Further Reading

Buck, Irving Ashby 1959 (First Published 1908). Cleburne and His Command and Hay, Thomas Robson Pat Cleburne: Stonewall Jackson of the West

Morgan, Jack 2005. Through American and Irish Wars: The Life and Times of General Thomas W. Sweeny 1820- 1892

Patrick Cleburne’s Grave, Helena, Arkansas

Thomas Sweeny’s Grave, Brooklyn, New York

Michael Dougherty in later life

Michael Dougherty was born on 10th May 1844 in Falcarragh, Co. Donegal, emigrating to the United States in 1859. At the age of 18 he decided to enlist, and on the 8th August 1862 he mustered into the 13th Pennsylvania Cavalry for three years service. It is no surprise that Dougherty chose this unit to serve in, as it had a distinct Irish character; indeed it had initially been intended to serve as a squadron with the Irish Brigade. The unit was to be known as the ‘Irish Dragoons’ when it was formed by James A. Gallagher of Philadelphia in September 1861. Further authority was received to increase its size beyond that of a squadron, and it became the 117th Regiment (13th Cavalry) with Gallagher becoming its first Colonel. (2)

The capture that led to Dougherty’s 1864 diary entry was not his first taste of life in Confederate prison. On 26th February 1863 his regiment was based in the Shenandoah Valley at Winchester, Virginia, when they were ordered to engage what appeared to be some Confederate foragers. They secured a number of the enemy and drove the remainder into the camp of the 11th Virginia at Woodstock, some twenty miles away from their base. With their horses exhausted they turned for home, but as they approached Fisher’s Hill they were engaged by a body of Rebels, who were positioned on both of their flanks. After a fight which lasted for half an hour the 13th Pennsylvania had lost 108 men killed, wounded and captured. The Donegal man was among the latter, and he was taken to Libby Prison in Richmond. Dougherty was exchanged on 26th May 1863 and was able to rejoin his comrades at Winchester; his first experience as a guest of the Confederacy had been mercifully brief. (3)

As 1863 continued the Irishman was quickly becoming a veteran, and he was engaged in his first major battle at Second Winchester that June. During the fighting Dougherty was responsible for carrying dispatches, a role he executed so well that he was presented with a gold medal for bravery by Co. Wexford native Colonel Michael Kerwin. Kerwin had succeeded to command of the 13th Pennsylvania shortly after the battle, replacing Colonel Gallagher. Following Second Winchester the regiment became part of the Army of the Potomac, joining the 2nd Brigade of Brigadier-General David McMurtrie Gregg’s 2nd Division. On 12th October of that year the 13th Pennsylvania was on picket duty at Jefferson, Virginia, on the south side of the Rappahannock opposite Sulphur Springs. At about 6 o’clock that morning the Confederates attacked their positions, driving in the unit’s pickets. Heavy skirmishing continued throughout the day, and the 4th Pennsylvania Cavalry moved up to support their comrades from the Keystone State. During this fighting the young Donegal native once again showed his worth when he dashed across an open field at the head of some men from his company, forcing the Confederates to abandon one of their positions in an unoccupied house. Michael and his comrades then took possession of the building themselves, and fought off repeated attacks against it for a number of hours. The Rebels were not finished, however, and that afternoon they attacked the cavalrymen’s positions with increased force. By 5 o’clock the 13th and 4th had been driven back, but many men were cut off and could not escape across the river. The 13th Pennsylvania lost 163 men killed, wounded and captured, the vast majority being forced to surrender. Once again Private Michael Dougherty found himself a prisoner, and this time it would be for the remainder of the war. (4)

Andersonville on 17th August 1864. Dougherty’s diary for that day records: ‘No prisoners left here today or yesterday. Alfred Friend, Co. F, 12th N.Y.C., has just informed me that he is the only man alive out of 53 of his regiment.’

From 12th October 1863 to 12th April 1865 Dougherty was to spend his time in Confederate prisons. Throughout this time he kept a diary charting his experiences in prisons such as Libby, Pemberton and Belle Isle in and around Richmond, with a recurring theme being the constant hope and endless rumours regarding prisoner exchange. On 8th February 1864 he boarded a train away from Richmond with 600 others, but it was not for the purpose of his release. The train travelled south to Georgia and arrived at its destination, Camp Sumter, on the 15th February. This was a new prison, and it would soon be known by another name, one that still conjures images of death, suffering and cruelty- Andersonville. Of the 45,000 Union prisoners held there during the 14 months of its existence, 13,000 of them would never leave. (5)

Michael tried to occupy himself by visiting the different parts of the camp and recording any events in his diary. It is a stark record of the human misery he and others experienced during his time in the exposed 26 1/2 acre compound. Unsurprisingly, the main topics include new prisoners, the deaths of comrades, and rations:

18th April 1864: About five hundred more prisoners came in to-day from Cahaba, Alabama. Bernard Tolen, Co. D, died to-day.

15th May 1864: We can see wagons haul away bodies from the dead-house, like so much dirt; as many as twenty bodies piled on one wagon. Upwards of fifteen hundred men have died since we came here.

20th July 1864: One hundred and thirty prisoners died yesterday; it is so hot we are almost roasted. There were 127 of my regiment captured the day I was, and of that number eighty-one have since died, and the rest are more dead than alive; exposure and long confinement is doing its work among us.

Dougherty makes reference to an interesting incident from an Irish perspective on the 13th November 1864: All the Irish who could walk were called to the gate this afternoon by a Col. McNeill of the 10th Tennessee (rebel) regiment, to see if any of them would take the oath to join the rebel service. Not an Irishman enlisted, but two Yankees did, one from Connecticut and the other from a New York regiment; so you see the Irish are the most loyal. The following day Dougherty added: Webb called on me to-day; we had a talk over the excitement caused by the appeal to the Irish; he says McNeill is no true Irishman or he would not try to degrade Ireland and her people by making such a proposition. The 10th Tennessee had been formed of Irishmen from Nashville in 1861, and ‘Col. McNeill’ was in fact Colonel John G. O’Neill. The remnants of the unit surrendered with the Army of Tennessee in 1865 following its defeat at the Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina. (6)

The ‘Sultana’ ablaze in the Mississippi following the explosion of one of her boilers

Michael Dougherty’s visit to the Andersonville hospital in late 1864 should have been fatal, but he somehow managed to survive. Incredibly, having experienced the American Civil War and the worst prison conditions in the nation’s history his tribulations were still not at an end. On 23rd April 1865 at Vicksburg, Mississippi, he boarded a ship called the ‘Sultana’ along with between 2,200 and 2,400 others, many also former Andersonville prisoners. They were steaming up the Mississippi for St. Louis, Missouri, and had arrived in Memphis, Tennessee on 26th April. Early in the morning of 27th April one of the boilers on the vessel exploded, enveloping the boat in flames. Some 1,800 of the passengers lost their lives, in what remains the worst maritime disaster in United States history. (7)

The Irishman had again beaten the odds and survived. He returned to Bristol, Pennsylvania and his mother and sisters on 27th June 1865. He would go on to marry Rose Magee with whom he had 12 children. In the post war years he worked at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia and served as a Bristol Council Member between 1880 and 1882, as well as being an active member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Michael Dougherty was awarded the Medal of Honor on 23rd January 1897 for his actions on the day of his capture on 12th October 1863. His citation read: ‘At the head of a detachment of his company dashed across an open field, exposed to a deadly fire from the enemy, and succeeded in dislodging them from an unoccupied house, which he and his comrades defended for several hours against repeated attacks, thus preventing the enemy from flanking the position of the Union forces.’ The Falcarragh native published his prison diary in 1908, providing an invaluable insight into the terrible conditions experienced by Union troops in Andersonville. Having survived such trials in early life, Michael Dougherty went on to live well into his 80s. He died on 19th February 1930, and is buried in Saint Marks Roman Catholic Churchyard in Bristol, Pennsylvania. (8)

(1) Dougherty 1908: 66; (2) AOH Bristol, Bates 1870: 1267 & 1306, Taylor 1913: 172; (3)  Dougherty 1908: (i)- (ii), 1; (4) Taylor 1913: 172, Bates 1870: 1269, Dougherty 1908: 72; (5) Dougherty 1908: 1-28, Andersonville National Park Service Website; (6) Dougherty 1908: 40, 43, 54, 65;  (7) Dougherty 1908: 68-71; (8) Dougherty 1908: 71, AOH Bristol, Medal of Honor Society, Broadwater 2007: 64-65;

References & Further Reading

Bates, Samuel Penniman 1870. History of Pennsylvania Volunteers 1861-5 Volume 3

Broadwater, Robert P. 2007. Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients: A Complete Illustrated Record

Dougherty, Michael (edited by James T. Navary) 2009. The Prison Diary of Michael Dougherty: Union Survivor of Two Years Confinement in Confederate Prisons (1st Edition 1908)

Hand, Harold 2000. One Good Regiment: The Thirteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry (117th Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment) 1861-1865

Taylor, Frank Hamilton 1913. Philadelphia in the Civil War 1861- 1865

Ancient Order of Hibernians Division No. 1 Bristol, Pennsylvania: Michael Dougherty Page

Andersonville National Park Service Website

General James Birdseye McPherson (Image via Wikipedia)

The ninety-one men of the Fifth Confederate had started their day early. Their march around their enemy’s flank had taken place during the night, but the difficult terrain they encountered meant it was afternoon before they could attack, finding the gap between McPherson’s two Corps. Captain Richard Beard was amongst them, and describes the scene as the Union General suddenly appeared: ‘He was certainly surprised to find himself suddenly face to face with our line. My own company and possibly others had reached the road when he discovered that he was within a few feet of where we stood. I was on the very verge of the road, and McPherson checked his horse for a second just opposite where I stood. I could have touched him with the point of my sword. Not a word was spoken. I threw up my sword to him as a signal to surrender. He checked his horse slightly, raised his hat as if he were saluting a lady, wheeled his horse’s head to the right, and dashed off to the rear in a full gallop.’

Among the group of Fifth Confederate soldiers who witnessed the incident was one of Beard’s Company, Corporal Robert Coleman. Captain Beard noted that he was as gallant a young soldier as he had ever seen on a battlefield, but very excitable. He describes what happened next: ‘Corporal Coleman, who was standing near me, fired on him, whether some one ordered fire I do not remember. It was his bullet that brought Gen. McPherson down. He was shot as he was passing under the thick branches of a tree, and as he was bending over his horse’s neck, either to avoid coming in contact with the limbs or, more probably, to escape the death dealing bullets that he knew were sure to follow him. A number of shots were also fired at his retreating staff. I ran up immediately to where the dead General lay, just as he had fallen, upon his knees and face. There was not a quiver of his body to be seen, not a sign of life perceptible. The fatal bullet had done its work well……When I got up to the body of the dead General I found a man lying on his back near him, who, if at all hurt, was but slightly wounded. I noticed only a slight spot of blood on his cheek. Pointing to the dead man, I asked him: “Who is this lying here?” He answered, with tears in his eyes : “Sir, it is Gen. McPherson. You have killed the best man in our army.”

Corporal Robert Coleman, Fifth Confederate Infantry: the man who shot General McPherson

The Fifth Confederate’s good fortune in encountering the isolated General would not last, however. As they pressed on with their attack, they succeeded in assaulting and lodging in the enemy’s works, but the difficult ground meant the attack was uncoordinated and many of the men were isolated. A determined Union counterattack took place in which 10 officers and 36 men were captured along with the regimental colors, the latter becoming the prize of the Fifteenth Michigan Infantry. The Fifth Confederate was a broken force. They participated in another attack later in the day in which they could furnish only twenty-two men. Captain Richard Beard was not among them; the by now captured officer instead found himself describing the circumstances of General McPherson’s death to one of the dead commander’s staff.

The actions of July 22nd were Beard’s last of the war, but they were certainly memorable. Writing in 1903, he was able to state: ‘This is the last tragedy that I took part in during the war, and it is as vividly and as distinctly photographed on my memory as if it all had occurred yesterday.’ The fateful day saw not only the death of General McPherson but also the virtual destruction of the Fifth Confederate Regiment. The Rebel attempts to drive back Sherman’s men failed, and Atlanta would fall on the 2nd September. The Fifth would remain with the Army of Tennessee until the bitter end in 1865. James Birdseye McPherson would be the only Union army commander killed during the American Civil War.

References & Further Reading

Beard, R. 1903.  ‘Incident’s of General McPherson’s Death: Account Given By Captain Beard’ in Confederate Veteran

Castel, A. 1992. Decision in the West: The Atlanta Campaign of 1864

Frazer, C.W. 1886. ‘Fifth Confederate’ in Lindsley, John Berrien (ed.) The Military Annals of Tennessee

Warner, Ezra J. 1964. Generals in Blue

Official Records 38, Pt. 3. Report of Captain Aaron A. Cox, Fifth Confederate Infantry, Polk’s brigade, of Operations July 20-22

Official Records 38, Pt. 3. Report of Lieutenant Colonel Frederick S. Hutchinson, Fifteenth Michigan Infantry, of Operations May 6- August 3

It is though that between 725 and 1330 men died at Camp Lawton during its brief existence; some of the men had previously been housed in the notorious Andersonville Camp. From an Irish perspective, early reports note that some of the artefacts at the camp were clearly made in Europe and indicate the presence of captured troops from Irish and German regiments.

The Record of the Federal Dead Buried From Libby, Belle Isle, Danville & Camp Lawton Prisons published in 1866 contains a list of some of the men who breathed their last at this camp. Incredibly, the list only survived due to the chance discovery of a small box of  books connected with Camp Lawton in Savannah following the Confederate retreat from that city. One of the books was the prisons ‘Death Register’ , which was saved by a Presbyterian Clergyman by cutting out the relevant pages. From there they went to the Christian Commission and on to the National Archives in Washington. 488 names are listed, of whom many are simply marked ‘unknown’. Unquestionably a number of these men were Irish or of Irish descent- among the names are those of soldiers such as Barnard (Bernard?) Donohue of Company A, 90th Illinois, ‘Chicago’s Irish Legion’; cavalrymen such as J. Sullivan and William Fitzgerald of the 16th Illinois Cavalry and 1st Michigan Cavalry respectively; J. Rowe, Company G of the 69th Pennsylvania Irish Infantry; Thomas Parker, Company C, 63rd New York Infantry, part of the famed Irish Brigade. These are just a handful of the men for whom Camp Lawton was the final stop.

Despite the brevity of its use, the discovery of the Camp is remarkable and there is much to be learned about how these soldiers lived and died within its confines. To read more about the discovery view the CNN story here or visit the Georgia Southern University Camp Lawton page here.

References

U.S. Christian Commission 1866. The Record of the Federal Dead Buried From Libby, Belle Isle, Danville & Camp Lawton Prisons and at City Point, and in the Field before Petersburg and Richmond