Sheridan’s Final Charge at the Battle of Third Winchester (Library of Congress)

John Hines was entering his last battle. He was about to receive one of the most feared wounds inflicted during the Civil War- a bullet through his intestines. Captain Lincoln was beside John when he was struck; the agonies he witnessed Hines endure were to haunt the officer for the rest of his life.

At one of those movements when, while at a halt, we were under a sharp fire from the rebels, but a short distance in our front, I heard and almost felt, the zip and dull thud of a Minnié ball, which struck Hines of my company in the groin, – passed directly through his body, and lodged in the groin of his rear rank man, Burnham. Both fell without a word or a groan; – both laid still, as if dead, for a few moments; – when Burnham attempted to crawl away on his hands and knees. Sending a man to his aid, I moved up to, and laid down by the side of Hines. The whole line was down in obedience to such an order. As I laid my hand upon his head, Hines opened his eyes, and recognised me. “I’m kilt, Captain! clean kilt entirely! take care of my money, please.” I took it from his pocket, counted it, and told him the amount. “Yes, Captain! I know! fourteen dollars,”- and closing his eyes again, he laid still,- quiet and peaceful as a child; not a cry, not a groan escaped him. I had in my pocket a flask, with perhaps a half pint of whiskey, which, knowing what work was before us, I had kept for some occasion like this. How I did hate to spare it! Not that then I actually needed it, but that I never was more dry; and hardly ever would a drop have tasted better! But like a hero, I rose to the occasion, and with the spirit of a martyr, devoted it to Hines. Child-like, he sucked till he drew the last drop; and with a fervent “God bless you Captain!” and a smile like a cherub, laid back, to all appearance indifferent to all earthly things. No cheer of comrade,- no yell of defiant foe disturbed him: ”But he lay like a warrior taking his rest”, With the roar of battle around him.

I don’t know how long he remained thus quiet and peaceful; but it seemed a long while, when, with no previous warning, he writhed and twisted in convulsive agony, and gave utterance to the most unearthly cries and groans. I tried to pacify him;- telling him that he would exhaust himself, and that his cries would have a bad effect on his comrades. I might as well have talked to a dead man. He would not be quieted; but, in the most heart-rending tones begged me to put him out of his misery! “I’ve been a good soldier, Capt.? Haven’t I?” “Yes, Hines!” “And never asked a favor.” “No, Hines!” “Then, Capt., dear! do me a favor now, and God forever bless you!” “Take your pistol, Capt.! and for the love of the holy mother, blow out my brains.”

The Bugles blew loud and shrilly the order to charge; and I had time only to lay him on a blanket, which was stretched over a couple of muskets, and send him to the rear. I never saw him afterwards, he died that night; but those yells of his ring upon my ears, at this distance of time, as loud, and piercing, as when uttered on the plains of Winchester. (2)

It is difficult to trace the history of this unfortunate Irishman. Lincoln noted that he had no known family and that his backpay could never be released. However his pension index card suggests that a widow sought to claim a pension in October 1882. What is known is that he lived in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he was enlisted and mustered in on 19th November 1863 at the age of 25. On the 1860 census three members of the Hines family are indicated as living in the city’s 5th Ward; Hannah Hines, aged 60, Dennis Hines, aged 25 and John Hines, aged 23. Presumably Hannah was either Dennis and John’s mother or a female relative. When did John leave Ireland? A John and Dennis Hines appear as passengers with a number of other family members aboard the Telassar, which arrived in Boston from Liverpool on 9th June 1848. There was no older male relative among the group, and it seems likely given the date that this was a family fleeing the Famine then raging in Ireland. If this is indeed the same John Hines, he was far from the only Irish boy to escape the ravages of starvation in his native land only to die a gruesome death on the battlefields of the American Civil War. (3)

(1) Lincoln 1879:363; (2) Ibid: 361-3 (3) Index to Pension Files of Veterans,  Adjutant General 1932:619, 1860 Census, Boston Passenger Crews and Lists 1820-1943;

References & Further Reading

Adjutant General, 1932. Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War, Vol. 3

Lincoln, William S. 1879. Life with the Thirty-Fourth Mass. Infantry in the War of Rebellion

Wert, Jeffry D. 1997. From Winchester to Cedar Creek

Civil War Trust Third Battle of Winchester Page

Following Virginia’s secession on 17th April, 1861, the Virginia Convention sought to establish a provisional army of two regiments of artillery, eight regiments of infantry and one regiment of cavalry. These men were to enlist for a period of three years. As the majority of Virginians anticipated a short war, most chose to enlist in volunteer regiments which required a commitment of only one year. As a result only one battalion sized infantry unit of the provisional army came into being- the 1st Battalion Virginia Infantry (Irish). (1)

The battalion was organised in May 1861, and the rank and file consisted mainly of Irish laborers from towns and cities such as Norfolk, Alexandria, Covington, Richmond and Lynchburg. Although most of the men were Irish, the unit was officered by native-born Virginians, many of whom had been trained at the Virginia Military Institute and West Point. The five companies were mustered into Confederate service on 30th June 1861 as the 1st Battalion Virginia Regulars. (2)

The Battle of Kernstown would prove to be the Irishmen’s first major test of the war. Stonewall Jackson’s opponent on the day was technically Tyrone-born Brigadier-General James Shields, but an injury received the day before the battle had disabled the Union commander, who was forced to hand over effective command at Kernstown to Colonel Nathan Kimball (this did not prevent Shields from subsequently claiming credit for the victory). Jackson had ordered his 3,400 men to the attack believing they faced only some 3,000 soldiers who represented the Federal rearguard at Winchester. The 187 men of the 1st Virginia Battalion moved forward with their unsuspecting comrades against an enemy force which in fact numbered some 8,500.

It was early afternoon when Jackson, leading his army north up the Valley Pike, found what he assumed to be the outnumbered Union force positioned on an eminence to the immediate west of the Pike known as Pritchard’s Hill. Conferring with his cavalry commander Turner Ashby, who had been skirmishing with the Federals, the Confederate General decided to launch his main attack around the right of the enemy position. Jackson left Turner’s cavalry to deal with any Union threat to the west of the Pike and on the road itself, before amassing 24 guns to the left of the route to occupy the enemy. Meanwhile he would lead his main force further off to the left of the Pike to execute his plan. On the day of battle the Virginia Irishmen formed part of the brigade of Colonel Jesse Burks, and were led by Richmond native Captain David B. Bridgford. At the start of the engagement they were assigned to provide infantry support to the artillery concentration, specifically to Captain Carpenter’s Battery. (3)

David B. Bridgford who commanded the Irish Battalion at the Battle of Kernstown

The 1st Battalion remained in position with Carpenter’s guns for around 90 minutes, all the while being subjected to unnerving counter-battery fire from guns on Pritchard’s Hill. They managed to see this duty through without sustaining any casualties, but their good fortune would not hold. Sometime around 4.30pm they received an order to move a half-mile to their left front, where the main battle was now being fought. All had not gone to plan for the Confederates on the Irishmen’s left during the intervening period. As the main Rebel force had sought to outflank Pritchard’s Hill they had been subjected to artillery fire, and a brigade which attempted to assault the Federal positions at the base of the hill had been repulsed. Meanwhile Jackson had continued to shuttle his men towards the high ground of Sandy Ridge on the Union right, where the fighting would soon intensify. Having moved to directly support this flanking attempt, the Irish regulars spent some 30 minutes in rear of the Rockbridge artillery before finally being thrown into the infantry contest. (4)

The focus of the fighting on Sandy Ridge was a half mile long low stone wall, which both sides had initially raced to occupy- the Confederates had got their first, but the contest would ebb and flow back and forth over the position for nearly two hours. As more and more Union troops began to appear on and about the Ridge, it was beginning to become horrifyingly clear to Jackson and his men that far from facing a demoralised rearguard, they were in fact heavily outnumbered and staring at potential destruction. It was late afternoon when the 1st Virginia moved towards the top of the Ridge and the stone wall; again conflicting orders bedeviled deployment, with three companies (including Captain Bridgford) moving to the left of the line and two towards the right. They would fight separately for the remainder of the battle. The Irishmen did not have to wait long to encounter the enemy on their arrival at the top of Sandy Ridge. Captain Bridgford described the scene:

‘[The] position was directly opposite the enemy’s line, at a range of not more than twenty yards. We immediately took part in the action. The firing was general and continuous along both lines. The ground we occupied was soon dotted with dead and wounded men. The fire of the enemy was exceedingly severe. The colors of the battalion were planted on the crest of the ridge by Color-Sergeant Kenney…’ (5)

Men had begun to fall almost immediately, particular around the spot where Kenney had positioned the colors. Second Lieutenant Heth of Company D fell beside them, shot through the body while directing his men’s fire. Acting Sergeant-Major James Duggan from Derry took a horrific wound to the face in front of the colors while in the act of taking aim. Meanwhile the two separated companies of the battalion under Captain Thom of Company C were enduring an equally trying ordeal. Twice they repelled Union assaults, with Thom himself taking a bullet to the left breast, which was stopped from entering his body by a copy of the New Testament he had fortuitously placed there. (6)

The final Confederate retreat at the Battle of Kernstown by Alfred Waud (Library of Congress)

Despite the efforts of the Irishmen and their Virginian officers the position they faced becoming hopeless for the Confederates. Eventually Jackson’s entire line began to crumble and was forced into retreat, with the 1st Virginia and the rest of the Rebel force being driven from the stone wall and Sandy Ridge. Fortunately for Stonewall and his men the Union troops were themselves too disorganised to form an effective pursuit. The Confederates moved back down the Valley Pike; Stonewall Jackson had suffered what would turn out to be the only defeat of his military career. (7)

Captain Bridgford reported 47 casualties in the Irish Battalion at the Battle of Kernstown, including 6 killed, 20 wounded and 21 missing, although the unit’s muster rolls indicate that these losses were somewhat greater, amounting to 12 killed, 28 wounded and 19 prisoners of war. The 1st Virginia Irish Battalion would continue to fight with Jackson’s army and experience ultimate success with him during the Valley Campaign. They became the Provost Guard for Jackson’s Corps on 11th October 1862, a role which they would adopt for the entire Army of Northern Virginia after the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863. Despite this function, the unit was plagued by desertion and notorious ill-discipline for much of the war. Many of its original Irish component were not present by war’s end, when the remnants of the Battalion surrendered with the rest of Robert E. Lee’s army at Appomattox Court House in 1865. (8)

(1) Driver Jr and Ruffner 1996:1; (2) Ibid.: 1-2; (3) Cozzens 2008: 168,  Official Records: 405, Driver Jr and Ruffner 1996:12; (4) Official Records: 405, Driver Jr and Ruffner 1996: 12; (5) Cozzens 2008: 172-185, Driver Jr and Ruffner 1996: 12, Official Records: 405; (6) Official Records: 406-7, Driver Jr and Ruffner 1996: 102; (7) Cozzens 2008: 192-207; (8) Driver Jr and Ruffner 1996: 32, 35-6;

References and Further Reading

Cozzens, Peter 2008. Shenandoah 1862: Stonewall Jackson’s Valley Campaign

Driver Jr., Robert & Ruffner, Kevin 1996. 1st Battalion Virginia Infantry, 39th Battalion Virginia Cavalry, 24th Battalion Virginia Partisan Rangers

Official Records Series 1, Volume 12, Part 1, Chapter 24. Report of Capt. D. B. Bridgford, First Virginia Battalion

The Kernstown Battlefield

Civil War Trust Battle of Kernstown Page

Robert Atkins was the son of the local Episcopal clergyman in Mallow, the Reverend Mr. Atkins. Prior to the outbreak of the Civil War he had been interested in military affairs, serving as an officer in the Royal Cork City Artillery in the 1850s. With the advent of the Italian War in 1860 he joined the ‘British Legion’, a group of volunteers who fought for Garibaldi’s Republicans. While there he struck up a friendship with an American called Chatham Roberdeau Wheat, a Southern adventurer who had been born in Virginia but had grown up in the State of Louisiana. The fateful encounter brought Robert to the United States, where civil war loomed. (1)

In New Orleans, Wheat organised the 1st Louisiana Special Battalion, a motley group of natives and immigrants (including many Irish) who would prove extraordinarily ill-disciplined but courageous in a fight. They soon took on the moniker of the ‘Louisiana Tigers.’ Robert Atkins became a Captain in the outfit, and served with them in the first major battle of the war at Bull Run. One colourful account of the Irishman’s service in that engagement claimed that:  ’It was Captain Atkin’s who led Wheat’s Battalion at Manassas, after the noble Wheat fell wounded, leading the celebrated charge of the Louisiana Tigers with a bare shillalah. ‘ (2)

Firville House, Mallow. Robert Atkins wrote his letter to the Bishop of Kerry and resigned from the Confederate States Army from here. (National Inventory of Architectural Heritage- http://www.niah.ie)

After his service with the Tigers Atkins went on to become Aide de Camp on the staff of Major-General Arnold Elzey, who commanded the Department of Richmond. It was while in this position that he returned to Ireland on personal business; from his Mallow home in early 1864 he decided to assist the Southern cause from afar by addressing the Bishop of Kerry about Irish emigration to America and their subsequent enlistment in Union armies. The perceived swelling of Northern ranks by immigrants was an issue close to the Southern press’ hearts, and they frequently reported on it, particularly as the war dragged on in late 1863 and 1864. Robert’s letter was published in the Irish Tralee Chronicle and was soon picked up and reprinted in Southern papers such as the The Richmond Dispatch (Virginia), Daily Constitutionalist (Georgia) and Charleston Mercury (South Carolina). It read as follows:

FIRVILLE, MALLOW, County Cork,

January 9th, 1864

My Lord,

The enclosed letter from the Rev. John Teeling, of Richmond, Va., Confederate States of America, must be my introduction to your lordship. I had the pleasure of making that gentleman’s acquaintance before the first battle of Manassas, July 21st, 1861, and have the highest satisfaction in stating that he enjoys the reputation among a vast number of admiring friends (of every religious denomination) of being an upright honorable man, and a zealous Christian Minister. During the first year of this unfortunate conflict, my friend, Mr. Teeling, acted Chaplain to “Wheat’s Louisiana Battalion,” from New Orleans, (in which Corps I had the honor to serve as Captain for eighteen months,) composed almost exclusively of Irishmen, and nobly did he do his duty in camp and on the battle-field. On the presentation of new colors to the command, our worthy chaplain consecrated the standard, and on many a hard fought field of Southern independence has its silken folds floated on the breeze- when the victorious shout of “Stonewall Jackson’s corp’s” proclaimed that the minions of a despot had recoiled, baffled and dismayed, before the impetuous advance of Southern troops.

“Is it not sad, my Lord, to witness the flower of our peasantry, at this moment in America, imbruing their hands in each others blood?- Why does the Irishman, who craves for liberty at home, and who complains of mis-government here, support, at the risk of his life, the most degraded despotism the world has yet seen? and why does he (becoming forsooth fascinating with the flowery rhetoric and persuasive powers of Mr. Ward Beecher, et hoc genus omne) enrol himself under the “abolition banners” of Abraham Lincoln, and congratulate himself that he is on a crusade, to grant an unsolicited freedom to three millions of “Africans,” who are better clothed, better lodged, and beyond all better fed then he is himself? I shall answer these questions briefly. No feeling of animosity against a people gallantly struggling for liberty, influences the mind of the Irish peasant, when he sails to America, no sympathy with despotism actuates him to enlist in the Northern army; no hatred of the institution of slavery prompts him to join the fanatical legions of the invader, and makes it the greatest object of his life to carry fire and sword, lust and rapine into every Southern home.

What reasons then actuate him to fight for a despotism which his soul abhors? His own adventurous spirit- the distressed condition of his native land, and then by far the greatest inducement- the enormous bounty paid by the Yankee Government for fighting material. What spirited young fellow, who perhaps never made (-) note in his life, can stand the golden bait of seven hundred and seventy-seven dollars. As seven was a favorite number in Holy Writ, it is to be inferred that the legitimate descendants of the Canting Puritans of England regard that number with a sort of religious reverence. The cotton, tobacco and corn-fields of the South must, indeed, must be a much coveted prize to the consistent worshippers of the “almighty dollar” when seven hundred and seventy-seven “shinplasters” are to be the reward of the Irishman who “undertakes” to “serve an ejectment.” Why does not the Red Republican of New England, abandoning the shelter of his counting house or factory, lead bravely to the field of carnage these hordes of Irish, Dutch, Germans and free niggers whom he so persistently treats to the sound of that music which has no harmony for him- that is, the whistle of Southern bullets? or actuated by the same spirit of liberality with which he started- why does he no remunerate with a pension his unhappy substitute, who returns from the field with a shattered constitution or minus a limb? No, my lord! the men whom I have described are coolly speculating in the life blood of our gallant countrymen, who are the abject dupes of those who hesitate to immolate them by thousands for the accomplishment of their selfish purposes and bloody ends.

On several battlefields in America I can bear testimony to the gallant fighting and esprit de corps of the Irish regiments engaged on both sides. The history of this war will attest the fact that on the bloody field of Fredericksburg no troops ever surpassed in deeds or daring that “Irish brigade” who, selected to storm the key of the Confederate position, (an impregnable range of hills,) was only finally repulsed when four-fifths of its number lay in front of the bloody parapet from which belched forth the converging fire of our victorious artillery.

In the reply of His Holiness, Pius IX., to the letter of Mr. Jefferson Davis, (which appeared in the public journals,) the Sovereign Pontiff thus proves himself, my Lord, the worthy apostle of Him who taught “peace on earth and good will towards men.” He says, “it is particularly agreeable to us to see that you, illustrious and honorable President, and your people, are animated with the same desires of peace and tranquillity with which we have in our letters inculcated upon our venerable brothers. May it please God, at the same time, to make the other peoples of America and their rulers, reflecting seriously how terrible is civil war, and what calamities it engenders, listen to the inspirations of a calmer spirit, and adopt resolutely the path of peace.” Such are the sentiments of His Holiness, and such ought to be the feelings of all who wish to see this unhallowed conflict brought to a termination. I trust, my Lord, that you participate in my views, and hope that you, in the high position in which has pleased Providence to place you, use all the exertions in your power to dissuade the peasantry of your diocese from emigrating to the shores of America, there either to imbue their hands with the blood of their kindred, or crippled and maimed, like houseless warriors dependent on the public charity of some great Northern city. 

I am, my Lord, with assurances of high consideration, your Lordship’s obedient servant,

R. GOING ATKINS,

Captain and A.D.C., C.S. Army.

Right Rev. D. Moriarty, D.D., R.C., Bishop of Kerry, Killarney (3)

Robert Going Atkins letter of resignation from the Confederate States Army, written from ‘Firville, Mallow, Ireland’ (Fold3)

Robert Atkins did not get an opportunity to return to the Confederacy, as family reasons forced his resignation in February 1864. It is unclear if his letter had any effect on Irish emigration and subsequent enlistment, but there was undoubtedly one person who was strongly influenced by his views. Robert’s younger brother John decided that he would champion the cause of the Confederacy. In March 1864 John arrived in the South and took up arms with the famed ‘Gray Ghost’, John Singleton Mosby. The Richmond Examiner of the 3rd December 1864 revealed his fate:

In a charge upon the enemy made by Mosby’s band at Upperville, on the 29th October, fell mortally wounded JOHN ATKINS, a private trooper, the son of the Rev. Mr. Atkins, an eminent Episcopal Clergyman of Mallow, in the County of Cork, Ireland…John Atkins was the younger brother- a young man of high connections in his own country, of good education and great gallantry, who arrived in the Confederacy in the month of March last, with the purpose of throwing himself into our struggle for independence, and at once purchased a horse and joined Mosby, under whose command he has participated in all the dashing exploits of that noble partisan leader. Thus has fallen another of the gallant young soldiers whom European countries have contributed to our devoted armies. (4)

Following the war’s conclusion Robert maintained his love for the South. In early 1870 he returned to America to participate in a hunting trip in Arkansas. The visit would be his last; his death while in the Natural State was recorded by the Irish American of 19th February 1870, at the age of just 39. The final surviving brother, Phillip, was now heir to Firville. He had reputedly served as a surgeon in the Union forces, but did not return to Ireland in 1865. By the time of Robert’s death five years later, he had been out of touch with his family for several years. Despite its geographical remoteness from the battlefields of the conflict, Firville House and it’s occupants in Mallow had felt the personal and tragic touch of the American Civil War just a strongly as many thousands of families across the Atlantic. (5)

(1) Edinburgh Gazette: 17th August 1855, Personne 1864: 99; (2) Personne 1864: 99; (3) Robert Going Atkins Service Record, Daily Constitutionalist: 13th April 1864; (4) Richmond Examiner: 3rd December 1864; (5) Irish American: 19th February 1870;

References

Personne. 1864. Marginalia; Or Gleanings From An Army Notebook

Robert Going Atkins Military Service Record

The Daily Constitutionalist 13th April 1864. Enlistments in Ireland

The Edinburgh Gazette 17th August 1855. Commissions

The Irish American 19th February 1870. Munster

The Richmond Examiner 3rd December 1864. Death of a Gallant Gentleman

MIchael Corcoran of the 69th New York State Militia at Bull Run, where he was captured (Currier & Ives)

James Haggerty’s parents could not have envisioned that their son would one day participate in such a momentous battle when he was born in rural Glenswilly, Co. Donegal around the year 1816. His early years were spent in his native county, where he took a position as an apprentice house carpenter. It was not until he was in his late twenties that he first left Ireland, moving to Scotland in 1844 where he plied his trade for a number of years. The horrendous conditions in Ireland during the famine of the 1840s undoubtedly played a part in his decision to emigrate with his brother Bryan to the United States in 1849. (1)

James spent time in Philadelphia before settling in New York, where he established his own business in 1856 as a house carpenter and builder, setting up his office at 70 Bleeker Street. He also started a family around this time, marrying Elisa Bentley from Limerick. His first daughter, Anne died when she was only three days old in 1858. Another daughter Rosina was born in 1859. The Federal Census called to the Haggerty household on the 18th June 1860, just over a year before the Battle of Bull Run. James is recorded as a 40 year old carpenter living with 23 year old Elisa and one year old Rosina in the 1st District of the 17th Ward. (2)

James Haggerty 'Carpenter', his wife Elisa and infant daughter Rosina as they appear on the 1860 Census, just over a year prior to Bull Run (Image via Footnote)

The Donegal man was a dedicated Fenian, as were many other Irishmen in the city. Some chose to join New York State Militia units to gain military experience for a planned future rebellion in Ireland. Haggerty had already served as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the 75th Regiment prior to its disbandment in 1856. When Michael Corcoran was made Colonel of the 69th New York State Militia in 1859, he brought James Haggerty on board as Captain of Company A. He was a popular officer and a strict disciplinarian, and his command earned the nickname ‘Haggerty’s Bullies’. When the first shots were fired on Fort Sumter in April 1861 and President Abraham Lincoln called for volunteers, James Haggerty and the 69th New York State Militia answered. (3)

The Irish New Yorkers went off to war on 23rd April 1861. After a week guarding a railroad junction they were sent to Arlington Heights, Virginia, where they constructed Fort Corcoran (named for the regiment’s commander) overlooking the Potomac. A smaller fort was also built to provide cover to the southern slope of this position, and was christened Fort Haggerty. On the 16th July the 69th moved out from their fortifications, as the campaign that would culminate in the Battle of Bull Run had begun. (4)

Officers of the 69th New York State Militia pose beside one of the guns in Fort Corcoran prior to the Battle of Bull Run (Library of Congress)

The 69th formed part of Colonel William Tecumseh Sherman’s brigade for the duration of the campaign. James Haggerty was to serve as acting Lieutenant-Colonel for the regiment during the days ahead, as Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Nugent had been injured following a fall from his horse. He did not have to wait long to prove his worth. On the 18th July an engagement at Blackburn’s Ford took place, a fight in which the Union troops were forced to retreat. As the 69th advanced to support the attacking units, they encountered another Union regiment moving in the opposite direction. Mistaking their comrades for Rebels, the Irish were about to fire on them when Haggerty ‘dashed along the line and struck the bayonets up with his sword,- his keen eye, which never ceased its watchful care, having detected the error of his men’. During a subsequent artillery barrage the men of the 69th were ordered to lie down, but Haggerty chose to set an example, standing erect on the right of the line.*(5)

The 21st July 1861 arrived, and Haggerty and his men were about to face their first serious engagement. In the early phase of the Battle of Bull Run they preformed a holding role at Stone Bridge while a strong Union force moved to flank the Confederate left by crossing at upstream fords. The fight had already been raging for some time when the Irishmen eventually got the order to cross Bull Run creek. They were to form a junction with the already engaged main attacking force; to do so Sherman’s brigade had to negotiate Rebels who were in the process of retreating from their positions on Matthews Hill to a new line on Henry Hill. The march of the 69th was bringing them up on the right and right-rear of some of these withdrawing Confederates.

Having crossed the creek the Irishmen moved into a meadow, and found the woods to their front filled with a number of retreating Rebels. William Tecumseh Sherman describes what happened next: ‘Lieutenant- Colonel Haggerty, of the Sixty-ninth, without orders, rode out and endeavored to intercept their retreat. One of the enemy, in full view, at short range, shot Haggerty, and he fell dead from his horse.’ Perhaps incensed at what had just happened, the 69th opened fire on the retreating Rebels, who replied in kind. Sherman ordered the firing ceased as he was determined to move his brigade up to join in with the main attack. Captain James Kelly of the 69th related that Haggerty was ‘killed by a Louisiana Zouave, whom he pursued as the latter was on his retreat with his regiment into the woods, and several of our men were severely wounded.’ If Kelly is right in his assessment then it is possible that Haggerty fell at the hands of a fellow Irishman, as many of the Louisiana zouaves were of Irish origin. (6)

James Haggerty's Civil War Pension Index Card, recording his widow's claim for a pension (Image via Footnote)

The 69th succeeded in joining with the main attack, and many more of the regiment would die as they unsuccessfully charged the Confederate positions on Henry Hill. The day ended in defeat for the Union, and the war would continue for four bloody years. We can only speculate as to why James Haggerty so exposed himself in an effort to capture the fleeing Rebels. Perhaps he felt confident they were routing, or suffered a rush of blood to the head in what was his first battle. Maybe as he had shown in the past he was eager to set an example for his men.

James Haggerty was the first man of the 69th New York State Militia to die in the Battle of Bull Run. His experience of combat lasted a matter of minutes before he was killed, leaving behind a widow and infant daughter. Later in the year Thomas Francis Meagher, Captain of Company K (Meagher’s Zouaves) of the 69th and future commander of the Irish Brigade, said that of all the regiment’s dead at Bull Run Haggerty was ‘Prominent amongst them, strikingly noticeable by reason of his large, iron frame, and the boldly chiseled features, on which the impress of great strength of will and intellect was softened by a constant play of humor and the goodness and grand simplicity of his heart- wrapped in his rough old overcoat, with his sword crossed upon his breast, his brow boldly uplifted as though he were still in command, and the consciousness of having done his duty sternly to the last still animating the Roman face -there lies James Haggerty- a braver soldier than whom the land of Sarsfield and Shields has not produced, and whose name, worked in gold upon the colors of the Sixty-ninth, should be henceforth guarded with all the jealousy and pride which inspires a regiment, wherever its honor is at stake and its standards are in peril. (7)

(1) McLaughlin 1992; (2) McLaughlin 1992, 1860 Census (3) McLaughlin 1992, Shea 1861: 104; (4) Shea 1861: 105; Conyngham 1867: 24, 26, McLaughlin 1992; (5) Conyngham 1867: 28, Shea 1861: 106; (6) Official Records: 369, 372 (7) New York Times

*It should be noted that James H. McLaughlin’s book, quoting Thomas Francis Meagher, places this incident on 21st July at the Battle of Bull Run itself. However, Sherman’s brigade was subjected to artillery fire at Blackburn’s Ford on the 18th, and neither he nor Kelly make reference to a sustained barrage prior to Haggerty’s death on the 21st. On that basis the account in The Fallen Brave has been followed here.

References & Further Reading

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

Davis, William C. 1977. Battle at Bull Run

McLaughlin, James H. 1992. James Haggerty of Tir Conaill

Shea, John Gilmary (ed.) 1861. The Fallen Brave

Official Records Series 1, Volume 2, Chapter 9. Report of Col. William T. Sherman, Thirteenth U.S. Infantry, commanding Third Brigade, First Division

Official Records Series 1, Volume 2, Chapter 9. Report of Capt. James Kelly, Sixty-ninth New York Militia

New York Times 30th August 1861 ‘The Monster Festival; Aid for the Widows and Orphans of the Sixty-ninth Regiment’ 

Fort Haggerty Memorial Marker

Captain James Haggerty Memorial, Calvary Cemetery, New York

69th New York State Volunteers Historical Association

Civil War Trust Battle of Bull Run Page

Manassas National Battlefield Park

There are three documents in the Confederate Citizen Files which relate to Bridget Bolen. All are receipts from Confederate military authorities which provide details of monies due to her in return for goods and services received. It is clear from the documentation that Bridget Bolen was running a large holding in the vicinity of Staunton, Virginia, and was called upon regularly by the Confederate military. The first of the documents dates to 10th August 1863 with the last the following summer on 14th July 1864. It may well be the case that there were further documents which date to earlier in the war that have not survived or are yet to be identified. What is certain from the available evidence is that the provision of supplies to the Confederacy was an extremely lucrative activity for Bridget Bolen.

The first receipt is dated to 10th August 1863 and pertains to the rental for one month and 18 days of the Irishwoman’s storehouse, in order for it to be utilised as a magazine. For this she received the sum of $40. It was authorised by Major Beverley Randolph, most probably when that officer was serving in Fitzhugh Lee’s Cavalry Division (the nephew of Robert E. Lee). It is interesting to note that as with her amnesty petition, Bridget Bolen provides ‘her mark’ on the document; despite her wealth, it would appear she was illiterate.

Receipt to Bridget Bolen indicating she was entitled to $40 for the rent of her storehouse for use as a magazine by Major Beverley Randolph (Image via Footnote)

Later that month she was again called upon, this time renting out a four horse team and a two horse team in order for them to be used to haul lumber for the construction of a building, on this occasion receiving $33 in payment.

Receipt to Bridget Bolen entitling her to $33 payment for the use of her horse teams to haul lumber on 27th and 28th August 1863 (Image via Footnote)

The final note for payment is dated to 14th July 1864, and details the provision of milk by the Cork native for the month of June. She provided a total of 997 1/2 gallons for the use of the sick and wounded in the General Hospital at Staunton. Her payment for this transaction far exceeded the earlier ones, amounting to a total of $2992.50. It was signed by the surgeon in charge of the hospital, with the Irishwoman once again adding her mark to the document. This high figure was undoubtedly partially the result of inflation, as the Confederate dollar lost value as the war dragged on.*

14th July 1864 receipt for Bridget Bolen entitling her to $2992.50 in payment for the provision of 997 1/2 gallons of milk to the Staunton Hospital in June 1864 (Image via Footnote)

The last payment in particular would indicate that Bridget Bolen was a woman who possessed considerable resources in the later war years, and most probably was the owner of a not insignificant amount of land. It also seems likely that she may have been a slaveholder, given the commitment in her amnesty appeal to ‘never again use slave labor’. As the search continues to find out more about this woman and her life, it is interesting to note an entry on the ‘Find A Grave’ site for a headstone in Thornrose Cemetery, Staunton, Virginia. It records the name ‘Bridget Bolen’ with the inscription ‘Mother. Died September 14, 1895, 70 years.’ Although the age of this woman suggests she was born around 1825 (as opposed to the c.1830 date which is indicated by her given age at the time of the amnesty petition), it seems unlikely that there were many women with the same name in Staunton, and this may well be the final resting place of the lady in question. To see the headstone click here.

*With thanks to Jim Swan for information regarding the inflation of the Confederate dollar.

References

Footnote Confederate Citizen Files (subscription required)

Attorney-General of the United States James Speed. Bridget Bolen addressed her petition to him. (Image via Wikipedia)

The fourteen exceptions to Johnson’s amnesty were as follows:

1. Confederate Civil or diplomatic officials

2. Individuals who vacated judicial positions in the U.S. to aid the rebellion

3. Confederate Army officers above the rank of Colonel and Navy officers above the rank of Lieutenant

4. Individuals who left seat in the U.S. Congress to aid the rebellion

5. Individuals who resigned commissions in the U.S. Army or Navy and afterward served the rebellion

6. Individuals who treated black prisoners of war or their white officers unlawfully

7. Individuals who absented themselves from the U.S. in order to aid the rebellion

8. Confederate military personnel who were educated at the U.S. Military Academy or U.S. Naval Academy

9. Former Confederate Governors

10. Individuals who left home in the U.S. jurisdiction to aid the rebellion

11. Individuals who engaged in the destruction of U.S. commerce

12. Individuals in federal custody

13. Voluntary participants in the rebellion who held taxable property worth at least $20,000

14. Individuals who had broken the oath of allegiance issued on 8th December, 1863 (2)

Bridget Bolen's signature 'her mark' as it appears on her amnesty petition (Image via Footnote)

The U.S. Government received approximately 15,000 applications for amnesty between 29th May 1865 and 6th September 1867. Of these c. 13,500 of the petitions were successful. Clearly given the breadth of the fourteen exceptions and the numbers of people who eventually applied, many of those who fell within the terms of reference did not bother to petition the President for amnesty. Of the c. 15,000 received, Bradley R. Clampitt has identified that only some 389 were from women. The majority of these women applied for the amnesty under the thirteenth exception, namely those who held taxable property worth over $20,000. Their motivations for doing so appear to have been a fear that they would lose their property if they did not secure the amnesty. Bridget Bolen fell into this category, and it was to guard against the loss of property that she decided to petition the government. (3)

Bridget Bolen's petition for amnesty (Image via Footnote)

On the 7th August 1865 the Irishwoman had the following petition written, which was witnessed by E.B. Dull:

Staunton, Augusta County Virginia, Aug. 7th 1865

To the Hon James Speed

Attorney General of the U.S.

The petition of Bridget Bolin [sic]. Respectfully represents that she is a native of Cork, Ireland a citizen of Augusta County in the State of Va. where she has resided for the last 11 years. That she is in the 36^th year of her age, is the owner of land and has been as she is now, engaged in commercial pursuits, during the war. That she is not a slave owner; will never again use slave labor or recognise the Institution of Slavery in the U.S. That her participation in the late rebellion consisted only in the past of taxes and contraction of supplies for the army levied under the authority of the so called Confederate States Govt. That her property may or may not be worth $20,000 but whether more or less no proceedings have been instituted against her by the U.S. authorities for its confiscation. That she has taken and subscribed the annexed oath of Amnesty, and as a legal citizen of the U.S. intends to keep the home in good faith. She therefore coming, probably, within the 13^th exception of the President’s Proclamation of the 19^th May last, prays for special pardon on the terms and conditions prescribed.

Her mark: Bridget Bolen

Witness

E.B. Dull (4)

Bridget Bolen's signed Amnesty Oath (Image via Footnote)

Bolen’s petition was accompanied by a signed amnesty oath which was witnessed by William A. Burnett, a notary public. As with the majority of women who applied for amnesty under the thirteenth exception, Bridget Bolen’s petition was successful, and she was pardoned on 16th August, 1865. (5)

Many intriguing questions about the Corkwoman’s life remain. Did she leave Cork as an already wealthy woman, or did she marry into or acquire her money in Virginia? What was the nature of her wealth? What activities was she engaged in during and after the war? Given her claim that she had resided in Augusta County for 11 years it should be possible to identify her on the 1860 census, although no Bridget Bolen appears. Perhaps Bolen was a married name adopted post 1860- two other Irishwomen named Bridget of the right age do appear on the census for the county, namely Bridget Miligan and Bridget Cochran, and she may be one of these women. There is much research yet to do to find out more about Bridget Bolen and her circumstances; a woman of such means is unlikely to be absent from contemporary local newspapers, for example. It is to be hoped that more can be discovered that will facilitate a follow up post on her in the near future.

(1) Clampitt 2010: 327, Footnote: Confederate Amnesty Petitions; (2) Clampitt 2010: 327; (3) Clampitt 2010: 325-329; (4) Footnote: Confederate Amnesty Petitions; (5) ibid;

References

Clampitt, Bradley R. 2010. ‘”Not intended to dispossess females”: Southern Women and Civil War Amnesty’ in Civil War History, Volume 56, Number 4, pp. 325- 349

Footnote Confederate Amnesty Papers (subscription required)

The Battle of Gaines’ Mill was the third of what became known as the Seven Days’ Battles during the Peninsula Campaign. Confederate General Robert E. Lee was engaged in a series of attacks to beat back Major-General George McClellan’s advance on Richmond. The Fifth Corps of the Army of the Potomac, under Brigadier-General Fitz John Porter, was isolated from the rest of the Federal army on the north bank of the Chickahominy River when the Rebels struck. Lee would continue to throw repeated ferocious assaults against Porter’s line throughout the 27th June as he attempted to drive the Yankees back across the river.

The ruins of Gaines’ Mill, Virginia. (Photographic History of the Civil War)

For now the 9th Massachusetts found themselves far in advance of their Corps’ main line, as Gregg began to deploy elements of the 1st South Carolina and 12th South Carolina as skirmishers to contest the crossing of the mill creek. As they approached the bridge, Captain McCafferty’s Company I shot buck and ball into them from their front, while Captain O’Leary’s Company F poured an enfilading fire into their right flank. With the Irishmen protected behind trees, the Carolinians were forced back, but they would continue to contest the crossing. Colonel Cass sent forward Companies A and D under the command of Major Hanley to reinforce his skirmishers. Eventually Gregg was compelled to fully deploy the 1st and 12th South Carolina to meet the threat, and managed to force his troops across the creek in column of companies. As the Rebels formed on the east bank the skirmishers under Hanley continued to pepper them with buck and ball. Soon after Gregg had deployed his entire brigade in front of the Irishmen, and the 9th had no choice but to begin a controlled retreat in the direction of the Union main line, halting at intervals to fire into the advancing Rebels. One such halt during the retreat was beyond yet another small creek, where Hanley shouted instructions at his skirmishers: ‘Now boys, let us give them one more shot, and then fall back as fast as we can.’ Many of the men, heedless of the imminent danger, took the opportunity of the stop to supply themselves with fresh pairs of stockings from an abandoned cart nearby. As more and more Confederates streamed forward the Irishmen fired their final shot, and then made for the safety of their own lines. (2)

Lieutenant Frank O’Dowd was now in command of Company I (Captain McCafferty and 1st Lieutenant Nugent were already amongst the fallen), when the skirmishers started back. As he turned for the rear an enemy shell exploded beside him, breaking his leg above the ankle. Unable to move, he desperately shouted after his friend, Sergeant J.W. MacNamara, ‘For God’s sake, Jim, don’t leave me!.’ MacNamara was not about to leave the man with whom he had served in the ranks and shared a tent. He called on two of his men, Jerry Cronin and William Winn, to help him with the Lieutenant. Winn took the officer on his back while Cronin and MacNamara supported him on either side. The air was now filled with lead as the four men dashed for the rear. Their luck didn’t hold. A bullet slammed into MacNamara’s calf striking the bone, disabling him. At the same time a bullet passed through Lieutenant O’Dowd’s body, killing him, before continuing on to tear through William Winn’s chest, causing a mortal wound. Sergeant MacNamara roared at Cronin to leave them where they were and save himself. The Confederates were on the position within minutes, and one of the Rebels charged his bayonet at MacNamara, shouting ‘Get up, Yank!’ MacNamara told him he couldn’t move and requested water. The enemy soldier threw his canteen at the Irishman and moved on- the Sergeant was now a prisoner. The survivors of the 9th eventually reached the main line and the remainder of their brigade. Maxcy Gregg knew who he had been fighting. In his official report the General would grudgingly state: ‘Among the troops driven from the ground the Ninth Massachusetts Regiment was noticed.’ The 9th Massachusetts were in fact the only troops Gregg’s men had encountered. The Irishmen’s Corps commander Fitz John Porter had noticed them too. After the war he would write: ‘At Gaines’s Mill, Colonel Thomas Cass’s gallant 9th Massachusetts Volunteers of Griffin’s brigade obstinately resisted A.P. Hill’s crossing [Gregg's Corps Commander], and were so successful in delaying his advance, after crossing, as to compel him to employ large bodies to force the regiment back to the main line.’(3)

Colonel Thomas Cass, 9th Massachusetts Infantry. He was mortally wounded at Malvern Hill on 1st July, 1862. (Library of Congress)

Despite this heavy fighting, the day had barely begun for Colonel Cass and his Irishmen. It was now about 2 p.m., and they were finally back on the main Fifth Corps defensive line, where they were positioned near the Corps centre in a wooded area behind Boatswain Creek. Brigadier-General Griffin placed them on the right of his brigade, supporting Captain Martin’s 3rd Massachusetts Battery. The artillery gouged huge gaps through the advancing Confederates who were now approaching down the road from New Cold Harbor. Sometime around 2.30 p.m. the Rebel’s launched a fierce attack to try and capture the deadly guns. The 9th bore the brunt of the onslaught, and although the left of their line wavered for a moment they succeeded in driving the enemy back. But the Confederates weren’t finished. They came on again and again as the afternoon wore on, while the 9th supported by the 62nd Pennsylvania, 14th New York and 1st U.S. Sharpshooters desperately tried to hold on. The Irishmen ran out of ammunition and were forced to strip the dead and wounded for more rounds, but they and their brigade succeeded in repulsing the attacks. The Confederates were now beginning to surge forward up and down the Fifth Corps line in a desperate attempt to break through. As 9th Massachusetts veteran Daniel George MacNamara described it, ‘men fell dead and wounded on both sides like grain before the reaper’s sickle. Guns were captured and retaken by desperate charges and counter- charges. Confederate regimental colors were snatched and taken from their bearers in hand-to-hand encounters. Prisoners were captured in the dense smoke of battle as they became lost and bewildered and separated from their broken and defeated battalions.’ (4)

A lull fell over the battlefield as afternoon turned to evening, but it would prove only a temporary respite. The Confederate’s were simply manoeuvring for a renewed assault, which they launched around 6.30 p.m. Finally, as the light began to fade, the Union defensive line broke, and from left to right Porter’s men tumbled back towards the Chickahominy. Still the desperately thinned ranks of the 9th Massachusetts did not break pell-mell for the rear. As the New York Herald put it: ‘To break and run was not for the men who had covered themselves with glory during the entire day.’ Colonel Cass, who had been suffering from an illness before the battle, was now completely exhausted and unable to continue, so he passed command of the regiment to Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick Guiney. The Irishmen, having been the extreme advance of the Corps at Gaines’ Mill earlier in the day, now found themselves acting as its rearguard. (5)

As the Fifth Corps position crumbled, Guiney withdrew his men, who were now being subjected to a galling enemy fire from the front and flanks. Deciding that attack was the best form of defence, Guiney, extolling his men to ‘follow your colors!’ halted the retreat no less than nine times. Each time the Irishmen turned on their pursuers to fire and even charge towards the enemy, buying time to continue the withdrawal. Finally two brigades of the Second Corps which had crossed the Chickahominy to aid the Fifth Corps appeared. One of these units was none other than Meagher’s Irish Brigade. Meagher approached Guiney, and mistaking him for Colonel Cass in the twilight called out ‘Colonel Cass, is this you?.’ Guiney responded: ‘Hallo, General Meagher, is this the Irish Brigade? Thank God, we are saved!.’ The seemingly endless days fighting for the 9th Massachusetts was over. The Fifth Corps retreated south of the Chickahominy during the night and rejoined the rest of the Army of the Potomac. Gaines’ Mill was a Confederate victory, but poor Rebel coordination and the determination of regiments such as the 9th Massachusetts prevented the destruction of Fitz John Porter’s force. (6)

Officers and men of the 9th Massachusetts prepare to celebrate mass in camp near Washington D.C. This photo was taken prior to the 1862 Peninsula Campaign. (Library of Congress)

The 9th Massachusetts Volunteers had endured a day of fighting to equal anything experienced by any regiment of the Army of the Potomac during the war. Their casualties were horrendous. A total of 249 men had been lost in the eight hours since they had first become engaged, 82 of whom were killed or mortally wounded. This was the highest loss of any Union regiment engaged at Gaines’ Mill. Today, The Civil War Trust have an opportunity to purchase a portion of ground near the Fifth Corps defensive line, in a section of land referred to as Griffin’s Woods. It was close to this spot that the 9th Massachusetts, part of Griffin’s brigade, helped to repulse Confederate assaults during the afternoons fighting, before eventually being forced to retreat. To find out more about this parcel of land see the Civil War Trust appeal here. (7)

9th Massachusetts veteran Daniel George MacNamara wrote a history of the regiment in which he served after the Civil War, carefully recording the names of those who died as a result of the fighting at the Battle of Gaines’ Mill. The 82 men who lost their lives are as follows:

Company A: Private William Adams, Private James Doherty, Private James Foley, Private John Gleason, Private Patrick Keating, Private Maurice Lynch, Private John Manning, Private James McGuire, Private Peter McIntire, Private Paul Melanfry, Private Roger Pope, Private Hugh Tiernan

Company B: Private Andrew Conlon, Private John Cullinan, Private Daniel Doherty, Private Thomas Hogan, Private Dennis Hyde, Private Michael Keenan, Private Patrick McGaffany (or McGaffigan), Private John McQuade, Private John O’Brien

Company C: Captain William Madigan, Sergeant George Grier, Corporal Patrick McGee, Corporal James Hughes, Corporal Daniel Leary, Private Charles Greaney, Private John Hyde, Private Michael Slattery

Company D: First Sergeant Patrick Collins, Private John Flynn, Private Neil McConologue, Private James F. McDonough, Private William McFeeley, Private Terence McGrade (died of wounds), Private Francis McKenna, Private John Cartwright (died of wounds, Company I)

Company E: Private Timothy Cahill, Private James Condon, Private Michael Fitzgerald, Private Joseph Lambert, Private Thomas Marrin, Private Joseph F. Smyth (or Smith, died of wounds 29th June 1862), Private Michael Sullivan (died of wounds 29th June 1862), Private Michael Horan (died of wounds 29th June 1862)

Company F: Private Robert Farrell, Private John F. Finney (died of wounds 6th July 1862), Private Peter McNamara, Private Patrick Meagher, Private James Reagan

Company G: Captain John Carey, Private Patrick Clark, Private John Crowley, Private Bartholomew Finnerty, Private Cornelius Long, Private Charles Quinn, Private Patrick Scolland

Company H: Captain Jeremiah O’Neill, Private Thomas Cummings, Private Simon Curley, Private Samuel Day, Private William McBrian (or McBrine), Private James McGovern (died of wounds 7th August 1862), Private Jeremiah Murphy, Private John O’Neil, Private John Haggerty (died of wounds 27th June 1862)

Company I: Captain James E. McCafferty, First Lieutenant Richard P. Nugent, Second Lieutenant Frank O’Dowd, Corporal Maurice Cotter, Private Patrick Curran, Corporal Charles Kearney, Private John Fitzgibbon, Private John Garrity, Private Patrick Nagle, Private William Winn

Company K: Corporal Hugh O’Hare, Private John Butler, Private Patrick Dennison, Private Daniel Riordan, Private Daniel Riordan (different from previous), Private Bartlett Tully

(1) D.G. MacNamara 1899: 114-117; (2) D.G. MacNamara 1899: 117-118, M.H. McNamara 1867: 96, Official Records Series 1, Volume 11 (Part 2): 854; (3) D.G. MacNamara 1899: 118-119; Official Records Series 1, Volume 11 (Part 2):854, Porter 1887: 336 (4) D.G. MacNamara 1899: 122-124, M.H. McNamara 1867: 96-98,  Samito (ed.) 1998: 113, Official Records Series 1, Volume 11 (Part 2): 313; (5) Porter 1887: 339-340, D.G. MacNamara 1899: 125- 127, Samito 1998: 114; (6) D.G. MacNamara 1899: 126-127, Conyngham 1867: 186; (7) D.G. MacNamara 1899: 126-128, Samito (ed.) 1998: 115, M.H. McNamara 1867:  100- 103;

References & Further Reading

Conyngham, David Power (edited by Lawrence Kohl) 1994. The Irish Brigade and its Campaigns (1st Edition 1867)

Guiney, Patrick R. (edited by Christian G. Samito) 1998. Commanding Boston’s Irish Ninth: The Civil War Letters of Colonel Patrick R. Guiney Ninth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry

MacNamara, Daniel George (edited by Christian G. Samito) 2000. The History of the Ninth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, Second Brigade, First Division, Fifth Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, June 1861- June 1864(1st Edition 1899)

MacNamara, M.H. 1867. The Irish Ninth in Bivouac and Battle; or Virginia and Maryland Campaigns

Porter, Fitz John 1887. ‘Hanover Court House and Gaines’s Mill’ in Battle and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. 2.

Official Records Series 1, Volume 11 (Part 2), Chapter 23. Report of Brig. Gen. Maxcy Gregg, C.S. Army, commanding Second Brigade, of the battles of Mechanicsville and Gaines’ Mill

Official Records Series 1, Volume 11 (Part 2), Chapter 23. Report of Brig. Gen. Charles Griffin, U.S. Army, commanding Second Brigade, of the battles of Mechanicsville and Gaines’ Mill, engagement at Turkey Bridge, and battle of Malvern Hill

Richmond National Battlefield Park

Civil War Trust Seven Days Battles Page

Civil War Trust Battle of Gaines’ Mill Page

The bayonet charge of the 69th Pennsylvania at Glendale, as portrayed in McDermott's 'Brief History' of the Regiment

The 69th Pennsylvania had its genesis in the pre-war Second Regiment, Philadelphia County Militia, a largely Irish unit. The militiamen recruited additional numbers and under the command of Welshman Colonel Joshua T. Owen of Philadelphia, mustered into service for three months as the 24th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers on 15th April 1861. On the expiration of their term, the regiment was reorganised for a period of three years, mustering into service dating from 19th August 1861. They were initially designated the 2nd California, but before long became the 69th Pennsylvania, the name under which they would fight in the Army of the Potomac. The 69th Pennsylvania would never achieve the fame that was enjoyed by their namesakes in the 69th New York, the first regiment of the Irish Brigade. Despite this, they quickly earned a fighting reputation that was the equal of any of the units under Meagher’s command. (2)

The Battle of Glendale was fought as one of Seven Days’ Battles during Major-General George B. McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign. On 30th June the Army of the Potomac was on the retreat, as McClellan attempted to redeploy his forces from around the Chickahominy River southwards to the James River. Confederate General Robert E. Lee planned to smash portions of his Army of Northern Virginia through the Army of the Potomac at Glendale while McClellan’s forces were still on the march, with the aim of splitting the Union force in two. George McCall’s Pennsylvania Reserves were now facing this onslaught, and elements of his force were about to collapse under its weight.

Colonel Owen’s Irishmen were positioned in a ravine at the base of a hill, where they formed line of battle. To their front two Union batteries under the command of Captain Otto Diederichs and Captain John Knieriem were engaged, and the soldiers of the 69th lay down to avoid enemy artillery fire. As McCall’s men succumbed to the pressure of the attack they began streaming to the rear, dashing past the Union batteries which were also forced to retreat, abandoning some of their guns. The broken regiments passed through the lines of the 69th, who now knew they had nothing to their front but victorious Rebel troops. The Confederates were on the heels of the routed men, and made attempts to turn the abandoned artillery pieces on the Irishmen’s line. The 69th laid down a galling fire to prevent this, and decided that it was necessary to retake the cannon. 69th veteran Anthony W. McDermott takes up the story: ‘…taking advantage of the position that the rise of ground gave to us, the regiment instinctively jumped to their feet and advancing in wedge shape, charged up the hill with a cheer, met the enemy at close quarters, drove them from the captured guns and hurled them back on their supporting lines, changing what had been but a short time before seemed to be a disastrous defeat to a glorious victory.’ (3)

The Civil War Trails / Civil War Trust marker describing the charge of the 69th Pennsylvania at Glendale (Photo by Rob Shenk http://www.robertshenk.com)

The bayonet charge of the 69th Pennsylvania in combination with heavy fire from a number of other regiments helped to force back the Confederate attack. Brigadier-General Hooker noted that as the enemy gave way ‘the Sixty-ninth Pennsylvania Regiment, heroically led by Owen, advanced in the open field on their flank with almost reckless daring.’ Hooker’s gratitude for the actions of the 69th is made clear in his after action report, in which he thanked Colonel Owen by expressing a ‘high appreciation of his services, and my acknowledgements to his chief for having tendered me so gallant a regiment.’ According to McDermott, Hooker approached the 69th on the field and told them that they had made the ‘first successful bayonet charge of the war, and saved the Army of the Potomac from probable disaster.’ The 69th’s brigade commander Brigadier-General Burns was equally impressed with the Irishmen’s performance: ‘Colonel Owen, Sixty-ninth Pennsylvania Volunteers, unsupported, pursued the victorious rebels back over the ground through which they were passing and crowned the crest of the hill where McCall had lost his artillery. Gallant Sixty-ninth! The line followed this noble example, and McCall’s position was held and the enemy discomfited.’ (4)

The 69th Pennsylvania had begun to build the reputation they would enjoy throughout the war, and future actions by the Irishmen, perhaps most notably at Gettysburg, would add to their laurels. However, their success at Glendale came at a price. 13 men of the regiment were listed as killed, with 36 wounded and 5 missing. McDermott lists 8 of the fallen in his Brief History of the 69th Regiment Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers. They are as follows:

Company B: Corporal Arthur McFadden, Private John Gallagher, Private Charles Ledger

Company C: Sergeant Bernard Waters, Corporal William Toner

Company H: Private James Devin, Private Tim McNamara

Company I: Private William Gartman

In 2010, 148 years after the Battle of Glendale, the bayonet charge of the Irishmen was honoured by the 69th Pennsylvania ‘Irish Volunteer’ Civil War Reenactors Organisation, which sponsored a historical marker that was placed on a portion of the battlefield acquired by the Civil War Trust. (5)

(1) Official Records Series 1, Volume 11 (Part 2): 111, McDermott 1889: 15; (2) McDermott 1889: 5-7, Boyle 1996: 75- 76; (3) McDermott 1889: 14-15; (4) Official Records Series 1, Volume 11 (Part 2): 111, 112, McDermott 1889: 15; Official Records Series 1, Volume 11 (Part 2): 92; (5) McDermott 1889: 15-16, 89-97;

References & Further Reading

Boyle, Frank 1996. A Party of Mad Fellows: The Story of the Irish Regiments in the Army of the Potomac

Ernsberger, Don 2004 (2 Vols.). Paddy Owen’s Regulars: A History of the 69th Pennsylvania “Irish Volunteers”

McDermott, Anthony W. 1889. A Brief History of the 69th Regiment Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers

Official Records Series 1, Volume 11 (Part 2), Chapter 23. Report of Brig. Gen. William W. Burns, U.S. Army, commanding Second Brigade, of engagement at Peach Orchard, or Allen’s Farm, and battles of Savage Station, Glendale, or Nelson’s Farm (Frazier’s Farm), and Malvern Hill

Official Records Series 1, Volume 11 (Part 2), Chapter 23. Report of Brig. Gen. Joseph Hooker, U.S. Army, commanding Second Division, of the engagement at Oak Grove, or King’s School-House, and battles of Glendale, or Nelson’s Farm (Frazier’s Farm), with resulting correspondence, and Malvern Hill

69th Pennsylvania ‘Irish Volunteer’ Civil War Reenactors Organisation

Civil War Trust Battle of Glendale Page

The Irish Brigade Hurdle Race on St. Patrick’s Day 1863 as drawn by Edwin Forbes (Library of Congress)

The Irish units took the celebration of their national day seriously, and as 17th March neared nothing was left to chance. The Irish Brigade was at this point in the war made up of the 63rd, 69th and 88th New York together with the 28th Massachusetts and 116th Pennsylvania regiments. They set to work preparing and marking out an elaborate race-course, and posted an announcement for the benefit of their colleagues in the Army of the Potomac:

GRAND IRISH BRIGADE STEEPLE-CHASE

To come off the 17th March, rain or shine, by horses, the property of, and to be ridden by, commissioned officers of that Brigade. The prizes are a purse of $500; second horse to save his stakes; two and a half mile heat, best two in three, over four hurdles four and a half feet high, and five ditch fences, including two artificial rivers fifteen feet wide and six deep; hurdles to be made of forest pine, and braced with hoops.

The Brigade Quartermaster had been sent to Washington in advance to secure all the necessaries for the post race banquet, and his haul included no less than 35 hams, a side of roasted ox, a pig stuffed with boiled turkeys and countless chickens, ducks and small game. Alcohol was not forgotten, and to be safe 8 baskets of champagne, 10 gallons of rum and 10 gallons of whiskey were stockpiled. A bower was erected that could hold hundreds of guests, and a general invitation was issued to all officers in the Army of the Potomac. Determined to leave nothing to chance, a committee convened on 16th March to decide who was the best qualified to mix the punch. Captain Gosson and Captain Hogan were selected, and worked so hard at their task that they ‘both felt overpowered by their labors and had to be relived from duty’; no doubt partly a result of frequent tests to ensure the concoction tasted just right. (1)

St. Patrick’s Day in the Army- The Grand Stand by Edwin Forbes (Library of Congress)

Another green flag regiment, the 9th Massachusetts, were not left wanting when it came to their own preparations. Adjutant M.W. Phalen and Quartermaster Mooney were assigned by Colonel Guiney to make ready for the day, and they secured ‘goodies’ from Washington for the occasion, which the entire division was invited to attend. A week before St. Patrick’s Day the two men announced the schedule of events for the regiment:

Sack Race

Race for a Greased Pig

Climbing a Greased Pole

Jumping Matches

Refreshments

Horse Racing (afternoon)

Mock Dress Parade

There was to be small amounts of money for the winners of each event, apart from the winner of the greased pig race, who instead got to keep the pig. In addition whoever managed to climb the fifteen foot greased pole would find at the top a pass for ten days leave. A green area opposite the regiment’s camping ground was prepared, and the camp itself decorated with evergreens and mottoes. (2)

St. Patrick’s Day in the Army- Jumping the Ditch by Ediwn Forbes (Library of Congress)

When St. Patrick’s Day finally arrived the men were graced with fine sunny weather. The Irish Brigade started their day with religious ceremonies, after which the horse racing commenced. Each rider had dressed for the occasion, including one Galway native who was clad in scarlet with a green-velvet smoking cap, harking back to the colours of the Galway Blazers Club. Thousands of officers and men, including the army commander Major-General Joseph Hooker, were in attendance as the designated start time for the first race at 11am approached. A crack of a whip and note from the bugler and the six runners and riders were off. Appropriately enough the winner was Brigadier-General Meagher’s grey horse, Jack Hinton, ridden by Captain John Gosson (it would seem he was feeling none the worse for his ‘diligence’ in preparing the punch the night before). After lunch there was more sport, the line up being as follows:

1st. A foot-race, one half mile distance, best of heats; open to all non-commissioned officers and privates, the winner to receive $7, and the second $3

2d. Casting weights, the weights to weigh from ten to fourteen pounds; the winner to receive $3

3d. Running after the soaped pig- to be the prize of the man who holds it

4th. A hurdle-race, one-half mile distance, open to all non-commissioned officers and privates; the winner to receive $7, the second $3

5th. The wheelbarrow-race- the contestants to be blindfolded, and limited to six soldiers of the Irish Brigade; the winner to receive $5; distance to be decided on the ground

6th. Jumping in sacks to the distance of five hundred yards; the winner to receive $5

7th. A contest on the light fantastic toe, consisting of Irish reels, jigs, and hornpipes; the best dancer to receive $5, the second best $3, to be decided by a judge appointed by the chairman (3)

St. Patrick’s Day in the Army- The Steeple Chase by Edwin Forbes (Library of Congress)

Meanwhile back at the 9th Massachusetts the games were also in full swing. The greased pole, erected opposite the regimental headquarters, proved especially popular, no doubt a result of the prize to be gained at the top. Attempts to secure the pass commenced at 10am: ‘One tall, stout fellow made a desperate effort to lift himself from the ground, and, after trying for about half an hour, was reluctantly compelled to give up, having in that time only achieved about an inch; he looked wistfully at the paper fluttering above him, and then turned away to give room to an ambitious youngster, who succeeded in getting half way up, when, coming to a spot greasier than the rest, he began to slip, and did not pause until he came to the ground, amid the roars of the crowd.’ Try as they might, no-one succeeded in reaching the top of the pole. This disappointment was tempered somewhat at 11am when each man was issued with a gill of whiskey, which was shared with comrades from the 62nd Pennsylvania Regiment. Tragedy struck in the afternoon horse race when Quartermaster Mooney collided with Dr. Faxon of the 32nd Massachusetts while both were riding at full speed, with Mooney being knocked unconscious. The unfortunate Lieutenant died of his injuries a few days later. The final event was the mock dress parade, which had become something of a tradition for the 9th Massachusetts, having also been carried out the previous year. For the occasion the men were allowed to elect their own officers, and thus the enlisted soldiers had full control over proceedings. The manual of arms was parodied, and one of the men in Company G, who was elected ‘Colonel’, managed to reduce everyone to laughter with his accurate imitation of Colonel Guiney’s voice. (4)

The Irish Brigade Mule Race on St. Patrick’s Day 1863 as drawn by Edwin Forbes (Library of Congress)

The evenings at both celebrations were spent in drinking and general merriment. Poems were read and songs sung, and for a day and a night the worries of the war were left behind. The day was long remembered by all who were present, especially the horse races put on by the Irish Brigade, which would pass into legend in the Army of the Potomac. We are fortunate that one of the men who was in attendance was Edwin Forbes, a Special Artist with Frank Leslie’s Magazine; his pictorial record of some of the activities that day hint at what a spectacle it was. With the festivities at an end camp life returned to normal, and the men prepared for what promised to be a tough campaign. The battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg lay ahead for them, and for many the 17th March 1863 was their last St. Patrick’s Day.

St. Patrick’s Day in the Army- General Meagher Distributing the Prizes by Edwin Forbes (Library of Congress)

(1) Conyngham 1867: 372-373; (2) MacNamara D.G. 1899: 278, MacNamara M.H. 1867: 178-179; (3) Conyngham 1867: 373- 379; (4) MacNamara D.G. 1899: 278-279, MacNamaraM.H. :1867: 179-180;

References

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

MacNamara, Daniel George 1899. The History of the Ninth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, Second Brigade, First Division, Fifth Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, June 1861- June 1864

MacNamara, M.H. 1867. The Irish Ninth in Bivouac and Battle; or Virginia and Maryland Campaigns

The Saunder's Field, where the 9th Massachusetts were engaged at The Wilderness (Library of Congress)

Hanley might have been excused for pointing out to his commanding officer that the absence of his regimental Colonel Patrick Guiney and many of the rest of the Massachusetts Irishmen was proof enough that the 9th had already been engaged. Nevertheless, he formed the men up in line of battle to prepare to enter the fray once more. Fortunately, the division commander Brigadier-General Charles Griffin appeared to have a better grasp of the situation than Colonel Sweitzer. He saw the 9th preparing to go in again and swiftly sent a staff officer over to countermand the order; their fighting was finished for the day. (2)

The Wilderness was not a location where Ulysses S. Grant would have chosen to fight Robert E. Lee. The heavily wooded terrain and thick undergrowth made command and control almost impossible, and worse still it negated the advantage in numbers which the Union army enjoyed. Indeed Brigadier-General Griffin and the rest of the V Corps had not even expected to encounter the Confederates anywhere near the Orange Turnpike along which they were now positioned. The fact that they were in close proximity became clear when skirmish fire erupted along the line. Griffin was ordered forward with his division, and he advanced with a two brigade front, with Sweitzer’s brigade, including the 9th Massachusetts, in support. (3)

Griffin’s lead brigades encountered the main Confederate line in the vicinity of Saunder’s Field, where the ground opened up somewhat from the dense forest. The initial Federal attack was met by heavy Confederate fire and repulsed, and in the process two artillery pieces of Company D, 1st New York Light Artillery were captured. Sweitzer’s brigade and Guiney’s 9th were the next brigade up, advancing along the turnpike. As they emerged from the woods into the Saunder’s Field the Irishmen were confronted by the captured guns, which the rebels had decked out with southern flags since securing them. Unable to endure this taunt, Colonel Guiney resolved to recapture the pieces and ordered his men into the field to take them back. (4)

Confederate entrenchments at the edge of the Saunder's Field, illustrating the wooded Wilderness terrain (Library of Congress)

What Guiney did not realise was that the Saunder’s Field was a killing zone, swept with Confederate fire. Indeed the flags were probably placed on the guns by the rebels in the hope that a Union force would be drawn out to try and recapture them.  The Irishmen began to drop quickly as they advanced, and Colonel Guiney was soon amongst the casualties, going down with a minie ball through the left eye. He would survive but would never again return to the front. As the 9th pressed on they were met with tremendous volleys of fire from concealed enemy positions in the woods to their front and flank. Daniel George MacNamara noted that if the volley had been repeated not a man of the regiment would have got away. Lieutenant-Colonel Hanley, now in charge of the Irishmen, saw that they were unsupported and had no option but to withdraw back to the woods from whence they had come, leaving the guns to the Confederates. (5)

The whole action had lasted but a few minutes. Indeed it had been so fast that Colonel Sweitzer had been unaware it had taken place at all. Despite the brevity of the fighting, the 9th Massachusetts had sustained appalling casualties; no fewer than 12 officers and 138 men lay killed and wounded. The next day, upon realising the extent of the 9th’s losses, Colonel Sweitzer sought out Hanley to apologise for his orders, stating that he did not realise the regiment had been engaged and taken such casualties. The battle raged on again on 6th May, but the Irishmen would not be seriously engaged. There was more bloodshed to come for them in the weeks ahead, but the end was in sight, with the regiment completing its service and mustering out on 21st June 1864. However, the number of men who did make it home to Massachusetts that June was greatly reduced as a result of those devastating few minutes in the Saunders Field. (6)

Daniel George MacNamara compiled a list of the men of the 9th Massachusetts who were killed and mortally wounded at The Wilderness:

Officers: Captain James W. MacNamara, Captain William A. Phelan, 1st Lieutenant Nicholas C. Flaherty, 2d Lieutenant Charles B. McGinniskin

Company A: Sergeant Thomas Fitzgerald, Corporal Paul McCluskey (died of wounds 15th July 1864, Andersonville, Georgia), Private John Coffee, Private Timothy Rahilly

Company B: Private Martin Sheehan, Private John Ferris, Private John Reagan, Private James Ward

Company C: Private Michael Dolan, Private John Flanagan, Private Edward Pettie, Private Erasmus D. Marden (or Madden)

Company D: Corporal James I. Healey, Corporal James McCann, Private James Walsh

Company E: Corporal Richard Condon, Private James Mullooney, Private Thomas Murphy, Private Bernard Conway (died of wounds 9th July in Philadelphia)

Company F: Private Patrick Shea (died of wounds 31st May 1864)

Company G: Private John Connors, Private Jedediah Bumpus, Private Richard Furfey, Private Peter Hughes, Private Patrick Mulloy, Private George L. Green (died of wounds 12th May 1864)

Company H: Private Francis Finnerty, Private William Peachy, Private James O’Connell (died of wounds in prison 7th October 1864)

Company I: Corporal Bernard Hayes, Private Stephen Blake, Private William Gillis (died of wounds 5th May 1864), Private Michael Garrity (died of wounds 17th June 1864), Private Lawrence Mathews (died of wounds 5th May 1864), Private Thomas Hackett

Company K: Sergeant James Hayes (died of wounds 5th May 1864), Private Michael Connell, Private Joseph Flynn, Private Patrick Kelleher, Private William Schmidt

(1) MacNamara 1899: 372; (2) Ibid; (3) Samito (ed) 1998: 243-245; (4) MacNamara 1899: 372, Samito (ed) 1998: 244; Rhea 1994: 169-170; (5) MacNamara 1899: 372, Rhea 1994: 169-170; (6) MacNamara 1899: 373

References & Further Reading

Guiney, Patrick R. (edited by Christian G. Samito) 1998. Commanding Boston’s Irish Ninth: The Civil War Letters of Colonel Patrick R. Guiney Ninth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry

MacNamara, Daniel George (edited by Christian G. Samito) 2000. The History of the Ninth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, Second Brigade, First Division, Fifth Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, June 1861- June 1864 (1st Edition 1899)

Rhea, Gordon C. 1994. The Battle of the Wilderness May 5- 6 1864

National Park Service Battle of The Wilderness Page

Civil War Trust Battle of The Wilderness Page