As regular readers are aware, I am consistently pointing out that for many Irish counties the American Civil War saw more men fight and die than any other conflict in modern history, including the First World War. One county for whom this is certainly true is Donegal.
A contributing factor to the lack of recognition of the Civil War’s impact in Ireland is the fact that it is so difficult to locate precisely where Civil War veterans were from. In a recent post I brought details of a new project I hope to develop with Ireland Reaching Out, an effort to “crowd-source” the identification of some of these locations. You can find out more about that here. Prior to that, and in an effort to test-out the potential of this initiative, I have been developing an interactive map plotting individuals associated with the American Civil War from one Irish county– Donegal. Currently I have information relating to more than 110 individuals plotted (See Working Screenshot above). This is now the most comprehensive map that has every been produced of American Civil War veterans from any Irish county. The great bulk of information is the product of my own research over the course of the last decade, but I have also been aided in recent days by public contributions, principally from descendants. I aim to make this map live towards the end of this month, to coincide with a talk on the American Civil War on 30 August on Arranmore Island in Co. Donegal. To that end, I wanted to make a final appeal to readers for any details they may have on Donegal men and women, Union or Confederate, who were involved in the conflict.
Many thousands of Donegal people served in the American Civil War, so there should be many more men and women to be included. In order to be incorporated into the map I need the individuals name, their unit of service, and their place of origin within Co. Donegal– just to note, county of origin alone is not sufficient to be included. I would be very appreciate if readers could spread the word far and wide within the Civil War and Irish genealogy communities to see what details may emerge. You can provide details either as a comment to this post, via the email irishamericancivilwar[at]gmail.com, via twitter @irishacw or on the Irish in the American Civil War Facebook page.
As an aside, I am also keen to hear from anyone who may have a place of origin within Donegal for Patrick Summerville Slevin, who was Brevetted a Brigadier-General for his services during the conflict. He is the highest ranking officer for which I have not been able to ascertain a location. His biography is as follows:
Born on 13th April 1815 in Co. Donegal. He became the Lieutenant-Colonel of the 100th Ohio Infantry which was organised in Toledo and mustered into service in September 1862, rising to command the regiment in May 1863. He was honorably discharged from the service on 30th November 1864 following wounds received at Atlanta. When not in the service he worked variously as a lawyer, U.S. Customs collector and a Methodist missionary. Slevin was breveted Brigadier-General of volunteers on 13th March 1865 for faithful and meritorious services. He died on 9th September 1894 in Toledo, Ohio, where he is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery (Section 41, Lot 176).
Thanks to everyone for their help and support!
David Rorty
August 10, 2019 1:57 pmExcellent site and very well presented. Great research and information. Thank you for your time and energy!
In memory of Captain James McKay Rorty- Battery B, 1st NY Light Artillery.
irishacw
September 30, 2019 7:47 amThanks David!
Maureen McCarty
August 10, 2019 2:31 pmHello,
My GG grandmother’s brother, James Gallagher, was born in Effernan Glebe, County Tyrone. We were surprised when we recently discovered this origin, as what we had heard was that that Gallaghers were from Donegal. It is always possible the family moved to Donegal before some of the young adults ultimately emigrated to the U.S. James Gallagher was in his 40s when he enlisted in the Illinois Irish Brigade, Co. G, 23rd IL, in 1862, in Chicago. He survived the war. If ever there is a search for men from Tyrone who served, then I will certainly include this information.
Maureen
irishacw
September 30, 2019 7:47 amHi Maureen,
There would have been plenty of Gallaghers in Tyrone as well, it was very common throughout the region, Donegal just being the largest concentration. I definitely do hope to do Tyrone, as there were so many from there, so thanks for the info!
Jim Allaire
August 10, 2019 11:09 pmI just saw your post re: Irish Veterans of the American Civil War from Donegal. In case you are also interested in Vets from other locations: one of my Great Grandfathers was from Limerick and fought in the American Civil War. His name was James Mahony, in the Army, because it’s a bureaucracy, he was frequently a Mahoney.
He was a member of Col Duryee’s Zouaves (AKA 5th NY Volunteers Infantry). He was gravely wounded at the Battle of Gaines Mill, part of the Seven Days Battles, shot through the abdomen. Returned to duty over a year later as a Sargent. Some years after the war he had to start putting dressings on his wound. I have of a couple of photos of him in his later years taken at GAR reunions, but none in a Zouaves uniform.
irishacw
September 30, 2019 7:45 amHi Jim,
I certainly do hope to find the time in the future to do other counties, so many thanks for this info!
Jon Posey
August 11, 2019 8:11 pmJon Posey I have an uncle, James Andrew McGinley who died in Andersonville Prison on Sept , 22, 1864. His parents arrived in the United States on Jun 5, 1842. His father was George McGinley. George was born 15 Dec 1819 in Castle Hill, Burt, Donegal, Ireland. Like his older brothers, George was also a farmer. On 13 March 1842 in Burt, George married Elizabeth Porter, a sister of his older brother, William’s wife, Ann Porter. I have located the record of this marriage but no parental information is given. George and Elizabeth raised a family of seven children, of whom only the first was born in Ireland. George was the first of the three brothers to come to the USA, arriving in Houlton, Maine in the spring of 1842. He chose Houlton in order to join a group of his wife’s brothers, sister and cousins who had started a settlement in West Houlton. That area is known to this day as the Porter Settlement and most of the land is owned by descendants of the original settlers. The names of George and Elizabeth’s seven children in the order of their birth were: James Andrew, John Porter, George William, David, Mary Elizabeth, Annie E., and Sarah Maria. George and his family were Protestants and attended the Episcopal Church. James Andrew McGinley enlisted 7th Maine Vol. Co. A. He rose in rant to a Sargent before his death while a prisoner of War.
irishacw
August 12, 2019 8:57 amThanks a million for this Jon! I will include James in the map.
Bill Mansfield
August 18, 2019 11:50 pmMy great grandfather on my mother’s side, William Doherty, served as a sergeant in Company F of the 39th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. He was captured in 1864 at the Battle of Weldon Railroad in Virginia and ended up in a POW camp in Salisbury , NC until the end of the war. He was mustered out in 1865. As reported in an article in the Boston Globe upon the occasion of his 50th wedding anniversary in 1900, he was born in 1829 in Ballyshannon, County Donegal. Further evidence of his Donegal roots are found in his naturalization papers, in which he states that he is from Inishmacsaint, the civil parish in which Ballyshannon resides. He emigrated to Boston with his brother Patrick in 1848 and first resided in Salem, MA and then Taunton, MA. His parents were Patrick Doherty and Mary Breslin. To date, we have not been able to locate Irish census, survey or Catholic Church records confirming the Irish data.
irishacw
September 30, 2019 7:42 amHi Bill,
Thanks for this detail, it is super! I will make sure to add William to the map and credit you on it!
Kind Regards,
Damian.
Mick MacNamara
August 23, 2019 11:25 amMy great grandfather Peter Cavanagh reenlisted in the US Army after the battles of Kennesaw Mountain and Ruff’s Mills and before the Siege and Battle of Atlanta. I have a list of others who signed up that day and a couple of lines from Peter’s name are two James Carrs from Donegal. This intrigued me because my kids are 1/4 Carr from southwest Donegal. I don’t think I’ll ever make the connection but would it not be exciting if the Carr and the Cavanagh whose descendants would later come together had met on a Georgia battlefield. Peter Cavanagh later returned in 1967 (The Fenian year?) but died in Cappincur, Tullamore in 1871
irishacw
September 30, 2019 7:41 amHi Mick, I hope all is well! There is definitely a good chance they are from that part of the country!
James Brunelle
August 29, 2019 10:10 pmI am researching my 3x great grandfather. James Graham Jr., born November 15 1840 in Lackan Donegal and arrived in Massachusetts around 1858. He raised horses at the John Cummings Farm in Burlington. Trying to find any Civil War service but nothing concrete. Any advice as to where to look other than the National Arvhives?
irishacw
September 30, 2019 7:40 amHi James,
The National Archives is definitely your best bet, have you checked pension files and service records there?