Part 15

The Constitution of the State of New York, adopted April 20, 1777, contained the clause: “The militia of this State at all times hereafter, as well in peace as in war, shall be armed, disciplined and ready for service.” The necessary enactments to carry out this provision were provided for by legislation the following year. (Chap. 33. “An Act for regulating the Militia of the State of New York.” Passed April 3, 1778; Chap. 46, An Act to amend an act entitled “An Act for regulating the Militia of the State of New York.” Passed June 30, 1778.) Outside of a few cities, while the militia force was large upon paper, it was in reality but a mere skeleton. Until at the end of 1860, there were less than 15,000 men uniformed, disciplined and drilled, or in any sort of readiness for military duty, and this meagre force was chiefly confined to the cities of New York and Brooklyn, with contingents at Kingston and Albany.

The first record of the 69th Regiment of New York City is the order issued by the Adjutant General, bearing date November 1, 1851, and designated “General Order 489.” This order provided for the consolidation into a single regiment of a number of independent companies which had been separately organized prior to that time chiefly by men of Irish birth or parentage. About this period, owing to the vast volume of immigration in the preceding decade, New York contained the largest Irish population of any city in the world, and from the first, the 69th became identified in the public mind as a regiment composed of Irishmen. Among its early officers appear the names of some men who were well-known in connection with the Young Ireland movement, which had culminated but a few years previously. Its first commander was Colonel Charles S. Roe, who served until 1854, and was succeeded by Colonel James B. Ryan, who was followed August 26, 1859, by the gallant and beloved Col. Michael Corcoran. The regiment crept early into the affections of the people of the metropolis and was beloved by the Irish residents. Its distinctive character was manifested in numerous and emphatic ways,—sometimes by the wearing of green faced tunics, at others by the display of plumes showing the green above the red, the carrying of the Irish flag, or other similar devices. It had usually the right of the line in the St. Patrick’s Day parades, and in all functions in which it participated, its approach was heralded by the strains of well-known Irish music. It rapidly became the typical Irish military organization of the country, and for its success or failure, the children of the race throughout the Union felt themselves responsible.

In 1860, the then Prince of Wales—now Edward VII, King of Great Britain—visited the United States, and was scheduled to arrive in New York City on Thursday, October 11, of that year. The First Division, New York State Militia, was ordered out to receive him and directed to form at the Battery for the purpose of parade and review. All the regiments of the Division with the exception of the Sixty-ninth Regiment, assembled at the time and place appointed for the formation. The order received by Colonel Corcoran from headquarters was not promulgated, and he was immediately ordered under arrest and a court martial summoned to try him upon a charge of disobedience of orders. This circumstance fixed firmly in the public mind the race and sentiments of the commander and the men of the 69th.

April 12, 1861, witnessed the firing upon Fort Sumter, and on the 15th, President Lincoln issued his proclamation calling out the militia of the several states to the number of 75,000 men, and five days thereafter, the court martial which had been ordered to try Colonel Corcoran was dissolved, the pending charges were dismissed, and he was at once restored to his command. The order dismissing the charges, which bears date, April 20, 1861, is designated Special Order No. 9, and reads as follows:

“In pursuance of Special Orders No. 58 from General Headquarters, the Court Martial detailed for the trial of Colonel Corcoran is dissolved, and the charges dismissed, and Colonel Corcoran is directed forthwith to resume the command of his regiment.

“By order of “CHARLES W. SANFORD, “_Major-General_.

“GEORGE W. MORELL, “_Div. Eng’r. and Div. Insp’r._”

Colonel Corcoran at once resumed command of the regiment and issued General Order No. 1, an historic order concluding with the words: “The Commandant feels proud that his first duty after being relieved from a long arrest is to have the honor of promulgating an order to the regiment to rally to the support of the Constitution and Laws of the United States.” Within twenty-four hours from the posting of this order, six thousand men had volunteered, but the instructions of Governor Morgan prohibited the enlistment of more than the regimental compliment of one thousand men. The twenty-third of April, 1861, dawned bright and clear, but warmer than usual at that season, over the Empire City; apprehension and gloom prevailed throughout the country; ten sovereign states had formed a powerful confederacy and were in armed revolt against the authority of the Federal Government. Many of the ablest soldiers and statesmen of the Republic had taken their stand against the Union; the timid were upon the verge of panic, and misgivings and uncertainty were paralyzing even the resolute and strong. Under such circumstances, faithful and loyal, the gallant Sixty-ninth Militia assembled in Prince Street, near the then St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Cathedral of the great Archbishop of New York, the Most Reverend John Hughes, and proceeded thence to the rendezvous at Great Jones Street. Hope was given to the hearts of the good people of this city as they witnessed the spirit displayed by this brave body of citizen soldiery, and when at the appointed hour, the order to march was sounded and the regiment proceeded down Broadway to the strains of martial music, the surging multitude that lined the streets, the myriad spectators that filled the windows along the route to Cortlandt Street broke into continuous cheers. Twin flags floated everywhere on that day. Twin banners were carried by the regimental standard bearers—the flag of Columbia with all its stars emblazoned on its field of blue, the green banner of Erin with the harp uncrowned. The regiment boarded the Steamer “James Adger,” at Pier 4, North River, reached Annapolis on the twenty-sixth of April, and proceeding up the Potomac to Washington by Steamer “Marion,” was mustered into the service of the United States on May 9 for three months. The following is a list of the field, staff and company commanders at this time:

FIELD AND STAFF.

Colonel—Michael Corcoran, Commanding. Lieutenant Colonel—Robert B. Nugent. Major—James Bagley. Adjutant—John McKeon. Chaplain—Rev. Thomas Mooney. Engineers—Hon. John H. McCunn, James B. Kirker. Surgeon—Dr. James L. Kiernan. Assistant Surgeon—Robert Johnson. Quartermaster—Joseph B. Tully. Paymaster—Martin Kehoe.

COMPANY COMMANDERS.

Company “A”—Captain Haggerty. Company “B”—Captain Lynch. Company “C”—Captain Cavanagh. Company “D”—Captain Clark. Company “E”—Captain Kelly. Company “F”—Captain Breslin. Company “G”—Captain Duffy. Company “H”—Captain James Kelly.

On the 22nd of May a body of three hundred men, known as Meagher’s Zouaves, recruited after the regiment’s departure, joined Colonel Corcoran at the Capitol City. At midnight on the 23d of May the 69th, together with the 5th Massachusetts, the 28th New York, and a detachment of regular cavalry, crossed the Aqueduct Bridge at Georgetown into Virginia. On the following morning the regiment began the construction of Fort Corcoran, which, with Fort Runyon, constituted the first regular works erected by Federalist forces at the beginning of the Civil War, and the ceremonies attending the raising of the flag on the occasion were participated in by Colonel Corcoran, Colonel David Hunter and Captain Thomas Francis Meagher, two of whom subsequently attained the rank of Brigadier General (Corcoran and Meagher) and the third of whom (Hunter) afterwards became a Major General. The 69th, together with the 79th and 13th New York and 2d Wisconsin regiments, and a Battery of Light Artillery, U. S. A., composed the 3d Brigade of the 1st Division of McDowell’s Army, having for its Brigade Commander Colonel William Tecumseh Sherman, of the 13th U. S. Infantry, whose distinguished achievements in after years elevated him to foremost rank among the great Captains of history. Brigadier General Daniel Tyler commanded the division.

On July 21st, the regiment participated in the Battle of Bull Run (Manassas). Col. Corcoran was wounded and fell into the hands of the Confederates. The regiment lost one hundred and fifty of its members, among them its gallant Acting Lieutenant Colonel James Haggerty, of whom the eloquent Meagher said: “No braver soldier was ever produced by the land of Sarsfield and Shields.” The three months period of service having expired, the 69th Regiment, New York State Militia, was mustered out of the United States service August 3, 1861, and returned to New York City, resuming its position as a militia regiment of the State. The time for which the regiment had been called into service had ended but the great war had only fairly begun, and President Lincoln having issued his call for 500,000 men for three years or the war, about 800 of the returned militiamen volunteered to re-enlist, and on August 30, 1861, under orders from the War Department, the 69th Regiment, New York Volunteers, was formed. Robert Nugent was selected as Colonel; James Kelly, Lieutenant Colonel; and James Cavanagh, Major. This regiment was rapidly recruited to full strength, and so many additional recruits presented themselves that it was decided to organize a brigade. The 63d and 88th Regiments, together with the 14th and 15th Independent Batteries, New York Light Artillery, in furtherance of this design, were immediately formed. The organization of the brigade was entrusted to Thomas Francis Meagher, who, on February 6, 1862, assumed its command as Brigadier General. This gifted and daring soldier and patriot, the Commander of the Irish Brigade, will ever be remembered as a conspicuous figure of his time. In his early manhood, by gift of genius, he had leaped to foremost rank among public men in his native isle. He had pleaded the doctrine of armed resistance to tyranny with an inspired eloquence and had defied the might of his country’s oppressors by

## participating in an insurrection; he had been condemned to death and had

suffered a long imprisonment. The electric eloquence of the peroration of a speech delivered by him in Conciliation Hall in Dublin in 1846, during the Repeal agitation, caused him to be referred to thereafter as “Meagher of the sword.” His fidelity to the warlike principles advocated in his youth on behalf of Ireland was demonstrated by gallant conduct in many of the bloodiest battles of the American Civil War, and well established his title to high rank among the soldier sons of a fighting race. To tell the story of the Irish Brigade would be to recite the history of the Civil War. It participated rapidly in the Battle of Fair Oaks, May 31st; Gaines Mill, June 28th; Savage Station, June 29th; Peach Orchard, White Oaks Swamp, Glendale, June 30th; and Malvern Hill, July 1st, marching thereafter to Newport News, and proceeding by transports and on foot to Falmouth, Alexandria, Arlington Heights, Falls Church, Fairfax Court House and Centreville, crossing the Potomac at Chain Bridge, and marching to Tenallytown, Rockville and Frederick City, Maryland, crossing South Mountain to Antietam, participating in that battle and leaving two hundred and one of its members either killed or wounded to testify to the character of the resistance offered by these sons of the Gael to the rebel line in front of the “Bloody Lane.” On December 13th the regiment constituting part of Meagher’s Brigade took

## part in the desperate attempt to carry the impregnable position of the

Confederate forces on Marye’s Heights at Fredericksburg. The valor displayed by the officers and men on this memorable day must dwell forever in the memory of mankind. Inspired by the traditions of the old brigades, the brigades of O’Brien, Dillon, Lally, Sarsfield, the brigades of Landen, Ramilles and Fontenoy; aroused by the burning eloquence and encouraged by the intrepid daring of their fearless leader; mindful of the wrongs which exiled them from their native shores; grateful to the free, fair land that welcomed them to home and liberty, there was no danger too great for them to face, no suffering too severe to endure, no odds too overwhelming to encounter. Five hundred and forty-five soldiers of the Irish Brigade fell in that heroic charge in that most bloody quarter of a mile ever dashed over by armed men in the annals of civilized warfare. The testimony of the _London Times_ correspondent will be regarded at least as not coming from an unduly partial source. This is his description of the charge of the Irish Brigade: “Never at Fontenoy, Albuera, nor at Waterloo was more undaunted courage displayed than during those six frantic dashes which the Irish Brigade directed against the almost impregnable position of their foe. That mortal man could have carried the position, defended as it was, seems idle for a moment to believe, but the bodies which lie in dense masses within forty-eight yards of the muzzles of Colonel Walton’s guns are the best evidence of what manner of men they were who pressed onto death, with the dauntlessness of the race which has gained glory on a thousand battlefields and never more richly deserved it than at the foot of Marye’s Heights on the 13th day of December, 1862.” In his official report General Meagher says: “Of the 1,200 men I took into

## action, only 280 appeared on parade next morning.”

To the achievements of Meagher’s Brigade must be added a reference to the gallant services of the renowned Corcoran Legion, for, in simple justice, all of the regiments composing the Brigade and the Legion must be regarded as branches of the parent tree, the root of which was the old 69th Regiment of ’51, which has continuously flourished so far for nigh a decade more than a full half century. The exchange of Colonel Corcoran as a prisoner of war was effected through the instrumentality of President Lincoln, August 15, 1862, more than a year after his having fallen into Confederate hands, and he was at once commissioned Brigadier General, with rank and pay dating from the day of his capture over a year before. His reception upon his return to the City of New York was most enthusiastic, he having endeared himself to its people, not only by his brilliant and daring actions in the field, but by his heroic conduct in refusing liberty upon the condition that he would not again take up arms in his country’s cause. The Legion was at once organized and was composed of the 155th, 164th, 170th and 69th (subsequently changed to the 182d to avoid confusion) Regiments, New York Volunteers. General Corcoran reported with his command to General John A. Dix, at Fortress Monroe, in November, 1862. The Legion was in active service for nearly three years and participated in many of the bloodiest battles of the war, among them Suffolk, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Reams Station and Port Hudson. Upon these and other fields it served and fought, lavish of blood, reckless of life, mindful only of the honor of the race and the preservation of our glorious Union of States. After Fredericksburg, the remnant of the 69th Regiment continued in the service, fought at Chancellorsville May 3d, 1863, and at Gettysburg July 1st, upon whose historic ground a beautiful Celtic Cross has since been erected by the State of New York as a testimonial of appreciation of the splendid services rendered to the Union cause by the Irish Brigade and of the heroism, sacrifice and patriotism of its members.

After Gettysburg, recrossing the Potomac, the regiment participated in

## actions at Auburn Ford, Bristow Station and the Mine Run Campaign. By

this time it was practically wiped out and returned to New York City January 2, 1864, where it was recruited nearly up to its original strength and returned to the front. On May 4th, crossing the Rapidan, it took part in the Battle of Spottsylvania, May 8, where it met with heavy loss. It was again in action May 27th at Totopotomoy Creek, and at Cold Harbor on June 3d. It later participated in the siege of Petersburg. Colonel Nugent, who had commanded the regiment through the greater part of its long campaigning, was again with it at Hatchers Run, Five Forks, Southerland Station, South Side Railroad, Amelia Springs, Farmville, and down to Appomattox, April 9, 1865.

When General Grant determined upon demanding the surrender of the Confederate forces, the first communication upon this subject was carried by Colonel Nugent to an officer of General Lee’s Army. This famous order was as follows:

“April 7, 1865.

“_General_:

“The result of the last week must convince you of the hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the Army of Northern Virginia in this struggle. I feel that it is so, and regard it as my duty to shift from myself the responsibility of any further effusion of blood by asking of you the surrender of that portion of the Confederate States Army known as the Army of Northern Virginia.

“(Signed) U. S. GRANT, “_Lieutenant General_.”

Thus from Bull Run to Appomattox, from the firing upon Sumter to the fall of Richmond, the 69th Regiment was in continuous service,

## participating in all the decisive battles of a four years’ war

unsurpassed in magnitude and fierceness. When mustered out of the service, after passing in the grand review at the National Capitol, May, 1865, with decimated ranks and shattered banners, it could claim the proud record of never having disobeyed an order, of never having lost a flag. In Fox’s Regimental Losses in the Civil War the 69th heads the roll of regiments recruited in the Empire State in the number of killed and wounded.

By Chap. 477, L. 1862, passed April 23, entitled “An Act to provide for the enrollment of the Militia, the organization and discipline of the National Guard of the State of New York, and for the public defense,” the uniformed and equipped militia of the State became recognized as the National Guard. The 69th Militia as the 69th regiment, National Guard, entered the service of the United States in May of that year and served until the September following, when it was mustered out. It was again in the service of the United States for the thirty days between June 25th and July 25th, 1863, and again in 1864, it was mustered into the service of the general government for three months, or until October of that year. Colonel Bagley was in command of the regiment during these years and until February, 1866, when General Martin T. McMahon was selected to succeed him. This distinguished citizen soldier merits more than passing notice. He, with two of his brothers, served with distinction during the great war; one of them—John Eugene McMahon, Colonel of the 164th Regiment, New York Volunteers, Corcoran Legion, died of disease contracted in the service in March, 1863, and the other, James Powers McMahon, who after serving as Lieutenant Colonel of the 155th New York Volunteers, was selected to succeed his deceased brother as Colonel of the 164th. This daring soldier was killed in action at Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864, while planting the colors of his regiment on the breastworks of the enemy, in the midst of a hailstorm of bullets, and performing “as proud a feat of arms” as was ever recorded in history. The following extract of a letter from General Thomas Francis Meagher shortly preceding his death describes in glowing words the heroism of James P. McMahon, at Cold Harbor:

“Next came the news that McMahon—planting his colors with his own hands on the enemy’s works—planting them there with a boldness worthy of the grand soldier name he bore, and which perhaps the recollection of the Malakoff and its Irish Conqueror may have inspired, was stricken down by the bullets he so splendidly defied. Who of the old Brigade—the favorite Brigade of Sumner and Richardson—can forget the dashing, handsome, indefatigable soldier, with his strictly defined features, oftentimes with the enthusiasm, sometimes with the scorn and haughtiness of a true blooded Celt, with a heart for hospitality, with a soul for glory, and scorn and sarcasm for what was mean, and a quick look and blow for what was treacherous—who can forget his fine bearing, erect and graceful, his rare heartiness, the decisive character of his intellect, his high pride, his humor, his physical activity, all those healthy and superior gifts which made him a soldier at the start, and qualified him even in the first hours of boyhood to be a conspicuous exponent of his martial race and kindred—who can forget all this whenever that grand picture of McMahon, planting the colors of his regiment in the face of the fire storm, and foot to foot with the desperate foe, is spoken of in the Camp and by the Survivors of the Irish Brigade of the Army of the Potomac?”

The survivor of these three young Irish American brothers, General Martin T. McMahon, had a distinguished career alike in civil and in military life. He was appointed Captain and Aide-de-Camp on the Staff of General George B. McClellan, October 25, 1861, and on the 29th of October, 1862, became Adjutant and Chief of Staff of the 6th Army Corps, successively commanded by Colonels W. B. Franklin, John Sedgwick, and Horatio G. Wright. He was brevetted Colonel August 1st, 1864, and Brigadier and Major General, March 13, 1865. In civil life General McMahon was most distinguished; he was a member of the Bar of the State of New York, of recognized standing and ability for a great many years, and served as a public officer in the National, State and City Governments with ability and integrity, winning general public approval. He was appointed United States Minister to Paraguay in 1868, and was subsequently Corporation Attorney of New York City, Receiver of Taxes, and in 1885 was appointed by President Cleveland United States Marshal for the Southern District of New York. He served in the Senate and Assembly of the State of New York, and at the time of his lamented death on April 21, 1906, was a Judge of the Court of General Sessions, the highest court of exclusive criminal jurisdiction. His honored remains were accorded soldierly sepulchre in the National Cemetery at Arlington, where thousands of his comrades of war’s dread days rest peacefully, awaiting the trumpet of the resurrection, and over whose arched entrances are engraven the touching lines of the hero-poet:

On fame’s eternal camping ground Their silent tents are spread, And glory guards with solemn round The bivouac of the dead.

A splendid type of an American and a true scion of the stock that has furnished statesmen and soldiers to many lands and had given to the Second French Empire its ablest Marshal, and to the Republic of France a President, whose fame is so universal that a single descriptive word would be superfluous.

General McMahon’s successor was Colonel James Cavanagh, a veteran of one hundred fields, known to many of us and beloved by all, who was retired December 1st, 1893, with brevet rank of Brigadier General, who was followed in command by Colonel George Moore Smith, August 9, 1895, who, on July 1, 1901, was commissioned Brigadier General, and in October following was assigned to the command of the First Brigade of the National Guard.