Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by rod Murphy on July 2, 2013 at 1:24pm

The following is from a book I wrote (2009) about growing up in Boston in a large Irish family "Growing Up, Unwashed". It is from a chapter on my military service and our family's military history. The previous part of the chapter discussed the Murphy heroes.

"My mother’s family, the Milans from Galway, had heroes too. My grandfather on my mother's side was George F. Milan from Milford.  My mother Helen Milan was born in Milford (Mass.) also and the family were parishioners at St. Mary's Church.  St. Mary's Old Cemetery, holds the graves of the Milans.  Some were American Civil War heroes like brothers, Michael, John and Thomas Milan.  They were my great, great, grand uncles.  John starved to death at Andersonville Prison, an infamous, Confederate prison camp in Georgia.  On Michael’s gravestone (born in l824) is listed the Galway birth town - Mountbellew.  Michael had a suppurating gunshot wound that never healed.  He returned to his family in Southborough and years later died of the wound.  Without today’s antibiotics, unhealed, festering wounds slowly killed the Civil War veterans.  Thomas, too was wounded in the Civil War.  These immigrating Milans must have come at least a generation before my grandfather, George Milan (April 25,1876) was born.  George's mother and father (my great grandparents) were Ellen Cahill Milan and Patrick Milan (approx. l850).   According to George's birth certificate, Patrick was born in Ireland.  War was really hell for the Milans.  There are American war heroes on both sides of my family."

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Tom McGrath on July 2, 2013 at 3:42pm

Hi, like many others our family has been American for many generations. Some ancestors by the family name Henry arrived before the Revolution. Others by many names arrived up until the 1860s. Let me just mention one of my great uncles, Simon O'Day. He was the oldest son of my great grandfather. When his parents and siblings decided to come to America in the 1850s he was a young married guy with a child, he elected to take over the family farm in an area of Clare known as Dysert O'Day. unfortunately, he lost his wife and 2 babies to sickness and in 1860 he joined the family in Cohoes, NY. His stay was short as he soon volunteered to defend his new homeland as a member of an artillery company from Upstate NY. Simon was a born leader and advanced rapidly to Company Sgt. He saw a lot of action, he gave his life for his new country in the Battle of Cold Harbor, Va. It took members of our family over 150 years to find his grave. Even today this young hero lies under a stone in the Cold Harbor National Cemetery bearing the name Simon O. Day, we are told because it is an historic marker we are not allowed to correct his surname to O'Day.
Tom McGrath, Brunswick, NY

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ryan O'Rourke on July 2, 2013 at 4:16pm

That is a touching story, Tom.  Thanks for sharing it.  It really moves me due to the fact that I know both your great-uncle's place of origin and his place of death very well.  I live in Connemara, just across Galway Bay from Clare ... and I've been in the area of Corofin several times which is near Dysert O'Dea.  I also lived in Mechanicsville, Virginia for almost five years, just down the road from the Cold Harbor battlefield.  Visited that somber sight many times.  I appreciate your contribution here, Tom.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Tom McGrath on July 3, 2013 at 7:10pm

Ryan.....

Thanks for the comment.  As we celebrate "Independance Day" I'm rreminded that it isn't only about 1776,, almost100 yrs later we had to fight a war against each other to ensure that Independance.  Divided we would have been a target of many.  Foolishly, we are once again divided, not by sincere patriotism but in many ways by ideology.  Today I have watched the youth of Egypt lead that country once again towards democracy.  A country that if not the seat of civilization at least one of the chair legs, being led by it's youth.  Where is Ireland's and the US's youth?  Theirs' is the future and they are the future and for the most part they are intellectually mute!

The youth of my  family and perhaps yours, lie in cemeterys across the globe.  Since coming to the US we have contributed to almost every effort since the beginning.  I think of them all as "Patriots" not "heroes', a word overused in today's lexicon.  Whether it be my Uncle Simon, born Christmas Day 1836, the eldest of ten of his father's 2nd marriage, who came here in in 1858, after burying his wife and infant son in Clare, who was dead at 27 on  3 June, 1864.  Or my Uncle Billy Burns of Cohoes, NY, (Galway Mother) also dead in his early 20's in WW1.  My own father & his 3 bothers survived the war in the Pacific, WW2, my brother , a Korean Vet, My cousin Peter Fonda of historic, Saratoga. NY, kia, Vietnam.  I'm a Marine and my nephews are serving multiple tours in the Middle East.

In the US and in Ireland we must be ever vigilant.  Freedom must be for us all and our issue, not only for those who happen at the moment to have the most popular position.  Somehow those of us of an age have to find a way to build the fire of "Patriotism" not "radicalism", under the feet of our youth.

Off to the "Fireworks"............God Bless,    Tom McGrath, Proud American of Irish Heritage

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by LuRose Williams on July 6, 2013 at 3:12pm

I will submit stories of my family...It will take me a bit of time to gather the information... My Maternal Great Grandfather was Jeremiah Bell Howell, 2nd LT in the 19th VA Cav. CSA..My Paternal Great grandfather, Isaac Ochiltree, was a Northern....so you see,,,,who knows what dictated the feelings of these men ?

 

My several generation, Colonel Benjamin Wilson, was an astute Indian person, the Wilsons of Ireland.  The Ruddells were as well...The Ochiltrees , Halls, Millers, McClanachan,  May they all rest in peace and their lives not in vain...

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jack Friery on July 10, 2013 at 11:05am

I visited Gettysburg on Wednesday, July 3, 2013, the 150th anniversary of the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg.  I wanted to pay homage to my great-grandfather, Lawrence Friery, an Irish immigrant who served with the 88th NYVI, part of the Irish Brigade.  The Irish Brigade fought in the bloody engagement of The Wheatfield on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Christopher Matt on January 22, 2014 at 2:41pm

My gr-gr-grandfather served in the 18th Conn Vol Infantry in the Shenandoah Valley. He too was an Irish immigrant. He was captured at Winchester, Va in 1863, and exchanged. Following year, he fought at New Market. A month later, he was wounded at Piedmont, Va (gunshot wound to the leg) and shortly after taken prisoner. He spent almost six months in Andersonville prison, and survived. Lived many more years as an invalid back in Connecticut. He was a tough guy.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ann L Madden on March 14, 2014 at 6:11pm

Michael McMahon-

Enlistment Date: 17 July 1862

Distinguished Service: DISTINGUISHED SERVICE 

Side Served: Union
State Served: Connecticut
Unit Numbers: 84 84
Service Record: Enlisted as a Private on 17 July 1862
Enlisted in Company F, 14th Infantry Regiment Connecticut on 23 August 1862.
Promoted to Full Corporal on 09 February 1863
Wounded on 03 May 1863 at Chancellorsville, VA
Promoted to Full Private on 25 October 1863 ((Sick), Reduced to ranks)
POW on 08 May 1864 at Ellis Ford, VA (Paroled)
Paroled on 02 March 1865
Mustered out Company F, 14th Infantry Regiment Connecticut on 31 May 1865

Michael's brother--Matthew McMahon:

Served Civil War-Enlisted Inf G. Co 1st Regiment CT
Mustered out at New Haven CT 07/31/1861 as Private, enlisted 04/20/1861
Mary McCarthy McMahon applied for an recieved his pension in 1905, he started receiving his pension in 1898. He attained Sergeant rank.
He deserted 11/12/1864, put under house arrest with his brother Patrick. They returned on 11/29/1864
Service record shows Distinguished Service, Union Side. Unit #'s 90/90

Patrick McMahon--my great great grandfather, brother to Michael & Matthew 

Served US Army from 04/17/1861 to 08/21/1865 when the Civil War ended. He was discharged in New Haven CT. While stationed at Fort Richmond NY he deserted with his brother Matthew, November 1864. They were put under house arrest when they returned and later released. Patrick appealed the charge of disertion as his military record indicates "On Dec. 21, 1865 the charge of desertion is removed and wil be considered absent without authority." He and his spouse at the time Mary, received his pension, Patrick started collecting his pension, 1898. Served 6th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry.

A 4th brother John also served but have not located information on him just yet!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by John Morrison on October 9, 2019 at 5:14pm

Hi Ms. Madden -

     I hope you are still monitoring this website.

     I am interested in learning more about Michael McMahon as part of a master's program project and as a member of Company F of the 14th Connecticut re-enacting group.. Does your family have any of his papers/letters/anything of interest? If you'd care to respond directly, I'm at jpucks@aol.com. Thanks.

- John Morrison

Hamden, CT

• ▶ Reply