A REAL "Band of Brothers" - Part I

"It is not strange…that after the war not a few of the disbanded soldiers and officers found their way as priests and brothers into the ranks of the Community, the heroism of whose members they had admired on the field and in the hospital." - Notre Dame Scholastic, March 31, 1906

Among the really interesting stories connecting the University of Notre Dame and the American Civil War is one that happened after the war: veterans who came to the university to join the Congregation of the Holy Cross as priests or brothers of the order and then performed duties at the university.

They formed a literal "Band of Brothers."

Typical was Brother Leander (James McLain), who entered the Congregation of the Holy Cross in 1872. Born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, in 1842, he served through three years of the Civil War with the 15th United States Infantry as a private and was engaged at the Battles of Chickamauga, Chattanooga and Atlanta. Brother Leander was prefect of one of the halls and taught classes for many years at the university.

One of the most interesting stories is that of Mark A. Wills, who took the name of Brother John Chrysostom. Wills had fought with the 54th Pennsylvania, a unit that saw significant action in the eastern theater during the last year of the Civil War, including the Battle of New Market, the capture of Fort Gregg and the pursuit of Lee to Appomattox, where the 54th was captured in the last week of the war (though released a few days later). In at least one of those fights, Wills was sufficiently shaken to make a battlefield vow to join a religious order should he survive.

You can read a previously unpublished letter by Brother John about that vow in Notre Dame and the Civil War: Marching Onward to Victory (The History Press, 2010).

The most distinguished record among the new arrivals belonged to William A. Olmsted. Born in Albany, New York, in 1834, Olmsted received his MD from Howard University. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, he raised one of the state’s first volunteer companies for the 2nd New York Infantry and was elected captain; he quickly earned a promotion to lieutenant colonel. He then served as commander of the 59th New York Infantry and a brigade commander in the Army of the Potomac, where he was brevetted a brigadier general of volunteers. After
the war, Olmsted served in a medical capacity in the forts on the upper Missouri River, where he became close to (and respected by) the Sioux in his care. Olmsted then entered the Holy Cross community at Notre Dame in the 1890s, studied for the priesthood and was ordained in 1901.

I will feature more on Fr. Olmsted in a future post.

Others among the "Band of Brothers" at Notre Dame included:

Brother Cosmas (Nicholas A. Bath)—2nd United States Artillery
Brother Raphael (James C. Maloy)—133rd Pennsylvania infantry
Brother Eustachius (John McInerny)—83rd Ohio Infantry
Brother Benedict (James Mantle)—1st Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery
Brother Ignatius (Ignatz Mayer)—75th and 157th Pennsylvania Infantry
Brother Agatho (Joseph Staley)—8th Indiana Infantry
Brother Richard (William Stoney)—38th New Jersey Infantry
Brother Polycarp (James White)—United States Navy
Brother Sebastian (Thomas Martin) - 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry

(Note: these regimental assignments were gleaned from published school histories and postwar newspaper accounts...I have been able to verify most of them but am still working on a few. Note that I have also seen multiple spellings for some of the surnames).

Stay tuned for my next post..."Band of Brothers" - Part II - A Unique GAR Post!

"The Civil War News" reviews "Notre Dame and the Civil War"!

I'm pleased to announce that The Civil War News published a very kind review of my third book, Notre Dame and the Civil War: Marching Onward to Victory (The History Press, 2010).

The review was penned by Mr. John Foskett - a Boston attorney, Notre Dame graduate ('73), and Civil War enthusiast - in the Feb/March 2011 issue, which is now in subscribers' hands! Many thanks to Mr. Foskett and Civil War News!

As with the Civil War News reviews of my previous, books Lincoln's Labels: America's Best Known Brands and the Civil War (Edinborough Press, 2008) and Years of Change and Suffering: Modern Perspectives on Civil War Medicine (Edinborough Press, 2009), this review of Notre Dame and the Civil War is special because Civil War News is where I got my writing "bona fides," as I've penned the "Medical Department" column on a regular basis since 2000. CWN editor/publisher Kay Jorgensen (and her late husband, Pete) has been extremely supportive of my writing and research efforts over the years, which I appreciate very much, indeed.

If you don't subscribe to Civil War News, you should! You can learn how to get a sample issue (here).

The full review is (here) and excerpts are below!

"...James Schmidt has done extensive research in the Indiana school’s archives and has produced a short book that documents Notre Dame’s generally unknown and extraordinary contribution to the Northern war effort despite its still-fledgling status after its 1842 founding.

This short, well-written book reflects excellent research, mostly in primary sources, including the university’s archives...

...a worthwhile portrait of the committed role played by a Northern college in the Civil War...

This is a unique addition to the growing body of literature about contributions to the war effort by educational institutions such as Harvard and Yale. Not many were as deeply immersed as Notre Dame, and this book makes that point in a highly readable fashion."

Read more reviews of Notre Dame and the Civil War:

Civil War Librarian (Rea Andrew Redd) (here)

Almost Chosen People/The American Catholic (Don McClarey) (here)

Confederate Book Review (Robert Redd)(review and interview!) (here)

Irish in the American Civil War (Damian Shiels) (here)

South Bend Tribune Feature (Howard Dukes) (here)

The "Civil War Librarian" Reviews "Notre Dame and the Civil War"!

I want to thank Rea Andrew Redd, aka "The Civil War Librarian" for posting a very kind review of my book, Notre Dame and the Civil War: Marching Onward to Victory, on his blog today.

You can read the entire review here. Excerpts are below.

Rea is Professor, Waynesburg University, Director of the university's Eberly Library, and an Adjunct instructor in U.S. history. He is also a member of the Ninth Pennsylvania Reserves, Pennsylvania Reserves Division, and the Chesapeake Volunteer Guard living history units. His areas of interest and study include Civil War medicine, Abraham Lincoln, U.S. Army Signal Corps, and antebellum politics.

Make sure you check out his excellent blog (here)...Rea updates it frequently and always has great reviews of new Civil War books, television, and cinema, and other news on Civil War history (I know, because I'ma loyal reader!).

Thanks, Rea!

Excerpt:

Notre Dame is well served by Schmidt's clear, concise and well cited monograph. On each page is an anecdote that provides insight to the personalities and the climate of the opinions among the students and faculty...Other institutions would be lucky to find writers such as Schmidt to tell the story of their war years.

Other Reviews:

Almost Chosen People/The American Catholic (Don McClarey) (here)

Confederate Book Review (Robert Redd)(review and interview!) (here)

Irish in the American Civil War (Damian Shiels) (here)

South Bend Tribune Feature (Howard Dukes) (here)

Notre Dame's Civil War "Roll of Honor" - John C. Lonergan

As I have mentioned in previous posts and in the Preface of my book, Notre Dame in the Civil War: Marching Onward to Victory (The History Press, 2010), I have a long-term goal of cataloging and researching Notre Dame's Civil War student-soldiers.

You can find an initial list (here).

My previous student-soldier profiles are listed below:

Timothy E. Howard - 12th Michigan Infantry (here)

Frank Baldwin - 44th Indiana Infantry (here and here)

Felix Zeringue - 30th Louisiana Infantry (CSA) (here)

Michael Quinlan - 27th Virginia Infantry (CSA) (here and here)

Thomas E. Lonergan - 90th Illinois Infantry (here)

Orville T. Chamberlain - 74th Indiana Infantry (here and here)

There are many more profiles to come.

Today's post introduces readers to another Notre Dame Civil War student-soldier - 1st Lt. John C. Lonergan, Co. H., 58th Illinois Infantry.

A brief capsule biography and selected images from his compiled military service record are below.

John C. Lonergan was a native of Batavia, Illinois. He attended Notre Dame from 1855 to 1857 and again from 1859 to 1861, where—among other activities and studies—he was vice-president of the Dramatic Society. Lonergan mustered in with the 58th Illinois Infantry as a first lieutenant in Company H on February 7, 1862, only days before the regiment shipped out for Fort Donelson. He was wounded and captured during the Battle of Shiloh on April 6, 1862, and taken to Montgomery, Alabama, where he was kept a prisoner until he died of his wounds on May 28, 1862. May he rest in peace.

Note in the images below from his service record that Lonergan's commander was Col. William F. Lynch. Lynch was also a Notre Dame student and will be featured in a future profile.

You can learn more about Notre Dame's brave student-soldiers in Notre Dame and the Civil War: Marching Onward to Victory.

Muster-In Sheet:

May/June 1862 Muster Roll Indicates Lonergan Was Captured at Shiloh:

July/August 1862 Muster Roll Indicates Lonergan Died While a POW:

Service Record Casualty Sheet:

Civil War Artifacts at Notre Dame - The Sword of Meagher - Part II

In my previous post (here) I included some photos of the Civil War sword of the Irish Brigade's intrepid leader, General Thomas F. Meagher. The photos were taken by friends of mine who had the opportunity to visit the Archives of the University of Notre Dame.

The purpose of this post is to describe the ceremony in which the sword was given to the university in 1914, and - in doing so - illustrate Notre Dame's connections with Meagher and the Irish Brigade and why the university is indeed a fitting place for it to rest.

The report of the presentation of the sword was covered in newspapers from Maine to New York to Pennsylvania to Indiana to Texas to Montana, and points in between. Typical of the coverage was this small item on the front page of the March 5, 1914, issue of The Gettysburg (PA) Times:

My favorite, though, was a report the same day in a Wisconsin newspaper (Stevens Point Daily Journal) that tied the record of Meagher and the Irish Brigade with that of Notre Dame's Civil War student-soldiers and the Holy Cross priests it sent as chaplains, and predicted the day - not too far off - when her sons and priests would again be sent to fight, this time in the Great War:

"While the heroic deeds of the men of the Irish brigade were the ones of which the orators had the most to say,it was not of them alone that they spoke. Rev. Father Corby, one of the presidentsof Notre Dame, who had given the brigade absolution for the dying as it rushed forward to meet Lee's veterans at Gettysburg, shared with Meagher in the honors of the evening. When Roger C. Sullivan, acting as chairman, predicted that if another war should break out Notre Dame would furnish both Corbys and Meaghers to the nation, the applause was the greatest."

Details on the actual ceremony were re-printed from the Notre Dame Scholastic in the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society (Vol. XIII, 1914, pp. 320-331). A link to the entire article is here...excerpts are below.

In the speeches you will read how the sword passed from Meagher to his widow to a fervent admirer of Meagher, to the admirer's niece, and finally to the university.

More important, you will read why they thought Notre Dame the perfect resting place for Meagher's sword.

Read also the letter from one of the bishops who could not attend the ceremony but still has a poignant message, indeed.

Enjoy!

PRESENTATION OF THE SWORD OF GENERAL MEAGHER

TO THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

MARCH 4, 1914

The ceremonies that marked the presentation of the sword of General Thomas Francis Meagher to the University of Notre Dame, like the life and works they commemorated, were simple, dignified and beautiful. Accompanied by an escort of honor, consisting of the commissioned officers of the cadet regiment, a color guard, a rifle squad, and a detail of first sergeants, the sword was borne through the aisles of Washington Hall, to the stage, where the officers saluted, the guard presented arms, and the buglers sounded the stirring martial strains that had so often inspired the gallant men of General Meagher's own command, the immortal Irish Brigade.

Father Cavanaugh introduced the chairman of the meeting, Hon. Roger C. Sullivan of Illinois, who presented Senator Walsh of Montana.

Senator Walsh's Speech Of Presentation

Mr. Chairman, Right Reverend and Reverend Clergy, Faculty of the University, Assembled Students, Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am charged with the very delightful duty of presenting to this ancient and honorable institution the unsullied sword of General Thomas Francis Meagher, the gifted orator, the zealous patriot, the redoubtable warrior, the genial and cultured gentleman. Associations hallowed and unusual cluster about him.
On the pedestal of a magnificent equestrian statue of this singularly brilliant genius, erected in the grounds of the capital at Helena, my home, is chiseled his eloquent exordium upon the sword, delivered when he was a young man just out of college...

By what strange combination of circumstances has it come to pass that I, a citizen of the remote state of Montana, am permitted now to confide to this University this interesting relic? ...He came to the territory in September of 1865 under appointment by President Johnson as secretary of the territory, but in the absence of the governor he became, and remained until his untimely death on the first of July, 1867, its acting governor...

Conspicuous among the throng of Meagher's friendly contemporaries was one Andrew—universally referred to as Andy— O'Connell. Andy came to Terre Haute, in this State, as a boy, and as far west as Leavenworth, Kan., before he arrived at his majority. That region had not yet arrived at the dignity of statehood when he joined the rush to Pike's Peak. He maintained his headquarters on the site of the present city of Denver until he joined the stampede to Montana in 1864....

He was fiercely Irish, and he worshiped Meagher. His unobtrusive kindness in her affliction, at the time of General Meagher's death, endeared him to Mrs. Meagher, and when she was about to leave to return to the home of her parents and friends in the state of New York, she left with him this prized sword. She died childless without giving any directions as to its disposition. Andy, some ten years ago, crossed the divide, leaving his earthly treasures, including this sword, to his niece whom he had brought out from Terre Haute during the early 70's when she was a girl.

It is by the direction of this lady, Mrs. Catherine Young, of Kalispel, Mont., that I now confide it to this University of Notre Dame.

I confess to you that I made an effort to persuade her to present it to the University of my own State...But she remembered with affection and with pride this seat of learning nearer her own birthplace and would not be moved. Founded as it was, and maintained as it is, by an order of teachers like that from which Meagher secured the training that made him a world-famed orator at the early age of twenty-two, and for which he ever retained the highest degree of affection, love and respect, I am forced to believe that he would have approved the choice.

Here let it rest, teaching the youth who repair to these halls that nobility of character is the only sure foundation of greatness; teaching them that the right is always in need of fearless champions, and that the talents that God gave us we are expected to prove to their utmost in order that we may attain to the end and earn the reward which he has in store for each of us.

Reverend Father Cavanaugh's Acceptance

Senator Walsh:—On behalf of the University I accept the sword of General Meagher. I promise it hospitable welcome, safe-keeping and reverent admiration. I thank you, Sir, for the kindly thought which inspired its presentation to this venerable University, which already shelters the old green flag of the Irish Brigade and with which the memory of Thomas Francis Meagher has always been imperishably connected.

For, Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, there are special reasons why the sword of Meagher should find sanctuary within these hallowed walls.

The chief good of a university is not that it is a dispenser of knowledge or even a nursery of the common virtues of life. The chief good of a university is that it is a place where ideals survive. If a school dreams of material success as the brightest destiny her sons may achieve; if it sets up money-getting or place-hunting, or even refined and comfortable living, as the chief preoccupations of mankind, such a school deserves no more reverence than the counting-room, the marketplace or the hustings. But if the university tells her children that while large salaries and honorable place are desirable, they are not the whole, nor indeed the best, in life; if she teaches that as the life is more than the food and the body more than the raiment, so the fairest fruit of true education is to hunger and thirst after justice, to admire nobility of soul and strength of character and unselfish devotion to an unpopular but worthy cause, and to cherish dearer than life the ideals of Christian chivalry and Christian civilization—then is she truly Alma Mater, the fostering mother of the soul, finding her crown and glory in the wisdom and chivalry of her sons...

There is another reason why this sword finds fitting sanctuary at Notre Dame. When the passion of the hour flung the great Civil War athwart the imagination of men and the tears of women, the founder of this University, out of his poverty and his faith, out of the love of God and the love of God's children, sent to the lonely and imperiled soldiers fighting at the front seven of his ablest and noblest priests as chaplains. They were to leave the serene atmosphere of the lecture room for the terrors, and horrors of war, the pains and privations of camp and battlefield...Yet in this moment when we recall reverently the memory of the illustrious organizer and leader of the Irish Brigade, let us pause long enough to mention with honor the name of the noble chaplain, Father Corby, once a professor and president of this University, the friend and confessor of Meagher, who at the bloodiest moment of that bloody day at Gettysburg, gathered his men around him, and having made above them the sign of pardon which was ratified in heaven, hurled them full of faith and hope and courage against the chivalry of the South and added another glorious chapter to the history of human valor.

There is yet another reason why the sword of Meagher should be an honored trophy here. When he was organizing the Irish Brigade it was his dream that the command of it should be assumed by another great Irishman, General James Shields, then fresh from his triumphs in the Mexican War. But Shields, generous as he was great, urged the appointment of Meagher himself, and his influence won the day in Washington. For years the sword of General Shields has had its place of honor beside the Green Flag of the Irish Brigade among the historic treasures of our museum; henceforth the sword of Meagher shall rest beside it. They shall be honored as twin tokens of a mighty peril through which our country passed by the Providence of God and the virtue and valor of her sons...

Following Father Cavanaugh's speech of acceptance, Reverend Father O'Donnell read an ode written expressly for the occasion. He chose as his theme, the reunion of the battle-scarred green flag of the Irish Brigade, already in possession of the school, and the sword which had flashed forth upon so many fields, over which the flag of the Brigade had floated. Father O'Donnell conceived all the Irish heroes from all over the earth as present to attend the feast. The "wedding of the sun-gold sword and the sea-green flag" was beautiful in thought and execution, and Father O'Donnell was accorded an ovation when he rose to deliver it.

The chairman then introduced Hon. W. Bourke Cockran...

The following are some of the letters received from those unable to attend the function:

Bishop's House, 800 Cathedral Place, Richmond, Va., February 16, 1914.

My dear Father Cavanaugh:—

I thank you for your invitation to the presentation ceremony of General Meagher's sword and sincerely regret I cannot accept it.

I never pass by Riot field of Fredericksburg without thinking of him, and without going over again in spirit the awful charge from the large open field to the base of Marye's deadly heights. I heard one gentleman say who saw it that he could walk from the foot of the hill into the town of Fredericksburg upon the bodies of dead soldiers, and another who was there told me he counted two hundred and sixty-seven dead soldiers within an area of thirty yards square. And now the grass is growing rich on the plain and the cattle are browsing it.

The wounded were cared for in our little church, and the floor and the walls, the priest told me, were red with blood. The bones of the fallen are with us in the cemetery near the town.

I wish I could be with you. Believe me,
Very sincerely yours,
D. F. O'Connell,
Bishop of Richmond.

Civil War Artifacts at Notre Dame - The Sword of Meagher - Part I

My previous post (here) was about a group of friends from Ohio who recently had the pleasure of visiting the Archives of the University of Notre Dame and saw some precious Civil War artifacts in their collection. That post featured the regimental colors of the 63rd New York Volunteer Infantry of the famous "Irish Brigade."

My friends also got to see another tremendous artifact: the Civil War sword of the Irish Brigade's intrepid leader, Thomas F. Meagher. Meagher hardly needs an introduction to Civil War enthusiasts, but if you do need one, there is a biography at the terrific "The Wild Geese Today" website (here). Damian Shiels has a great post on Meagher artifacts and monuments in Waterford, Ireland (here) on his equally terrific "Irish in the American Civil War" blog.

Many thanks again to friend Gordy Morgan for sharing these great photos!

My next post will describe the 1914 ceremony in which the sword was presented to the university and why Notre Dame is a suitable resting place for the sword.

Enjoy!

Civil War Artifacts at Notre Dame - A Famous Flag - Part II

So, you're in town to watch the Notre Dame Fighting Irish play against Marquette...what else is there to do? Why, accept an invitation to visit the Archives of the University of Notre Dame and see some AMAZING Civil War artifacts! (And by the way, watch the Irish beat those Golden Eagles!).

That's exactly what some friends of mine from Ohio did and they were so kind to share some photos with me!

"Back Story":

I've had the great pleasure and privilege to be invited to speak to the Mahoning Valley (OH) Civil War Round Table (Youngstown, OH) twice (in 2003 and in 2009). They are a GREAT bunch of folks and I have had the great fortune of becoming friends and keeping in contact with some of them.

The "real story":

Two of them - Gordy Morgan and (bona fide "Golden Domer") Rock Basciano - and their friends and families attended the game and took the time to visit the archives where they were treated to a close look at some great artifacts.

Their host and guide was archivist Mr. Peter Lysy, without whose kind, expert, and enthusiastic assistance I could not have researched and written my book about Notre Dame and the Civil War. Readers of this blog will recall that Mr. Lysy has also written an excellent book about the history and conservation of the colors of the 63rd New York Volunteer Infantry regiment of the famous Irish Brigade (see my previous post about his book here), which is in the collection of the University.

But what's even better than reading about a famous flag? Seeing it in person! Which they did! And Gordy was kind enough to share some photos (see below).

Stay tuned for more photos from their visit this week...here's a hint: Many people have heard of "Meagher of the Sword"...well, you'll get to see "The Sword of Meagher"!

Enjoy!

Thanks for sharing, Gordy!