James Lawlor Kiernan (26 October 1837 – 29 November 1869) was an Irish-born Brigadier General in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Biography

Kiernan was born in

Mountbellew Mountbellew or Mountbellew Bridge (historically ''Creggaun'', from ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland. It lies mostly within the townland of Treanrevagh (''Trian Riabhach'') on the N63 national primary road. The town has a population of ap ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, in 1837; his father being a retired British navy surgeon. Kiernan attended

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, before emigrating to the USA about 1854. On the outbreak of the civil war in 1861 he joined the

69th New York Infantry Regiment The 69th New York Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Army. It is from New York City, part of the New York Army National Guard. It is known as the "Fighting Sixty-Ninth", a name said to have been given by Robert E. ...

as Assistant Surgeon. He served as such at Bull Run and in the same capacity to the 6th Missouri Infantry Regiment at Pea Ridge. Kiernan insisted on joining the fighting ranks, and in that capacity was seemingly appointed a Major in the 6th Missouri. In May 1863 at

Port Gibson Port Gibson is a city in Claiborne County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,567 at the 2010 census. Port Gibson is the county seat of Claiborne County, which is bordered on the west by the Mississippi River. It is the site of th ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, he was wounded in the left lung and left on the field for dead. Recovered and imprisoned, he effected an escape back to Union forces and resigned his commission. On 1 August 1863 he was commissioned a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

by President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

; commanding a post at Miliken's Bend on the Mississippi. However ill-health as a result of his battlefield wounds forced him to resign on 3 February 1864. About May 1865 he gained a US consular post at

Chinkiang Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou (to its north) ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. However his continued ill-health forced him to return to New York where he became an examining physician for the

Pension Bureau The Bureau of Pensions was an agency of the federal government of the United States which existed from 1832 to 1930. It originally administered pensions solely for military personnel. Pension duties were transferred to the United States Department o ...

. He was still serving in that capacity upon his death on 26 November 1869; the official cause of death being ' congestion of the lungs.' He is buried in

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several bl ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

External links

* http://irishamericancivilwar.com/ * https://www.academia.edu/23761708/Galway_and_the_American_Civil_War * http://www.aohvirginia.org/James%20Lawlor%20Kiernan.pdf * https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9131 * http://www.bokus.com/bok/9781330571026/ireland-and-america-versus-england-from-a-fenian-point-of-view-classic-reprint/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Kiernan, James Lawlor 1837 births 1869 deaths 19th-century Irish people People from County Galway Irish soldiers Irish soldiers in the United States Army People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Union Army generals Irish surgeons American surgeons Members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood Alumni of Trinity College Dublin

Biography

See also

External links