John H. McCunn (November 2, 1820 – July 6, 1872) was born Burnally, Limavady, County Londonderry, Ireland on 2 November 1820 son of William McCunn and Martha

atty Atty may refer to: Slang *Attorney (disambiguation) *Slang for atomizer, a component of an electronic cigarette *Slang for Attleborough, Norfolk Surname *Alex Atty Alexander George Atty (December 8, 1916 – May 3, 1973) was an American ...

McKinley.Ballykelly Church of Ireland baptisms, Co Londonderry He belonged to a poor

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

immigrant family who arrived in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in the 19th century. He worked as a dockhand before training as a lawyer, and eventually becoming a judge. When 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 ...

began in 1861 he joined 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 of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

as a Captain in the

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before he recruited the 37th New York Infantry which he commanded as colonel. At war's end he was

brevetted In many of the world's military establishments, a brevet ( or ) was a warrant giving a commissioned officer a higher rank title as a reward for gallantry or meritorious conduct but may not confer the authority, precedence, or pay of real rank. ...

Brigadier General. He was a member of the infamous

Tweed Ring William Magear Tweed (April 3, 1823 – April 12, 1878), often erroneously referred to as William "Marcy" Tweed (see below), and widely known as "Boss" Tweed, was an American politician most notable for being the political boss of Tammany H ...

, which he aided by naturalising new citizens to boost his election rolls. On one day alone, he naturalised over 2,000 new voters. However, when the scandal was uncovered, he was impeached and removed from office.

References

“Making An Example of Two Naughty Boys”
at Harpweek May 25, 1872 Frank Bellew
(page 269) Boss Tweed: The Rise and Fall of the Corrupt Pol Who Conceived the Soul of Modern New York By Kenneth D. Ackerman
Published 2005 Carroll & Graf American judges Union Army colonels People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) Irish soldiers in the United States Army 19th-century Irish people 1820 births 1872 deaths Leaders of Tammany Hall 19th-century American judges {{US-judge-stub