Patrick Robert Guiney (15 January 1835 in Parkstown, County Tipperary, Ireland – March 21, 1877 in Boston) was an American Civil War soldier.

Early life and career

Patrick Robert Guiney was the second and eldest surviving son of James Roger Guiney, who was descended from Jacobites, and Judith Macrae. James Guiney, impoverished after a failed runaway marriage, brought with him on his second voyage to New Brunswick his favourite child Patrick, then not six years old. After some years, Mrs. Guiney and their younger son, William, rejoined her husband, recently crippled by a fall from his horse; they settled in Portland, Maine. The young Guiney worked as a wheel boy in a rope factory, and at the age of fourteen apprenticed to a machinist in

Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and Nort ...

, but stayed only a year and a half before returning to Portland. He hoped to better himself through education, and attended the public grammar school. He matriculated at Holy Cross College, Worcester. His depleting finances caused him to leave after about a year, despite the fact that the college president offered to make some arrangement for him to stay, which offer, according to Guiney's daughter, his honor would not allow him to accept. Guiney's book-loving father having meanwhile died, he went to study for the Bar under Judge Walton, and was admitted in Lewiston, Maine, in 1856, taking up the practice of criminal law.Guiney, Louise Imogen. "Patrick Robert Guiney." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 12 June 2019 In politics he was a Republican. For the

Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-Angell Animal Medical Center (MSPCA-Angell) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with its main headquarters on South Huntington Avenue in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Bos ...

, he won its first suit. In 1859 he married in the old cathedral, Boston, Janet Margaret Doyle, related to the Rt. Rev. James Warren Doyle, Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin. They had one son, who died in infancy, and one daughter, the poet and essayist Louise Imogen Guiney. Home life in

Roxbury Roxbury may refer to: Places ;Canada * Roxbury, Nova Scotia * Roxbury, Prince Edward Island ;United States * Roxbury, Connecticut * Roxbury, Kansas * Roxbury, Maine * Roxbury, Boston, a municipality that was later integrated into the city of Bosto ...

and professional success were cut short by the outbreak of the Civil War.

Civil War

Familiar with the

Manual of arms A manual of arms was an instruction book for handling and using weapons in formation, whether in the field or on parade. Such manuals were especially important in the matchlock and flintlock eras, when loading and firing was a complex and lengthy ...

, Guiney enlisted for example's sake as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

, refusing a commission from Governor

John A. Andrew John Albion Andrew (May 31, 1818 – October 30, 1867) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He was elected in 1860 as the 25th Governor of Massachusetts, serving between 1861 and 1866, and led the state's contributions to ...

until he had worked hard to help recruit the 9th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. By June 1861, Guiney was a captain. Within two years (July, 1862), the first colonel having died from a wound received in action, Lieutenant-Colonel Guiney succeeded Young to the command. He won high official praise, notably for courage and presence of mind at the Battle of the Chickahominy, or Gaines's Mill, Virginia. Here, after three successive color-bearers had been shot down, the colonel himself reportedly seized the flag, threw aside coat and sword-belt, rose white-shirted and conspicuous in the stirrups, inspired a final rally, and turned the fortune of the day. Guiney fought in over thirty engagements, including the

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...

, the

Battle of Fredericksburg The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat, between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsi ...

, and the Battle of Chancellorsville. The 9th Massachusetts was present at Gettysburg in second brigade first division V Corps on July 1, 1863. Col

Jacob B. Sweitzer Jacob Bowman Sweitzer (July 4, 1821 – November 7, 1888) was a Pennsylvania lawyer and soldier who commanded a regiment and then a brigade in the Army of the Potomac in the American Civil War. He and his men were significantly engaged at th ...

the brigade commander, detached Guiney's regiment for picket duty. Consequently, the regiment missed the second day's fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg. In 1864, through the battle of the Wilderness, Guiney frequently had been in command of his brigade, the second brigade, first division, Fifth Corps. After many escapes from dangerous combats without serious injury, he was shot in the face by a sharpshooter at the

Battle of the Wilderness The Battle of the Wilderness was fought on May 5–7, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Arm ...

on May 5, 1864. The Minié ball destroyed his left eye, and inflicted, it was believed, a fatal wound. During an interval of consciousness, however, Guiney insisted on an operation which saved his life. Guiney was honorably discharged and mustered out of the

U.S. Volunteers United States Volunteers also known as U.S. Volunteers, U.S. Volunteer Army, or other variations of these, were military volunteers called upon during wartime to assist the United States Army but who were separate from both the Regular Army and the ...

on June 21, 1864, just before the mustering out of his old regiment. On February 21, 1866,Eicher and Eicher, 2001, p. 747 President

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...

nominated Guiney for the award of the honorary grade of

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

brigadier general, to rank from March 13, 1865, for gallant and meritorious services during the war.Hunt, Roger D. and Brown, Jack R. ''Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue''. Gaithersburg, MD: Olde Soldier Books, Inc., 1990. . p. 248 The U.S. Senate confirmed the award on April 10, 1866.

Postbellum

Kept alive for years by nursing, he ran unsuccessfully for Congress on a sort of " Christian Socialist" platform, was elected assistant

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

(1866–70), and acted as consulting lawyer (not being longer able to plead) on many locally celebrated cases. His last exertions were devoted to the defeat of the corruption and misuse of the Probate Court of

Suffolk County, Massachusetts Suffolk County is located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 797,936, making it the fourth-most populous county in Massachusetts. The county comprises the cities of Boston, Chel ...

, of which he had become registrar (1869–77). He died suddenly and was found kneeling against an elm in the little park near his home. General Guiney was Commandant of the Loyal Legion, Major-General Commandant of the Veteran Military League, member of the

Irish Charitable Society The Charitable Irish Society of Boston was founded in 1737 and is the oldest Irish organization in North America. Its early charitable efforts focused around providing temporary loans and assistance in finding work to Irish immigrants. The society ...

, and one of the founders and first members of the

Catholic Union The Catholic Union was a political organisation in Ireland in the 1870s. It was the brainchild of Paul Cullen, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin and future Irish cardinal. He created it in 1872 to link growing public interest in politics an ...

of Boston. He also published some literary criticism, a few graphic prose sketches and some verse.

References

Sources

* ''Commanding Boston's Irish Ninth: the Civil War letters of Colonel Patrick R. Guiney, Ninth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry'', ed. Christian G. Samito, New York: Fordham University Press, 1998. * Eicher, John H. and

Eicher, David J. David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of '' Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and America ...

''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * Hunt, Roger D. and Brown, Jack R. ''Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue''. Gaithersburg, MD: Olde Soldier Books, Inc., 1990. .

External links