The Irish Brigade and its Campaigns: with some account of the Corcoran Legion, and sketches of the principal officers

Front matter

THE IEISH BRIGADE AND ITS CAMPAIGNS: WITH some account of THE CORCORAN LEGION, AND SKETCHES OF THE PRINCIPAL OFFICERS. BY CAPT. D. P. CONYNGHAM, A. D. C, AUTHOR OF "FRANK u'uONNELL," " SHERMAN'S MARCH, " ETO., ETO. " Hnrk from yon stately ranks what taught er rings I Mingling wild mirtll with war's stem minstrelsy ; His Je*t while each blithe comrade round him flings. And moves lo death with military glee ! Boast, Kiin 1 boast ihem, tameless, frank, and free, In kindness warm, and tierce in danger known- Rough Nature's children, humorous as she ; And he. yon chieftain !— Strike ihe proudest tone Of thy bold harp. Green Isle, the Hekoks are tiune own I" Scott. NEW YORK: WILLIAM McSORLEY k CO., PUBLISHERS, 3 BARCLAY STREET. 1S67. Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1S66, By WILLIAM McSORLEY & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York.

John G. Shea, Stbkeotyprr, 80 Centre St., New York. TO ®ftt Slcmori of thi; SOLDIERS OF THE IRISH BRIGADE m\p jtu SUSTAINING THE CAUSE OF THEIK ADOPTED COUNTRY \ND THE COURAGE AND FIDELITY OF THE IRISH RACE, (Tl/ts ©lork [8 EKVEBENTI ALLY DEDICATED UT THE AUTHOR.

Preface

. The first shot fired by the Southerners on Fort Surater blew away all chances of compromise, and the war spirit burst forth. The Irish people in New York, and throughout the Northern States, were not slow in declaring for the Union and volunteering for its defence. I believe the second regiment to leave New York for the defence of the National Capital was Colonel Corcoran's Sixty-ninth Irish regiment, which was soon followed by Meagher's Zouaves and other Irish organizations. The Irish felt that not only was the safety of the great Republic, the home of their exiled race, at stake, but also, that the great principles of democracy were at issue with the aristocratic doctrines of monarchism. Should the latter prevail, there was no longer any hope for the struggling nationalists of the Old World.

The Irish soldier did not ask whether the colored race were better ofi" PR EFA GE. as bondsmen or freedmen ; he was not going to fight for an abstract idea. He felt that the safety and welfare of his adopted country and its glorious Constitution were im perilled ; he, therefore, willingly threw himself into the breach to sustain the flag that sheltered him when perse cuted and exiled from his own country, the laws that protected him, and the country that, like a loving mother, poured forth the richness of her bosom to sustain him. The Irish soldier was, therefore, a patriot, and no mer cenary. He had just the same right to fight for America that the native American had. The Irish, the German, the Pole, and all other exiles have a vested right in the main tenance of the American Union. Several Irishmen gave up lucrative situations and business to join the army; they had sacrificed their interests to their patriotism.

Many a patriotic young Irishman wanted to learn the use of arms and the science of war, with the hope of one day turning them to practical use in his own country. A people like the Irish, deprived of their nationality at home, and even of the manly right of carrying arms, are always jealous of their military reputation abroad. There are few battle-fields in Europe in which the Irish soldier has not left his footprints. The flower of the Jacobite army, after the surrender of Limerick, took service under the Fleur de Lis of France, and their military career is a part of the history of Europe. When Luxemburg drew his lines around Namur, a PR E FA GE. 7 fortress deemed impregnable, it fell before the ringing cheer and dashing charge of Irish valor. Brilliant were their services under the princely Mount cashel, whose noble blood dyed the fields of Staffardo.

The regiments of Burke and Dillon saved Cremona. At Blenheim, where Tallard reeled before the superior genius and force of Marlborough, Lord Clare's dragoons bore oflf two of the enemy's standards. The services of the brigade at Ramillies and Fontenoy are proudly chronicled in French history. The latter was as decisive, in its way, for the French, as Waterloo was for the English. " And Fontenoy, famed Fontenoy, had been a Waterloo, Were not these exiles ready then, fresh, vehement, and true.1 King Louis publicly thanked the brigade, and created Count Lally a general on the field of battle. King George uttered that memorable imprecation on the penal code : " Cursed he the laws that deprive me of such subjects." Later still, in the desperate struggle for the crown of Ferdinand and Isabella, the young blood of Ireland del uged the olive-groves of Spain.

When the New World rose to disenthral itself from the despotism of the Old, the generous manhood of Ireland flung itself into the contest for liberty. Even in the republics of Chili, Bolivia, and Venezuela, the praises of O'Brien, Dillon, Devereux, and other Irish PREFA CE. 8 patriots are yet sung in the soft Castilian tongue, by the banks of the Orinoco and mountain fastnesses of the Andes. A new field now opened to Irish valor and Irish gratitude, and the tried heroism of Meagher's Brigade, and several other Irish brigades and regiments, has added a new chaplet to our heroic record, and has given us a stronger claim to the protection and gratitude of the American nation. The first duty of Irishmen as citizens of America is obedience to the Constitution and laws of the country ; and any attempt to destroy the Government, under which they enjoy the blessings of peace and plenty, is a crime against their indefeasible rights, which they should resent even with their lives.

It is computed that in the Federal armies alone there were about one hundred and seventy-five thousand Irishmen. Most of these were amalgamated with various commands, scattered from the Empire State to sunny Florida, from Rappahaunock's tide to the Pacific. On the bloody fields of Virginia, down amid the cotton fields of Georgia and the swamps of the Carolinas, lie the bleached bones of many an Irish soldier and chief. Whether storming the bloody heights of Fredericksburg, or checking the enemy's advance at Fair Oaks and Mal vern Hill, or making that fearful dash at Antietam, or res cuing the abandoned cannon at Chancellorsville, or sweep-

PREFACE.

. 9 ing Early from the Shenandoah, or in planting the Stars and Stripes on the walls of Atlanta and Savannah, the Irish soldier has won a high reputation ; and the greatest detractor of his race, even the London ' Times' itself, has not dared to question his bravery as a soldier or his devo tion to the flag under which he fought. During my connection with the Irish Brigade I fully availed myself of every opportunity to collect all the ma terials I could relating to what had transpired, and to take notes of what occurred under my own observation, with the intention of writing a history of the gallant exploits of that noble little band. In order to make my work accept able to the general reader, I give a sketch of the different battles in which the brigade participated, but making the part it took in the strife tlic leading feature.

I have also, as far as I could collect the materials, given in my ap pendix a sketch of Generals Meagher and Corcoran, and most of the officers of the brigade, and an obituary notice of several of those who have fallen. I have, too, as far as I was able, collected the names of the officers and men, killed or wounded. I have done my best to give a true and impartial history, and if I have failed in any particular, I trust some other writer will supply the deficiency, that thus we may hand down to posterity a true and correct history of a brigade whose exploits they will rehearse with wondering admiration. I do not write this work from any mercenary motives, P REF A CE. 10 but with the sole desire of helping to rescue from obscurity the glorious military record we have earned in America. I hope that the history of every Irish regiment and brigade in the American service will be written, and thus preserve the materials for some future Bancroft of Irish history.

We have given too many Irish regiments and brigades to the American service to let their history sink into ob scurity ; besides, their bravery and services are of such a nature as to cause a glow of pride to tingle through every Irishman's heart. I have confined myself to the Irish Bri gade ; but we are not to forget that this comprised but a small portion of the Irish element in the American armies. We also have given many distinguished Irish and Irish- A-merican generals to the cause — among them, Phil Sher idan, John Logan, Geary, and Birney ; Sweeny, Lalor, and Doherty, of Illinois ; Gorman, of Minnesota ; Magennis and Sullivan, of Indiana ; Reilly and Mulligan, of Ohio ; Stevenson, from Missouri ; Minty, from Michigan ; the noble Smith, of Delaware ; Meagher, Shields, Corcoran, P. H. Jones, Kiernan, of New York, and several others.

As I have said, I hope other pens will write the histories of other organizations. If I have but contributed a correct account of the Irish Brigade to the general fund, I am sat isfied. I devote the first chapter to the gallant Sixty ninth N. Y. S. M., its services fully entitling it to a place in our pages ; besides, it was the nucleus of the Irish Bri- P REF A GE. 11 gade, and supplied it with many able officers and soldiers. I have added an appendix, containing sketches of Gen erals Meagher and Corcoran, and most of the officers of the Brigade ; and also a roster of the names of the men who were killed or wounded in battle, and have given some of General Meagher's official reports and letters. To my talented friend, Doctor William O'Meagher, I have left the pleasing task of writing the history of the Brigade for '64 and '65.

He was surgeon of the Sixty ninth during that time ; and, from his literary acquire ments and intimate knowledge of its services, is much better qualified for the task than I. As I was then with Sherman in Georgia, I know little personally of its career. He also gives a short sketch, en passant, of the gallant Corcoran Legion As to my own services, both with the Brigade and Sherman's army, I hope it will not be deemed egotism on my part to give the following from several congratulatory notices and letters I have received from the press and from commanding officers with whom I served : Headquarters Second Corps, Armt of the Potomac, '68. I feel very great pleasure in bearing testimony to the gallantry and other soldierly qualities of my friend, Captain D. P. Conyngham, and the efficient services he rendered me at Chancellorsville, where he acted as one of my aids.

Thomas F. Meagher, Lately commanding the Irish Brigade. PR EFA CE. 12 At the battle of Resaca I carried orders under a fierce fire of the enemy, and subsequently led a division into action, getting wounded in the breast. Major-General Schofield thanked me personally on the field, and from the general on whose staff I served I received the following complimentary letter : Cedar Springs, Ga., May IS, 1S64. Captatn D. P. Costtngham, Acting A. D. C. : Captaix — 1 cannot disrupt the associations that bind me to my personal staff without thinking yoa for the many ssrvicjs you have rendered me. The gallant manner in which you have conveyed my orders under a heavy fire, during the fearful ordeal to which my division was subjected on the 14th inst., not only commands my ac knowledgment and admiration, but attests my long-confirmed opin ion, that the Irish soldier is the nonpareil of a soldier.

With the best wishes of your chief for your future success and welfare, I am truly yours, J. H. Judah, Brigadier-General V. S. A. If I have failed in doing justice to the merits of any officer, it is through no spirit of partiality, but from the want of proper information. Among other sources of in formation, I am much' indebted to the admirable letters of the brave, talented, but ill-fated " Galloglass." THE AUTHOR. Maple Cottage, Staten Island, Muy -20, 1S66. CONTENTS.

Chapter I

The President's first call for troops.— The Court-martial for the trial of Colonel Corcoran dissolved. — The Sixty-ninth N. Y. S. M. leave for Washington. — Encamp on Arlington II eights. — Build Fort Corcoran. — The ceremony of raising a flaw, — Meagher's Zouaves join them. — Marching Order. — Battle of Bull Run. — Bravery of the Sixty-ninth. — Defeat of the Union forces. — Capture of Colonel Corcoran 19

Chapter II

Return of the Sixty-ninth. — Its reception. — Demonstration at Jones's Wood. — Colonel Meagher authorized to raise a new Regiment or Brigade. — Ably assisted hy Committee. — Fort Schuylcr. — Interesting Ceremony and Speeches at Presentation of Colors. — Departure of Sixtyninth for Virginia. — The other Regiments follow. — Deputation of officers waits on the President. — The Senate confirms General Meagher's appointment 47

Chapter III

Removal of McDowell. — McClellan assumes command of the army. — Camp California. — Sketch of General Meagher's quarters. — Christinas in camp. — Mass in camp.— Camp scones and camp amusements. — Out on picket. — Brigade drills.— New- Year's Day in camp 71

Chapter IV

General Meagher's appointment confirmed by the Senate. — Rejoicing ir camp. — Banquets in camp. — Distinguished guests. — Sketches of Gen eruls Heintzelman, Howard, and Shields CONTENTS. 14

Chapter V

Programme of McClellan's plan of campaign. — The army moves towards Centreville and Manassas. — Retreat ofthe Confederate Army across tlie Rappahannock. —General Howard harasses their rear-guard — Sixtyninth under fire. — Brigade returns to Camp California.— General Kearney escorts them — Brigade embark for the Peninsula 103

Chapter VI

The Brigade at Fortress Monroe. — Sufferings on board. — Reach Ship Point. — The disembarkation of tlie Brigade. — Their sufferings from bad weather and other causes. — Amusing anecdotes of General Richardson. — Description of Yorktown and the works around Richmond. — Failure of the naval expedition against Richmond. — More forces drawn from McClellan. — Camp scenes and tides iu front of Yorktown. — Evacuation of Yorktown. — Battle in front of Williamsburg. — Evacuation of Williamsburg 117

Chapter VII

Sketch of the White House. — Brigade at Cumberland Landing:. — The Chickahominy and Pocahontas. — Brigade encamped on Tyler's farm. — Battle of Mechanicsville. — Battle of Hanover Courthouse. — Interrupted racing amusements. — Battle of Fair Oaks. — March of the Brigade.— The Brigade in battle. — Its gallant conduct. — What General Sumner thought of it. — What others thought of it. — Incidents and sketches of tbe battle and the battle-field 137

Chapter VIII

The army intrenched before Richmond. — Views of Richmond. — McClellan rides along the lines. — His reception. — Visit of the Spanish General Prim. — Out on picket. — A brisk skirmish. — Ominous signs. — Our right threatened by Jackson. — Danger of communications being cut off. — Retreat from before Richmond 163

Chapter IX

Battle of Games' Mill.— Capt. O'Shea's flying artillery. — The wounded soldier.— Battle of Savage Station.— Battle of White Oak Swamp.— Of Gleudale. — Gallant conduct of the Brigade in the different actions.. CONTENTS. 15

Chapter X

Battle of Malvern Hill. — Desperate fighting on both sides. — The Brigade engaged. — The army falls back to Harrison's Landing. — Feeling incidents of the battle. — Death of Captain O'Donohoe and others. — Captain Donovan's reply to the rebel general. — General Meagher's account of the seven days' fighting 210

Chapter XI

The army retreats to Harrison's Landing. — Its encampments there. — Life in camp. — Soiree in camp. — The Major's Story, or "The Dying Friend." — A review. — General Meagher goes to New York to recrnit the Brigade. — His reception at a public meeting. — His speech. — Death of Temple Emmet. — Brigade out on a reconnoissance near Malvern Hill. — The Brigade on the march.— Brigade gets a new band 228

Chapter XII

McClellan's views thwarted.— Pope's great preparations on the Rappahannock. — Jackson defeats Banks at Slaughter Hill. — Jackson's grand flank movement. — Captures Manassas Station. — The second battle of Bull Run. — Total defeat of Pope's army. — The rout and scenes on the battle-field. — Battle of Chantilly.— Death of Major-General Phil Kearney 2C5

Chapter XIII

Evacuation of the Peninsula by McClellan's army.— Scenes on the march. Sufferings of the people of Virginia.— The Brigade reaches Aquia Creek.— Sent to support Pope. — Its marches 276

Chapter XIV

Great excitement in Washington.— McClellan restored to the command of the army. — Movements of the rebel army.— Surrender of Harper's Ferry.— Battle of South Mountain.— Battle of Antietam. — Dreadful loss ofthe Brigade in men and officers.— Meagher's hor.-e killed under him. — Magee rescues the colors.— What McClellan aud Doctor Ellis say about the Brigade 28f! CONTENTS.

Chapter XV

The battle of Antietam continued.— Total route of the rebel army.— The battle-field at night.— Heavy losses on both sides.— Fearful loss in tho Brigade —General Richardson mortally wounded. — Brigade encamped on Bolivar Heights.— Review by the President.— Army again on the march. — Promotions ill the Brigade 309

Chapter XVI

The Brigade at Warrenton.— General McClellan relieved from command. — Burnside supersedes him.— McClellan's departure from the army. — The old flags consigned to Daniel Devlin. — Presentation of new colors. — The Brigade at Falmouth.— Battle ot Fredericksburg. — Desperate assault, and fearful loss of the Brigade. — Banquet in Fredericksburg. — Brigade returns to their old camp 323

Chapter XVII

Despondent seeling throughout the country. — Requiem Mass in New York for the dead of the Irish Brigade. — General Meagher in New- York. — Sketches about camp. — General Meagher ill camp. — Patrick's day. — Horse-racing, and other amusements 355

Chapter XVIII

Battle of Chancellorsville. — Breaking of the Eleventh Corps. — The Trish Brigade rescue the Fifth Maine Battery, — Incidents ofthe battle-field. — Resignation of General Meagher. — Regret of the Brigade. — Battle of Gettysburg. — The Brigade again engaged 3S3

Chapter XIX

General Meagher leaves. — The Brigade at Gettysburg. — Father Corby gives it his benediction before the battle. — The Brigade at Mine Run and Rapidan. — Retires to winter-quarters previous to its departure for New York 415

Chapter XX

introductory. — Gigantic efforts to crush the Rebellion. — Recruiting. Re-enlistment of veterans. — The lri>h Brigade first to re-enlist. — Terms of re-enlistment. — Return of the Brigade to New York. — Popular indifference. — Grand Banquet to the veterans by their officers. — Speeches of General Meagher, &c, &c CONTENTS. 17

Colonel McGee in command of the Brigade.— Resigns.— Colonel Burke succeeds. — Is detached. — Contemporary movements. — Battle of Hatcher's Run. — The Legion engaged 495

Chapter XXXII

Presentation to Colonel Burke.— Sortie by the Eighty-eighth. — A successfid ruse of the enemy. — Arrival of Colonel Nugent and reorganization of the Brigade. — Promotions. — Original members of the Twenty-eighth Mass. mustered out. — Reconnoissance. — Escape of Captain Wall and Lieutenant Grainger. — Dutch Gap Canal a failure. — Capture of Port Fisher. — Raid on City Point by rebel iron-clads. — Gen. Hancock leaves the Corps. — Movement to Hatcher's Run. — Promotions in the Sixtyninth. — Desertions from the enemy 502

Chapter XXXIII

Patrick's Day. — Capture aud recapture of Fort Steadman. — The Brigade engaged at Skinner's Farm. — The Legion at the Run. — Casualties. — The winding up. — Engagements of the 29th, 30th, and 31st. — Storming of Petersburg. — Evacuation, retreat, and pursuit of the enemy. — The pursuit. — Engagements at Amelia Springs, Sailor's Creek, &c. — Surrender of Lee. — Return ofthe Army. — The Grand Review. — The Brigade mustered out 514

Appendix

. Battles in which the Brigade participated. — Sketch of Brevet Major- General T. F. Meagher. — Sketch of Brigadier-General Corcoran. — Sketch of Brigadier-General Smyth. — Battery of the Irish Brigade. — Sketch of the prominent officers of the old Sixty-ninth N. Y. S. M — Sketch o*" the officers of the Papal Brigade who distinguished themselves in the American service. — Sketch of the officers of the Sixty-ninth N. Y. V.— Sketch of the officers of the Eighty-eighth N. Y. V.— Sketch ofthe officers of the Sixty-third N. Y. V.— Sketch ot the services and prominent officers of the Twenty-eighth Massachusetts. — Sketch ofthe services and prominent officers ofthe One Hundred and Sixteenth Pennsylvania THE IPJSH BRIGADE. ■♦

Chapter I

The President's first call for troops.— The Court-martial for the trial of Colonel Coreoran dissolved. — The Sixty-ninth N. Y. S. M. leave for Washington.— Encamp on Arlington Heights.— Build Fort Corcoran.— The ceremony of raising a Flag. — Meagher's Zouaves join them. — Marching Order. — Battle of Bull Run. — Bravery of the Sixty-ninth. — Defeat of the Union forces. — Capture of Colonel Corcoran. Eaklt in the spring of 1861, in response to the call of President Lincoln for the first levy of troops to quell the incipient rebellion, the New York militia promptly and with enthusiastic ardor volunteered their services. Foremost among them, the Sixty-ninth, under the command of Col. Michael Corcoran, threw themselves into the ranks of the national army in de fence of their adopted country, its glory, and integrity.

The court-martial of Colonel Corcoran for disobedience of orders in refusing to parade his regiment in honor of the Prince of "Wales was summarily dissolved, and the charges dismissed, to the intense satisfaction of the community at large, in accordance with the following order : Special Orders, No. 9. First Division, N. Y. S. SI., I Mew Yoke, April 'JO, 1861. j* In pursuance of Special Orders, No. 58, from General Head quarters, the Court-martial detailed for the trial of Colonel Corco ran, of the Sixty-ninth Regiment, is dissolved, and the charges dis missed ; and Colonel Corcoran is directed forthwith to resume the command of his regiment. By order of Major-General Charles W. Sandford. Geoeoe W. Mohell, Div. Eng., Acting Division Inspector. Colonel Ccrcoran immediately promulgated the fol lowing orders to his regiment, which had already nearly completed its arrangements to start in defence of the national capital : Colonel Corcoran will embark his regiment to-morrow, viz., he tween ten and eleven o'clock, on hoard the James Adger, Pier No. 4 North River, not exceeding one thousand men, all told.

Charles W. Sandford, Major-General. New York, April 22, 1861. This order provided but for the transportation of one thousand men ; and as the regiment numbered eight hundred more, those who were compelled to remain behind felt bitterly disappointed, but their patriotic zeal was soon fully gratified. In Colonel Corcoran's general order to the regiment before starting, the following patriotic sentence occurs : " The commandant feels proud that his first duty, after being relieved from a long arrest, is to have the honor of promulgating an order to the regiment to rally to the support of the Constitution and laws of the United States." On the day of departure, after the regiment had formed into line in Great Jones street, they were presented with a splendid silk United States flag by the wife of Judge Daly.

This appropriate present was re ceived with cheers for the fair donor, and Colonel Cor coran requested Judge Daly to inform his lady that her flag should never suffer a stain of dishonor wbile a man of the Sixty -ninth remained alive to defend it. About three o'clock the order of march was given. The regiment moved into Broadway amid deafening cheers ; flags and banners streamed from the windows and house-tops ; ladies waved their handkerchiefs from the balconies, and flung bouquets on the marching column. At the head of the procession was a decorated wagon, drawn by four horses, and bearing the inscription, " Sixty-ninth, remember Fontenoy," and " No North, no South, no East, no West, but the whole Union." THE IR IS II BRIGADE. 22 The officers of the regiment and the strength of their respective commands were as follows:* Colonel, Michael Corcoran.

Lieutenant-Colonel, Robert Nugent. Major, James Bagley. Adjutant, John McKeon. Chaplain, Rev. Thomas J. Mooney. Engineers, James B. Kirker, John II. McCunn. Surgeon, Robert Johnson ; Assistants, Drs. James L. Kiernan, J. Pascal Smith. Quartermaster, Joseph B. Tully. Paymaster, Matthew Kehoe ; Assistants, C. G. Hal pine, B. J. McDermott. Sergeant-Major, Arthur Tracy; Color-Sergeant, Murphy. Company A, Captain James Haggerty ; First-Lieu tenant, Theodore Kelly ; Second-Lieutenants, Daniel Strayne, Dennis F. Sullivan ; Orderly Sergeant, Bermingham. One hundred and twenty men. Company B, Captain Thomas Lynch; First-Lieu tenant, Thomas Leddy; Second-Lieutenant, W. H. Giles ; Orderly Sergeant, Cahill. One hundred and fourteen men. ' Company C, Captain James Kavanagh ; First-Lieu tenant, John H. Ryan; Second-Lieutenant, J. Rowan.

Eighty-six men. * See Appendix for sketch of officers. Company D, Captain Thomas Clarke ; First-Lieu tenant, Thomas Fay ; Second-Lieutenants, James L. Dungan, Michael O'Boyle ; Orderly Sergeant, M. Ma guire. One hundred and twenty men. Company E, Captain P. Kelly ; First-Lieutenant, John Bagley ; Orderly Sergeant, Andrew Reed. One hundred men. Company F, Captain John Breslin ; First-Lieu tenant, P. Duffy ; Second -Lieutenant, M. P. Breslin ; D'Alton. One hundred men. Company G, Captain Felix Duffy ; First-Lieutenant, Henry J. McMahon ; Orderly Sergeant, Thomas Phibbs. One hundred and twenty men. Company H, Captain James Kelly ; First-Lieu tenant, "W. Butler ; Second-Lieutenants, James Lyons, James Gannon ; Orderly Sergeant, F. Welpley. One hundred and twenty-six men. Company J, Lieutenant John Coonan, commanding ; Second-Lieutenant, Thomas M. Canton.

One hundred and two men. During the night the James Adger and the Harriet Lane, with other transports, dropped down the bay, carrying the Sixty -ninth, the Eighth Regiment, and the Thirteenth Brooklyn. After a pleasant voyage, the fleet reached Annapolis, and the Sixty-ninth were placed guarding the line of railroad from Annapolis to "Washington. Their next destination was Arlington Heights, a beautiful and picturesque situation, forming one of the lovely range of wooded hills stretching along the southern side of the Potomac River. From it was a magnificent view of the river, Georgetown, and Washington. The troops were soon busily em ployed throwing up a fort, which, in honor of their colonel, was named Fort Corcoran, over which they raised the first flag ot' the war hoisted on a Federal fort.

The occasion was a joyous and festive one in camp. Speeches were made by Colonel Hunter (in whose brigade the Sixty-ninth was serving), Captain Thomas F. Meagher, and other officers. Mr. John Savage, who was acting on Colonel Corcoran's staff with the rank of captain, sung to the air of " Dixie's Land" a beautiful and appropriate song, composed by him for the occasion, entitled "The Starry Flag." Mr. Savage first wrote and sang this on the transport Marion, on her perilous route up the Potomac, through the masked batteries of the enemy. It was suggested by an in cident that occurred on the voyage. In the darkness ofthe night a rebel boat, with muffled oars, ran alongside the gunboat, but seeing the troops on guard, one of them exclaimed, as they shot away, "D — n the rag ! we cannot pull it down to-night."

Mr. John Savage, in espousing the Union cause, sacrificed flattering inducements for principle. While editing ' The States' in Washington, he had formed the acquaintance of the leading men in the South ; and when war was imminent they offered him the greatest inducements if he would espouse their cause, but nothing could tempt him from the path of principle and honor. The remainder of the regiment and Meagher's com pany of Zouaves soon joined them at Arlington Heights. The Fifth and Twenty-eighth New York were also in the same brigade. While the regiment was thus progressing in drill and efficiency, their patriotic friends at home were ex erting themselves to raise funds for the support of their families. Prominent among those who labored on the occasion was Daniel Devlin, the faithful and unflinching friend ofthe Brigade and the national cause for which they fought, Honorable James T. Brady, Judge Daly, John Savage, Eugene Kelly, &c. This committee was subsequently increased, for the purpose of aiding and assisting the enrollment and equipment of the Irish Brigade.

At this period McDowell was steadily and cautious ly pushing his lines towards Fairfax Courthouse, which place had been occupied by the enemy under General Bonham. Frequent skirmishes occurred between the advanced posts and scouting-parties, and it was quite evident from every indication that a battle was im minent. o General Scott's policy was to raise and organize a sufficient force to crush out the rebellion at one blow. He was unwilling to attack the enemy in their in trenched positions, which he felt should be done at a disadvantage, thereby giving them a probable chance of gaining the first victory, then a matter of vital im portance. He was overruled, however, and influenced by the urgent representations of certain influential parties, contrary to his firm conviction and better judgment.

Public opinion, also, as expressed in the newspapers, seemed to favor an immediate advance of the Union forces, before the enemy could become more formidable, and thus it was determined to bring on a general engagement. About the 12th of July, 1S61, Colonel Corcoran received orders from General McDowell to hold him self in readiness to march at a moment's notice ; and on the 15th the order to march at 2 p. m. next day was read to the regiment while on parade. The ensu ing night was, accordingly, spent in various avocations by officers and men. Many went to confession, nearly all wrote home to their friends the exciting news, send ing large sums of money which had been just received, while many others gave loose rein to fun and jollifica tion, as numberless empty bottles and kegs could amply testify.