Note: This entry seemed apropos considering the wounds he received at Williamsburg. The majority of the information in this article comes from Armstrong’s obituary in the November 25, 1863 edition of the Presbyterian banner, on page 3. The facts from his military career I have been able to confirm through the regimental muster rolls. I haven’t been so fortunate with his pre-war life, but it doesn’t read as something exaggerated. Armstrong’s obituary was written by an unidentified friend from college. Thanks once again to Patty Millich, who keeps finding these gems in dusty, out of the way places.

Martin Armstrong was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania in 1828. He was a successful school teacher in Chester and Lancaster counties for several years. Acceding to his mother’s dying wish that he become a minister, he attended Pennsylvania College at Gettysburg (now Gettysburg College) and graduated in 1856.

After graduation, Martin taught for two years at Dr. Foote’s Academy in Romney, Virginia. He then moved to Elizabethtown, Kentucky, where he taught at a large classical school. Armstrong also briefly served as a family tutor in Louisiana before entering Western Theological Seminary in 1860.

Martin left the seminary in October 1861 to enlist as a private in the 6th U.S. Cavalry, where he was assigned to Company M. He participated in the regiment’s training through the winter of 1861, and was promoted to sergeant before it moved to the peninsula.

Sergeant Armstrong was severely wounded in the skirmish at Williamsburg on May 4, 1862, and didn’t return to the regiment until the following June. He rejoined the 6th Cavalry just after Brandy Station at the beginning of the Gettysburg campaign. At the battle of Fairfield on July 3rd, he was one of many 6th U.S. Cavalry troopers who were captured and sent to Belle Isle prison in Richmond.

Armstrong was fortunate enough to be exchanged relatively quickly and brought to Camp Parole near Annapolis, Maryland. He was sent to the U.S. Army General Hospital in Annapolis on September 20th, complaining of pain from his old wound and a severe chill. This turned out to be the onset of typhoid fever, and his body’s ability to resist it had been seriously depleted by his imprisonment. He began to sink rapidly by October 2nd, and died on the morning of October 4, 1863. As with many of those who perished in this hospital or the nearby Camp Parole, he was buried at Ash Grove Cemetery, which was later renamed Annapolis National Cemetery.

Sources:

Obituary, Presbyterian Banner, November 25, 1863, page 3.

Muster Rolls, 6th U.S. Cavalry, M744, NARA

Note: I am deeply indebted to Lee Blauvelt for the information contained in this entry. We’ve been working on James for the last week or so, trying to determine whether he was captured at Fairfield or Funkstown, and just who was commanding Company I during the aforesaid engagements. Thanks again, Lee.

James Lewis was born on September 3, 1840 to William and Hannah Lewis in Saratoga County, New York. Different documents list his exact birthplace as either Walden, Lexom Plains or Lake George, most likely the latter. The 1850 census shows his family in Fort Anne, which is very close to Lake George. By 1861, the family had moved to Southfields, Orange County, New York, now the town of Monroe.

James enlisted in Company B, 124th New York Infantry “Orange Blossoms” on August 12, 1862, and mustered in as a private on September 5th. He is described in his enlistment documents as a 21 year old farm laborer with a dark complexion, dark hair and eyes. He was tall at 6’ 1”, and one of his friends described him as “one of the strongest men in the state.”

Life as an infantryman apparently didn’t agree with him, and he transferred to the 6th U.S. Cavalry on August 26th in accordance with General Orders No. 154 of 1862. He was assigned as a private to Company I, under the command of Captain George C. Cram.

Private Lewis kept a low profile after joining the cavalry, as he doesn’t appear in the muster rolls again until April 1863, when he served on detached service at Aquia Creek, Virginia from the 12th to the 30th. He was joined there by a sergeant, a corporal, a bugler, a farrier and eighteen other privates. The nature of the duty isn’t specified, but could be anything given the location’s proximity to the camps of nearly all of the Army of the Potomac’s cavalry.

He served with his company without incident through the spring campaign of 1863, including Stoneman’s Raid, Brandy Station, and the other preliminary cavalry battles of the Gettysburg campaign. At some point that spring, he reportedly fell or was pushed off of lumber that was being used to cross a ditch and ruptured his right side on a pile of rocks. This injury caused him problems intermittently through the remainder of his life.

Private Lewis was lucky enough to come through the battle of Fairfield unscathed, though his commander and 6 enlisted men from his company were captured during the battle. Four days later at Funkstown, Maryland, Private Lewis was not so fortunate. First Sergeant Worrell led the company in the absence of any of its assigned officers, but this battle didn’t go much better than the disaster at Fairfield. Two members of the company, Corporal Alonzo Ellsworth and Private William Thomas, were killed. Ten enlisted men, including James Lewis and First Sergeant Worrell, were captured.

James participated in the long march to Richmond experienced by many prisoners of the Gettysburg campaign, arriving in Richmond at Belle Isle on July 21st. He was fortunate enough to be paroled ten days later at City Point, Virginia on August 2nd. Lewis was then sent to Camp Parole, Maryland, near Annapolis, where he was treated for chronic diarrhea until October 12, 1863.

Returning to his regiment, James once again resumed his low profile. He surfaces again the following year, when he served on detached service from February 29th to October 31st at Cavalry Corps Headquarters. Following this last period of detached service, he remained with his regiment through the end of the war, other than a few days of service at brigade headquarters in February 1865.

Following Lee’s surrender in April, Lewis accompanied his regiment to Pleasant Valley, Maryland, where he was treated for measles from May 4th to 12th. He moved to Frederick with the regiment in July, where he was discharged on July 29, 1865.

Lewis applied for an invalid pension on June 23, 1880, citing his rupture in 1863. Apparently, the attorney who prepared his paperwork was somewhat notorious for filing for pensions and was accused of forging documents.

After his time in the military, James returned to orange County, New York. He married Mary Odell in 1870, who died the following year. In March of 1872, he married Anna Eliza Johnson of Johnsontown, New York. They spent the remainder of their years in Orange and Putnam counties, raising five children. After Anna died on May 1, 1903, James lived with relatives. He died of arterial sclerosis on January 1, 1919 in Newburgh, New York. He is buried in Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Mountainville, New York, near the town of Cornwall.

Sources:

Lewis, James. Enlistment papers and pension request, NARA (information courtesy of Lee Blauvelt)

Muster Rolls, 6th U.S. Cavalry, M744, NARA

Joseph Kerin was born in Ireland. He enlisted in Company B, 2nd U.S. Dragoons on January 3, 1853. He joined the company in Texas the following month, and served at Fort Belknap until 1855. In the fall of 1855, the company moved from Fort Belknap to Fort Riley, Kansas. Kerin was involved with his company in the Kansas troubles in 1856, and accompanied the Mormon expedition to Utah in 1857 before his enlistment expired on January 3, 1858.

Kerin returned to the army five months later, enlisting in the General Mounted Service at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania on August 5, 1858. He served there as a private, corporal, sergeant and finally first sergeant of the Permanent Troop until October 1861.
He served as the Drill Instructor for the Anderson Troop, Pennsylvania Volunteers in September 1861, and was appointed a second lieutenant, 6th U.S. Cavalry on October 26, 1861.

Lieutenant Kerin joined the regiment the following month, and was assigned to Captain John Savage’s Company H. He accompanied the regiment to the Peninsula in March 1862, and distinguished himself several times during the campaign. He was engaged in the siege of Yorktown and the battle of Williamsburg, where he captured a Confederate captain. He also participated in engagements at Slatersville, New Kent Court House, Cumberland landing, White House, New Bridge, Mechanicsville, and Hanover Court House. He was brevetted first lieutenant on May 27, 1862 for gallant and meritorious service at the battle of Hanover Court House. He was also present during the destruction of bridges on the North Anna River and the action at Ashland. Following the engagement at Ashland, he served as an acting assistant general for the brigade of regular cavalry during the pursuit of Stuart during his first ride around the Army of the Potomac and the first three days of the Seven Days Battles. He rejoined his company following the retreat to Harrison’s Landing, and was engaged at Charles City, Haxall’s Landing and New Market Road.

In the absence of Captain Savage, he commanded Company H from September 1862 to April 1863. During the Maryland campaign, he saw action at Sugar Loaf Mountain, Antietam, scouting in Loudon and Fauquier counties, the pursuit of Stuart on his second ride around the Army of the Potomac, and an action at Charlestown. Lieutenant Kerin was then appointed Provost Marshall of the Cavalry Division, Army of the Potomac, in which capacity he served during the actions at Philomont, Unionville, Upperville, Barbour’s Crossroads, Amissville, and the battle of Fredericksburg. Kerin was promoted to first lieutenant, 6th Cavalry on December 23, 1862.

Kerin rejoined the regiment in March 1863, and was present with his company during Stoneman’s Raid. He was taken prisoner while fighting at Beverly Ford during the battle of Brandy Station, and spent the remainder of the war in various Confederate prisons. He was confined at Libby Prison, Virginia, Macon, Georgia and Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina. He escaped once on his way to Columbia by jumping from the train, but was recaptured. He escaped a second time from Columbia, but was recaptured by the aid of dogs. Lieutenant Kerin was exchanged in March 1865, and was brevetted captain on April 1, 1865 for gallant and meritorious service in the battle of Beverly Ford on June 9, 1863.

After spending a month with the regiment in Maryland, he was assigned to duty mustering volunteer regiments from June 1865 to January 1866. Lieutenant Kerin returned to the regiment in Texas, serving seven months with it before he was promoted to captain on July 28th.

Following his promotion, he served on a military commission in Houston before he was transferred back to Carlisle Barracks. After a brief stint of recruiting duty, he was assigned command of the Permanent Troop. He also served as the Treasurer and an Instructor of Tactics at Carlisle Barracks until April 1867. Another stint of recruiting followed this assignment until December 1868, this time Philadelphia and Boston, with a brief return to Carlisle for strike duty over the holidays of 1867-1868.

Captain Kerin served with his regiment at Fort Richardson, Texas until April, when he was assigned to two months of regimental recruiting duty. Following this, he was in charge of the Shreveport Arsenal and grounds until November 1869.

Captain Joseph Kerin retired from the army on June 28, 1878 and died on September 24, 1890.

Sources:

Carter, W. W., From Yorktown to Santiago with the 6th U.S. Cavalry (Baltimore, the Lord Baltimore Press, 1900).

Heitman, Francis B. Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1903), page 594.

Henry, Guy V. Military Record of Army and Civilian Appointments in the United States Army, Volume II (New York: D. Van Nostrand Publishing, 1873), pg 119-120.

Muster Rolls, 6th U.S. Cavalry, NARA, M744

James Henry Pooley was born in Northamptonshire, England in 1810. He was educated in England and received a licentiate’s diploma for the practice of medicine. He married and had five children before immigrating with his family to the United States in the mid-1840s. They settled at Dobbs Ferry, in Westchester County, New York, where he worked as a general practitioner and obstetrician.

During the Civil War, Dr. Pooley was appointed an Assistant Surgeon, U.S. Army on August 5, 1861. He initially served on hospital duty in Washington, D.C. until November, and was assigned to the 6th U.S. Cavalry in December. He served with the regiment throughout the Peninsula campaign, and was assigned to duties at Fortress Monroe in July and August 1862.

When the army evacuated the peninsula, Dr. Pooley was assigned to the Convalescent Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia for the remainder of the year. He served with the Light Battery, 5th U.S. Artillery in the IX Corps, Army of the Potomac until April 27, 1863, when he resigned his commission.

Dr. Pooley returned to New York and resumed his practice. His two oldest sons followed him into the practice of medicine. His eldest son, James H. Pooley, Jr., was a professor at the Starling Medical College in Columbus, Ohio and later the Dean of Faculty of the Toledo Medical College. His second son, Thomas R. Pooley, was a professor of ophthalmology at the New York Polyclinic and surgeon in chief of the New Amsterdam Eye and Ear Hospital.

Dr. Pooley was described in his obituary as a “man of engaging manners and a fluent and eloquent public speaker.” He retired from his practice in 1880, and returned to England shortly after the death of his wife Anna in 1885. He died on June 3, 1890 in Birkenhead, England, and is buried next to his wife in a cemetery near Liverpool.

Sources:

Heitman, Francis B. Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1903), page 797.

Henry, Guy V. Military Record of Army and Civilian Appointments in the United States Army, Volume I (New York: D. Van Nostrand Publishing, 1873), pg 105.

Muster Rolls, 6th U.S. Cavalry, NARA, M744

New York Times, June 4, 1890, obituaries

Note: It seemed appropriate to post an entry for an Irish cavalry trooper on St Patrick’s Day, and we’ve been at work on Frank for quite a while now. I am deeply indebted to Patty Millich and Michael Higgins for the information contained in this entry. Patty appears to have been infected by the cavalry bug, and continues to turn up interesting cavalry tidbits. Michael’s done a great job of piecing together the family history on both sides of the Atlantic, and I encourage you to visit his website which is contained in the source list.

Francis McAtamney was born in the townland of Tirhugh, County Derry, Ireland in 1836. He was the oldest son and second oldest child of Hugh and Mary McAtamney. The family emigrated from Ireland in 1848, arriving in Philadelphia aboard the Arab on May 11th. The family settled in Washington township, Cambria County, Pennsylvania. Francis’ father was naturalized in 1853, and his mother died in January 1854.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, three of the four McAtamney sons enlisted in the Union Army. Francis enlisted as a private in Company F, 28th Pennsylvania Infantry on July 1, 1861 at Elizabeth, Pennsylvania. Bernard enlisted in Company A, 55th Pennsylvania Infantry (“Washington Rifles”) on August 28th, and Hugh enlisted in the same company on September 17th. It doesn’t appear as if any of the three returned after the war. The youngest brother, John, was too young to enlist at age nine.

The 28th PA was somewhat unique in that the regimental commander, Colonel Geary, had arranged for a battery of artillery to be raised with and attached to the infantry regiment. Francis served in Company F until October 3rd, when he was transferred at the order of the regimental commander to this artillery battery, commanded by Captain Joseph M. Knapp. He was one of several 28th PA soldiers transferred to bring the battery up to full strength.

Francis served with the battery for a year before again changing units. On October 27, 1862, he enlisted in Company K, 6th US Cavalry at Knoxville, Maryland. He was sworn into the regiment by the adjutant, Second Lieutenant Albert Coats, for the remainder of his original enlistment instead of a normal 3 year term. He apparently didn’t inform the battery of his intentions, as he was listed on their muster rolls as absent without leave for the remainder of the year. The War Department later amended the battery’s records with a note stating “the charge of desertion against this man is erroneous and is removed. He was enlisted in Co. ‘K’ 6th U.S. Cavalry October 27, 1862.”

I found the examining surgeon’s comments on the enlistment form interesting: “I certify, on honor, that I have minutely inspected the recruit, Francis McTamney previously to his enlistment, and that he was entirely sober when enlisted; that, to the best of my judgment and belief, he is of lawful age; and that, in accepting him as duly qualified to perform the duties of an able-bodied soldier, I have strictly observed the Regulations which govern the recruiting service. This soldier was blue eyes, brown hair, light complexion, is 5 feet 6 inches high.”

A few days before Francis’ enlistment in the 6th cavalry, his brother Hugh was killed in fighting at Pocotaligo, South Carolina on October 22, 1862.

Private McAtamney served with his new regiment throughout the campaigns of 1863. He was with his company on detached service at Cavalry Corps Headquarters in July, and missed the regiment’s mortal encounter at Fairfield, Pennsylvania.

Frank McAtamney apparently decided that he’d had enough as the spring campaign of 1864 was getting underway. He and another soldier who had joined Company K from Knapp’s Battery, Private John M’Cully, deserted at Fredericksburg, Virginia on May 13, 1864. Five days later, his other brother, Corporal Bernard McAtamney, was wounded and captured during fighting at Drewry’s Bluff. He died in prison in Richmond twelve days later.

Frank McAtamney never returned to the regiment. He surfaced briefly at the U.S. Army General Hospital in Annapolis, Maryland in December 1864. He reported that he was a member of the 6th US Cavalry, and the hospital wouldn’t have been able to refute this. He was treated for scurvy from December 19-23, then placed on furlough for the holidays. He didn’t return, and was again reported as a deserter February 7, 1865. At that point he is lost in the mists of history.

Note: in various records, the surname is spelled McAtamney, McTammany, McTamany, McTamney, often by Frank himself!

Sources:

Higgins, Michael. McAtamney family history information website: http://www.69thpa.co.uk/page29.html

McAtamney, Francis. Enlistment papers, Knapp’s Battery, NARA (copies courtesy of Patty Millich)

McAtamney, Francis. Enlistment papers, Company K, 6th U.S. Cavalry, NARA (copies courtesy of Patty Millich)

Muster Rolls, 6th U.S. Cavalry, M744, NARA

Peter McGrath was born in Ireland, and his family later immigrated to the United States. He enlisted in the Regiment of Mounted Rifles on September 11, 1851. He served in the regiment in New Mexico Territory for the next ten years, as a private, corporal, sergeant and finally first sergeant of Company I. He was commended for his conduct during an expedition against the Navajo Indians in October 1858.

McGrath was one of the original appointees as an officer of the newly-authorized 3rd U.S. Cavalry. He was appointed a second lieutenant in the regiment on May 14, 1861. He never joined his regiment, however. Like all of the officers appointed to the regiment from New Mexico save one, McGrath never left the territory. Trained officers were in short supply, and McGrath was kept busy training and leading volunteers over the next several months.

Peter McGrath was promoted to first lieutenant, 6th U.S. Cavalry on October 24, 1861. This is interesting, since he’s listed on the regiment’s muster rolls as a second lieutenant assigned to Company A whose whereabouts are listed as unknown until February 1862.

On March 9, 1862, Lieutenant McGrath was assigned to a light battery composed of two 12-pound howitzers and two 6-pound guns commanded by Captain John F. Ritter of the 15th U.S. Infantry.

McGrath’s battery fought in the action at Pigeon’s Ranch, or Apache Canyon, New Mexico Territory, on March 28, 1862. Lieutenant McGrath was mortally wounded during the action, and died of his wounds on May 1, 1862.

Sources:

Heitman, Francis B. Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1903), page 667.

Henry, Guy V. Military Record of Army and Civilian Appointments in the United States Army, Volume II (New York: D. Van Nostrand Publishing, 1873), pg 143.
Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, as noted within text.

Muster Rolls, 6th U.S. Cavalry, NARA, M744

Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume 9, pgs 539-540.

Given the wealth of information turned up by super-sleuth Patty Millich since my original post on Albert Coats, I’m posting an addendum. Many thanks, Patty, for all of your hard work gathering all of this additional information! We now have a better-rounded view of the man.

Albert Coats was born to a farming family in February of 1837, the fifth of nine children. He grew up in Perry Township, Allen County, Ohio, just southeast of Lima. His parents had moved to Ohio from Pennsylvania, according to census records.

During the war, Lieutenant Coats was appointed lieutenant colonel of the 6th U.S. Colored Cavalry Regiment on September 19, 1864, but didn’t muster into the regiment until January 8, 1865.

After he resigned his commission, Coats settled in Arkansas. In 1870, he and his wife, Amanda, lived in McConnell township, Chicot County, Arkansas. Amanda was a fellow Ohioan, born in November of 1829. Oddly, his occupation is still listed as soldier during this census.

By 1880, the Coats family had moved to Little Rock. Albert and Amanda had no children. He worked as a carpenter and she worked as a grocer. In 1893 and 1894, they lived in the Eickhoff block of North Litter Road in Little Rock, where he worked a s a druggist and furniture maker.

In 1900, Albert and Amanda lived in Hill township, in North Little Rock. After the 1900 census, they again vanish into the mists of time.

Albert Coats is one of those folks who remains largely a mystery other than his wartime service. Born in Ohio, he enlisted in the 1st U.S. Cavalry on December 8, 1856. He served in Company C as a private, corporal and sergeant.

Although appointed as a second lieutenant in the 6th U.S. Cavalry on October 26, 1861, Coats wasn’t notified until November 7th. He joined his new regiment at camp East of the Capitol, Washington on November 20th, and was assigned to Company E. His commander was Captain David McM. Gregg, and his first lieutenant was Benjamin T. Hutchins. Lieutenant Coats served with his company through the winter and the movement to the Peninsula. He was with his company at Ship Point, Virginia in March 1862 when promotions suddenly greatly affected the leadership of the regiment.

Lieutenant Colonel William H. Emory, the de facto regimental commander since the unit’s creation, was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers on March 27th. Assigned command of a new formation, First Brigade, Cavalry Reserve, Emory needed to form a staff. He began his appointments the following day. Among the first of them was to make Lieutenant Joseph Audenried, the regimental adjutant, his assistant adjutant general. Major Williams assumed command of the regiment, and Second Lieutenant Coats was selected to replace Audenried for more information on Joseph Audenried, check the entry at Behind Antietam on the Web here).

After two months as the adjutant, Coats had a brief reprieve in June 1862. He returned to command Company E for a month while Lieutenant Hutchins was absent sick. Captain Gregg had moved on to command of the 8th Pennsylvania cavalry in the interim. He was reassigned as the regimental adjutant on July 21, 1862, a position he held until the following summer. As the adjutant, Coats was the recruitment officer sent to Knoxville, Maryland in October and November 1862 to recruit additional troops from volunteer units. Judging from the numbers, he was apparently very successful. He was promoted to first lieutenant in the 6th Cavalry on December 23, 1862.

On May 17, 1863, First Lieutenant Coats was transferred to Company D. He served on detached service with his company and Company K at Cavalry Corps headquarters during the majority of the Gettysburg campaign. After a brief stint commanding the regiment after the disasters at Fairfield and Funkstown, First Lieutenant Coats commanded Company D for most of the remainder of the war.

Coats was appointed lieutenant colonel of the 6th U.S. Colored Cavalry on January 15, 1865. The regiment’s colonel, James F. Wade, was a fellow 6th U.S. Cavalry lieutenant. Coats finished the war this, his third unit of the war.

Lieutenant Coats was brevetted captain, major and lieutenant colonel on March 13, 1865 for gallant and meritorious service during the war. He resigned from volunteer service on January 15, 1866, and from regular service ten days later. At that point he fades off into obscurity, and I’ve been unable to find any additional information.

Sources:

Carter, W. W., From Yorktown to Santiago with the 6th U.S. Cavalry (Baltimore, the Lord Baltimore Press, 1900).

Heitman, Francis B. Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1903), page 292.

Henry, Guy V. Military Record of Army and Civilian Appointments in the United States Army, Volume II (New York: D. Van Nostrand Publishing, 1873), pg 254.

Muster Rolls, 6th U.S. Cavalry, NARA, M744