Union Private Moriarty in the Civil War

The Civil War infamously pit brother against brother as more than 3.2 million Americans waged war against one another, with approximately 620,000 soldiers being killed in the process. Among those who fought in the Union Army were an estimated 150,000 Irish-born men. Patrick P. Moriarty, my third great uncle, was one of them.

Patrick was born in Alohart, Beaufort, County Kerry, Ireland on 23 April 1837, arriving in the United States in 1855 or 1856. At the time of his arrival, our nation was being led by its 14th President, Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire. President Pierce is pretty unanimously derided by historians as one of our worst Presidents, and served in the period ramping up to a war between the states.

Patrick was living in Webster, Massachusetts, when, on 9 June 1862, he officially enlisted to fight for his adopted country. He was mustered into Company H of the Massachusetts 34th Infantry Regiment. The regiment was organized in Worcester, Massachusetts, that August, heading south for the front lines. These men were involved in a number of battles, including Lynchburg, Cedar Creek, Petersburg, and ultimately Appomattox Court House, where Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant to effectively end the Civil War.

For Patrick, however, the most memorable conflict was assuredly the Battle of New Market in the Shenandoah Valley portion of Virginia. It was in the middle of a Sunday morning when, on 15 May 1864, when more than 10,000 soldiers from both sides descended on a town that, as of the 2010 Census, is home to a mere 2,146 people. The battle lasted throughout the afternoon, and featured a mud-covered orchard that became known as the "Field of Lost Shoes." Eventually, the Union troops retreated across the Shenandoah River, burning down the bridge to stop General John C. Breckinridge's rebel army from further pursuing them. In all, nearly 1,400 men laid dead, mostly from the Union side. Among those who were wounded was Private Patrick P. Moriarty.

As yet, I've uncovered very little about Patrick's wound, any medical treatment he may have received, and his recovery. What I do know is that less than one year later, the war had come to an end with the defeat of the Confederacy. Patrick would be mustered out of the Massachusetts 34th on 16 June 1865, returning home.

Patrick, working as a laborer, settled down in Southbridge, Massachusetts, and would soon begin his family. It was on Christmas Day in 1866 that he married Julia M. Lyons, an Irish immigrant from Coolcleave, Ballyfinnane, Firies, County Kerry (just a small ride northeast of Alohart), who had come to America just a year or so prior. Just under a year later, their family grew with the birth of their first child on 11 December 1867, a baby girl they named Annie. Unfortunately for Patrick and Julia, the next several years would be filled with the death of four children. In June 1869, they welcomed little Mary to the world, only to lose her to cholera 13 months later. In 1871, there was a boy, Patrick, who would pass as an four-month-old infant. In 1874, the same would hold true for their son Timothy, and then again the next year with baby John, who survived just 20 days in this world.

According to the 1880 U.S. Census, Patrick continued to work as a laborer into his 40s, while Julia worked in a woolen mill, presumably the Hamilton Woolen Company in Southbridge. At the time, the family lived adjacent to Hamilton Woolen at 51 Mill Street, a property which no longer exists. Julia, identified in that year's Census as unable to read or write, was joined by her mother, Ann at the Moriarty family home. Though no date of death has yet been uncovered, it is presumed that Ann had been widowed by her husband John. Annie, then 12-years-old, was in school. She was joined by a cousin who lived with the family, 10-year-old Nellie Mehar.

Now residing at 68 Fiske Street, a property he appears to have owned free and clear, 74-year-old Patrick died 15 May 1911, precisely 47 years after being wounded in a Civil War battle. The official cause of death was hemiplegia, presumably caused by a stroke. He would be buried in St. Mary's Cemetery in Southbridge two days later.

On 29 December 1911, Julia passed at age 75. It was just four days after what would have been their 45th wedding anniversary. They left behind their daughter Annie, then in her 40s. Annie would pass away at age 64 on 26 November 1932 in Southbridge. She never married and had no children, ending that branch of the family tree.