Thomas W. Egan

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Thomas Wilberforce Egan

Thomas W Egan.jpg

Thomas W. Egan
Born 1836
New York City, New York
Died February 24, 1887 (aged c51)
New York City, New York
Buried Cypress Hills National Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Union Army
Years of service 1861–1866
Rank Union Army brigadier general rank insignia.svg Brigadier General
Union Army major general rank insignia.svg Brevet Major General
Commands held 40th New York Volunteer Infantry
Ist Brigade, 3rd Div, II Corps
2nd Division, II Corps
Battles/wars

American Civil War

Other work Deputy collector of Customs, New York

Thomas Wilberforce Egan (1836 – February 24, 1887) was a Union Army officer who led the Mozart Regiment during most of the American Civil War, later becoming a general.

Union Army Land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War

During the American Civil War, the Union Army referred to the United States Army, the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. Also known as the Federal Army, it proved essential to the preservation of the United States of America as a working, viable republic.

American Civil War Civil war in the United States from 1861 to 1865

The American Civil War was a war fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865, between the North and the South. The Civil War is the most studied and written about episode in U.S. history. Primarily as a result of the long-standing controversy over the enslavement of black people, war broke out in April 1861 when secessionist forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina shortly after Abraham Lincoln had been inaugurated as the President of the United States. The loyalists of the Union in the North proclaimed support for the Constitution. They faced secessionists of the Confederate States in the South, who advocated for states' rights to uphold slavery.

Contents

Early life

Egan was born in New York City of Irish immigrant parents in 1836. Little is known about his life before the Civil War. He is believed to have married an actress and fathered a child who died young. [1]

Military career

Egan joined the 40th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, called the Mozart Regiment, in April 1861 at the beginning of the Civil War, as a private. [2] (The regiment was sponsored by the Democratic Party's Mozart Hall Committee.) [3] Egan was made lieutenant colonel on June 14, 1861.

The 40th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, also known as the "Mozart Regiment" or the "Constitution Guard", was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Democratic Party (United States) political party in the United States

The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party. The Democrats' dominant worldview was once social conservatism and economic liberalism while populism was its leading characteristic in the rural South. In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt ran as a third-party candidate in the Progressive Party, beginning a switch of political platforms between the Democratic and Republican Party over the coming decades, and leading to Woodrow Wilson being elected as the first fiscally progressive Democrat. Since Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal coalition in the 1930s, the Democratic Party has also promoted a social liberal platform, supporting social justice.

Lieutenant Colonel Egan participated in most of the major battles of the Army of the Potomac. Initially, the Mozart Regiment served in first division III Corps. Col. Egan is reported to have arrested the colonel of the regiment for misconduct at the Battle of Fair Oaks in May 1862. [4] In June 1862, Egan was promoted to the rank of colonel. He led the regiment at the Second Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Chantilly and the Battle of Chancellorsville. At Chancellorsville, Colonel Egan became acting commander of first brigade first division III Corps, when Brigadier General Charles K. Graham was assigned to command of the third division following the death of Major General Amiel W. Whipple. At the Battle of Gettysburg on July 2, 1863, Colonel Egan, once more leading his regiment, was wounded in action near Devil's Den, being hit in a leg; and the regiment’s monument stands near that site. The Mozart Regiment lost 150 of 431 troops engaged. [5] Egan also led the Mozart Regiment in the Mine Run Campaign during the autumn of 1863.

Army of the Potomac unit of the Union Army during the American Civil War

The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in May 1865 following the surrender of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in April.

Second Battle of Bull Run Major battle of the American Civil War

The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862 in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen. John Pope's Army of Virginia, and a battle of much larger scale and numbers than the First Battle of Bull Run fought on July 21, 1861 on the same ground.

Battle of Chantilly

The Battle of Chantilly took place on September 1, 1862, in Fairfax County, Virginia, as the concluding battle of the Northern Virginia Campaign of the American Civil War. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's corps of the Army of Northern Virginia attempted to cut off the line of retreat of the Union Army of Virginia following the Second Battle of Bull Run but was attacked by two Union divisions. During the ensuing battle, Union division commanders Isaac Stevens and Philip Kearny were both killed, but the Union attack halted Jackson's advance.

Just before Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign of 1864, III Corps was dissolved. First division became third division II Corps. Egan led his regiment in the Battle of the Wilderness. [6] He became commander of a brigade during the Battle of Spotsylvania, after Brigadier General J. H. Hobart Ward was relieved for drunkenness on the night of May 12, 1864. His command was involved in a counterattack against the Confederates during the fighting at Harris Farm. [7] Egan led the brigade at the Battle of North Anna, attacking Henagan's Redoubt. [8] He also led it at the Battle of Cold Harbor. Egan was wounded during the Second Battle of Petersburg in June 1864, suffering slight paralysis as a result. [9]

Ulysses S. Grant 18th president of the United States

Ulysses S. Grant was an American politician, soldier, international statesman, and author, who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. During the American Civil War Grant led the Union Army as its commanding general to victory over the Confederacy with the supervision of President Abraham Lincoln. During the Reconstruction Era President Grant led the Republicans in their efforts to remove the vestiges of Confederate nationalism, racism, and slavery.

Overland Campaign conflict

The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union armies, directed the actions of the Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, and other forces against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Although Grant suffered severe losses during the campaign, it was a strategic Union victory. It inflicted proportionately higher losses on Lee's army and maneuvered it into a siege at Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia, in just over eight weeks.

Battle of the Wilderness battle

The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, around 5,000 men killed in total, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by Grant against Lee's army and, eventually, the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia. The battle was tactically inconclusive, as Grant disengaged and continued his offensive.

Colonel Egan received his commission as brigadier general on September 3, 1864. (Secretary of War Edwin Stanton personally handed him his commission.) [4] [10] At the Battle of Boydton Plank Road on October 27, he commanded the second division II Corps in place of Brigadier General John Gibbon. Egan was seriously wounded on November 14, 1864. The wound disabled his right arm. [9] On recovering, he was given a division in the Army of the Shenandoah on the request of Major General Winfield Scott Hancock. On December 12, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln nominated Egan for appointment to the brevet grade of major general of volunteers to rank from October 27, 1864 for his service at the Battle of Boydton Plank Road, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination on February 14, 1865. [11]

Edwin Stanton American lawyer, judge and politician

Edwin McMasters Stanton was an American lawyer and politician who served as Secretary of War under the Lincoln Administration during most of the American Civil War. Stanton's management helped organize the massive military resources of the North and guide the Union to victory. However, he was criticized by many Union generals for perceived over-cautiousness and micromanagement. He also organized the manhunt for Lincoln's killer, John Wilkes Booth.

Battle of Boydton Plank Road

The Battle of the Boydton Plank Road, fought on October 27–28, 1864, followed the successful Battle of Peebles' Farm in the Siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War. It was an attempt by the Union Army to seize the Boydton and Petersburg Plank Road and cut the South Side Railroad, a critical supply line to Petersburg, Virginia.

John Gibbon Union Army General

John Gibbon was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.

Later life

General Egan was mustered out of the service, January 15, 1866, [12] and subsequently lived in New York City. He served as deputy collector of customs for the port of New York. He also belonged to the Grand Army of the Republic. Brigadier General Egan died in New York City on February 24, 1887. According to the New York Times, General Egan was struck down by epilepsy while staying at the International Hotel in New York City. He was taken to the Chambers Street Hospital, a charity hospital, where he died. [4]

Notes

  1. ↑ Warner, p. 139.
  2. ↑ Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN   0-8047-3641-3. p. 223
  3. ↑ Adelman, p. 13.
  4. 1 2 3 New York Times, Feb. 25, 1887
  5. ↑ Adelman, p. 134.
  6. ↑ Steere, p. 277.
  7. ↑ Rhea, p. 183.
  8. ↑ Rhea, pp. 297 [map], 300-302.
  9. 1 2 Warner, p. 140.
  10. ↑ Egan was appointed brigadier general on September 3, 1864 to rank from that date. President Lincoln nominated him for the appointment on December 12, 1864. Barring a typographical error in the source, the U.S. Senate did not confirm the appointment until December 14, 1865. Eicher, 2001, p. 721.
  11. ↑ Eicher, 2001, p. 711
  12. ↑ Eicher, 2001, p. 224

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