A Brief History of the 69th New York, Company K

The 69th began as a New York State Militia unit in 1851. Under Col. Corcoran in 1861, the Regiment answered the President’s call for volunteers after the firing upon Ft. Sumter. Company K, a zouave company lead by Thomas Francis Meagher completed the regiment. The regiment was moved from New York City to the heights overlooking Arlington and began construction of fortifications commanding the approaches to the Aqueduct Bridge. In one week the fortification was completed and christened Fort Corcoran.

Officers of the 69th outside Washington in 1861.
Col. Corcoran is to the far left, and Capt. Meagher is on
the other side of the cannon.

In July, the 69th marched out of Fort Corcoran and were attached to Col. William T. Sherman’s Brigade. With this brigade they advanced on Germantown and Centerville capturing both as the enemy retreated before them. At the Battle of Bull Run, the 69th went into service assaulting Henry Hill and up against Confederates commanded by Thomas J. Jackson. Three attempts were made to push Jackson’s men off the field, but the objective was unable to be carried. Col. Corcoran was wounded in the leg, and Capt. Meagher had his horse shot from under him. Col. Corcoran and a handful of men were separated from the regiment and in the retreat Col. Corcoran surrendered himself and his gallant men to save their lives.

Captain Meagher with Co. K in
Virgnia, 1861

After the 69th returned from the Battle of Bull Run, the men were mustered out of Federal Service. Many of the men volunteered for Federal Service again and formed the 69th New York State Volunteer Infantry. Along with the 63rd and 88th New York Regiments the 69th NYSV formed the Irish Brigade. The brigade saw action at the Battle of Antietam where they made a frontal assault on the Sunken Road. At Fredericksburg the men were instructed to place sprigs of boxwood in their caps, as the regimental colors had been sent back to New York, to show the advance of the brigade as they assaulted Marye’s Heights. At the Battle of Fredericksburg, the 69th lost approximately 75 percent of its strength. (Company K was largely unscathed as they had been detailed to guard the brigade wagons.)

During 1863, the brigade was actively involved in the Battle of Chancellorsville and then at the Battle of Gettysburg, where they engaged Kershaw’s division in the Wheatfield. At the end of the Battle of Gettysburg, the 69th numbered less than 200 men and General Meagher had resigned his commission in protest when his request to return the brigade home to recruit was denied.

Father Corby leads mass at Gettysburg, 1863

Though the brigade numbers were low, it remained in active service until the men remaining in the 69th were mustered out of service in June 1865.

John J. Blake of the 69th and 88th NY.
Served as a second lieutenant with Co.K in 1864
and was later promoted to Captain. He was wounded and
captured at Spotsylvania and died of his wounds a month later.

During its years of service the 69th NY and the Irish Brigade were noted for their coolness under fire and warm hospitality in camp.

Recommended Reading

• A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, by Frederick H. Dyer
• The Last Days of the 69th In Virginia: A Narrative In Three Parts, by Thomas P. Meagher
• Remember Fontenoy: The 69th NY and the Irish Brigade In the Civil War, by Joseph Bilbey
• The Irish Brigade and Its Campaigns, by David Power Conyngham
• Memoirs of Chaplain Life: 3 Years With the Irish Brigade and the Army of the Potomac, by William Corby, C.S.C
• Irish Green and Union Blue, the Civil War Letters of Peter Welsh, Color Sgt. 28th Mass, by Frederick Lawrence Kahl and Margret Cosse Richard
• Kelly’s Heroes: The Irish Brigade at Gettysburg, by T.L. Murphy
• My Life In the Irish Brigade: Civil War Memoirs of Private William McCarter-116th PA, by Kevin O’Brien
• My Sons Were Faithful and They Fought, by Stephan D. O’Neill and Joseph Bilby
• The Greatest Brigade: How the Irish Brigade Cleared the Way to Victory In the American Civil War, by Thomas J, Craughwell