The Irish standard., 1897-09-04
THE GALLANT IRISH BRIGADE.
1t Won Undying Glory and Fame
During the Rebellion.
INTERESTING "REMINISCENCES.
Intrepid Bravery Displayed at the
Seven Days Fight.

General Thomas Francis Mcagher was
more than an ordinary gentleman, says
Father Corby in his memoirs of Chap
lain Life" He possessed high-toned
sentiments and manners and the bearing
OF prince. lie had Il superior intellect,
liberal education. was a fine classical
writer, and born orator He was very
witty, but more inclined to humor; was
fond OF witty or humorous persons, and
admired those who possessed such gifts
He was great lover of his native land,
and passionMely opposed to its enemies;
strong in his falth which he never con-
cealed but on the contrary published 1t
ahove-hoard; and wherever he went he
made himself known as a "Catholic and
All lrishmnn.' He was we'll instructed
IN his religion, and should have piticxl
the one who had the tcmrrity to speak
dlspalhginEly OF 1t in his presence, AL
though not what We would call pious
man. he loved his faith and assisted in
making religion take IL front rank. For
example: With his natural fondncss
for sports, and with IA desire to keep up
life and energy In his command ho
would make elaborate preparations for
the celebration OF ST. latricks day; and
while organizing stcrplc chase, hurdle
races. etc. In the morning, all attended
mass and listened to the scrmun he, In
person. acting as master of ceremonies,
directing the band when to play during
the divine service: but this will be no.
tlccd more lin rX,rnsn' In a future
chapter. The above shows something
of the character of the man Besides
being. as we all know. as brave as a lion.
he did not neglect going to confession
from time to time, especially before
battles. 1t is to be regretted that, at
times, especially when NO lighting was
going on. and time grew heavy on his
hhnd9, his ronvivlnl spirit would lead
him too far. But by no means must it
be concluded from this thn, he was n
drunkard. II was not for love uf liquor,
but for the love OF sport and jOviaIitv.
slon% were few ana far between. Be-
sides, he was polite and gcntlcnlunly,
even when under the influence of liquor:
never sinking to anything low or mean,
beyond indulglmg too freely in unI1lard-
ed moments. His appearance was very
much In his favor. being enc of tho
finest looking officers in the whole ar
my, and, mounted ON II magnificent
horse surrounded by IL "hrilliHnt STAFF
of young officers he was u fit rcprcscn-
tnliv" OF amy nation on earth. II IL not
surprising then, that Il man of his intel
l"ct and noble personal character drew
around him. not IA low, unrducatrd class,
but rather refined aEd E"nllcmany oiH-
GERS and men, recruited mostly from
New York; while many came from Bos-
ton, PhIhd"Irhia, Jersey. and even from
Europe, to join his standard.
The officers of his command were for
the most part, men OF superior nduca-
tion, gallant beyond any around them
In the army; and as for bravery. this
they imbibcd with their mothers milk
yea. it was born in them" The rank
and file" was composed Of healthy in
tclliEcnl men. far above the average,
and in many cases of liberal education.
Here | would state that frequently no.
tlccd superior men on Elarl and en-
gagged in other inferior duties. In my
regiment. as private soldiers. there were
seven first class lawyers! Last, but not
lcnai, the surgeons in this brigade were
among the finest in the army DR.. Rev.
n)Ids had no superior. This little bit
Gf personal history is necessary to show
that the Irish Brigade was not entirely
unworthy the title of "IlcadQuarters of
the Church in the Army of the Poto-
mac. Moreover, IT shows With what
material the chaplnns had to deal. Re-
member, too, that this great body Of
officers and men was | might say, en-
tirciy Catholic, and one MAY easily infer
that the influence, for good or evil, was
considerable. When, later, the brigade
was joined by the Twenty eighth Mas
sarhusctts and the One Hundred and
Sixteenth Pennsylvania regiments, be-
sides McMahons Battery and the Sixty
| ninth Pcnnsyvania-many of the last
! four being Catholic--there was body
of about 4 200 Catholic men marching
most Of thcm-to death, but also to the
! glory of their church and country. I
regret that | have not more data con-
| cernimg the illustrious Corcoran Legion.
| But were we to count in the legion, COM
posed Of 5000 Irish Catholic; the Ninth
Massachusetts, with 800; the Third Bri-
gade (known as the Excelsior" with
Father O'Hagan as chaplain), in which
| there were no less than 1000 Of the saml