Michael Corcoran Michael Corcoran ( September 21 , 1827 – December 22 , 1863 ) was an Irish American general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and a close confidant of President Abraham Lincoln . As its colonel , he led the 69th New York Regiment to Washington , D . C . and was one of the first to serve in the defense of Washington by building Fort Corcoran . He then led the 69th into action at the First Battle of Bull Run . After promotion to brigadier general , he left the 69th and formed the " Corcoran Legion " , consisting of at least five other New York regiments . Early life . Corcoran was born in Carrowkeel , near Ballymote , County Sligo in Ireland He was the only child of Thomas Corcoran , an officer in the British army , and Mary McDonagh . Through his mother , he claimed descent from Patrick Sarsfield of the Jacobite Wars . At the age of 18 , in 1846 he took an appointment to the Revenue Police , enforcing the laws and searching for illicit stills and distilling activities in Creeslough , County Donegal . He also joined a guerrilla group called the Ribbonmen . On August 30 , 1849 , he emigrated from Sligo Bay to the U . S . and settled in New York City where he found work as a clerk in the tavern , Hibernian House , at 42 Prince Street in Manhattan owned by John Heaney , whose niece , Elizabeth , he married in 1854 . He enlisted as a Private in the 69th New York Militia . By 1859 he was appointed colonel of the regiment . The regiment was a state militia unit at that time composed of citizens , not soldiers , and was involved in the maintenance of public order . On October 11 , 1860 , Colonel Corcoran refused to march the regiment on parade for the 19 - year old Prince of Wales , who was visiting New York City at the time , as a protest to the ineffective British response to the Irish Famine . Corcoran was removed from command and a court martial was pending over that matter when the Civil War began . Corcoran also became involved in Democratic politics at Tammany Hall : he could deliver the Irish vote . He became district leader , a member of the judicial nominations committee , an elected school inspector for his ward , and a member of the Fourteenth Ward General Committee . Civil War . With the outbreak of war , the court martial was dropped and Corcoran was restored to his command because he had been instrumental in bringing other Irish immigrants to the Union cause . He led the 69th to Washington , D . C . and served for a while in the Washington defenses building Fort Corcoran . In July he led the regiment into action at the First Battle of Bull Run and was taken prisoner . Corcoran was one of the founders of the Fenian Brotherhood in America . While in jail , Corcoran wrote , " One half of my heart is Erin ' s , and the other half is America ' s . God bless America , and ever preserve her the asylum of all the oppressed of the earth , is the sincere prayer of my heart . " The Enchantress Affair . While Corcoran was imprisoned the U . S . had made threats to execute captured Confederate privateer s . Corcoran and several other Union prisoners were selected by lot for execution if the U . S . carried out its threats against the privateers . This event was known as the Enchantress Affair , but no executions were ever carried out by either side . Corcoran was then offered a parole under the conditions that he not take up arms against the Confederacy . Intending to resume his place in the Union army upon his release he refused the offer of parole . He was appointed Brigadier General of volunteers in July and exchanged in August 1862 . His role in the Enchantress Affair and his refusal for parole gained him some attention and upon his release he was invited to dinner with President Abraham Lincoln . Corcoran Legion and Death . Corcoran returned to the army and set about recruiting more Irish volunteers . He raised and took command of what would be known as the " Corcoran Legion " : < br > The Legion consisted of : Placed in command of the 1st Division , VII Corps he was engaged in the Battle of Deserted House and took part in the siege of Suffolk . In late 1863 he was placed in command of a division in the XXII Corps and returned to serve in the Washington defenses . On December 22 , 1863 , while riding alone , his horse fell on him and he died from a fractured skull at the age of 36 . Corcoran was largely idolized by his Irish - American troops . His name , and that of the New York 69th , figure prominently in many of the Irish Union ballads of the day : " America ' s Irish Brigade " : ' When Jefferson Davis he sounded alarms , the sons of Columbia rushed into arms , and our noble militia to Washington sped , with the brave Michael Corcoran marching at head ' " Song of the Regiments " : ' We have volunteers to fight who have pride and brave and darin , Thomas Francis Meagher and his gallant sons of Erin , the Massachusetts ninth , Michael Corcoran ' s Irish legion , and all the rank and file of every state and region ' " The Fighting 69th " : " . . . They ' re a band of men brave stout and bold , from Ireland they came ; and they had a leader to the full and Corcoran was his name . " " Boys That Wore The Green " : " . . . Colonel Corcoran led the Sixty - ninth on that eventful day , I wish the Prince of Wales were there to see him in the fray ; His charge upon the batteries was a most glorious scene , With gallant New York firemen , and the boys that wore the green . " " The Irish Volunteer " : " . . . When the Prince of Wales came over here , and made a hubbaboo , Oh , everybody turned out , you know , in gold and tinsel too ; But then the good old Sixty - ninth didn ' t like these lords or peers - - They wouldn ' t give a damn for kings , the Irish volunteers ! We love the land of Liberty , its laws we will revere , " But the divil take nobility ! " says the Irish volunteer ! " Ballymote Memorial . The Mayor of New York City , Michael Bloomberg unveiled Ireland ' s national monument to the Fighting 69th in Ballymote on August 22 , 2006 . The monument was sculpted by Philip Flanagan . The inscription around the top of the monument reads " Michael Corcoran 1827 - 1863 " Around the base is inscribed " New York Ballymote Creeslough Bull Run . Underneath the monument is a piece of steel from the World Trade Center , donated by the family of Michael Lynch , who died in the tower on September 11 , 2001 . Lynch ' s family are from County Sligo .