The Biography of JOHN (FITZGERALD) CONNELLY
"Is ferr fer a chiniud"
John Connelly was born about 1836 in County Waterford, Ireland, and
emigrated to Philadelphia around 1861. Many Irish immigrants at this time
would sail from Liverpool England aboard the ship Tonawanda. Once in
Philadelphia, he worked as a stevedore, loading and unloading ships.
In April 1861, the Civil War began. During this time, Irish immigrants on
the East Coast were performing laboring work for lower wages than the rest
of the population. The government paid large bounties to volunteers
enlisting in the Armed Services to support the Union. In July 1862, a
payment of one fourth of a one hundred dollar bounty in advance at the
time of mustering, and a premium of $2 or $3 dollars was authorized by
an act of Congress under the insistent urging of civilians and officers.
This was in addition to the pay of approximately $13 per month.
On Thursday, September 25, 1862, John enlisted in Company E of the 115th
Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry (also known as the 2nd Regiment Irish
Brigade), for a three year tour of duty. His Enlistment papers state he was
21 years old, and a carpenter by occupation. When John enlisted, Major
General George B. McClellan was commanding the troops, who were in duty
in the defenses of Washington until November 1862.
John was stationed in barracks at Ledger Place in Philadelphia, which had
previously been a boarding house. He is listed as a Private on the company
muster roll for September. Three weeks later, on October 15, 1862, he is
listed as having deserted. The family oral history states that John
deserted because he wished to serve in the cavalry, but was placed in an
infantry unit. Desertion was very common during the Civil War. In
Pennsylvania alone, over 24,000 men were listed as deserters.
John left Philadelphia, and headed west towards Indian Territory. He worked
in several odd jobs in St. Louis Missouri for a while, but then decided to
re-enlist. Since he was wanted as a deserter, he enlisted under the alias
of John Fitzgerald, using his mother's maiden name. On Thursday, July 7,
1864, he enlisted in Company B of the 12th Regiment of the Missouri Cavalry
in St. Louis, Missouri. He volunteered to serve for three years, as a
substitute for another man, Prentiss D. Cheney.
John appears with the rank of Private on the muster and descriptive roll
of a detachments of substitutes forwarded for the 12th Mo. Cav. to the
General Rectory Depot for Missouri. He is listed as a 30 year old laborer
born in Ireland. He is described as being five feet six and a half inches
tall with brown hair, grey eyes, and a dark complexion. He was mustered
in on Saturday, July 16, 1864, in St. Louis Missouri under the command of
Captain Arthur J. Develin. He was paid $25, and was credited $75 due in
Jerseyville Illinois.
John's volunteer Cavalry was attached to the District of St. Louis,
Department of Missouri, under the command of Captain Charles W. Leach.
They were first ordered to duty in Memphis Tennessee. After several weeks,
the troops embarked on rail cars from the Memphis and Charleston Railroad
depot, and traveled to LaGrange Tennessee. From here they were ordered
into battle, to be part of Smith's Expedition to Oxford, Mississippi. Their
mission was to push the repair of the Mississippi Central Railroad toward
the Tallahatchie River.
The 12th Mo. Cav. was involved in a skirmish with Confederate troops in
Holly Springs Mississippi on August 1st and at Elkshute Mississippi on
August 4th 1864. Fortunately, they suffered no causalities.
They next headed to the Tallahatchie River in order to secure a railroad
bridge. While at the river, John's unit, along with a total of 21 infantry,
cavalry, and light artillery units from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Minnesota, and Missouri were involved in the battle at the Tallahatchie
River from August 7th to August 9th 1864. In a report by Colonel De Witt
C. Thomas of the 93rd Indiana Infantry, he states "While at the
Tallahatchie river, heavy rains fell every day making the roads impassable
and uncomfortable for the men. A great part of the time, my men were
furnished with but a half ration of salt meat and for a few days they were
without meat of any description, it being impossible to procure any from
the country and none being furnished by the commissary of subsistence."
On August 7th, the 12th Mo. Cav. was involved in skirmishes with the
Confederate rebels. Union troops advanced to the river bank, and the
enemy retired in such haste they were unable to destroy the flat boat
they used as a ferry to cross the river. The 35th Iowa Infantry Volunteers
crossed the river and secured the south bank. Between 10:30 and 11:00 p.m.,
the rebels opened fire with two pieces of artillery but were unable to take
back the south bank.
On August 8th, the Union forces continued to drive the enemy across the
river and then south of Oxford, maintaining a running fight for the entire
distance. During this time, a division of pioneer corps constructed a
bridge across the river, finishing it in the same evening.
On August 9th, the enemy was occupying the heights beyond the river. The
battle again ensued, and the rebels were driven for eight miles, when at
Hurricane Creek they made a stand. This battle was short lived, as they
mounted their horses and escaped. The Union forces pursued the rebels to
Oxford, where the rebels made a stand with the help of their artillery.
Again the rebels were defeated, and escaped, leaving their caissons and
camp equipage.
On Wednesday, August 10th, another skirmish erupted on the Tallahatchie
River. It was during this battle that John was injured. (His grandson,
John Thomas Connelly, remembers his mother telling him that John injured
his leg when the horse he was riding was shot, and fell over on him.) In
John's Declaration for an Original Invalid Pension dated 13 May 1879, it
states "on or about 10 August 1864, he was taken sick with Typhoid fever
caused by exposure on constant duty in the saddle for several days...".
He lost the use of his right leg as a consequence. He was taken to Holly
Springs, then transferred to a hospital. Hundreds of thousands of men
became ill or were wounded during the war. Disease killed twice as many
men on both sides as did military action. During service, the 12th Missouri
Calvary listed 1 officer and 35 enlisted men as killed, compared to
1 officer and 226 enlisted men lost to disease.
In a letter to the Commissioner of Pensions from the Surgeon General's
Office in Washington D.C. US Army Surgeon J.J. Woodward reported that
John Fitzgerald was admitted to the Jackson General Hospital in Memphis
Tennessee on Saturday, August 13, 1864, with the diagnosis of Remittent
Fever. He was treated by a Dr. Jessups. Three months later, on Monday,
November 21, 1864, he was transferred to Gayoso General Hospital in
Memphis, with a diagnosis of Chronic Rheumatism. After four months of
hospitalization, he was returned to duty on Saturday, December 24, 1864.
His crippled leg continued to bother him, and he was admitted to the
Hospital of the 1st Brigade 5th Division Cavalry Corps Army of M.D.M.
on May 9, 1865, and returned to duty on May 11, 1865. Two weeks later
on Sunday, May 28, 1865, he was honorably discharged from Benton Barracks
in St. Louis on a Surgeon's Certificate.
John wandered around the mid west and western Pennsylvania for the next
five years. In 1870, John returned to his old neighborhood in Philadelphia.
He lived at No. 3 Ledger Place, in a boarding house run by a man named
John Sullivan. Also living in rooms over Sullivan's place was the widow
Mary Cronin (nee Donahue) and her mother. Mary's husband Morris Cronin
was involved in an accident at the Baldwin's Locomotive Works, and died of
a skull fracture on May 26, 1869. John and Mary met, courted and eventually
were married on November 28, 1870, by Reverend Patrick Duddy at Saint
Joseph's Catholic church. Mary was eight months pregnant with their first
child at the time. They continued to live at Ledger Place for a while...
John and Mary probably attended the Centennial Exhibition, which opened in
Fairmount Park in Philadelphia on May 10, 1876. The admission price was
50 cents, for which the public saw for the first time demonstrations of
such modern wonders as the telephone, air brakes, and steam powered farm
machinery. They also had the arm of the Statue of Liberty on display.
On June 3, 1879, (the same year Thomas Edison invented the incandescent
electric globe), John filed for an invalid pension, in light of his injured
leg. Unfortunately, he had to file under his alias of Fitzgerald. Years of
frustration followed as he tried to convince the Government he was John
Fitzgerald without them discovering he was wanted for desertion as John
Connelly. On February 5, 1881 John appeared as "John Fitzgerald" in a
circuit court in West Virginia as a claimant for an Invalid Pension. He and
Circuit Court clerk Samuel B. McColloch signed an affidavit that John
Fitzgerald was in the army, contracted Rheumatism and was now disabled.
In October 1881, he went to Washington D.C. to prove his claim.
What follows is a copy of the deposition John gave in Washington....
October 22, 1881
Washington D.C. A Deposition with William Peabody,
a Special Agent of the Pension Office
Stated his name was John Fitzgerald, he was 45 years old, resided in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He said he "came to Philadelphia from Ireland
about a year before I enlisted, and went to St. Louis just before I
enlisted. I worked as (a) Stevedore in Philadelphia before going to Saint
Louis, for a McDermot, who is now dead. In St. Louis, I worked about two
weeks in a tobacco warehouse between 11th and 12th streets on Market Street.
I do not know the name of the man, the foreman was a William O'Day. I
worked (the) corner of 10th and Clark Avenue about a week in a lead factory
for Henry T. Blow. Then I enlisted. After discharge, I went to Kingston,
Peoria County, Illinois. Was attended there for my rheumatism by Dr. Morgan
for a couple of weeks. I have written to him several times but get no
reply, my letters being returned to me uncalled for, and I do not know
where or how to find him. After about two weeks, I commenced peddling from
place to place, getting passed often on the roads on account of my crippled
condition. I lived in no one place long enough to be known or form any
acquaintances. I used the prescriptions furnished me by Dr. Morgan till
I reached Philadelphia about 1870 where I lived, except when out peddling
to try and make a living. I have obtained medicines from the free
dispensaries. I was poor, could not afford to employ a physician and
thought my rheumatism incurable, as I did not think my crooked leg
could be straightened or that it could be restored from its withered
condition.
I think the following persons in Philadelphia can testify as to my
disability since 1870, but from my discharge to 1870, I can give no names
as I had no family and wandered about in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and
western Pennsylvania selling small works to make a living.
Patrick Casey and wife No. 1 LaGrange St.
Patrick Hart and wife No. 5 LaGrange St.
Mrs. Mary Shean No. 6 LaGrange St.
Michael Donavan and wife No. 8 Ledger Place
Matthew & William Sullivan and their mother No.7 LaGrange St.
Thomas O'Brien No. 15 Ledger Place
John Sullivan Corner of 10th and Market Streets Camden, New Jersey
Mrs. Leace No. 10 Ledger Place
John Ferrick Corner of 10th and Market Streets Camden, New Jersey
I have had no employers because I could not do any common labor, but have
continued my business of trying to make a living by peddling."
While in Washington, John happened to meet a friend, Timothy Mahaney
whom he convinced to testify before a Pension Office special agent that
he was John Fitzgerald. The following is the perjured testimony
of Timothy...
"On this 22nd day of October 1881 at Washington, County of Washington D.C.,
before me William L. Peabody, a Special Agent of the Pension Office,
personally appeared Timothy J. Mahaney, who, being by me duly sworn
according to law, declares that his age is 29 years, that he resides in
Philadelphia, County of Philadelphia, State of Penn, and that 'I knew John
Fitzgerald in the fall of 1863. I lived on the same street he did, LaGrange
St. Philadelphia for about three months before he went west. I saw him
nearly every night during that three months, as he came in to my fathers
house the next door. He was than a strong healthy man, a good dancer, and
the people about there used to remark what a lively man he was. I think he
was then a common laborer, doing anything that he could get to work at. He
then had two good feet, as good as any man, and there was nothing the
matter with his legs.
When I next saw him after he returned from the service, he was in the same
condition he now is, very lame, the right leg very much withered and
contracted, and the foot deformed and contracted and very much out of shape.
He has lived in Philadelphia since 1870, and his disability has been
constant for each and every year to the present time, as he now appears
being obliged to walk with a crutch all the time, and has never since the
war been able to do common manual labor to any extent."
His pension was granted . John's original invalid pension lists
"John Fitzgerald #1545 Alamendo St. Philadelphia Pa, Private in Company B
12th Regiment Mo. Cav. Rate $8 from 5/29/1865, and $15 from 7/1/1870,
and $18 from 6/4/1872. Disabled by chronic rheumatism and resulting
anchylosis of knee joint and necrosis of femur."
He continued his life as John Connelly, making a living
by peddling court plaster (see the ad to the left),
and picking up his pension checks under the name
John Fitzgerald.
John petitioned for and was granted U.S. Citizenship
in the Court of Common Pleas for the County of
Philadelphia on October 1, 1886. His witness was
John T. Murphy of 2922 Richmond Street, Philadelphia.
To give you an idea of what John looked like in his
later years, read this copy of the Surgeon's Certificate in his case for
pension increase. It is dated October 8th 1886.
During his life in America, he was witness to many historic triumphs and
tragedies. In 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was built. The famous Johnstown
(Pa.) Flood occurred on May 31, 1889, when a reservoir dam burst, killing
more than 2,000 persons, and causing $10 million in property damage. In
1890, at Wounded Knee South Dakota, U.S. troops used rapid fire guns to
shoot Indian men and women in order to prevent them from performing their
ritual "ghost dance". Sitting Bull was killed by Indian government police
sent to arrest him.
John continued to live in Philadelphia, making a small income by peddling
court plaster, and collecting his pension under his assumed name. He often
made trips to New Jersey for extended periods of time, though he never told
his wife where he was staying or what he was doing. He raised five children
and a step-daughter. His family often helped young Irish immigrant women by
providing them a place to stay.
In 1871, the Philadelphia City Hall began construction, which lasted until
the turn of the century. Unfortunately, John never saw it completed.
John's last days are described by Mary in a deposition, listed in her
biography. The Death Certificate of John Connelly states he died August 2,
1894 of "Exhaustion due to heat and Chronic oedema of left lung". He was
listed as 52 years old, living at 2654 Cabot St. Philadelphia. He was buried
in an unmarked grave August 3, 1894 at the New Cathedral Cemetery in
Philadelphia.
(Click here for a larger image)
It wasn't until 1895, when Mary filed for a Widow's Pension, that she heard
the full truth of her husband's past. Her pension request filed June 21,
1895 was rejected on the grounds of "the soldier was a deserter at large
from a prior service at the date of his death"
Mary went through the Office of William R. Wooters, pensions, bounties
and claims attorney at 512 E. Girard Ave. Philadelphia, as she must have
thought there was a mistake. Many of her friends, namely Ellen Tighe,
Mary McManus, Tim Dorney, Michael Donovan, and Patrick Hart gave
general affidavits in March 1895, stating the John and Mary were legally
married, that John served in the war under the name Fitzgerald, was injured,
crippled, and collected a pension from the government.
Mary had the support of many friends, who were willing to testify before
the special examiners in behalf of John's character and good name. They
gave depositions in December 1895 to help support Mary's pension claim,
and to help clear up the matter of John's shady past.
When the War Department got hold of the same individuals who helped Mary's
cause through the Wooter's office, their government depositions became
damaging to her case, as the truth about John's past emerged. The following
information is extracted from the official government inquiry depositions
obtained in December 1895...
Timothy J. Mahaney (the same person who gave the perjured testimony for
John in Washington D.C. 14 years prior), now a 43 year old blacksmith
living in the Barley Sheaf Hotel in Philadelphia., stated he first knew
John in the barracks (at No.3 Ledger Place) next door to where he lived,
in 1862 or 1863, when Tim was 10 or 11 years old. He said his people lived
next door, and John would call on them very often. John's company was in
the barracks about 4 or 5 months, and he distinctly remembered when the
unit left and about 300 men marched out Market Street. He heard they
marched to the U.S. Refreshment Saloon, Front and Washington Ave., and from
there to the front. He didn't see John again until about 1869 or 1870 when
he came back to Ledger Place, and boarded with John Sullivan. He boarded
there until he married Mary. She lived there with her mother in rooms over
Sullivan's place.
Timothy said " When Connelly came back to Ledger Place, it was said among
some of the people... that he was a deserter from the Irish Regiment. I had
never heard Connelly admit he had been a deserter or questioned him in
regards to it. In 1881, I was residing in Washington, and while walking
up Pennsylvania Ave., I heard the crutches, and looking up thought the man
using them was Connelly. I addressed him and asked him if he was John
Connelly that I knew in Ledger Place, and he said he was. He told me he was
trying to get his pension, and I accompanied him to the Pension Bureau
where we had an interview with Major Clark, and I gave testimony in his
behalf. I don't remember now (if) I was interrogated as to whether Connelly
was his true name nor do I recall I was cautioned by Connelly not to say
that was his true name. He then told me he was claiming pension under (the)
name of Fitzgerald, that he enlisted and served in some Western regiment
under name of John Fitzgerald. I can't explain why I did not make known
the facts as to his service in the Penn regiment as stated today, except
I was not questioned in regards thereto."
Michael Donavan, 72 years old, retired and living at 208 Ledger Place,
Philadelphia stated he "first knew John in Ledger Place, at the time the
war was going on. When I made his acquaintance, he was a soldier. His
company was stationed in what is now a warehouse on Ledger Place, but then
was a boarding house, and used for purpose of a barracks. I used to visit
the barracks and they would have dancing and cutting up, and I remember
Connelly played the flute for them. The company left, and went to the front,
and it is my recollection he went with them. I recall that he and two other
of his company came to this city, having in charge the corpse of one of the
company who was killed. It seems to me now that the name of the soldier
killed was John Cahill. I cannot state the year, but I think about a year
after he had left."
"I did not see him again until after the war, and he was then crippled
from rheumatism. He married Mary Cronin, a widow. They lived in this
neighborhood for some years after his marriage, then he moved to Port
Richmond"
"He never was able for any work after the war on account of being crippled,
and he never done anything but peddle around. I never knew him to use
liquors to excess. He would drink, but I never knew him to be addicted to
sprees."
"He was a man about 5 ft 6 or 7, kind of a gray or light eye, brownish hair
and somewhat dark complexion."
When Michael was first questioned as to whether he had any knowledge of
John serving under an alias, he replied "(John) used to answer to the name
of Fitzgerald and I asked him why and he said it was his mother's name,
but he did not tell me he served in the army under that name, nor did I
know he received a pension under name of Fitzgerald. No, I never knew or
heard him say he served in a Missouri Regiment or Cavalry." "In reference
to my affidavit, I did not state he told me he served in the army under
name of John Fitzgerald."
Yet when the deposition was completed, Special Examiner Mark J. Mahaney
must have continued interrogating him. A plain white sheet of paper was
added to the report, in which Michael is recorded as to have said...
"I wish to say upon further thinking the case over that he did tell
me he served under the name John Fitzgerald, that is, I think he did, but
I am not positive and only think so."
EXAMINER: "If that is true, he served twice in the army?"
"Yes, I now think he served two terms, but I don't know why he would want
to give the name Fitzgerald, if he enlisted under that name. I never heard
him say he was in a Western or Missouri regiment and never knew or heard
he was a deserter." Although John was able to keep his past hidden from
the government for many years, the government was now convinced he received
his pension falsely, and was determined not to grant Mary a Widow's Pension.
They used the Connelly's friends to build a case against them.
Matthew Sullivan, a 48 year old machinist living at 110 Elfrath Street,
Philadelphia, stated in his deposition on December 28, 1895:
" I first knew (John) in my uncle's house, John Sullivan, deceased, No.8
Ledger Place. He was then in uniform of a soldier and belonged to Colonel
Patterson's regiment of the Irish Brigade, which was recruited in Ledger
Place." "I think I called him Sargent(sic)Connelly, but whether he was a Sgt.,
I cannot say positively. I am not able to say whether he left with this
regiment for the front or not. I never saw him after meeting him in Ledger
Place, which was in 1861 or 1862, until some years after the war when he
returned to the same neighborhood and he was so changed I did not know him
at first, being crippled up from something and used canes. He was a changed
man in appearance." "He was addicted to drink at times, but I could not
say he used it much. He would go on a 'racket' now and then, but I don't
think he abused himself by the use of it."
Patrick Hart, a 62 year old saw maker living at 7 North 2nd St. Philadelphia,
stated "I made (John's) acquaintance when he lived with John Sullivan in
Ledger Place. Sullivan kept a boarding house." "I never knew of any
relatives he had or heard him speak of such." "He seemed to be in pretty
fair health, except being crippled up with rheumatism. His habits were good
to my knowledge. I never saw him drink or knew him to drink much. He never
owned or possessed any property and he had no means of support than his
pension; his wife was the mainstay and had to keep them by washing and
ironing."
The War Department located John Jones, who had been a member of the 115th
Pennsylvania Volunteers, and had met John Connelly while stationed in the
barracks of Ledger Place. In his deposition on December 26, 1895 in
Philadelphia, before a Special Examiner of the Pension Office, after
"being...first duly sworn to answer truly all interrogatories propounded
to him during this Special Examination of aforesaid pension claim, deposes
and says I am 58 years of age, occupation shoemaker, residence and P.O.
address 16 Chanery Lane, Philadelphia. Pa.. I served in Company A of the
115th Pa Vols in the late rebellion.
I fail to recognize the tintype you show me. I knew John Connelly, who
married the widow of Morris Cronin, who was accidentally killed at
Baldwin's Locomotive Works in this city, but if that is a tintype of him,
I cannot identify him. I first knew John Connelly in the barracks in Ledger
Place of this city in 1861. He was a member of Company B 115th Pa Vols.,
and our two companies A and B were being recruited and were stationed in
Ledger Place. The barracks had formerly been a boarding house conducted by
a French family, but vacant in 1861-62. I did some recruiting for the
company, also Connelly. We were recruited and left the city as a regiment
in (the) Spring of 1862. Connelly deserted us while we were in barracks
in Ledger Place. He never went to the front with us. I don't know the date
he deserted us in this city; no, I cannot say positively he deserted us
in this city. Only I don't remember he left with us.
I never saw Connelly after we had met in Ledger Place until some years
after the war, when I met him again (at) Ledger Place, and noticed he was
crippled, and used canes. He carried a small valise and followed peddling.
I did not know him first but after inquiring as to (the) cause of his
condition, and his telling me it was in the Navy he got it. Then he told
me he was in the 115th Pa Vols. and knew we (were) in the barracks in Ledger
Place. I said "Why, are you Jack Connelly of B Company?" and he answered
he was, then I said "You deserted us, as you never went with us to the
front". He acknowledged he had, and claimed to have enlisted in the Navy,
and to have been crippled from his Navy service. I never heard him allege
when and where he deserted or to have claimed he served in a Missouri
Regiment under (the) name of John Fitzgerald. I cannot describe his
personal appearance other than to say he was about 5 feet 6 inches. I
can't recall (the) color of (his) hair, eyes and complexion. To the best
of my knowledge, it was B company of the 115th Pa Vols. he was a member,
though it may have been another company. I can't recall none (of) the names
of any of Company B or their addresses. This claimant (Mary Connelly) after
her husbands death came to me to make an affidavit for her, and I refused,
and told her Connelly was a deserter, and they never bothered me after. I
have understood your questions and my answers correctly stated".
It is interesting to note two items concerning his testimony. First, John
Connelly was in Company "E", not "B" as Jones claims. Secondly, in Bates'
History of Pennsylvania Volunteers Volume 3 John Jones of 115th
Pennsylvania Volunteers Company A is listed as "not accounted for".
He was a deserter too!
Return to Surname List Return to top of this page