Myles Keogh
Encyclopedia
Myles Walter Keogh was an Irishman who fought in Italy during the 1860 Papal War before volunteering for the Union side in the American Civil War
(1861 to 1865). During the war years, he was promoted from the rank of Captain to that of Major, finally being awarded the brevet rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After the Civil War ended, Keogh received a permanent commission as Captain of Company I, 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment commanded by George Armstrong Custer
during the Indian Wars of the 1870s. Myles Keogh was killed with Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn
on June 25, 1876.
, County Carlow
, Ireland
on the 25th of March, 1840. He was baptised 'Myles Tomás Keogh' although he was known as Myles Walter for most of his life. Anecdotally, it is believed that the reason for Tomás (Irish language spelling of Thomas) at baptism is due to the Catholic clergy's requirement that only a saint's name may be adopted at this religious ceremony.
The farming carried out at Keogh's home place in Leighlinbridge was arable
, barley
being the main crop. This meant that the Keogh family were largely unaffected by the hunger and poverty that accompanied the Irish Potato Famine and ravaged the country between 1845 and 1850 – Keogh's childhood days. However, two, or possibly three, of Keogh's siblings did die young, apparently from typhoid – a disease associated with the famine and an illness that Myles also suffered as a boy.
He attended the National School in Leighlinbridge where he was enrolled under the spelling 'Miles Kehoe'. – “At Classics” was recorded as the reason for leaving in 1852. He was long thought to have attended St. Patrick’s College in Carlow but that college has not found any proof of his attendance. It is possible that he attended St. Mary's Knockbeg College
where, from 1847, young lay pupils from St. Patrick's were sent to be educated.
By 1860, a twenty year old Myles Keogh had volunteered, along with over one thousand of his countrymen, to rally to the defence of Pope Pius IX
following a call to arms by the Catholic clergy in Ireland. By August 1860, Keogh was appointed second lieutenant of his unit in the Battalion of St. Patrick, Papal Army under the command of General Christophe Léon Louis Juchault de Lamoricière
. He was posted at Ancona
, a central port city of Italy
. The Papal forces were defeated in September in the Battle of Castelfidardo
, and Ancona
was surrounded. The soldiers, although having admirable defence, were forced to surrender and Keogh was imprisoned at Genoa. After his quick release by exchange, Keogh went to Rome and was invited to wear the spirited green uniforms of the Company of St. Patrick as a member of the Vatican Guard. During his service, the Holy See awarded him the Medaglia for gallantry – the Pro Petri Sede Medal – and also the Cross of the Order of St. Gregory – Ordine di San Gregorio.
Now that the fighting was over and duties of the Vatican Guard were more mundane, Keogh saw little purpose in remaining at Rome. With Civil War raging in America, Secretary of State William H. Seward
began seeking experienced European officers to serve the Union
, and called upon a number of prominent clerics to assist in his endeavour. John Hughes
, Archbishop of New York, travelled to Italy to recruit veterans of the Papal War, and met with Keogh and his comrades.Thus in March 1862 Keogh resigned his commission in the Company of Saint Patrick, and with his senior officer – 30-year-old Daniel J. Keily of Waterford
– returned briefly to Ireland, then boarded the steamer "Kangaroo" bound from Liverpool to New York, where the vessel arrived April 2. Another Papal comrade, Joseph O'Keeffe – 19-year-old nephew of the Bishop
of Cork
– met with Keogh and Keily in Washington.
Through Secretary Seward's intervention, the three were given Captains' rank and on April 15 assigned to the staff of Irish-born Brigadier General James Shields
, whose forces were about to confront the Confederate army of Stonewall Jackson
. They notably stormed after Jackson’s army in the Shenandoah Valley
and nearly captured the furious leader at the Battle of Port Republic
. Jackson may have slipped into the hills, but Keogh’s courageousness during his first engagement did not go unnoticed. George B. McClellan
, the commander of the Potomac Army, was impressed with Keogh, describing the young Captain as "a most gentlemanlike man, of soldierly appearance," whose "record had been remarkable for the short time he had been in the army." On McClellan's request, Keogh was temporarily transferred to his personal staff. He was to be with 'Little Mac' for a only a few months but served the General during the Battle of Antietam
. After McClellan's removal from command in November 1862, the admirable traits identified in his first six months in the Union army came to the fore when he and his Papal comrade, Joseph O’Keeffe, were reassigned to General John Buford
’s staff.
Although held in reserve with the rest of the Union cavalry for the winter of 1862 and during the Battle of Fredericksburg
, Myles Keogh and O’Keeffe served Buford with obedience and gallantry during the Stoneman Raid in April 1863 and the enormous battle on June 9 at Brandy Station
, which was practically all cavalry. Buford's 1st Division of cavalry fought with distinction in June 1863 as they skirmished with their much vaunted Confederate foe, led by J.E.B. Stuart
in Loudoun County, Virginia
– most notably at Upperville
.
On June 30, Buford, with Keogh by his side, rode into the small town of Gettysburg
. Very soon, Buford realised that he was facing a superior force of rebels to his front and set about creating a defence against the Confederate advance. He was acutely aware of the importance of holding the tactically important high ground about Gettysburg
and so he did, beginning one of the most iconic battles in American military history. His intelligent defensive troop alignments, coupled with the bravery and tenacity of his dismounted men, allowed the 1st Corps, under General John F. Reynolds
, time to come up in support and thus maintain a Union foothold at strategically important positions. Despite Lee’s barrage attack of 140 cannons and a final infantry attack on the third day of the battle, the Union army won a highly significant victory. The importance of Buford's leadership and tactical foresight on July 1 cannot be overstated in its contribution to this victory. Significantly, Myles Keogh received his first brevet
for "gallant and meritorious services" during the battle and was promoted to the rank of Major.
The battle was over and so were almost 8,000 men’s lives with it. However this was a turning point in the war, and a turning point in Buford’s health. Five further months of almost constant skirmishing with J.E.B. Stuart
's Rebel cavalry at such battles as Funkstown
and Willamsport
worsened Buford's condition. As Keogh later wrote in Buford's service record (etat de service), Buford "was taken ill from fatique and extreme hardship". By the winter Buford would succumb to typhoid. Keogh would stay by his side and care for him, while they rested in Washington at the home of an old friend General George Stoneman
. Buford was buried at West Point Cemetery
, as Keogh attended his funeral at Washington and rode with his body on the train.
Major Keogh was now appointed as aide de camp to General George Stoneman
. In July 1864, Stoneman raided to the south and southeast, destroying railroads and industrial works. Their risky raids behind Confederate lines were also designed to free federal prisoners held at Macon, Georgia
, and liberate the nearly 30,000 captives at Andersonville prison
.
Although Stoneman's Union cavalry did destroy the railroads, the onslaught on Macon failed from the beginning and on July 31, 1864, Keogh and Stoneman’s command were surrounded during the Battle of Sunshine Church, Georgia
. They were captured after both their horses were shot out from under them. Keogh was held for 2½ months as a prisoner of war
before being released through Union general William Tecumseh Sherman
’s efforts. Keogh would later receive a second brevet
with promotion to lieutenant colonel
for his gallantry with Stoneman
at the Battle of Dallas
.
The praise garnered from the commanders Myles Keogh served with during the war years was indeed high:
At the war’s end, although he had the brevet
rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the union army, he accepted a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the 4th Cavalry on May 4, 1866. He never served with that unit and was promoted to Captain, 7th Cavalry, on July 28, 1866 and assigned to Ft. Riley in Northeast Kansas
to become the Captain of Company I under the command of George Armstrong Custer
.
under George Armstrong Custer
and was given command of I Company. He was generally well liked by fellow officers although the isolation of military duty on the western frontier often weighed heavily upon him. When depressed he occasionally drank to excess, though he seems not to have fallen prey to the chronic alcoholism
that destroyed the careers of many fellow officers of the frontier Regular Army.
There was more than a tinge of melancholy in Keogh's nature, which seemed somehow at odds with his handsome, dashing persona. While he was not given to self-analysis, Keogh once noted:
Keogh was also fond of the ladies, though he never married:
He did, however, carry a photograph of Capt. Thomas McDougall
's sister, Josephine Buel, with him to Little Bighorn
.
Although absent from the Washita battle
(1868) and the Yellowstone Expedition (1873), Custer's encounters of substance with hostile Indians, Keogh did have sole responsibility for defending the Smoky Hill route against Indian raids from late 1866 to the summer of 1867. When Sheridan
took over from Hancock
in 1868, there is evidence that it was to Keogh he turned for first-hand information on conditions on the front line. And while with Sully's expedition later that year, Keogh was fighting Indians almost every day—indeed, it was in one such fight that his new mount, Comanche
, received his first wound and, as the story goes, his name. Captain Keogh's frustration with an enemy who did not fight in a conventional manner is evident from a comment he wrote in a personal letter to his family in Ireland:
In the summer of 1874, Keogh was on leave to visit his homeland on a seven-month leave
of absence, while Custer was leading a controversial expedition through the Black Hills
. During this second visit home he deeded his inherited Clifden estate in Kilkenny
to his sister Margaret. He enjoyed his stay in his homeland, feeling the necessity to support his sisters after the death of both parents.
In October, Keogh returned to Fort Abraham Lincoln
for his old duty with Custer, and it would be his last days. As a precaution, he purchased a $10,000 life insurance policy and wrote a letter of warning to his close friends in the Throop-Martin family, Auburn, New York
, outlining his burial wishes: He gave out copies of his will to comrades, and left behind personal papers which instructions that they be burned if he was killed.
Perhaps the strongest testimony to Keogh's bravery and leadership ability came at Custer's Last Stand – the Battle of the Little Bighorn
on June 25, 1876. The senior captain among the five companies wiped out with Custer that day, and commanding one of two squadrons within the Custer detachment, Keogh died in a "last stand" of his own, surrounded by the men of Company I. When the sun-blackened and dismembered dead were buried three days later, Keogh's body was found at the center of a group of troopers that included his two sergeants, company trumpeter and guidon bearer. The slain officer was stripped but not mutilated, perhaps because of the "medicine" the Indians saw in the Agnus Dei ("Lamb of God") he wore on a chain about his neck. Keogh's left knee had been shattered by a bullet that corresponded to a wound through the chest and flank of his horse, indicating that horse and rider may have fallen together prior to the last rally.
The badly injured animal was found on the fatal battlefield, and nursed back to health as a regimental mascot, where he remained until his death in 1890; Comanche was one of only two U.S. military horses buried with full military honors. This horse, Comanche
, is considered the only military survivor of the battle, though several other badly wounded horses were found and destroyed at the scene. His bloody gauntlet and the guidon
of his Company I were recovered by the army three months after Little Bighorn at the Battle of Slim Buttes
.
His Papal medals are now in the possession of his family (see Myles Keogh: the Life and Legend of an "Irish Dragoon" in the Seventh Cavalry, p. 157), though the story has been told that they wound up around the neck of Sitting Bull
(according to Ray O'Hanlon of the New York Irish Echo).
Keogh's remains were interred in Fort Hill Cemetery
(bio and photos) in Auburn, New York
on October 26, 1877, an occasion marked by city-wide official mourning and an impressive military procession to the cemetery.
The prominent Throop-Martin family, with whom Keogh had become friendly after his comrade General A.J. Alexander married Evelina Martin, was responsible for his burial in their Fort Hill plot and the design of his monument. At the base of decorative, white obelisk there is an inscription taken from the poem, The Song of the Camp by Bayard Taylor
:
"Sleep soldier still in honored rest, Your truth and valor wearing; The bravest are the tenderest, The loving are the daring."
The marble cross atop his grave was added later at the request of his sister in Ireland.
Lieutenant Colonel volunteers on March 13, 1865, and was honorably mustered out September 1, 1866. In the meantime, he accepted a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the 4th Cav on May 4, 1866, being promoted to Captain, 7th Cav, on July 28, 1866.
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
(1861 to 1865). During the war years, he was promoted from the rank of Captain to that of Major, finally being awarded the brevet rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After the Civil War ended, Keogh received a permanent commission as Captain of Company I, 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment commanded by George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
during the Indian Wars of the 1870s. Myles Keogh was killed with Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
on June 25, 1876.
Career
Myles Keogh was born in Orchard House, LeighlinbridgeLeighlinbridge
Leighlinbridge is a village on the River Barrow in County Carlow, Ireland. The N9 National primary route once passed through the village, which was by-passed in the 1980s. It now lies on the R705 regional road....
, County Carlow
County Carlow
County Carlow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Carlow, which lies on the River Barrow. Carlow County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
on the 25th of March, 1840. He was baptised 'Myles Tomás Keogh' although he was known as Myles Walter for most of his life. Anecdotally, it is believed that the reason for Tomás (Irish language spelling of Thomas) at baptism is due to the Catholic clergy's requirement that only a saint's name may be adopted at this religious ceremony.
The farming carried out at Keogh's home place in Leighlinbridge was arable
Agronomy
Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology,...
, barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
being the main crop. This meant that the Keogh family were largely unaffected by the hunger and poverty that accompanied the Irish Potato Famine and ravaged the country between 1845 and 1850 – Keogh's childhood days. However, two, or possibly three, of Keogh's siblings did die young, apparently from typhoid – a disease associated with the famine and an illness that Myles also suffered as a boy.
He attended the National School in Leighlinbridge where he was enrolled under the spelling 'Miles Kehoe'. – “At Classics” was recorded as the reason for leaving in 1852. He was long thought to have attended St. Patrick’s College in Carlow but that college has not found any proof of his attendance. It is possible that he attended St. Mary's Knockbeg College
St. Mary's Knockbeg College
St. Mary's Knockbeg College is a Roman Catholic, all-boys secondary school located on the Laois/Carlow border in Ireland, approximately 3 km from both Carlow town and Graiguecullen. A former seminary school for the diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, it was founded in 1793...
where, from 1847, young lay pupils from St. Patrick's were sent to be educated.
By 1860, a twenty year old Myles Keogh had volunteered, along with over one thousand of his countrymen, to rally to the defence of Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
following a call to arms by the Catholic clergy in Ireland. By August 1860, Keogh was appointed second lieutenant of his unit in the Battalion of St. Patrick, Papal Army under the command of General Christophe Léon Louis Juchault de Lamoricière
Christophe Léon Louis Juchault de Lamoricière
Christophe Léon Louis Juchault de Lamoricière was a French general.-Life:He was born at Nantes, and entered the Engineers in 1828. He served in the Algerian campaigns from 1830 onwards, and by 1840 he had risen to the grade of maréchal-de-camp . Three years later he was made a general of division...
. He was posted at Ancona
Ancona
Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region, in central Italy, with a population of 101,909 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region....
, a central port city of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. The Papal forces were defeated in September in the Battle of Castelfidardo
Battle of Castelfidardo
The Battle of Castelfidardo was fought on 18 September 1860, at Castelfidardo, a small town in the Marche region of Italy, the Piedmont army acting as the driving force in the war for Italian unification won a famous battle against papal troops....
, and Ancona
Ancona
Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region, in central Italy, with a population of 101,909 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region....
was surrounded. The soldiers, although having admirable defence, were forced to surrender and Keogh was imprisoned at Genoa. After his quick release by exchange, Keogh went to Rome and was invited to wear the spirited green uniforms of the Company of St. Patrick as a member of the Vatican Guard. During his service, the Holy See awarded him the Medaglia for gallantry – the Pro Petri Sede Medal – and also the Cross of the Order of St. Gregory – Ordine di San Gregorio.
Now that the fighting was over and duties of the Vatican Guard were more mundane, Keogh saw little purpose in remaining at Rome. With Civil War raging in America, Secretary of State William H. Seward
William H. Seward
William Henry Seward, Sr. was the 12th Governor of New York, United States Senator and the United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson...
began seeking experienced European officers to serve the Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
, and called upon a number of prominent clerics to assist in his endeavour. John Hughes
John Hughes (archbishop)
John Joseph Hughes , was an Irish-born clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the fourth Bishop and first Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York, serving between 1842 and his death in 1864....
, Archbishop of New York, travelled to Italy to recruit veterans of the Papal War, and met with Keogh and his comrades.Thus in March 1862 Keogh resigned his commission in the Company of Saint Patrick, and with his senior officer – 30-year-old Daniel J. Keily of Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
– returned briefly to Ireland, then boarded the steamer "Kangaroo" bound from Liverpool to New York, where the vessel arrived April 2. Another Papal comrade, Joseph O'Keeffe – 19-year-old nephew of the Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
– met with Keogh and Keily in Washington.
Through Secretary Seward's intervention, the three were given Captains' rank and on April 15 assigned to the staff of Irish-born Brigadier General James Shields
James Shields
James Shields was an American politician and United States Army officer who was born in Altmore, County Tyrone, Ireland. Shields, a Democrat, is the only person in United States history to serve as a U.S. Senator for three different states...
, whose forces were about to confront the Confederate army of Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson
ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
. They notably stormed after Jackson’s army in the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
and nearly captured the furious leader at the Battle of Port Republic
Battle of Port Republic
-References:* Cozzens, Peter. Shenandoah 1862: Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8078-3200-4....
. Jackson may have slipped into the hills, but Keogh’s courageousness during his first engagement did not go unnoticed. George B. McClellan
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union...
, the commander of the Potomac Army, was impressed with Keogh, describing the young Captain as "a most gentlemanlike man, of soldierly appearance," whose "record had been remarkable for the short time he had been in the army." On McClellan's request, Keogh was temporarily transferred to his personal staff. He was to be with 'Little Mac' for a only a few months but served the General during the Battle of Antietam
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
. After McClellan's removal from command in November 1862, the admirable traits identified in his first six months in the Union army came to the fore when he and his Papal comrade, Joseph O’Keeffe, were reassigned to General John Buford
John Buford
John Buford, Jr. was a Union cavalry officer during the American Civil War, with a prominent role at the start of the Battle of Gettysburg.-Early years:...
’s staff.
Although held in reserve with the rest of the Union cavalry for the winter of 1862 and during the Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...
, Myles Keogh and O’Keeffe served Buford with obedience and gallantry during the Stoneman Raid in April 1863 and the enormous battle on June 9 at Brandy Station
Battle of Brandy Station
The Battle of Brandy Station, also called the Battle of Fleetwood Hill, was the largest predominantly cavalry engagement of the American Civil War, as well as the largest to take place ever on American soil. It was fought at the beginning of the Gettysburg Campaign by the Union cavalry under Maj....
, which was practically all cavalry. Buford's 1st Division of cavalry fought with distinction in June 1863 as they skirmished with their much vaunted Confederate foe, led by J.E.B. Stuart
J.E.B. Stuart
James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart was a U.S. Army officer from Virginia and a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb", from the initials of his given names. Stuart was a cavalry commander known for his mastery of reconnaissance and the use...
in Loudoun County, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
– most notably at Upperville
Battle of Upperville
The Battle of Upperville took place in Loudoun County, Virginia on June 21, 1863 during the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War.-Background:The Union cavalry made a determined effort to pierce Confederate Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry screen...
.
On June 30, Buford, with Keogh by his side, rode into the small town of Gettysburg
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
. Very soon, Buford realised that he was facing a superior force of rebels to his front and set about creating a defence against the Confederate advance. He was acutely aware of the importance of holding the tactically important high ground about Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
and so he did, beginning one of the most iconic battles in American military history. His intelligent defensive troop alignments, coupled with the bravery and tenacity of his dismounted men, allowed the 1st Corps, under General John F. Reynolds
John F. Reynolds
John Fulton Reynolds was a career United States Army officer and a general in the American Civil War. One of the Union Army's most respected senior commanders, he played a key role in committing the Army of the Potomac to the Battle of Gettysburg and was killed at the start of the battle.-Early...
, time to come up in support and thus maintain a Union foothold at strategically important positions. Despite Lee’s barrage attack of 140 cannons and a final infantry attack on the third day of the battle, the Union army won a highly significant victory. The importance of Buford's leadership and tactical foresight on July 1 cannot be overstated in its contribution to this victory. Significantly, Myles Keogh received his first brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
for "gallant and meritorious services" during the battle and was promoted to the rank of Major.
The battle was over and so were almost 8,000 men’s lives with it. However this was a turning point in the war, and a turning point in Buford’s health. Five further months of almost constant skirmishing with J.E.B. Stuart
J.E.B. Stuart
James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart was a U.S. Army officer from Virginia and a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb", from the initials of his given names. Stuart was a cavalry commander known for his mastery of reconnaissance and the use...
's Rebel cavalry at such battles as Funkstown
Battle of Funkstown
The Second Battle of Funkstown took place near Funkstown, Maryland, on July 10, 1863, during the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War...
and Willamsport
Battle of Williamsport
The Battle of Williamsport, also known as the Battle of Hagerstown or Falling Waters, took place from July 6 to July 16, 1863, in Washington County, Maryland, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War....
worsened Buford's condition. As Keogh later wrote in Buford's service record (etat de service), Buford "was taken ill from fatique and extreme hardship". By the winter Buford would succumb to typhoid. Keogh would stay by his side and care for him, while they rested in Washington at the home of an old friend General George Stoneman
George Stoneman
George Stoneman, Jr. was a career United States Army officer, a Union cavalry general in the American Civil War, and the 15th Governor of California between 1883 and 1887.-Early life:...
. Buford was buried at West Point Cemetery
West Point Cemetery
West Point Cemetery is a historic cemetery on the grounds of the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. It overlooks the Hudson River, and served as a burial ground for American Revolutionary War soldiers and early West Point inhabitants long before 1817 when it was officially...
, as Keogh attended his funeral at Washington and rode with his body on the train.
Major Keogh was now appointed as aide de camp to General George Stoneman
George Stoneman
George Stoneman, Jr. was a career United States Army officer, a Union cavalry general in the American Civil War, and the 15th Governor of California between 1883 and 1887.-Early life:...
. In July 1864, Stoneman raided to the south and southeast, destroying railroads and industrial works. Their risky raids behind Confederate lines were also designed to free federal prisoners held at Macon, Georgia
Macon, Georgia
Macon is a city located in central Georgia, US. Founded at the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is part of the Macon metropolitan area, and the county seat of Bibb County. A small portion of the city extends into Jones County. Macon is the biggest city in central Georgia...
, and liberate the nearly 30,000 captives at Andersonville prison
Andersonville prison
The Andersonville prison, officially known as Camp Sumter, served as a Confederate Prisoner-of-war camp during the American Civil War. The site of the prison is now Andersonville National Historic Site in Andersonville, Georgia. Most of the site actually lies in extreme southwestern Macon County,...
.
Although Stoneman's Union cavalry did destroy the railroads, the onslaught on Macon failed from the beginning and on July 31, 1864, Keogh and Stoneman’s command were surrounded during the Battle of Sunshine Church, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. They were captured after both their horses were shot out from under them. Keogh was held for 2½ months as a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
before being released through Union general William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...
’s efforts. Keogh would later receive a second brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
with promotion to lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
for his gallantry with Stoneman
George Stoneman
George Stoneman, Jr. was a career United States Army officer, a Union cavalry general in the American Civil War, and the 15th Governor of California between 1883 and 1887.-Early life:...
at the Battle of Dallas
Battle of Dallas
The Battle of Dallas was a series of engagements during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. They occurred between May 26 and June 4, 1864, in and around Dallas, Georgia, between Lt. General William J. Hardee's Confederate corps and the Union defense line, held by the XV Corps under Maj....
.
The praise garnered from the commanders Myles Keogh served with during the war years was indeed high:
At the war’s end, although he had the brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the union army, he accepted a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the 4th Cavalry on May 4, 1866. He never served with that unit and was promoted to Captain, 7th Cavalry, on July 28, 1866 and assigned to Ft. Riley in Northeast Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
to become the Captain of Company I under the command of George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
.
Postbellum career
After the war, he obtained a commission as a captain in the Regular Army as part of the U.S. 7th Cavalry RegimentU.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment
The 7th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army Cavalry Regiment, whose lineage traces back to the mid-19th century. Its official nickname is "Garryowen," in honor of the Irish air Garryowen that was adopted as its march tune....
under George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
and was given command of I Company. He was generally well liked by fellow officers although the isolation of military duty on the western frontier often weighed heavily upon him. When depressed he occasionally drank to excess, though he seems not to have fallen prey to the chronic alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
that destroyed the careers of many fellow officers of the frontier Regular Army.
There was more than a tinge of melancholy in Keogh's nature, which seemed somehow at odds with his handsome, dashing persona. While he was not given to self-analysis, Keogh once noted:
Keogh was also fond of the ladies, though he never married:
He did, however, carry a photograph of Capt. Thomas McDougall
Thomas Mower McDougall
Thomas Mower McDougall was an officer in the United States Army who took part in the Battle of Little Bighorn.-Biography:McDougall was born on May 21, 1845 in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. His father was Charles McDougall. McDougall would marry a woman named Alice, who died in 1920. He would pass...
's sister, Josephine Buel, with him to Little Bighorn
Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
.
Although absent from the Washita battle
Battle of Washita River
The Battle of Washita River occurred on November 27, 1868 when Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer’s 7th U.S...
(1868) and the Yellowstone Expedition (1873), Custer's encounters of substance with hostile Indians, Keogh did have sole responsibility for defending the Smoky Hill route against Indian raids from late 1866 to the summer of 1867. When Sheridan
Philip Sheridan
Philip Henry Sheridan was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S...
took over from Hancock
Winfield Scott Hancock
Winfield Scott Hancock was a career U.S. Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service in the Mexican-American War and as a Union general in the American Civil War...
in 1868, there is evidence that it was to Keogh he turned for first-hand information on conditions on the front line. And while with Sully's expedition later that year, Keogh was fighting Indians almost every day—indeed, it was in one such fight that his new mount, Comanche
Comanche (horse)
Comanche was a mixed Mustang/Morgan horse who survived General George Armstrong Custer's detachment of the United States 7th Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.-Biography:...
, received his first wound and, as the story goes, his name. Captain Keogh's frustration with an enemy who did not fight in a conventional manner is evident from a comment he wrote in a personal letter to his family in Ireland:
In the summer of 1874, Keogh was on leave to visit his homeland on a seven-month leave
of absence, while Custer was leading a controversial expedition through the Black Hills
Black Hills
The Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, USA. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of...
. During this second visit home he deeded his inherited Clifden estate in Kilkenny
Kilkenny
Kilkenny is a city and is the county town of the eponymous County Kilkenny in Ireland. It is situated on both banks of the River Nore in the province of Leinster, in the south-east of Ireland...
to his sister Margaret. He enjoyed his stay in his homeland, feeling the necessity to support his sisters after the death of both parents.
In October, Keogh returned to Fort Abraham Lincoln
Fort Abraham Lincoln
Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park is located seven miles south of Mandan, North Dakota. The park is home to On-A-Slant Indian Village, the blockhouses and the Custer house...
for his old duty with Custer, and it would be his last days. As a precaution, he purchased a $10,000 life insurance policy and wrote a letter of warning to his close friends in the Throop-Martin family, Auburn, New York
Auburn, New York
Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 27,687...
, outlining his burial wishes: He gave out copies of his will to comrades, and left behind personal papers which instructions that they be burned if he was killed.
Perhaps the strongest testimony to Keogh's bravery and leadership ability came at Custer's Last Stand – the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
on June 25, 1876. The senior captain among the five companies wiped out with Custer that day, and commanding one of two squadrons within the Custer detachment, Keogh died in a "last stand" of his own, surrounded by the men of Company I. When the sun-blackened and dismembered dead were buried three days later, Keogh's body was found at the center of a group of troopers that included his two sergeants, company trumpeter and guidon bearer. The slain officer was stripped but not mutilated, perhaps because of the "medicine" the Indians saw in the Agnus Dei ("Lamb of God") he wore on a chain about his neck. Keogh's left knee had been shattered by a bullet that corresponded to a wound through the chest and flank of his horse, indicating that horse and rider may have fallen together prior to the last rally.
The badly injured animal was found on the fatal battlefield, and nursed back to health as a regimental mascot, where he remained until his death in 1890; Comanche was one of only two U.S. military horses buried with full military honors. This horse, Comanche
Comanche (horse)
Comanche was a mixed Mustang/Morgan horse who survived General George Armstrong Custer's detachment of the United States 7th Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.-Biography:...
, is considered the only military survivor of the battle, though several other badly wounded horses were found and destroyed at the scene. His bloody gauntlet and the guidon
Guidon (U.S. Army)
In the United States Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force, a guidon is a military standard that company or platoon-sized elements carry to signify their unit designation and corps affiliation or the title of the individual who carries it...
of his Company I were recovered by the army three months after Little Bighorn at the Battle of Slim Buttes
Battle of Slim Buttes
The Battle of Slim Buttes was fought on September 9–10, 1876, in the Great Sioux Reservation between the United States Army and Miniconjou Sioux during the Great Sioux War of 1876...
.
His Papal medals are now in the possession of his family (see Myles Keogh: the Life and Legend of an "Irish Dragoon" in the Seventh Cavalry, p. 157), though the story has been told that they wound up around the neck of Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull Sitting Bull Sitting Bull (Lakota: Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake (in Standard Lakota Orthography), also nicknamed Slon-he or "Slow"; (c. 1831 – December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux holy man who led his people as a tribal chief during years of resistance to United States government policies...
(according to Ray O'Hanlon of the New York Irish Echo).
Keogh's remains were interred in Fort Hill Cemetery
Fort Hill Cemetery
Fort Hill Cemetery, founded in 1851, is a cemetery located in downtown Auburn, New York. It features headstones of such notable people as William H. Seward with his son, William H. Seward, Jr....
(bio and photos) in Auburn, New York
Auburn, New York
Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 27,687...
on October 26, 1877, an occasion marked by city-wide official mourning and an impressive military procession to the cemetery.
Funeral
We extract from the Auburn papers the following accounts of the burial of the late Col. Myles W. Keogh, at Fort Hill Cemetery, Auburn, NY. Oct 26: Promptly at 2pm the funeral procession moved from the St James Hotel, where the pallbearers had assembled, and marched in the following order: The Pall-Bearers; Auburn City Band; Military, Lt. Judge, commanding; Post Crocker, G.A.R.; Post Seward G.A.R.; Hearse, draped with the National colors; Carriages bearing the family of E. T. Throop Martin and Army officers. A detail from Post Seward fired minute guns during the march and the ceremonies at the grave. The flag at the State Armoury was flown at half-mast, as were numerous other flags about the city. Volunteers from the several Auburn organisations of the 49th NY Militia were formed into a company, charged with the duties of escort and firing party, according to military etiquette. At the receiving vault the casket was draped with the American flag, upon which were placed some beautiful floral designs. The bearers then placed the casket in the hearse and the line moved to the grave on the lot of E.T. Throop Martin Esq. The pall-bearers were Gen. W. H. Seward, Col. C.C. Dwight, Col. J. E. Storke, Col. E.D. Woodruff, Surgeon Theo. Dimon, Major L.E. Carpenter, Major W.G. Wise and Capt. W.M. Kirby. The following officers of the regular army were present: Gen. L.C. Hunt, Col. R.N. Scott, Surgeon R.N. O'Reilly, Gen. A. J. Alexander, Lieut. J.W. Martin. The grave was laid with evergreens and flowers, and at its head, the base of a handsome monument to be erected in memory of this dead soldier, was strewn with other floral tributes. The remains were lowered into the grave, when the solemn burial service was read by Rev. Dr. Brainard. A dirge was then executed by the band, after which three volleys of musketry were fired by the military, and the procession marched from the cemetery in the same order as on its entry, the immediate friends remaining until the grave was closed. The obsequies were most solemn and imposing, and in every way befitting the rank and record of the fallen brave in whose honour they were held.The prominent Throop-Martin family, with whom Keogh had become friendly after his comrade General A.J. Alexander married Evelina Martin, was responsible for his burial in their Fort Hill plot and the design of his monument. At the base of decorative, white obelisk there is an inscription taken from the poem, The Song of the Camp by Bayard Taylor
Bayard Taylor
Bayard Taylor was an American poet, literary critic, translator, and travel author.-Life and work:...
:
"Sleep soldier still in honored rest, Your truth and valor wearing; The bravest are the tenderest, The loving are the daring."
The marble cross atop his grave was added later at the request of his sister in Ireland.
U.S. military career & ranks
On arrival in America, 1862, Keogh accepted a commission in the volunteers and was awarded the rank of Captain on April 9, 1862, then Major of volunteers, April 7, 1864; BrevetBrevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
Lieutenant Colonel volunteers on March 13, 1865, and was honorably mustered out September 1, 1866. In the meantime, he accepted a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the 4th Cav on May 4, 1866, being promoted to Captain, 7th Cav, on July 28, 1866.
Further reading
- Son of the Morning StarSon of the Morning StarSon of the Morning Star is a 1984 non-fiction book on the subject of George Armstrong Custer, with the subtitle 'Custer and the Little Bighorn'. A 1991 television film was based on the book. Both the book and the film chronicle the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the personalities involved, and the...
, Evan S. Connell, 1984, ISBN 0-06-097161-4 - Classic Battles: Little Big Horn 1876, Peter Panzieri, 1995, ISBN 1-85532-458-X
- Custer and His Commands, Kurt Hamilton Cox, 1999, ISBN 1-85367-358-7
- The Custer Autograph Album, John M. Carroll, 1994, ISBN 0-932702-97-X
- The Little Bighorn Campaign, Wayne Michael Sarf, 1993, ISBN 0-938289-21-7
- Myles Keogh: The Life and Legend of an "Irish Dragoon" in the Seventh Cavalry, John P. Langellier, Kurt Hamilton Cox, Brian C. Pohanka, 1998, ISBN 0-912783-21-4
- The Honor of Arms: A Biography of Myles W. Keogh, Charles L. Convis, 1990, ISBN 0-87026-076-6
- Custer's Fall, David Humphreys Miller, Duell, Sloan and Pierce, Inc., 1957
- http://www.littlebighorn.info/Articles.htm" – "A Visit to Orchard", Kimber, Doyle 2008
- http://www.thewildgeese.com/pages/plains.html – Brian PohankaBrian PohankaBrian Caldwell Pohanka was a well-known American Civil War author, historian, and preservationist. He consulted for Academy Award winning, Civil War related films, such as Glory and Cold Mountain....
- http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2008/1003/1222959302719.html
- Mentioned by John Wayne's character in John Ford's "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" following news of Little Bighoen