The Irish in the Civil War: Daniel C. Moynihan (1841-1912)

I collect "Moynahan" stories whenever I find them and I share them online in my "Moynahan Scrapbook". 

Captain Daniel .C. Moynihan 

This blog post is about Captain Daniel .C. Moynihan who was born in Killarney, Co Kerry, Ireland and came to America at a young age. During the Civil War, he enlisted in 1862 as a 1st Lieutenant in the 164th New York Infantry. After the Civil War, Daniel returned to Ireland (1866) and was incarcerated along with many others in Mountjoy Prison in Dublin where he was photographed below.

Mugshot: Mountjoy Prison, Dublin (November 1866)

After the Civil War, Daniel returned to Ireland and was arrested on the suspicion of being a Fenian. Many high profile Irish officer returned to Ireland in 1866 to assist the movement in its aim of rising against British rule and during their incarceration they were photographed.

August 8, 1833: Mary J. Moynahan Born in Detroit

On this day, Mary J. Moynahan Parks was born in Detroit (1833) daughter of James (1810-1858) and Catherine (Hart) (1810-1871) Moynahan. Mary J. (Moynahan) Parks

Book Excerpt: Portrait of Denver and Vicinity, Colorado

Capt. James Minihan (1840-1899)

Capt. James Minihan as pictured in
"A brief history of the Tenth Michigan Cavalry by Trowbridge, L. S., 1836-1912"

I became curious about a Capt. James Minihan who I found while researching my Colorado cousins. James showed up in:

• The 10th Michigan Cavalry COMPANY "B" roster shows that James Minihan was from Redford, Michigan and that he was 24 years-old: http://www.migenweb.org/michiganinthewar/cavalry/10cavb.htm 
• A brief history of the Tenth Michigan Cavalry by Trowbridge, L. S. (Luther Stephen), 1836-1912 https://archive.org/details/briefhistoryofte01trow 

Every November 11 - I Remember Them

I remember them: John Moreland, Leo Broderick, brothers Gerald & Bernard Moynahan and my parents

You might be surprised to learn that "more than a third of Canadians are unaware if they had ancestors who participated in either of the world wars" (based on a survey by ancestry.ca.) 

That is why I created this Remembrance Day blog post which is dedicated to four ancestors who served in the First and Second World Wars and my parents who served in the RCAF.

• WWI - my great grandfather John Miller Moreland (1882-1940) 
• WWII- my great uncle Gerald Moynahan (1908-1961)
• WWII- my great uncle Bernard Moynahan (1909-1974)
• WWII - my 1st cousin (2x removed) Leo Joseph Broderick (1919-1943) Killed In Action

As the family historian, I have spent many hours researching at the Library and Archives Canada and elsewhere to locate WWII service files; WWI records and even Fenian medal records. I have also learned so much researching James Moynahan's Civil War records in the U.S. Here are two more ancestors who also served their country.

• Fenian Raids - my 2nd great grandfather Martin Broderick (1831-1915)
• U.S. Civil War - my 1st cousin (4x removed) James Moynahan (1842-1919) 

 

World War I 

John Miller Moreland (1882-1940) 

Corporal John Moreland (1257597)  served as a gunner with the No. 9 Overseas Siege Battery - Royal Canadian Garrison Artillery (RCGA) Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). He embarked for overseas at Halifax on the 29th of September 1916. He served in England and France. While he was with the 8th Candian Siege Battery they fell under intense bombardment on the 28th of May 1918. John Moreland was wounded by shell gas and sent to hospital. He returned to Halifax 10 January 1919. More details can be found here.

Cpl. John Moreland with daughter Dorothy and wife Florence (Curd)

1907 photo of the Halifax RCGA
from Vintage Halifax

World War II

Gerald John Moynahan (1908-1961)

Gerald John Moynahan
R.C.A.M.C. WWII

Gerald John Moynahan (1907-1961) started active service in the R.C.A.M.C. ( Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps) on the 20th of August 1942 in Windsor Ontario. He served 43 months of which 31 months were served overseas in the U.K. and N.W.Europe. He worked as a medic on Canadian field ambulances.

Photo Credit: The Memory Project

After the war he planned to return to his former employer Chrysler Motors Co. of Canada 

Medals despatched prior to death: 1939-1945 Star, France & Germany Star, Defense Medal, CVSM & Clasp and War Medal 1939-45.

Gerald John Moynahan (far right) with friends in Picadilly Square England

Thomas Bernard Moynahan (1909-1974)

Thomas Bernard Moynahan
R.C.O.C. & R.C.E.M.E.
WWII

Thomas Bernard Moynahan (1909-1974)  started active service in the RCOC (Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps) and later the RCEME (Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) on the 12th of July 1940 in Windsor, Ontario. He served 57 months overseas in the U.K., the Mediterannean and NW Europe. His trade on enlistment was a motorcyclist and a clerk.

After the war, Bernard planned to return to his former employer Chrysler Motors Co. of Canada

Thomas Bernard Moynahan
Picture taken in Edinburgh, Scotland

Leo Joseph Martin Broderick (1919-1943)

 

Leo Broderick killed in action 1943

Leo Joseph Martin Broderick served in the Royal Canadian Air Force as a bomb aimer.

On Sept 5, 1943 at 19:25, Leo's plane left Gransden Lodge airfield, England on a mission of "bombardment" destined for Manneheim, Germany. There were seven men aboard the Halifax aircraft- the maximum for the aircraft.

The plane crashed at Nussloch, 9 km SSEof Heidelberg, Germany.

• One man was injured:Sgt J.E.Vidler (Rear Gunner)
• Three men were taken as prisoners of war:
• Sgt C.Hewitson 535857 RAF (Flight Engineer),
• Sgt R.Thomson 1550695 RAFVR (Navigator) and 
• Sgt J.H.Briggs 1082027 RAFVR (WOp Gunner) 
• Three men were killed at the crash site at Nussloch (9 km SSE of Heidelberg) where they were originally buried until moved to Durnbach cemetery: 
• Sgt A.C.Brunton 658381 RAFVR(Pilot) 
• W/O L.J.M.Broderick R/109822 RCAF (Bomb Aimer) 
• Sgt G.E.Agate 1391419 RAFVR (Mid Upper Gunner)

To read more details about Leo Joseph Martin Broderick click here

R.C.A.F. Peace Time Service: My Parents

Both of my parents served in the Royal Canadian Air Force (R.C.A.F) in the 1950s in the Atlantic and in Comox, B.C. (where I was born)..

My father

My father in the back row second from the left.

My father

My father second from the right.

My father on the left.

My mother with her baby sister.

My mother.

My mother - Middle row, third from the right.

My mother's discharge papers

I remember on November 11 every year
 to honour my ancestors 

and all of the men and women who choose to serve in the military

I remember on November 11 every year
to honour all of those who made the ultimate sacrifice with their lives.

I remember on November 11 every year
to pray for an end to all of the wars
around the world.

I pray for peace.

Mennonite Button

150 Years Ago Today: The New York Times reports that the U.S. Civil War ended

Photo: New York Times Time Machine free sample

On Monday April 10, 1865 the New York Times reported that General Robert E. Lee and his last major Confederate army surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865. (The war began when the Confederates bombarded Union soldiers at Fort Sumter, South Carolina on April 12, 1861. )

James Moynahan (1842-1919) 

Can Go Home!

Below is the story of ancestor James Moynahan's (1842-1919) service in the Civil War. When James' father died in December, 1858,  he went to the upper peninsula of Michigan, where he worked in copper mines. Later he was in the lower peninsula.

At the first call for troops during the Civil war he volunteered in the Fifth Michigan Infantry, but the quota being filled, the regiment was not called into service at that time

The U.S. Civil War 1861-1865

"United States General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934,"
index and images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/QJDG-62YQ : accessed 11 March 2015), 
James Moynahan, 1865; citing , NARA microfilm publication T288
(Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 541,096.

27th Michigan Infantry - Page 096

• In 1862 he entered Company C, Twenty-seventh Michigan Infantry, and enlisted as a private at Copper Harbor, thence going to Kentucky and joining the Ninth Corps under General Burnside, in the Department of the Ohio. 
• He took part in the siege of Vickshurg and later was at Jackson, going from there back to Kentucky, then to East Tennessee and taking part in the siege of Knoxville. 
• In the spring of 1864 the corps was reorganized at Annapolis, Md., and was incorporated with the Army of the Potomac, taking part in all the engagements in the Wilderness. 
• In May 12, 1864, (at Spottsylvania, while acting as second lieutenant) he was wounded by a minie-ballthat lodged in the right breast and remained there for eleven months before it was removed. When he was wounded he was taken to Fredericksburg and for four days lay on a blanket, without medical attention, during which time the wound became so swollen that the surgeon could not probe for the bullet. He was moved to Washington, sent from there to Philadelphia, and finally, though the bullet was still in his breast and the wound still open, he requested to be returned to his regiment, which was done. 
• In February, 1865, he was commissioned first lieutenant . 
• In April 2, 1865,while participating in the assault on Fort Mahone at Petersburg  in command of his company, before daybreak he was shot in the left forearm by a minie-ball, which would have entered the left side had it not been for his silver watch and a memorandum book in his overcoat pocket. Previous to this the fort had been taken and with it three pieces of artillery, and his company, which carried the colors, had planted the stars and stripes oh the fort, so that he was permitted to participate in the victory before incapacitated for further service. 
• On his way from the field he met General Potter, whom he notified of the victory, news that naturally rejoiced the general's heart. 
• He went to the hospital at City Point, where he had his arm dressed; the old bullet in his breast, which was lodged against the shoulder blade, was operated for and removed at that time
• In April 12, 1865. He participated in the grand review at Washington and was mustered out as captain of Company G, July 26, 1865, at Washington, and a few days later was honorably discharged at Detroit.