James Cavanagh

(1831 - 1901)
Home State: New York
Command Billet: Commanding Regiment
Branch of Service: Infantry
Unit: 69th New York Infantry

see his Battle Report

Before the Antietam Campaign:
He emigrated to New York when he was sixteen years old and went to work as a carpenter. In 1852 he enlisted as a private in the Sixty-Ninth Regiment of the Militia, and was captain of Company C as it entered the War, 23 April, 1861. When the regiment was reorganized (July 1861) as the Sixty-Ninth New York Volunteers of the Irish Brigade, he was its Major.

In the Antietam Campaign:
He commanded the 69th after LCol. James Kelly had been wounded in the area of the Sunken Road on September 17th.

The remainder of the War:
At Fredericksburg, 13 December, 1862, he was shot in the hip while leading the regiment in one of the charges up Marye's Heights, and was then discharged from the army on disability from his wound.

After the War:
The NY State Militia was reorganized as the National Guard, and he rejoined the regiment as Lieutenant-Colonel. In 1867 he was elected Colonel, which command he held for more than twenty years. In 1894 he retired. For a number of years before his death he was a special customs inspector.

References, Sources, and other notes:
Source: Catholic Encyclopedia online.

Place of Birth: County Tipperary, IRELAND
Death Date: 1/7/1901 Death Place: New York City, NY

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