James Downey

(c. 1828 - 1862)
Home State: Pennsylvania
Branch of Service: Infantry
Unit: 88th Pennsylvania Infantry

Before the Antietam Campaign:
From Manayunk - now a Philadelphia neighborhood - on the Schuylkill River, in 1850 he was a Boatman, age 22, and had been married within the year. He enlisted as Private in Company C, 88th Pennsylvania Infantry on 14 August 1861.

In the Antietam Campaign:
He was killed in action at Antietam on 17 September 1862.

The remainder of the War:
In a letter of 25 October 1862, another Pennsylvania soldier, Cornelius Richmond of the 119th Infantry observed:

There was in our Camp Yesterday John Sanders and a nother gentleman who had been at the battle ground of Antetam, for the body of James Downey. they got the body and are Now in Manayunk with it.

After the War:
He left his wife (Amanda Curry) and at least one child (Caroline, b. 1853) behind. He may have had a son, also James, in 1861.

References, Sources, and other notes:
Basic data from Bates1, who has his name as Downy; details from his grave registry. Richmond's letters hosted online by Alice J. Gayley. 1850 data from the Federal Census, also used to estimate his birth year. He may have been born as early as 1825.

Birth State: PA
Death Date: 09/17/1862 Death Place: Sharpsburg, MD Burial Place: Westminster Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, PA

Notes

1 Bates, Samuel Penniman, History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-65, Harrisburg: State of Pennsylvania, 1868-1871 [AotW citation 7248]

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