Hugh Crowell Irish

In about 1848 at age 16 he moved to Paterson, New Jersey and apprenticed to The Guardian newspaper, working his way up to foreman. He worked his trade in New York City and then opened his own printing business in Auburn, NJ. In 1856 he returned to Paterson and was co-proprietor of The (Daily) Guardian. In 1860 or 61 he bought a grocery business, but found it a bad investment. In 1862 he sold the grocery business, recruited a company of men in Paterson, and on 22 August 1862 was commissioned Captain, Company K of the 13th New Jersey Infantry.

He was killed in action on 17 September 1862. First Sergeant Heber Wells and others of his Company recovered the Captain's body under fire.

His body was sent back to Paterson and buried in the Sandy Hill Baptist Cemetery. On 25 November 1870 he was reinterred at Cedar Lawn.

Captain Irish is the figure at the top of the State of New Jersey Monument (1903) on the Antietam Battlefield. A statue of him also tops the Soldier's and Sailor's Monument (1868/1921) in Eastside Park, Paterson, NJ. His third child, Anna, was born 26 Jan 1863.

Basic information from Toombs1. Personal details from a bio sketch by GGGrandaughter Susan Irish Loewen, writing in the newsletter of the Passaic County Historical Society Genealogy Club. His picture from a standing portrait photograph posted online by the Passaic County Historical Society.

08/10/1832; Victory Township, NY

09/17/1862; Sharpsburg, MD; burial in Cedar Lawn Cemetery, Paterson, NJ