Lieutenant John R. McNulty (1832 – January 11, 1912) of
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, Maryland was a
Confederate soldier. During the
Battle of Old Town, his 2nd Maryland Artillery prevented an element of the
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most o ...
led by Brigadier General
John McCausland
John McCausland, Jr. (September 13, 1836 – January 22, 1927) was a brigadier general in the Confederate army, famous for the ransom of Hagerstown, Maryland, and the razing of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War.
Early ...
from being trapped behind
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
lines. At the time, the unit was returning from raids into
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...
and
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...
, where they had sacked and burned
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Chambersburg is a borough in and the county seat of Franklin County, in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley, and north of Maryland and the ...
. After the civil war, he served as a
presidential elector
The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...
for
James A. Garfield
James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...
in 1881.
Battle of Old Town
The
Valley Campaigns of 1864 were part of a strategy to save the Confederate breadbasket for the provision of the
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most o ...
from Major General
David Hunter
David Hunter (July 21, 1802 – February 2, 1886) was an American military officer. He served as a Union general during the American Civil War. He achieved notability for his unauthorized 1862 order (immediately rescinded) emancipating slaves ...
and, later, General
Philip Sheridan
General of the Army Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) 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 as ...
and to threaten
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
. This was part of the larger strategy of Generals
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...
and
Joseph E. Johnston
Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American career army officer, serving with distinction in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Seminole Wars. After Virginia seceded ...
for the outnumbered and out-resourced
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
to break the Northern population's resolve and force the Union to sue for peace by taking the battle to Northern soil while bogging down advancing Union Army troops.
During these campaigns, forces of Brigadier General
John McCausland
John McCausland, Jr. (September 13, 1836 – January 22, 1927) was a brigadier general in the Confederate army, famous for the ransom of Hagerstown, Maryland, and the razing of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War.
Early ...
were being pursued by Federal troops when they were blocked at Old Town, Maryland at the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands of West Virginia, Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Datas ...
between
Hancock, Maryland
Hancock is a town in Washington County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,546 at the 2010 census. The Western Maryland community is notable for being located at the narrowest part of the state. The north-south distance from the Penns ...
and
Springfield, West Virginia
Springfield is a census-designated place (CDP) in northwestern Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, Springfield had a population of 477. Springfield is located north of Romney along West Virginia Route ...
by Union infantry and an armored train armed with a 12 lbs
howitzer
A howitzer () is a long-ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an Artillery, artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a Mortar (weapon), mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and de ...
. During the ensuing battle, McNulty brought his horse drawn light cannon to high ground within 200 yards of the armored train. The first cannon shot breached and exploded the train's boiler, causing Federal troops both within and without the train to scatter. A second shot, passed through one of the train's howitzer car's open musket portals, disabling the howitzer and forcing the crew to evacuate. Pursued by the Confederates, the frontal Union troops surrendered, allowing McCausland's forces to return to the relative safety of
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...
without further incident.
Later American Civil War events
During the October 9, 1864
Battle of Tom's Brook
The Battle of Toms Brook, Virginia, Tom's Brook was fought on October 9, 1864, in Shenandoah County, Virginia, during Philip Sheridan's Valley Campaigns of 1864, Shenandoah Valley Campaign of the American Civil War. It resulted in a significant U ...
, McNulty saved and repositioned Confederate guns to high ground when Major General
Thomas Rosser
Thomas Lafayette "Tex" Rosser (October 15, 1836 – March 29, 1910) was a Confederate States Army, Confederate Major General (CSA), major general during the American Civil War, and later a railroad construction engineer and in 1898 a Brigadier g ...
's Laurel Brigade (whom the Baltimore Light Artillery were supporting) broke and ran. However, he later lost all but one of the surviving guns when chased by Federal troops after the battle. McNulty's Baltimore Light Artillery had lost 4 guns and 19 of their crews in the battling at Tom's Brook. McNulty remained in command of the Baltimore Light Artillery until the April 9, 1865
Battle of Appomattox Courthouse
The Battle of Appomattox Court House, fought in Appomattox County, Virginia, on the morning of April 9, 1865, was one of the last battles of the American Civil War (1861–1865). It was the final engagement of Confederate General in Chief, Rober ...
which was the final
U.S. Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states tha ...
engagement of the Army of Northern Virginia. By then, however, his forces had been so depleted that they were not able to participate in the battle.
While referred to in histories as "Lieutenant" or "the Lieutenant", McNulty was repeatedly promoted during the war, eventually holding the rank of major.
A memorial to 2nd Maryland Artillery (Baltimore Light Artillery) at the
Antietam National Battlefield
Antietam National Battlefield is a National Park Service-protected area along Antietam Creek in Sharpsburg, Washington County, northwestern Maryland. It commemorates the American Civil War Battle of Antietam that occurred on September 17, 1862 ...
lists McNulty by name.
Later life
After the war, McNulty continued to live in Baltimore, Maryland, where he served as a
presidential elector
The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...
for
James A. Garfield
James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...
in 1881. He moved to New York in 1877, and was one of the founders of the
New York Coffee Exchange
The Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange (CSCE) was founded in 1882 as the Coffee Exchange in the City of New York. Sugar futures were added in 1914, and, on September 28, 1979, the New York Coffee and Sugar Exchange merged with the New York Cocoa Exch ...
in 1882. He died at his home in
Blauvelt
Blauvelt is a hamlet and census-designated place, formerly known as Greenbush and then Blauveltville, in the town of Orangetown, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Tappan, east of Nauraushaun and Pearl River, south ...
on January 11, 1912.
See also
*
Valley Campaigns of 1864
*
Maryland Line (CSA)
The Maryland Line in the Army of the Confederate States of America was made up of volunteers from Maryland who, despite their home state remaining in the Union, fought for the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Of approx ...
*
Trevilian Station Confederate order of battle, section Army of Northern Virginia
References
External links
"Battles at Folcks Mill and Oldtown"at the
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Association
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Association is a not-for-profit organization that supports the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. Its charter states that the association is "concerned with the conservation of the natural and histor ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McNulty, John R.
1832 births
1912 deaths
People of Maryland in the American Civil War
1880 United States presidential electors
Confederate States Army officers