Stephen Joseph McGroarty (1830 – January 2, 1870) was an

Irish American Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry. Irish immigration to the United States From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...

soldier who served in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Biography

Early life

McGroarty was born in

Mountcharles Mountcharles () is a village and townland (of 650 acres) in the south of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. It lies 6 km from Donegal Town on the Killybegs road ( N56). It is situated in the civil parish of Inver ...

, Donegal, Ireland, in 1830 and died in College Hill, Ohio on January 2, 1870. He migrated to the United States at the age of three. His parents settled in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, where he was educated in St. Francis Xavier College. After graduation he engaged in the dry-goods business in partnership with an uncle, but left it at the end of five years to study law. He was admitted to the bar and began practice at

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

, but subsequently returned to Cincinnati, where he achieved a reputation as a criminal lawyer.

Military career

When the civil war began he raised a company of Irish Americans and served with them in the 10th Ohio Infantry under William Haines Lytle for three months, afterwards re-enlisting in the 10th for three years. At the

Battle of Carnifex Ferry The Battle of Carnifex Ferry took place on September 10, 1861 in Nicholas County, Virginia (now West Virginia), as part of the Operations in Western Virginia Campaign during the American Civil War. The battle resulted in a Union strategic vi ...

he received a gunshot wound through the right lung. As soon as he recovered he returned to the field and was appointed colonel of the 50th Ohio Infantry by the Governor of Ohio

David Tod David Tod (February 21, 1805 – November 13, 1868) was an American politician and industrialist from the U.S. state of Ohio. As the 25th governor of Ohio, Tod gained recognition for his forceful and energetic leadership during the American Civil ...

. The 50th was afterward merged into the 61st, and he commanded the latter till the end of the war. At the

Battle of Peachtree Creek The Battle of Peachtree Creek was fought in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia on July 20, 1864, as part of the Atlanta Campaign in the American Civil War. It was the first major attack by Lieutenant General, Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood since taking comma ...

on July 20, 1864 his left arm was shattered at the elbow by a

minié ball The Minié ball, or Minie ball, is a type of hollow-based bullet designed by Claude-Étienne Minié for muzzle-loaded, rifled muskets. Invented in 1846 shortly followed by the Minié rifle, the Minié ball came to prominence during the Crime ...

in the beginning of the engagement, yet he remained with his men through the fight. He was accustomed to expose his life with the utmost hardihood, and during the war received twenty-three wounds. He was

brevetted In military terminology, a brevet ( or ) is a warrant which gives commissioned officers a higher military rank as a reward without necessarily conferring the authority and privileges granted by that rank. The promotion would be noted in the of ...

brigadier-general of volunteers on May 1, 1865. He was for two years collector of internal revenue, and just before his death, which resulted from injuries received in battle, was elected clerk of the

Hamilton County, Ohio Hamilton County is located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 830,639, making it the List of counties in Ohio, third-most populous county in Ohio. The coun ...

courts. He was originally buried at Old St. Joseph's Cemetery in the Price Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio but was moved to

Spring Grove Cemetery Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is a nonprofit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. At a size of 733 acres (2.97 km2), it is the third largest cemetery in the United States, after the Calverto ...

in Cincinnati in 1912 to be next to his wife.

References

Attribution *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McGroarty, Stephen Joseph 1830 births 1870 deaths 19th-century Irish people 19th-century American people Irish emigrants to the United States Irish soldiers in the United States Army Union army colonels Burials at Spring Grove Cemetery Military personnel from County Donegal People from Mountcharles Irish amputees American amputees