It is an unusual occurrence for us to find two Offaly men who fought in the American Civil War and yet are buried in their native county in Ireland. Added to that unusual piece of Offaly history is that these men actually fought on opposite sides of the conflict. One is buried in Birr and the other in Cappincur, but both deserve to be remembered for their service in the opposing armies.

But how did they end up fighting against each other in the USA and why did they both return to Ireland after the conflict ?

Thomas Molloy, Birr

Thomas Molloy was born in Birr in 1834. He and his older Brother, John Molloy emigrated to America in 1851 and settled in the Cincinnati area where they soon set up a contracting business. They would work successfully on several major construction projects over the next few years until the outbreak of the US Civil War in 1861. In what seems now like a very strange decision for a man living in Northern state of Ohio, and for whatever reason, Thomas Molloy chose to align himself with the Confederate cause and enlisted in the 1st Regiment of the Louisiana Infantry, a unit consisting of several Irish men, which became part of what became known as “The Louisiana Tigers”.

The “Tigers” would be a regiment that initially became infamous for its “rowdy” behavior, regularly being involved in drunken brawls and acts of insubordination. Things came to a head for the regiment when, after one too many incidents, two Irish born solders, Dennis Corcoran and Michael O’Brien, were court marshalled and executed in December of 1861.

But the “Tigers” would also be known for their bravery and fought at several major battles including Gettysburg, The Wilderness, and Petersburg. Thomas Molloy was at all these historic engagements and was also present when, after four years of fighting, Robert E. Lee surrendered his army at Appomattox to Union Commander Ulysses S Grant and effectively ended the bitter conflict. The war was over for Thomas and he returned to Cincinnati and resumed his life and his work in Construction. The 1870 Census shows him living in the 6th Ward in Cincinnati while his Brother, John Molloy, was then married and living in the 8th Ward Cincinnati.

In 1878 Thomas Molloy decided to return to Ireland and to his home town of Birr. In 1879 he married Margaret Guinan and they would build a new life for themselves and their large family in the town of Birr. He would go into business and become successful as a merchant and shop owner in the town. He also became involved in local politics and for over 40 years served as a Birr Town Commissioner and, for several terms, as Vice Chairman of the Birr Urban District Council. Interestingly he rarely made reference to his service during the US Civil War during his lifetime and its not clear if this was a source of embarrassment to Thomas. It is only by chance at one particular meeting other members of the Council become aware of his service fighting “for the continuation of slavery in America” as it was termed during one particularly heated exchange between him and his fellow Councilors. Thomas is not recorded as making any response to these obvious attempts to blacken his name.

Thomas Molloy died in 1927 at the ripe old age of 93 in St. Brendan’s Hospital in Birr and his death is acknowledged in the local Offaly newspapers. It was also reported widely in the newspapers of Cincinnati at that time and it is those reports that add some more information to the early life of Thomas and also interestingly of his Brother, John Molloy, who had passed away in 1909.

Thomas’s service in the Civil War is mentioned and his return to Ireland in 1878 is explained as being due to “failing health”. The reports also recognize his work as a contractor and of how he worked alongside his brother on several major building projects.

On looking further into the life of Thomas’s brother, John Molloy, we learn of a man who at the end of The Civil War became involved in some of the most significant building projects being undertaken in the US at the time. John Molloy was said to be the builder of the piers for the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge that spanned the Ohio River and was completed in 1866. That name John A. Roebling is significant as he would later be the designer of The Brooklyn Bridge. It seems the work John Molloy completed in Ohio under the supervision of Roebling also secured him the contract to build the piers for The Brooklyn Bridge project !

The Molloy Brothers who had left Birr in County Offaly to start a new life in the US in 1851 had both lived very eventful lives. One had built a life in his adapted country and become a very successful businessman, while the other had fought in a bloody Civil War, and maybe as a result of those life changing experiences, returned to his homeland where he would eventually also build for himself an equally full and successful life.

John A Roebling

Peter Cavanagh, Cappincur

Peter Cavanagh was born in an area outside Tullamore called Cappincur in 1824 to parents Mary McLeroy & Nicholas Cavanagh and his baptism is registered in the Philipstown parish register. He emigrated to the USA sometime in the 1850’s settling in the state of Kentucky. At the outbreak of the US Civil War in 1861 he was already in the US Army and a member of the 2nd Light Artillery Regiment. During the early part of the war this regiment would be under the command of Cork born Thomas Sweeney. He was a veteran solder of the earlier US/Mexican wars and a brave and colorful character. He had earned the nickname “Fighting Tom” during this period after returning to his unit and to the fight despite having his right arm amputated. In August 1861 Peter Cavanagh’s regiment, under the command of Sweeney, would be involved in one of the first major battles of the US Civil War at Wilson’s Creek near Springfield, Missouri.

Brigadier General Thomas Sweeney– “Fighting Tom”

As the war progressed Peter and the 2nd Light Artillery came under the command of Ulysses S Grant during his “Central Mississippi Campaign” and later in the war they were transferred to the command of William Tecumsah Sherman as he launched his “Atlanta Campaign”. Peter Cavanagh would be promoted to Sergeant and have further involvement in several major battles including Corinth, Vicksburg in 1882 & 1863 and at Dallas, Kennesaw Mountain and the city of Atlanta in the summer of 1864. As the year 1865 dawned the South was struggling to hold off the powerful Northern armies and eventually in May of that year the war would officially come to an end.

Peter was still in the regular army and under contract and so unlike many other soldiers who were volunteers and free to return to their former lives his unit was first sent to San Francisco and stationed at Fort Point. This fortification, which is now a US National Heritage site, is today close to the Golden Gate Bridge. Over the next 2 years Peter’s unit would be moved between the newer North Western US territories in Washington state and to other remote fortifications at Fort Vancouver and eventually even as far as St. Paul’s Island, Alaska. This was immediately after the United States had completed its purchase from Russia in 1867.

It is a this point in early 1867, presumably due to the harsh climate and the conditions that he had to endure, Peter Cavanagh made the decision to leave the Army and return to Ireland and his home in County Offaly. There are indications that Peter may have had some health issues during this period of his life as he had spent some time in military hospitals during the war and this presumably was another factor in his decision to return home.

Peter returned to Cappincur and in September of 1867 he married Margaret Tiernan from Kilbeggan. They settled down in Cappincur where over the next 2 years two daughters were born. Tragedy will strike for the family in early 1871 when Peter is stricken with what is then the deadly disease of Tuberculosis. Undoubtedly his years of army service and earlier health issues play a part in his decline. Peter Cavanagh died on the 10th of March 1871 and is buried in the local Cappincur Cemetery.

As with so many other Offaly soldiers we have come across, his story is one of a very eventful life. He had faithfully served his adapted country at a time of huge upheaval and been present at some of the most historic battles of the US Civil War. Equally, like many of the soldiers who returned home from the war it is noticeable that they seem to have somehow been weakened by its effects and many pass away at a young age just like Peter Cavanagh from Cappincur.

Its ironic but also somehow fitting that Thomas Molloy and Peter Cavanagh, two men who fought on opposites sides of a bloody civil war in America, are now united in rest in their home county of Offaly, Ireland.

**Further reading on Thomas Molloy

Thomas Molloy, Birr’s American Civil War Veteran – Irish in the American Civil War

**Further reading on Peter Cavanagh

Cappincur Born Engineer Records Adventures Of Ancestor In US Civil War