ARRIVED IN THE USA IN 1845 AND SETTLED NEAR WEST POINT MILITARY ACADEMY, ORANGE COUNTY, NEW YORK

SERVED FROM 1858 UNTIL HORRIBLY WOUNDED IN AN ACCIDENTIAL EXPLOSION IN 1863

LATER BECAME ASSISTANT SERGEANT-AT-ARMS IN THE NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY

West Point Cadets in 1865- The Civil War Roundtable

In July of 1863 Michael Maher, along with two of his army colleagues, were busy testing a new type of “Percussion Shell” at a firing range called Crow’s Nest Mountain which was close to West Point Military Academy in New York state. While carrying one of these shells for loading into the nearby cannon, the fuse that was now designed to only explode on impact, prematurely detonated. The resulting explosion ripped the arms from the body of Michael Maher. At only 24 years of age and, having already served close to 6 years in the US Army Engineers Corp, Michael Maher was now severely injured and faced a future with little prospects and a questionable quality of life.

Facebook – Modern Day Crows Nest Mountain, New York

Michael Maher was born in County Offaly, Ireland in 1839 to parents Catherine and John Maher. Later records indicate that Michael’s Father died in Ireland while the country was in the midst of the devastating “Great Famine”. In 1845 Catherine, along with her young family, made the arduous and dangerous journey to the new world of America eventually settling close to the Military Academy of West Point in Orange County, New York. Catherine Maher found work as a Matron in West Points Cadet Hospital where she would become a permanent and popular fixture until her death in 1887. As a result of his Mothers connection to West Point, Michael became a well known member of West Point and presumably this fostered in the young boy a desire to eventually himself become a member of the US Army.

At 12 years of age he began working for a former Steam Boat Captain named Stephen Roe who was then the owner of the local West Point Hotel and he would remain in his employment until 1858 until old enough to join the US Army. The records for Michael show that he was 19 years of age when he enlisted at West Point in April of 1858 and that he was assigned to the Regular Army Engineers Regiment.

United States Army Enlistments 1798-1914 Image | findmypast.ie – Michael Maher Enlistment April 1858

While Michael had enlisted into the Engineer Corp as a regular soldier many engineering cadets over the years prior to 1858 would later become notable Generals and high ranking soldiers in both army’s during the American Civil War. Names such as Robert E Lee, George McClellan and George Meade passed through the gates at West Point graduating as Engineers and no doubt the skills and knowledge gained at West Point helped them to later become noted military strategist.

Michael’s regiment would spend the years 1858 to 1860 on several expeditions to what was then “Indian Country”. The role of the Engineers was then vital in helping to build fortifications and defensive structures for the Regular Army during a period when they were engaged in several wars with the Native American tribes as new settlers moved further and further west into disputed lands. The skills learned during this period would soon become vital for Michael and his fellow members of the Engineers as the Civil War that had been brewing for several decades finally ignited in May 1861.

In early 1861 the US Engineer Corp returned to West Point to reorganize and prepare for a possible impending war. This reorganization of men was now at a fevered pace due to many trained officers and cadets leaving West Point and aligning themselves with the Southern cause. This was a phenomenon that seems strange now and hard to understand but it does seem, at this point of hostilities, there was little hard feeling between the men as they chose sides in what would later become a very bitter struggle. It is also noticeable in accounts and memoirs of several General’s and commanding officers of their experiences in the US Civil War of how, at different points, they later found themselves in direct conflict with former friends and fellow students from their days at the West Point Academy.

Michael Maher, as a veteran solder in 1861, was next chosen to help with the raising and enlistment of a new Company of Regular Army Engineers. He was made a non-commissioned officer and ordered to the state of Maine to begin recruitment. Michael became a Corporal in the resulting Company B of the Engineer Regiment he had helped to raise and over the next 2 years they would be used in several projects including assisting in erecting the defenses around Washington DC.

By early 1863 Michael was back at West Point and connected to the Ordnance section at the academy where his role included the testing of new weapons and cannon shells. Little could he have known how this new appointment would lead to such a life changing incident that would leave him with those earlier mentioned horrific injuries.

Michael Maher spent the next 6 months recovering from his horrible injuries and was officially discharged from the Army in January of 1864. The Civil War ended in April of 1865 and in March of that year Michael was granted a disability pension and those records also help to confirm that by 1865 he is married to a native of the state of Vermont named Maria. Tracking the Maher family through the following years US Census records we find that Michael and Maria had 2 children named Mary and Stephen and were settled in Highland Falls close to West Point Academy.

United States Army Enlistments 1798-1914 Image | findmypast.ie – Michael Maher Discharge January 1864

United States Civil War Pension Files Index 1861-1934 Image | findmypast.ie – Pension Record Michael Maher

1880 US Census Image | findmypast.ie – The Maher Family 1880 US Census

In 1874 Michael gets a new lease of life when he is appointed Assistant Sergeant- At-Arms in the New York State Assembly. The intervention of friends and former comrades from West Point are pivotal in Michaels appointment and it is a indication of the esteem in which he was still held in by his former army colleagues. The role of Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms at the assembly was mainly to support and provide back up to the Sergeant-at-Arms who was the chief law enforcement and protocol officer at the Assembly. Michael would have assisted in all aspects of security for the assembly members and later reports remark how Michael was held in very high esteem by the many Assemblymen he became acquainted with during his 14 years of service before his eventual retirement in 1888.

Michael spends his retirement at his home town of Highland Falls, Orange county and is said to have been

“a conspicuous figure upon the streets and notwithstanding his affliction was of a jovial disposition and always had a pleasant word for everybody”

Michael Maher died suddenly at his home in January 1900 and the several obituaries posted in Newspapers at the time make reference to his varied and colorful career and also of how he carried those terrible injuries received in the summer of 1863 with dignity and courage throughout the rest of his life. Michael was laid to rest, fittingly, at the West Point Military Academy Cemetery close to where his Mother Catherine is buried. His wife, Maria, and son and daughter, Stephen and Mary were later also buried in the same family plot. Interestingly Stephen Maher would become well known in Republican political circles in the area and would also follow his Fathers path by not only being appointed as Postmaster at West Point Academy but also serving as a clerk for a period in the New York State Assembly. Stephen Maher would also own and run the Hotel Linwood located in Highland Falls which is another strange piece of coincidence connecting his life to that of his Fathers.

On further checking the West Point Academy Cemetery we can see there are several other member of the Maher family interred there indicating this families long standing connection to the US Military and to Highland Falls. The names include Timothy Maher, possibly a brother of Michael Maher, who was also a Civil War soldier and a fellow member of the same Engineer Regiment. We will continue to work on this connection but can be almost sure that this name and the other Maher names in West Point Cemetery are indeed relatives of Michael and can trace their roots to County Offaly in Ireland.

So where exactly within County Offaly did Michael Maher hail from ? There is nothing in the available Army or Pension records or indeed in the several obituaries that indicate an exact birth place and sadly records for the 1840’s in Ireland are notoriously difficult to locate. The available parish baptism records for County Offaly, close to the period in question, are our only real source and it from these records that we can narrow down the options.

It seems highly likely that Michael Maher was from the parish of Moneygall which is a place once made famous as being where former President Of the United States Barrack Obama can also trace his ancestors. If anyone could add any more information in relation to this story of this Offaly soldier, who overcame huge obstacles in his life to make such a valuable contribution in his adapted country , please do let us know.

By Kevin Guing

26th August 2025

For more on this soldier – Michael Maher – Americasoffalyheroes

With special thanks to Ronnie Coffey who is a Highland Falls Historian and was kind enough to assist with details about the life of Michal Maher. For more on Highland Falls – History – Highland Falls New York