James died on the 10th July 1862 as a result of wounds received at The Battle of Malvern Hill.
The early life of James Parnell is heavily detailed in the several documents left behind in his federal pension file. It is here we learn that he was born around 1827 in Kilcormac, County Offaly, and married his wife Bridget in the local Catholic Chapel at “Frankford”, as it was then referred to. Their wedding was officiated by a Father Claffey, and their close neighbors, Honora and John Dunn served as witnesses to the marriage.
The couple welcomed two sons: Edward, born in February 1852, and Thomas, born August 1854. Both children were delivered by a local midwife named Margaret Marshall, this is a small but important detail mentioned in the records that we will refer to again later. Shortly after Thomas’s birth, the family emigrated to the United States. They settled in New York City, where James Parnell found work as a laborer—a common but physically demanding livelihood for Famine-era Irish immigrants.
On 15 July 1861, James left his laboring job and enlisted in the Union Army for a three-year term under Captain Wilson Hubbell (who was himself later killed at the Battle of Cold Harbor). Later records show the army recorded his age at enlistment as 34. He was mustered into Company B of the 62nd New York Infantry, known as the “Anderson Zouaves.” This regiment was distinctive for its French-style uniforms, which included bright red, and sometimes green, fezzes. A remarkable connection we can confirm as a result of earlier research proves James was not the only Offaly immigrant who was a member of this regiment. Marching alongside him was young Sergeant Thomas Flynn from Banagher a soldier who’s remarkable story we have previously documented.
A Father Enlists To Find His Son – Americasoffalyheroes – Thomas Flynn
62nd New York Infantry Regiment – Wikipedia
By the spring of 1862, James and his regiment were deployed to the swamplands of Virginia to take part in Major General George B. McClellan‘s Peninsula Campaign. On 1 July 1862, the campaign reached its climax at the Battle of Malvern Hill, where James was mortally wounded. Later records show that when the Union Army retreated from the battlefield they were forced to leave their worst wounded behind. James was among those badly wounded and was captured by Confederate forces.
He lived for nine days inside a makeshift Confederate field hospital on the battlefield. His final days reveal a striking story of wartime devotion: he was treated by U.S. Army Assistant Surgeon C.B. White, a Union doctor who had voluntarily surrendered so he could stay behind enemy lines to care for the captured wounded men. Before James died on 10 July 1862, he entrusted his personal pocket money to Dr. White, asking him to get it back to Bridget. James was buried on the battlefield and later reinterred at Glendale National Cemetery, though his exact grave location was lost in the chaos of war and remains unknown.
Pvt James Parnell (1827-1862) – Find a Grave Memorial
John Parnell’s company commander, Captain John F Bisbee, waited until August 1 to write to Bridget because he held onto a desperate hope that the death reports were false. Meanwhile, Dr. White was still held in a harsh Confederate prison camp and fell severely ill. Yet, he kept his promise to James. In May 1863, nearly a year after the battle, the doctor was released and successfully tracked Bridget down to deliver her late husband’s final money.
John Frederick Bisbee (1834-1891) – Find a Grave Memorial
Bridget Parnell was now a “War Widow” and entitled to apply for a pension. As mentioned earlier, it is these documents that helped to reveal the exact birth place, and final fate of her husband James Parnell. However, the records also seem to introduce a discrepancy regarding the family’s timeline that remains a mystery.
Both the 1855 New York State Census and the 1860 United States Federal Census—which then lists the family in Jersey City under the misspelling “James Parlin”—record that the children were born in New York rather than Ireland. Furthermore, a review of the surviving Irish Catholic Parish Registers for the Kilcormac region yields no corresponding records for the marriage or baptisms. Such discrepancies are common in Famine-era research. Nineteenth-century census takers frequently incorrectly recorded details, and rural Irish parish registers were often incomplete during those Famine years.
Bridget had to navigate a rigid US pension bureau without any physical documentation due to a fire at her home in Hudson, New Jersey, which she claimed destroyed all her records. To secure financial support, she substituted official certificates with sworn testimonies from her community. By providing specific details of her life in Offaly—naming the church where she was married, the specific priest who performed the ceremony, and depositions from friends from Kilcormac, Ireand including the aforemetioned midwife, Margaret Marshall, and the witnesses to the marriage Honora and John Dunn. It does seem coincidental that all the extremely relevant witnesses required were also emigrants living close by to Bridget Parnell.
Despite Bridget’s efforts the pension office delayed the claim due to minor timeline discrepancies in particular in relation the the birth date of her 2 sons. Finally, on 11 December 1867, impoverished and desperate to feed her minor children, Bridget signed an affidavit, with an “X,”, waiving her right to years of back-pay just to force the government to start sending her the much needed monthly support payments. Bridget Parnell survived for another two decades, passing away in May 1887 and is buried at Holy Name Cemetery in Jersey City.
Bridget Parnell (unknown-1887) – Find a Grave Memorial
Whether the discrepancies in their paperwork stemmed from a flawed 19th-century census, incomplete parish registers in famine-era Kilcormac, or a widow’s clever strategy to navigate a rigid bureaucracy after a devastating fire, the core of their narrative remains unchanged. This family left County Offaly, crossed the Atlantic for a new life, and paid the ultimate price for their new home on the slopes of Malvern Hill. By piecing together their military and pension records, census anomalies, and witnesses affidavitts, their journey from Kilcormac in County Offaly to the front lines of the American Civil War is now preserved.
1st October 2026
Sources:
Parnell, James – US, Civil War Widows Pensions, 1861-1910 – Fold3
Pvt James Parnell (1827-1862) – Find a Grave Memorial
Bridget Parnell (unknown-1887) – Find a Grave Memorial
62nd New York Infantry Regiment – Wikipedia
Battle of Malvern Hill – Wikipedia
.jpg){kind=link}