James A. Mulligan

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James A. Mulligan (1829-1864) was a brevet brigadier general of volunteers in the Union Army.

An Irish-Catholic lawyer and politician in Chicago, he raised the 23rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, widely known as the Irish Brigade. In September 1861, he led his troops toward Lexington, Missouri, as word had been received that the town would be the target of a takeover by the Missouri State Guard. The Battle of Lexington, more commonly referred to as the Battle of the Hemp Bales really began on September 12, 1861, when 6,000 -10,000 soldiers of the Missouri State Guard, led by Major General Sterling Price began a siege against the Federal military post in the old Masonic College commanded by Colonel Mulligan. On September 18, Price's army mounted an assault. Some of Price's army used hemp bales, dipped in the Missouri River, as moving breastworks as they worked their way up the river bluffs and closed in on Mulligan's headquarters. On September 20, 1861, Mulligan surrendered. Combined casualties were 73 dead, 270 wounded.

On July 24, 1864, Mulligan led his troops into the Second Battle of Kernstown, near Winchester, Virginia. Late in the afternoon, Major General John B. Gordon’s Confederate force attacked 1800 Union soldiers under Mulligan from the ground beyond Opequon Church. Mulligan briefly held off Gordon, but Confederate Major General John C. Breckinridge, a former U.S. Vice President, led a devastating flank attack against the Irishmen from the east side of the Valley Pike. Sharpshooters under Confederate Major General Stephen D. Ramseur attacked Mulligan’s right flank from the west. The Union battle line fell apart. Mulligan rode up behind his old Irish Brigade, the 23rd Illinois Infantry. One of his men recalled: “Never did he look better, his penetrating eyes flashing as he beheld his brigade, the last in yielding to the pressure of the enemy.” With Confederates closing in on all sides, Mulligan ordered his troops to withdraw. As he sat up in his saddle to spur his men on, Confederate sharpshooters concealed in a nearby streambed hit Mulligan. Mulligan’s soldiers attempted to carry him to safety, but the Confederate fire made it an impossible task. Mulligan was well aware of his situation and the danger his men were in. He famously ordered: “Lay me down and save the flag.” Mulligan’s men reluctantly complied. Confederate soldiers captured Mulligan, and carried the mortally wounded Colonel into a nearby home, where he died two days later.

[edit] References

The Battle of Lexington, Fought in and About the City of Lexington, Missouri on September 18th, 19th and 20th, 1861. Lexington Historical Society. 1903.