03-17-21 and St. Paddy's Day Bonus

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This beloved Brit had an America request for his funeral. As royalty and dignitaries gathered, the powerful organ and the voices of attendees sang with passion as this great American classic reverberated throughout the famous London landmark cathedral. It was said as the mourners sang the refrain “a shaft of sunlight broke through the clouds, beamed through the cathedral's windows and fell on the Union Jack cloaking the casket”. Of course he had ties to America and the Civil War (that had ended one hundred years ago) for his grandfather [a rather flamboyant and successful New Yorker] during a mid-summer day in 1863 once held a gun against rioters as he saved a company in which he had a significant investment.

1. Who is the Brit?
2. Who is his Grandfather?
3. What gun was he reportedly firing to protect his investment?
4. What is the American hymn that reverberated through the rafters?

Credit: @DBF
1. Winston Spencer Churchill (1874-1965);
2. Leonard Walter Jerome (1817-1891);
3. Jerome manned a Gatling Gun defending the New York Times building during the 1863 Draft Riots;
4. Julia Ward Howe's Battle Hymn of the Republic.
Source: "Leonard Jerome", Wikipedia, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Jerome#:~:text=Leonard%20Walter%20Jerome%20%28November%203%2C%201817%20%E2%80%93%20March,Onondaga%20County%2C%20New%20York%2C%20on%20November%203%2C%201817.
Source: Kate Wight, "
30 Popular Hymns for a Funeral Service", Cake, https://www.joincake.com/blog/funer...onist,hymns, and it was played at his funeral.
Bonus:
He was born in Ireland June 11, 1781. In 1804, when he was 23 years old, he would enlist in the Royal Navy, signing on as an Ordinary Seaman aboard the HMS Spartiate. A little more than a year later, he would find himself in the middle of the Battle of Trafalgar serving Lord Horatio Nelson. Surviving that, he went on to serve in the War of 1812 and The Crimean War. When the Crimean War ended, he migrated to the United States (at age 75), eventually settling in a small rural town in southern Missouri.

When the Civil War broke out in 1861, he offered his services to the new Confederate States Navy (at age 80, the oldest man to enlist). This apparently did not transpire, as he served during the war in three different Missouri cavalry regiments. When the war ended, he retired from a military life and returned to his adopted town in southern Missouri (he was now 84), where he lived peacefully for another 41 years. He passed away on December 18, 1906 at the ripe old age of 125 years.

Who am I ? What three Missouri Cavalry regiments did I serve in? Where am I buried ?

credit: @warbird43
William "Irish Bill" Kingsley (1781-1906). Kingsley served in Phelan's Battalion (aka Sixth Missouri Cavalry), Seventh Missouri Cavalry, and Eighth Missouri Cavalry.
He is buried in Bloomfield Cemetery, Bloomfield, Stoddard County, Missouri.
Source: "William "Irish Bill" Kingsley", Find A Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11383/william-kingsley
Source: "Phelan's Sixth Missouri Cavalry (Unorganized)", Stoddard County History. https://www.stoddardcountyhistory.com/6th-cavalry-phelans-regiment.html
Source: "Soldiers and Sailors Database", National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search...fq[]=Side:"Confederacy"&fq[]=State:"Missouri"
 
WINSTON CHURCHILL was the grandson of LEONARD WALTER JEROME who defended his investment (N.Y. Times) with a GATLING GUN. The American reverberating hymn played at Churchill's funeral was THE BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC.
BONUS: WILLIAM "IRISH BILL" KINGSLEY of the 6, 7, +8th MO. CAVARLY is buried in the BLOOMFIELD CEMETARY in BLOOMFIELD, MISSOURI.
 
Main Question: 1. Sir Winston Churchill 2. Leonard Jerome 3. A Gatling gun 4. The Battle Hymn of the Republic

Bonus: I can answer the first and last parts of the question fairly easily. Your name was William Kingsley (nicknamed "Irish Bill") and you are buried in Bloomfield, MO.

Sources are not so clear regarding service in three Missouri regiments. One source says you served in the 8th Missouri Cavalry, but doesn't mention any others. Another source says you served in the 6th Missouri Cavalry and includes a cryptic note saying "see also Kinsley (7th Mo. Cav.)", but doesn't say anything about the 8th.

The cryptic note makes it sound as though the guy who served in the 7th was a different guy with a similar name, but I haven't found anything else to go on, so I'll say that you served in the 6th, 7th, and 8th Missouri Cavalry regiments.
 
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Primary Questions:

1. Who is the Brit ? Winston Churchill.

2. Who is his Grandfather ? Leonard Jerome. Jerome was a flamboyant and successful stock speculator. He made and lost several fortunes, and was known as "The King of Wall Street".

3. What gun was he reportedly firing to protect his investment ? A Gatling Gun. Jerome was defending the New York Times building during the The New York Draft Riots in July 1863. Although he had significant holdings in the Times, he was not the majority shareholder.

4. What is the American hymn that reverberated through the rafters? "The Battle Hymn of The Republic".

Sources: History Channel Website https://www.history.com/news/winston-churchills-funeral-50-years-ago; International Churchhill Society https://winstonchurchill.org/public...etin-090-dec-2015/thetomb-of-leonard-jerome/; and Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Jerome.

St. Paddy's Day Bonus: Credit for submission. And, a Happy St. Paddy's Day to each of yez.......
 
1. Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill
2. Leonard Walter Jerome
3. Gatling gun
4. Battle Hymn of the Republic

Bonus:
1. William "Irish Bill" Kingsley
2. 4th/6th/7th Missouri Cavalry
3. Bloomfield Cemetery, Stoddard County, Missouri

Edit - The 4th Missouri Cavalry did come from Stoddard County, but I can find no source to confirm that Kingsley served in that unit.

hoosier
 
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Winston Churchhill
George Jones
Gattling Gun
Battle Hymn of the Republic or Mine eyes Have Seen the Glory

Edit - No, George Jones was not Winston Churchill's grandfather.

Though he might have been inclined to use a gun to protect the still where his pappy made that White Lightnin'. :D

hoosier
 
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Answers 1. Sir Winston Churchill 2. Leonard Jerome 3. A Gatling Gun 4. Battle Hymn of the Republic Sources 1. https://civilwartalk.com/threads/who-is-leonard-jerome-and-how-did-he-change-the-world.157889/#post-2051859 2. https://www.history.com/news/winston-churchills-funeral-50-years-ago

bonus Answer: William "Irish Bill" Kingsley The 6th Missouri Cavalry, 7th Missouri Cavalry and 8th Missouri Cavalry Bloomfield Cemetery, Bloomfield, Stoddard County, Missouri Sources: Find A Grave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11383/william-kingsley The National Archives https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/trafalgarancestors/default.asp Sources: Stoddard County History, Phelen's 6th Missouri Cavalry Roster of the 7th Missouri Cavalry National Park Service Search For Soldiers [/URL] Sources: Find A Grave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11383/william-kingsley
 
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