Unknown Civil war ancestor

[Lance]

I have an ancestor with the last name of Gallagher who died at 2nd Bull Run, I do not know his first name or unit. How could I research this ? I have a letter from my G-G-Grandfather who mentions his older brother being killed but he didnt say what his name is. Ancestry .com has'nt provided any answers.

 

[JRJ]

Well. You could look up every unit that fought at 2nd Bull Run and locate their rosters, searching every company for someone with the last name Gallagher. But, that seems like it would take awhile. I'll look up some stuff now, I got some spare time, see if I can shake something loose.

 

[Lance]

Would there be a list of graves at the battle field or a list of men killed?

 

[JRJ]

Sorry for the duel post, but here is something I have found:
James C. Gallagher, missing in action at Second Bull Run.

51st Infantry Company K

Link to information: http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/northampton/history/local/davis/davis13.txt

Another site that verifies rank/ last location: http://www.pa-roots.com/pacw/infantry/51st/51stcok.html

 

[JRJ]

And according to this page (and a few other sites I found) there was another gentleman at 2nd Bull Run (though he did not pass away there) his name was Colonel Thomas F Gallagher, he fought with the 14th Regiment.
More info on him can be found here: http://www.pa-roots.com/westmoreland/historyproject/vol1/chap27.html

 

[Lance]

intersting, thanks

 

[John Hartwell]

You don't say if he was from the North or South, though I assume you mean North, since you say Bull Run rather than Manassas. Do you have any idea what state he was from? -- even a hint of where to start would be helpful, where did your gggdfather live? It's a needle in a haystack problem, but there are ways of narrowing it down. Some here would be glad to help -- a search like this can be fun, if you know how to do it. All you need is a magnet

Cheers!

jno

 

[ExNavyPilot]

Lance,
Do you have a clue as to what state your ancestor lived in before the Civil War? Perhaps the letter from your GGGrandfather gives a clue. Without some way to narrow down the search, it would be extremely difficult if not impossible to determine more about your ancestor.

 

[Lance]

Yes, you guys are right, sorry. My GGgrandfather Andrew was in the 1st New York. There is another Gallagher in that same unit but he survived the war so it cant be him. I have been looking at all NY units at 2B.R. but cant find a Gallagher who was killed. thanks.

 

[AndyHall]

The 1st New York had a Private Andrew Gallagher, Co. B. There is a notation that some of his records may be filed under Gallaghan. His CSR is not available through Fold3, unfortunately.

The NPS history of that regiment, though, does not mention action at 2nd Bull Run.

Do'oh. I oughter learn how to read one of these days.

 

[Lance]

Thats my GGGrandfather, the NPS history shows Bull Run right after Groveton on Aug 30th. Andrews letter states one of his older brothers was killed there, but I dont know his first name or unit. Thanks for looking that up.

 

[ExNavyPilot]

Lance,
The National Park Service's Civil War Soldiers and Sailors (CWSS) database [ http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-soldiers.htm ] lists 351 Gallaghers who served in NY units in the war.

Your approach (reviewing rosters of all NY units at 2BR) might be the most effective, although still laborious. Here is a good link to the NY unit rosters in case you haven't seen this one yet;
http://dmna.ny.gov/historic/reghist/civil/rosters/rosters.htm

And here's a 2BR OOB at Wikipedia (I've found them to be trustworthy);
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Bull_Run_Union_order_of_battle
Unfortunately there are about fifty NY units listed (less if you can rule out his having served in an artillery unit)

Good luck.

 

[Lance]

Yes that New York site is extensive, I guess there is no quick find here, this will take a lot of time Thanks.

 

[John Hartwell]

Another complication, I'm afraid. Many men died of wounds received at BR2. They died "of" the battle, but were not necessarily listed as dying "in" the battle. Your gggdfr might have found it simpler to say "died at ...", than "died of wounds received at..." In the record he may only be listed as "wounded".

If you are sure it was NY, remember many regiments were raised mainly from certain counties or regions of the state; if you know what part of NY he came from, it could be a guide to what regiments to focus on first.

You've got a search ahead of you, but you'll also be learning a lot.

Cheers!

jno

 

[DixieRifles]

Do you have a clue as to what state your ancestor lived in before the Civil War?

I agree. You need to find your family in the 1860 Census and look for the names of children living at home. Just hope that this son had not already moved away from home. Once you know the state and county and a Name, then it would be much easier.

 

[John Hartwell]

I agree. You need to find your family in the 1860 Census and look for the names of children living at home. Just hope that this son had not already moved away from home. Once you know the state and county and a Name, then it would be much easier.

If he's not there, try the 1850 census. If your gggdfr wasn't born yet, look for his parents, and see if there's a name for an earlier son, who should still be at home. That is, IF they were in America at that time. the 1900 census will tell you how long ago they immigrated. There are a lot of tricks to track down accurate info.

If you'll let us know what you do know, some of us will be glad to give pointers. Give me your gggdfr's name (and parents, siblings, whatever you know) and where you think he might have been living, and I'll search the 1860 census to get you started.

jno