Sons of Leitrim
Stanford
James
Soldier Profile: James Stanford
Co. M, 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery Regiment
James Stanford's journey took him from a farmer's son in Mohill to a laborer in New Haven, to the siege lines at Yorktown and the killing fields at Gaines Mill—and finally home to 16 Broad Street, where he lived out his days with his wife Bridget, keeping house and working as a laborer.
Early Life and Family
Born: Circa 1831, Mohill, County Leitrim, Ireland
Parents: Farmers
Siblings: The seventh of eight children in a farming family
Emigration: Around 1852, probably arriving in New York
Naturalization: March 3, 1862, in New Haven, Connecticut, at thirty-two years old
Life in New Haven
The 1860 Census: Four Brothers
By 1860, James (twenty-eight years old) was living with three of his brothers in Ward 3, New Haven, Connecticut:
Peter, 26
Thomas, 33
Patrick, 31 (married with three children)
All four brothers worked as laborers. It was a common pattern for Irish immigrants—brothers settling together in the same ward, finding work in the same trades, building new lives in proximity to family.
Military Service
James enlisted in the Union Army on February 1, 1862—just one day before his thirty-first birthday and one month before he became a naturalized citizen. He was mustered into Company M of the 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery Regiment as a private.
The Peninsula Campaign (April–July 1862)
In early April, the regiment embarked for the Peninsula Campaign, arriving near Yorktown in early April 1862. James Stanford's war would be fought in the swamps and fortifications of Virginia's Peninsula, where Union forces attempted to capture Richmond by advancing up the peninsula between the York and James Rivers.
The regiment was engaged in the Peninsula Campaign from April to July 1862:
Siege of Yorktown (April 5–May 4, 1862): The slow, grinding siege that opened the campaign
Hanover Court House (May 27, 1862): A sharp engagement north of Richmond
Gaines Mill (June 27, 1862): One of the Seven Days Battles—a Confederate victory that cost thousands of Union casualties as Lee drove McClellan away from Richmond
Malvern Hill (July 1, 1862): The final battle of the Seven Days, where Union artillery devastated Confederate assaults
How much James participated in these engagements, we do not know. Heavy artillery regiments often served in fortifications and siege operations, but they could also be thrown into combat as infantry when needed.
Fredericksburg and Beyond
Company M was engaged at Fredericksburg in December 1862—one of the Union's most disastrous defeats—and participated in several other engagements around Fredericksburg in the months that followed.
Muster Out (September 25, 1865)
James was mustered out on September 25, 1865, in Washington, D.C.—more than four months after Lee's surrender at Appomattox. He had served three and a half years, from the Peninsula Campaign through the final occupation duties of a victorious army.
Life After the War
The 1870 Census: A Laborer's Life
By 1870, James was living in the 3rd Ward of New Haven, Connecticut—the same ward where he had lived with his brothers before the war. He was married
to Bridget. His occupation remained what it had been before the war: laborer.
James was fifty-five years old (the age is inconsistent with his 1831 birth year, as often happened in census records). His wife Bridget was fifty, keeping house. They lived at 16 Broad Street, Dwelling 81.
Service & Life Timeline
Date Event Detail
c. 1831 Birth Mohill, Co. Leitrim
1852 Emigration Arrived in America
Mar 3, 1862 Naturalization Became a U.S. Citizen in New Haven, CT
Feb 1, 1862 Enlistment 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery
1862–1863 Campaigns Siege of Yorktown and Fredericksburg
Sept 25, 1865 Discharge Mustered out at Washington, D.C.
1880s Later Residence 16 Broad Street, New Haven, CT
