McGee

Soldier Profile: Michael McGee

Co. L, 11th New York Cavalry (Scott’s 900)

Michael served in the cavalry, a branch of service that required stamina and horsemanship. As part of "Scott’s 900," his journey took him from the defensive fortifications of Washington D.C. to the bayous of Louisiana, where he faced an enemy as deadly as any bullet: the unforgiving Southern climate.

Early Life and "Black '47"

• Born: Circa 1830 in Oughteragh or Dromcroman, County Leitrim.

• A Famine Marriage: On February 1, 1847, Michael married Catherine Prior in the parish church of Oughteragh, near Ballinamore. It was the height of "Black '47," the most devastating year of the Great Hunger.

• The New York Move: The couple emigrated soon after, settling in Brooklyn. By the 1855 New York Census, Michael was working as a laborer and had become a naturalized citizen.

• Family: Michael and Catherine had a daughter, Mary Ann, born around December 1849.

Military Service: Scott’s 900

Michael enlisted on December 6, 1863, joining Company L of the 11th New York Cavalry.

• The Military District of Washington: The regiment initially served in the defenses of the capital, engaged in scouting and skirmishing to protect the city from Confederate raids.

• The Department of the Gulf: In March 1864, the unit was transferred to the humid lowlands of Louisiana. Based near New Orleans and Baton Rouge, the men performed grueling patrol duties in extreme temperatures.

• The Silent Killer: Michael’s war ended not in battle, but on the banks of the Mississippi. He died of sunstroke on June 21, 1864, at the Hermitage Plantation in Ascension Parish, Louisiana.

The Final Return

When Michael died, a sum of $10 found in his pocket was carefully recorded and forwarded to Catherine—a small but vital legacy for a widow in the slums of New York. Michael was buried on the plantation grounds where he fell, far from the green hills of Leitrim.

Catherine’s Struggle: The Paper Trail to Oughteragh

Living at 252 Mott Street, New York, Catherine applied for a widow’s pension in September 1864. Like many Irish immigrants, she faced a bureaucratic nightmare: she had no formal proof of her marriage or Mary Ann's birth from the Famine years.

• The Parish Priest: The claim was saved by an affidavit from Father Peter Curran, the Parish Priest of Oughteragh obtained by her brother Hugh Prior.

• News from Home: The letter from her brother Hugh Prior of Drumcromam, Ballinamore, County Leitrim, accompanying the marriage certificate, provided a glimpse into post-Famine Leitrim. Hugh noted that while the "country was pretty fair," workers were scarce because so many had left for America and Australia. “Cattle butter and pork very dear”.

• He encouraged Catherine to return to her mother and brother Thomas in Ballinamore.

• Pension Approval: After a lengthy process, Catherine was granted $8 per month. She remained in America until her death in June 1891.

Service Timeline

Date Event Location / Detail

Feb 1, 1847 Marriage to Catherine Prior Oughteragh, Co. Leitrim

Dec 6, 1863 Enlisted in Union Army New York City

Mar 1864 Transferred to Louisiana Department of the Gulf

June 21, 1864 Deceased (Sunstroke) Hermitage Plantation, LA

Sept 29, 1864 Pension Applied For 252 Mott St, NYC

Reinterment: Chalmette National Cemetery

Between 1867 and 1868, burial crews moved through Southern Louisiana to collect the remains of soldiers like Michael. Most Union soldiers who died in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas were reinterred at

Chalmette National Cemetery.

• Location: Chalmette, Louisiana (on the site of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans).

• The Identification Challenge: While Michael was buried with $10 in his pocket, many field burials lost their wooden markers over time. If his specific grave marker at the plantation had decayed or been destroyed before the reinterment teams arrived, he would have been buried at Chalmette as an "Unknown Soldier."

• Current Status: There are approximately 6,700 "Unknown" Union soldiers at Chalmette. If Michael’s name is not on a specific headstone there, he is likely among those nameless heroes who rest in the rows of small, square marble blocks.

The Hermitage Plantation Connection

The Hermitage Plantation (also known as Belle Helene) still exists today as a historic landmark in Geismar, Louisiana. During the war, it served as a station for Union troops patrolling the Mississippi River. Michael's death there from sunstroke highlights the brutal environmental reality for Northern soldiers—and Irish immigrants—unaccustomed to the tropical heat of a Louisiana summer.