James Nagle (general)
James Nagle | |
|---|---|
48th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment | |
| Battles/wars | |
| Other work | painter, paper hanger, sheriff |
James Nagle (April 5, 1822 – August 22, 1866) was an officer in the
Early life and career
Nagle was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, as the eldest of eight children born and raised by Daniel and Mary Nagle. His grandfather had been a drummer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. His family moved several times when he was a child, finally settling in 1835 in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, where in 1842 he organized what became the Washington Artillery Company. He learned the trades of paperhanger and painter from his father.
When war was declared against Mexico a few years later, he enlisted with his men as Company B of the 1st Pennsylvania Volunteers. His
Nagle subsequently resumed his business as a painter and paperhanger. In 1852, he was elected as the sheriff of Schuylkill County, a post he would occupy until war erupted in 1861. Also in 1852, Nagle married Elizabeth Kaercher, who bore nine children, seven of which lived to maturity.[2] He was also on the Pottsville School Board, and was a member and then president of the borough council.[3]
Civil War service
In 1861, following the outbreak of the Civil War, Nagle was commissioned as the
Nagle commanded his brigade (now in the IX Corps under Reno) in the Second Battle of Bull Run. He was appointed brigadier general of volunteers on September 10, 1862, and at Antietam his brigade performed an important part in carrying what later became known as Burnside's Bridge, which, according to army commander George B. McClellan, saved the day.[1]
Nagle's appointment expired on March 4, 1863, but was renewed nine days later and he served with his brigade in
In 1864 he organized the
Postbellum
After the war, Nagle resumed civilian life, but was in poor health from his ailing heart and liver. He died in 1866 at his Pottsville home, surrounded by his family. His well-attended funeral was held on August 25, and he was buried in Pottsville's Presbyterian Cemetery.
He is honored with a statue on the 48th Pennsylvania's monument on the
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Wilson & Fiske 1891.
- ^ Nagle biography, Schuylkill County Civil War Group
- ^ 48th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry webpage
- ^ "Antietam Museum Store website". Archived from the original on 2010-02-27. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1891). "James Nagle". Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.
