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James McKay Rorty (1837-1863)
He emigrated to the U.S. in 1857. James worked for a number of years as a book canvasser, an occupation he described in a letter to his father as "crippling my intellect, and shattering my constitution. That letter is now preserved in Rorty's military file in the National Archives in Washington DC. At the onset of the Civil War in 1861 he joined the Federal ranks. As a private in Company G of the 69th New York Militia, Rorty was captured with Colonel Michael Corcoran during the chaotic retreat from Bull Run. After two months in captivity he made a daring escape from a Confederate prison in Richmond, with two comrades. They all made good their escape by successfully reaching the Union lines. In November 1861, against his parents' wishes, Rorty rejoined the army as a lieutenant in the 14th New York Independent Battery. In the aforementioned letter to his father, the young Fenian sought to justify his disobedience by eloquently linking the preservation of the Union to the cause of Irish independence. The following is an excerpt from that letter. "But apart from the motives of self interest, and the higher one of attachment to, and veneration for the Constitution, which urged me to defend it at all risks, there is another, and a deeper one still which weighed heavily with me, namely the hope that the military knowledge or skill which I may acquire might thereafter be turned to account in the sacred cause of my native land. I may state in this connection, that some time before the present unhappy war broke out, I joined the Phoenix Brigade, an organization of Irishmen similar in its objects to the United Irishmen of bygone days, and had the honor to gain through some essays I wrote and published in the organ of the brotherhood, the friendship and approval of that single-minded patriot John O'Mahony Esqr." (Leader of the Fenian Brotherhood, based in New York.) When James Stephens toured the U.S. during the civil war he met all the leading American Fenians. Lieutenant James McKay Rorty, at the time, Secretary of the network of about 30 Fenian Circles (in effect, Companies), was viewed by Stephens as among the most promising of the leaders. These Circles, usually led by officers, were secretly organized in the two combatant forces, though mostly in the Union army and navy. He was wounded at Fredericksburg while serving as ordnance officer on the staff of Major General Winfield Scott Hancock. On the last day of the battle of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863, Captain Rorty now suddenly the commander of Battery B, 1st New York Light Artillery (once part of the Irish Brigade) offered his young life in the service of his adopted country during the most critical and dramatic hour of American history, known to the world as Pickett's Charge." Capt. P.J. Downing of the 42nd NY, who had witnessed Rorty's heroic final action wrote to Fenian chief John O'Mahony calling Rorty's death , ".... as severe a loss as Ireland has had in a long time."
Footnote: Unknown to each other, Captain Rorty and another Irish youth, 19-year-old Private Willie Mitchel son of the incomparable Irish patriot, John Mitchel, faced each other, was killed while bearing the regimental flag of the historic 1st Virginia Infantry Regiment, Pickett's division, in the Confederate service. Considering the position of Rorty's guns just 150 yards directly opposite the Codori House where Private Mitchel fell mortally wounded, it is within reason to believe that the fatal explosive was fired from the single gun of Rorty's Battery still manned by Rorty himself. Cemetery AND grave location Name: Calvary Cemetery PHONE NO. (718) 786-8002 ADDRESS: 49-02 Laurel Hill Blvd Flushing, NY 11377 GRAVE LOCATION: Section 45 HEADSTONE AND INSCRIPTION
A WORTHY OFFICER A GALLANT SOLDIER AN ESTIMABLE MAN ------------------------- JAMES McKAY RORTY PVT., CO. G, 69th N.Y.S.M. LIEUT., 14th N.Y. INDEPPT. BTY. LT. ARTY BORN DONEGAL TOWN, IRELAND, JUNE 11, 1837 FELL IN BATTLE FOR HIS ADOPTED COUNTRY GETTYSBURG, JULY 3, 1863 --------------------------------- Inscription on back CO., D. O'MAHONY'S GUARDS PHOENIX BRIGADE POTOMAC CIRCLE FENIAN BROTHERHOOD
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James McKay Rorty was born in Donegal Town in Ireland in 1837 into a family of nine children. Little is known of his early years in Ireland, except that like others of his time he witnessed the death, devastation and squalor caused by the contrived famine of the 1840’s. From the meager information available one can surmise that he had little formal education, however, its evident from his writings and successful military career that he was highly intelligent and well versed in the humanities.
Inscription on front