Kevill, Thomas, 1826-1896.

Thomas Kevill was born in Sligo, Ireland on April 5, 1826. He later emigrated to Canada and then to Boston, Massachusetts. By 1848 Kevill was living in Norfolk, Virginia, where he worked as a haberdasher. In 1850, he married Augustine L. Shield. Kevill formed and headed Norfolk's United Volunteer Fire Co. in 1860.

Before the firing on Fort Sumter, Kevill organized the United Artillery, a militia unit composed of firemen. After Virginia seceded, Kevill enlisted in the Confederate army as captain in the United Artillery (1st Co. E, 41st Virginia Infantry). During the war's first year, Kevill's unit occupied Fort Norfolk on the Elizabeth River. In March 1862, Kevill volunteered to serve aboard the newly christened ironclad CSS Virginia, where he commanded #9 broadside gun during the Battle of Hampton Roads. Soon thereafter, Kevill returned to his old unit, which became Co. C, 19th Battalion Virginia Heavy Artillery. During the evacuation of Norfolk, Kevill manned an entrenched heavy battery. In the Battle of Savage Station, Kevill commanded a railroad artillery piece. For much of the rest of the war, Kevill was stationed at Drewry's Bluff. Kevill surrendered with Robert E. Lee's forces at Appomattox on April 9, 1865.

After the war, Kevill returned to Norfolk and resumed his occupation as a haberdasher. He also organized and served as chief of Norfolk's first professional fire department. In 1883, he became one of the founding members of the Pickett-Buchanan Camp Confederate Veterans, which was part of the larger state-wide organization Grand Camp Confederate Veterans. Kevill died in 1896 and is buried at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Norfolk.