Sweeny, Thomas William, 1820-1892

American army officer.

Thomas William Sweeny (1820-1892) was a soldier in the U.S. Army and a Fenian leader. He was born in County Cork, Ireland, but came to the U.S. in 1832, joined the U.S. Army in 1843 and fought in the Mexican War and U.S. Civil War. In 1866 he became active in the Irish liberation movement as Secretary of War in the Republic of Ireland declared by the clandestine Fenian Brotherhood. After an abortive attempt to invade Canada from the New York and Vermont borders, Sweeny and his troops were arrested. Sweeny was released without trial and returned to the U.S. Army. He retired in 1870 with the rank of brigadier general.

William T. Sweeny, an Irish-born American soldier and Fenian leader. A native of County Cork, Ireland, Sweeny came to the United States in 1832, and settled in New York. During the Mexican War, he fought with the 1st New York volunteers, taking part in Winfield Scott's campaign, from the siege of Vera Cruz to the storming of Churubusco. From 1851 to 1856, he served at Fort Yuma, Calif. and then took part in the Sioux Expedition from Fort Pierre in Nebraska Territory. At the beginning of the Civil War, Sweeny served under Nathaniel Lyon in Missouri. Following the surrender of the state forces at Camp Jackson, he was appointed brigadier-general of the three-months' Missouri volunteers and took part in Franz Sigel's expedition to Southwest Missouri. In August of 1861, he was put in command of the 52nd Regiment of Illinois Infantry which he led at Fort Donelson and Shiloh. Sweeny then commanded a brigade and a division in the Army of the Tennessee, taking part in the battles of Corinth, Kennesaw Mountain, and the Atlanta campaign. In August 1865, he was honorably discharged from volunteer service. In 1866 he took part in the failed Fenian invasion of Canada. He was reinstated in the Army in the fall of 1866. Sweeny retired from the army in 1870, with the rank of brigadier-general. After the retirement, he lived in Astoria, on New York's Long Island, until his death in 1892.

His son, William Montgomery Sweeny (1871-1945), was a historian, editor, and genealogist, author of: A Biographical memoir of Thomas William Sweeny, (New York, 1907), Captain Thomas Cook (1752-1841), A Soldier of the Revolution (New York, 1909).

Thomas William Sweeny (1820-1892) was a soldier in the U.S. Army and a Fenian leader.

He was born in County Cork, Ireland, but came to the U.S. in 1832, joined the U.S. Army in 1843 and fought in the Mexican War and U.S. Civil War. In 1866 he became active in the Irish liberation movement as Secretary of War in the Republic of Ireland declared by the clandestine Fenian Brotherhood. After an abortive attempt to invade Canada from the New York and Vermont borders, Sweeny and his troops were arrested. Sweeny was released without trial and returned to the U.S. Army. He retired in 1870 with the rank of brigadier general.

Biography

Thomas William Sweeny was born in Cork County, Ireland in 1820, son of William Sweeny and Honora (Sweeny) Sweeny, who emigrated with their family to the U.S. in 1832. Selecting a military career, young Sweeny served in the Mexican War in 1846, where he lost his right arm as the result of a wound received in the battle of Churubusco. Following the Mexican War, he fought in two Indian campaigns: against the Yumas from Fort Yuma on the Colorado River from 1851 to 1853, and in the Sioux Expedition, 1855-1856 from Fort Pierre in Nebraska Territory, now South Dakota. In 1861 Sweeny was sent as brigadier general of the Missouri Volunteers to southwest Missouri to oppose Confederate occupation. Severely wounded in action, he was mustered out, but returned to service as colonel of the 52nd. Ill. Reg. in the Georgia campaign. He showed outstanding courage in the battles of Shiloh and Corinth, was commissioned brigadier general. After the Civil War, Sweeny remained in the regular service until his retirement in 1870.

Sweeny was twice married. His first wife was Ellen Swain Clark whom he married in 1848. Widowed in 1860, he did not remarry until 1867. His second wife was Eugenia Octavia Reagan, who survived him. Three children were born to each marriage, four of whom survived their father, who died in 1892 in his home in Astoria, Long Island. One of the sons, William Montgomery Sweeny, was mainly responsible for the conservation of his father's papers and for additions to them in the form of correspondence, family genealogical material and memoirs of some of his father's former companions in military campaigns.