Fitzgerald, Edward H., 1815-1860.

Edward H. Fitzgerald was born in Robertsville, Pennsylvania, on December 23, 1815. He lived the next 11 years in Washington D.C., until his family moved to Norfolk, Virginia, in 1827. He attended Georgetown College from 1828-1832 and joined the U.S. Navy shortly thereafter. During 1834 and 1835, Fitzgerald toured the Mediterranean and the West Indies. He remained in the military for the rest of his life, and during the Mexican War, was aide-de-camp to Brigadier General Franklin Pierce (1847). Fitzgerald served as assistant quartermaster to companies A and E of the 1st Dragoons and led "the Fitzgerald Volunteers" in the Garra Insurrection of 1851. In 1852, he established Fort Jones, outside of Los Angeles, and eventually rose to the rank of brevet major. Fitzgerald died of consumption in Los Angeles, California, in January 1860. A year after his death, in June 1861, the military established Camp Fitzgerald near Los Angeles in his honor. For a list of locations where Fitzgerald was stationed throughout his military career [1839-1860], see additional descriptive data.

From the guide to the Edward H. Fitzgerald journals, Fitzgerald, Edward H., journals, 1834-1852, 1834-1844, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)