Colonel Thomas W. Cahill

Soldiers:

Col Thomas W. Cahill was born Aug 12, 1826, son of Lawrence and Mary (Young) Cahill in Charlestown, Mass. He moved to New Haven Connecticut and became Colonel of the 9th Connecticut Irish regiment during the Civil War. Upon the death of General Williams during the battle of Baton Rogue Col. Cahill assumed the initial command of the troops including the Fourth Wisconsin, Twenty-first Indiana, the Second and Sixth Massachusetts batteries, supported by the Fourteenth Maine, Seventh Vermont, Sixth Michigan, Thirteenth Massachusetts and Ninth Connecticut Regiments.

He ordered a pullback of 200 yards to a more defensible line where Union gunboats covered their flanks and inflicted heavy losses on Confederate attacks. The Confederate forces were commanded by Major Gen. John C. Breckenridge, former vice president of the United States from Kentucky. Having repulsed the Confederates the troops began an evacuation from the city on August 18 as ordered by Gen Butler. Union forces had suffered 84 killed and 374 wounded.

After the war Cahill superintended several sewer systems in New Haven and Norwich. He was also elected to the Board of Education and the Board of Road and Street Commissioners. He died in August 1869. His wife died the following year leaving 5 orphaned children. At the Ninth’s wreath laying ceremony in New Haven on November of 2005 two descendants of Col Cahill attended. One was Charles Sibley of Hamden and the other was Carol Welch Russell of Fairfield.

Cpl John Alexander
Pvt Albert Andrews
Mus Charles Andre
Pvt Josiah Barker
Pvt David Barry
QM Nathan Bennett
Lt John Bolger
Sgt William Brown
Pvt Dominick Burns
Sgt Bernard Caffrey
Col Thomas W. Cahill
Pvt John I. Cain
Pvt Ambrose Carney
Lt John Carroll
Lt Daniel Carroll
Pvt John Carroll
Lt Patrick T. Claffee
Capt Thomas Coates
Cpl John P. Coen
Cpl Michael P. Coen
Sgt Michael Cronan
Pvt Patrick Cullen
Capt Elliot Curtis
Lt John Curtis
Mus Dennis Deegan
Pvt Levi S. Drew
Capt John Duffy
Lt Fredrick M. Fairchild
Pvt Daniel Farrell
Lt Col Richard FitzGibbon
Pvt Patrick Flanagan
Mjr Frederick Frye
Surg Charles Gallagher
Capt Patrick Garvey
Sgt Daniel Gallagher
Lt William Gleeson
Capt James Graham
Sgt Malachi Hackett
Pvt John Hazlett
Prin Muc John Healy
Lt Col John G Healy
Pvt Edward Heffernan
Sgt Daniel Heffernan
Capt James Hennessey
Pvt Michael Horrigan
Lt Patrick Ingoldsby
Pvt Martin Joyce
Pvt Patrick Kane
Pvt Patrick Lane
Pvt Patrick Larkin
Lt Joseph Lawler
Lt James Lawler
Lt Thomas Lawler
Pvt John Marlow
Capt Michael McCarten
Chap Daniel Mullen
Sgt James T. Mullen
Lt Michael Mullins
Capt Lawrence O'Brien
Lt William O'Keefe
Lt Daniel O'Sullivan
Capt Charles Palmer
Sgt Phillip Reilley
Chap Leo Rizzo
Sgt Timothy Ryan
Capt Gary Scott
Lt John Shaw
Capt Terrance Sheridan
Lt Christian Streit
Sgt Thomas Tallmadge
Capt David C. Warner
Pvt Robert Walsh
Capt Michael Williams
Capt William Wright