When Johnny left Fort Mulligan

Fort Mulligan is a Civil War era fort that resides just outside of Petersburg, West Virginia. Many people know that the fort was built by Union troops under the command of Colonel James. A. Mulligan. What many people do not know is that the artillery officer in charge of his battery of light artillery was none other than Captain John Rourke of Wisconsin. Yes, this Captain John Rourke is the same man named in the song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" by Patrick Gilmore. During the period of time that the Captain served under Colonel Mulligan he utilized the name Rourke rather than O'Rourke but that is a subject for another day. For today I bring you an interesting story about a historic man, a historic location and a life changing event or "pivot point" as Glenn Beck would call it. Before telling this story I would like to thank the South Branch Valley Civil War Society Inc., McNeill’s Rangers Camp #582, Sons of Confederate Veterans and the 7th WV Infantry Camp #7, Sons of Union Veterans for their hard work in maintaining and supporting Fort Mulligan. Although I have only seen the fort through photographs I do intend to visit the actual site at some point and would love to meet the members of this group. I would also like to thank Linda Cunningham Fluharty and Lindapages.com for her tireless efforts in researching civil war soldiers in order to preserve their stories for posterity. Without Linda's efforts a portion of this story would not be know. OK, as you know the original fort was built between August and December of 1863. If you look at the photographs online of the fort you will notice that there appears to be positions for seven cannon's rather than the normal six assigned to a battery. The records show that the 1st Illinois Light Artillery Battery L commanded seven tubes or cannons. I have been unable to identify where the seventh gun came from but it is more than likely the original six came from the state of Wisconsin. Why Wisconsin you may ask? Well Captain O'Rourke was an Irish immigrant who had settled in Milwaukee and then moved to Mauston within the state of Wisconsin. He had originally entered the service as John O'Rourke, had immediately been promoted to Captain by a vote of his peers and, when the 6th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry was ready he shipped out to Washington D.C. with his troops. Now, there is another story here but we will tell that one on another day. For now what you need to know is that the good Captain resigned and returned to Wisconsin where none other than the Governor Louis P. Harvey reenlisted O'Rourke, this time as Rourke and offered him command of the 17th Wisconsin Infantry. O'Rourke turned down the offer. Why? Because he wanted to serve with his pre-war friend James A. Mulligan. That's why! The two men had met during business conducted between John Fitzgerald, a railroad contractor, and the firms represented by Mulligan who was a lawyer. When Mulligan learned that O'Rourke was unattached and available he requested the Illinois governor extend a request to the Wisconsin governor to allow O'Rourke to serve under the Illinois flag. The Wisconsin Governor went one better on the offer and, while he didn't have enough men to form a complete unit, the governor sent O'Rourke and his partially organized unit the 11th Wisconsin Light Artillery to Chicago, Illinois and had them attached to Mulligan as battery L of the 1st Illinois Light Artillery. Now it is true that the cannons used by this group could have been provided by either Wisconsin or Illinois I would assume they came from Wisconsin as it would be bad manners to send the men unarmed so to speak. Together the men would travel to the east to pursue the war. Mulligan, is recorded as being a man of 6ft 4 inches in height with Hazel colored eyes and brown hair. O'Rourke it is believed, from examining period pictures of the man was of similar height. Unfortunately his eye color and hair color have not been found to be recorded in the records so far. Mulligan, a man of some wealth chose to wear his business when photographed. On the field he was known to wear flamboyant clothing that made him stand out and allowed him to be seen by all his soldiers at just a glance. O'Rourke, from the images, also believed in a well kept appearance. The remaining photographs show a man well groomed in a finely kept uniform. Later images show a man in neat and orderly suits as were common during his day. Together these two men must have been quite a sight. Both taller by far than their subordinates on the field. Together these men would build the new fort. In off hours one can almost imagine the Irish playing at road bowling as is told about in stories of the fort while in use. The rules of the game called for small metal balls to be rolled towards pins set up on grassy flats. What better to use than a solid shot meant for say a six pound cannon? Plentiful and available it would be a natural fit for the game. During his time at the fort O'Rourke would be singled out several times by his superiors. In one recorded event he is singled out for having captured a large shipment of tobacco. In this action he had utilized 60 of his cannoniers as cavalry and had captured the shipment while foraging. In another action he was praised by Lieutenant Colonel James Quirk of the 23rd Illinois for having positioned and fired the guns himself that lead to the recapture of a large herd of cattle after a grueling all night chase on the outskirts of Petersburgh. There were good times and bad at the fort but for the Captain things would soon go from bad to worse. According to the records of the Headquarters of the Second Brigade dated February 14, 1864 the events we are about to discuss happened on the 30th of January 1864. This record was written out and forwarded to Headquarters by J. Thoburn, Colonel, Commanding the units involved in the action. According to Thoburn Fort Mulligan was to be abandoned due to the advance of Early's troops on the position. The position, it was thought at the time could not be held due to the short amount of supplies on hand and the potential that the train bringing in new supplies may or may not reach the agreed upon delivery point. With this in mind Thoburn gave the order to evacuate the fort and the army moved out and Johnny left Fort Mulligan for the last time. Now, with most historic facts or events there is usually only one account of what happened. For this event, as it pertains to the Captain, there are three. The three accounts consist of 1. the J. Thoburn report, 2. A testimony of Captain William S. Robb the case of Corporal Theopilus W. Richardson of and 3. What the Captain himself had to say about the matter. First up lets see what Thoburn had to say: The column arrived in good condition, without casualty or disaster on the way, with the exception of a few stragglers that were picked up by the enemy while in a state of intoxication. Among these I am sorry to say were Captain John Rourke, Illinois Light Artillery, and Captain William S. Robb, First West Virginia Volunteer Infantry. Sounds like the Captains had a bit to much to drink. This explanation of the event always left me wondering because O'Rourke was a highly educated and deeply religious man. Might not stop him from drinking then again it just might. The second testimony comes from Captain Robb. In documents uncovered by Linda and available for viewing at Lindapages.com you can read the entire description. For our purposes its important to note that when testifying on behalf of Theophilus Richardson at a veterans benefit hearing he states that he came across Captain Rourke being tended by two Corporals after he was thrown by his horse. He, Robb, was looking for stragglers and making sure no useful supplies or equipment had been abandoned during the evacuation. It can be surmised that Rourke was doing the same when he was thrown from his horse. Robb goes on to say that all four of the Union Soldiers, including himself, were at that time captured by the Confederates and taken to prison camps. He does not mention being drunk or drinking with Rourke. He simply states that he came across Rourke while performing his duties. The third and final testimony on this event comes from O'Rourke himself in sort of an offhand manner. As a prominent citizen of Plattsmouth, Nebraska during 1881 he was asked if he would like to have his bio printed in the "Andreas History of Nebraska" book that was to be published. At the time it was kind of like a who's who of today. O'Rourke chose to include a bio of himself that had been published in a paper some years after the war but previous to the request by Andreas. This account designated by O'Rourke himself as accurate states: While in advanced line of the army before Petersburg, W. VA., his left shoulder was broken and himself taken prisoner, being first confined to Libby Prison Hospital, ...... Again, no mention of drinking or of being with Captain Robb. Kind of makes one wonder if Thoburn was covering his own bottom by saying they were lost due to drunkenness rather than lost in the line of duty. Either way, Captain O'Rourke had left Fort Mulligan and had begun one of the roughest periods of his entire life - that of a prisoner of the Confederate States of America. Finally, as I always do with the historic articles I invite you to ask questions, do the research yourself to validate what I say or simply write it off as a fanciful story. What I can tell you in defense of my research is that the stories I tell of O'Rourke come from hard, factual in period articles that have been uncovered during five years of research. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have enjoyed finding them. Thank you for reading.