Military Monday – James Quigley, Civil War Veteran

Yesterday I posted the obituary of James Quigley (1846-1944) from the Napa Journal.[1]  The obituary mentioned his Civil War service and stated he was the last living Civil War veteran living in Napa, California.  I decided to do some investigating on his Civil War service.

I checked first on the internet and found several websites devoted to regiment histories.  I found a James Quigley in a roster for the 11^th Wisconsin Infantry, Co. B. which stated he enlisted 28 Dec 1863, transferred in, and mustered out 4 Sep 1865.[2]

Quigley, James

B

12/28/63

Transfered

09/04/65

Mustered out

So far the roster matches the obituary.  But what is this about being transferred in?  On another website about the Co B. Mendotta Guard, I found this information:[3]

Quigley, James

Boscobel

Dec 28, 1863

From 33rd Wis. Inf.; M.O. Sept 4, 1865.

So he possibly transferred in from the 33^rd Wisconsin Infantry regiment.  His hometown is listed as Boscobel, a town in Grant County, Wisconsin.  The Medotta Guard was the popular name for the 11^th Infantry.[4]

Next I looked at the roster for the 33^rd Regiment and found James Quigley in Co. B.[5]   

Quigley, James

B

12/28/63

Enlisted

07/22/65

Transferred

It clearly shows that James was transferred out on July 22, 1865.  Reading the history of the 33^rd Regiment, the regiment was mustered out 8 Aug 1865.[6]

The obituary also mentioned that James Quigley was just sixteen when he enlisted. If he enlisted 28 Dec 1863, that would make him just seventeen. I do not yet have a birth record for James, but from the California Death Index, he was born 9 Nov 1846.[7]  The 1900 Federal census has his birth date as Nov 1849.[8] The following two censuses have his age consistent with the 1900 census: age 60[9] and 71,[10] but the 1930 census indicates his age at 84, consistent with the 1846 birth date in the death index.[11]    

Conclusion & Further Research

My conclusions so far are: James Quigley probably served with the Wisconsin Volunteers both in the 33^rd and 11^th Regiments.  He probably enlisted at a young age of either 16 or 17.  My next step would be to search for his Civil War service record and a possible Civil War pension record.

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[1] "Funeral Tomorrow for James Quigley, Napa's Last Veteran of the Civil War," Napa Journal, 6 Oct 1944, p. 1, microfilm, California State Library : accessed 29 Jul 2011.

[2] “Roster for 11th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment,” Wisconsin Genealogy Trails

(http://genealogytrails.com/wis/11thWIInfReg-roster5.html : accessed 1 Aug 2011), James Quigley, Co. B.

[3] “Company B: Mendota Guard,” posted by Chris Wehner, 11^th Wisconsin Civil War Regiment (http://11wisconsinregiment.soldierstudies.org/ : accessed 1 Aug 2011), James Quigley, enlisted man.

[4] “Dictionary of Wisconsin History,” Wisconsin Historical Society (http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/ : accessed 1 Aug 2011), Mendota Guard entry.

[5] “Roster for 33rd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment,” Wisconsin Genealogy Trails

(http://genealogytrails.com/wis/33rdWIinfReg-roster3.html : accessed 1 Aug 2011), James Quigley, Co. B.

[6] “Unit History (1862-1865),” 33d Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry (http://www.33wis.com/history/history.html : accessed 1 Aug 2011).

[7] “California Death Index 1940-1997,” Rootsweb.com (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com : accessed 1 Aug 2011), entry for James Quigley.

[8] 1900 U.S. census, Stevens, Washington, population schedule, Northport, ED 74, sheet 10A, p 10 (stamped), dwelling 224, family 225, J. Quigley; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 Aug 2011); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623, roll 1752.

[9] 1910 U.S. census, Stevens, Washington, population schedule, Northport, ED 209, sheet 1B, dwelling 19, family 19, James Quigley; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 Aug 2011); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T624, roll 1672.

[10] 1920 U.S. census, Stevens, Washington, population schedule, Northport, ED 288, sheet 8A, dwelling 26, James Quigley; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 Aug 2011); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T625, roll 1938.

[11] 1930 U.S. census, San Mateo, California, population schedule, Burlingame, ED 41-2, sheet 2B, dwelling 51, family 51, James Quigley; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 Aug 2011); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T626, roll 216.

Copyright © 2011 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, My Trails into the Past