Slainte! John O’Neill, Irish Patriot!

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, here’s a tribute to the colorful John C. O’Neill, an Irish immigrant, American Civil War veteran, Irish Nationalist, Colonizer and Founder.

John C. O’Neill emigrated to American from Ireland in 1848 during the potato famine and joined his mother and siblings in New Jersey. He worked as a shop clerk and traveling salesman before enlisting in the 2nd US Dragoons in 1857. Hoping to see action in the Morman rebellion in Utah, the rebellion collapsed leaving him feeling cheated out of action. He then deserted and re-enlisted in the 1st Cavalry in California as a sergeant. He served with this regiment in the Civil War until commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in Company I, 5th Indiana Cavalry in 1862. His regiment took part in the Peninsular campaign of May – July 1862. In July 1863, they started pursuit of Confederate General John Hunt Morgan’s raiders through southern Indiana. The regiment caught up to Morgan at Buffington Island (OH) where they attacked, resulting in the capture and putting an end to Morgan’s terror. O’Neill showed himself a daring, fighting officer but he did not get the promotion he thought he deserved.

In November 1863, at the Battle of Cumberland Gap, O’Neil was wounded and taken from the field. He was promoted on December 1, to 1st Lieutenant.

The following summer, at his own request, he was transferred, and appointed Captain in the 17th United States Colored Infantry. Due to his impaired physical condition resulting from the wound received earlier, he resigned from active service in November, 1864.

He established a claim and pension agency at Nashville, TN with branches in Louisville, KY, New York City and Washington D.C. In 1866, he left his business at the call of his Irish countrymen to take command of the military wing of the Fenian organization. The Fenian Brotherhood was a secret society organized in both Ireland and America, whose goal was the liberation of Ireland from British control.

“The governing passion of my life apart from my duty to my God is to be at the head of an Irish Army battling against England for Ireland’s rights,” O’Neill declared. “For this I live, and for this if necessary I am willing to die.”

O’Neill lead a detachment of 800 Fenian volunteers, mostly discharged Union and Confederate veterans, in the attacks on Canada, hoping to exploit Anglo-American tensions and perhaps start a war between Britain and America.

As a Fenian Colonel, he invaded Fort Erie and the small town of Ridgeway on June 1, 1866. O’Neill’s troops succeeded in defeating several Canadian units, including the Queen’s Own regiment at the battle of Ridgeway. However, the U.S. government took action and immediately rounded up Fenian troops that were to be O’Neill’s reinforcements, without them O’Neill’s “army” was forced to return across the border and thus captured by the U.S. but later released.

In the words of a dear friend, “He crossed into the enemy’s country and there battling against fearful odds, for the first time in the history of Ireland since 1798, hauled down the red flag of England and hoisted the green one, and by that single act humbled and humiliated the arrogand pride of haughty England ans sent a trill of joy to the heart of the Irish race the world over.”

The Battle of Ridgeway made “General” John O’Neill a hero. It has the distinction of being the only armed victory for the cause of Irish independnce in the entire 19th century. This had a profound effect on the Irish people on both sides of the Atlantic. Later attempts to invade Canada, in 1870 and 1871, were not successful, and the Fenians disbanded. O’Neill decided to pursue other means of helping the Irish.

Aware of the poverty and misery in the large eastern cities, he longed to relieve the the sufferings of his countrymen. In one of his letters of that time, he wrote:

“I have always believed that the next best thing to giving the Irish people their freedom at home is to encourage such of them as lands and build homes in America.”

O’Neill believed moving his fellow Irishmen west afforded them the best opportunity for improving their quality of life. Determined to carry out his plans as soon as possible, he traveled through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Nebraska. He became convinced that Nebraska, with it’s healthful climate, pure water and fertile land held the greatest advantages for settlers. After securing lots on a townsite in Holt county, he went east to promote immigration through lectures in cities throughout Pennsylvania.

“My heart is with the Irish people. My earnest desire is for the amelioration of my race. For this reason, I urge you to colonize and possess the land, and all other advantages will follow. As a powerful means to that end, I would inculcate temperance and economy so that you may save your money for this noble purpose.”

Beginning in 1874, he led groups of Irish colonists to the Elkhorn River Valley, where O’Neill city became the foremost colony in Nebraska. He also helped groups settle at Atkinson in Holt county and in Greeley county. His work continued until 1877, when he suffered a stroke, then pheumonia, finally passing away at St. Joseph’s Hosptial in Omaha on January 8th, 1878 at the age of 43.

In 1896, Irish Nationalists raised a 15 foot tall monument at his gravesite in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Omaha. O’Neill, Nebraska was proclaimed the Irish Capital of Nebraska by the Governor in 1969. With funding and support from the community, in 2022 a new sculpture of John O’Neill was dedicated at the Holt County courthouse in O’Neill. His pose, mirrors the engraving on his tombstone, “He fought with distinction for his adopted country and was ever ready to draw his sword for his native land.”

Sources:

John Savage, Fenian Heroes and Martyrs. 1868
William D’Arcy, The Fenian movement in the United States, 1858–1886 (1947)
Burns E. McCulloh, A Piece of Emerald: O’Neill – Nebraska’s Irish Capital, The First One Hundred Years, 1874-1974.
The Holt Independent, June 7, 2022
Dictionary of Canadian Biography
Dictionary of Irish Biography, O’Neill, John.
Nebraska State Historical Society, Marker Number 129
The Union Army, vol. 3, p. 168
City of O’Neill website.
Find A Grave, John C. O’Neill memorial.
Civil War Data, John O’Neill Civil War service record.