The James Ahern Papers document James Ahern's research and writing process as he worked on a book about John Bankhead Magruder (1807-1871), a lieutenant-colonel in the Mexican-American War, general in the Provisional Confederate Army during the US Civil War, and general in the Imperial Mexican Army.  Ahern's research covered the full span of Magruder's life including his birth and early life in Virginia, his years fighting in the Mexican-American War in Florida, his years on frontier duty in California and Kansas, his role in the Battle of Yorktown, the Seven Days Battles, and the Battle of Galveston as a Confederate general during the US Civil War, and his later years in Mexico.   The collection consists of research material including photocopies of  manuscripts on deposit in numerous repositories as well as notes and index cards compiled by Ahern throughout his research.  Also included is Ahern's unpublished manuscript about Macgruder, which is broken into chapters and filed with supporting research material.

James Ahern was a criminal investigator for the San Diego County District Attorney's Office. While researching the background of the District Attorney's Office, he ran across some information about John B. Magruder, a Confederate general during the US Civil War. Magruder fascinated Ahern, who was initially interested in his exploits around San Diego, where he served on frontier duty prior to the outbreak of the Civil War.

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This collection is open for research.