Thomas William Sweeny Papers: Finding Aid mssSW
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Finding aid last updated on February 12, 2024, by Kelly Kress
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Thomas William Sweeny papers
Creator:
Sweeny, Thomas William, 1820-1892
Identifier/Call Number: mssSW
Physical Description:
11.5 Linear Feet
(15 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1830-1944
Date (bulk): 1846-1892
Abstract: This collection contains the personal and professional papers of Irish-born American soldier Thomas William Sweeny (1820-1892),
including his personal and official correspondence, military records accumulated during his service in the Mexican War, tours
in California and Nebraska Territory, and the Civil War, and diaries. There is also correspondence of his son historian William
Montgomery Sweeny (1871-1945). Subjects include: the Mexican War of 1845-1848; Fort Yuma; Sioux expedition, Nebraska Territory
(Fort Pierre, S.D.); Civil War: Southwest Missouri, Georgia, battles of Shiloh and Corinth; and Sweeny family genealogy.
Language of Material: English.
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[Identification of item]. Thomas William Sweeny papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Mrs. William Montgomery Sweeny in 1956 and 1959.
Irish-born American soldier and Fenian leader Thomas William Sweeny (1820-1892) was born in Cork County, Ireland, in 1820,
son of William Sweeny and Honora (Sweeny) Sweeny, who emigrated with their family to the United States in 1832, settling in
New York. During the Mexican War, Sweeny fought with the 1st New York volunteers, taking part in Winfield Scott's campaign,
from the siege of Vera Cruz to the storming of Churubusco. He lost his right arm as the result of a wound received in the
battle of Churubusco. From 1851 to 1853, he served at Fort Yuma, California, and then took part in the Sioux Expedition, 1855-1856,
from Fort Pierre in Nebraska Territory (now South Dakota). At the beginning of the Civil War, Sweeny served under Nathaniel
Lyon in Missouri. Following the surrender of the state forces at Camp Jackson, he was appointed brigadier-general of the three-months'
Missouri volunteers and took part in Franz Sigel's expedition to Southwest Missouri. In August of 1861, he was put in command
of the 52nd Regiment of Illinois Infantry which he led at Fort Donelson and Shiloh. Sweeny then commanded a brigade and a
division in the Army of the Tennessee, taking part in the battles of Corinth, Kennesaw Mountain, and the Atlanta campaign.
In August 1865, he was honorably discharged from volunteer service. In 1866 he took part in the failed Fenian invasion of
Canada. He was reinstated in the Army in the fall of 1866. Sweeny retired from the army in 1870, with the rank of brigadier-general.
After the retirement, he lived in Astoria, on New York's Long Island, until his death in 1892.
Sweeny was twice married. His first wife was Ellen Swain Clark whom he married in 1848. Widowed in 1860, he did not remarry
until 1867. His second wife was Eugenia Octavia Reagan, who survived him. Three children were born to each marriage, four
of whom survived their father, who died in 1892 in his home in Astoria, Long Island.
Sweeny's son, William Montgomery Sweeny (1871-1945), was a historian, editor, and genealogist, author of:
A Biographical memoir of Thomas William Sweeny (New York, 1907) and
Captain Thomas Cook (1752-1841), A Soldier of the Revolution (New York, 1909).
This collection contains the personal and professional papers of Thomas William Sweeny, including his personal and official
correspondence, military records, and diaries, and the correspondence of William Montgomery Sweeny. Also included photographs,
some pencil and ink drawings, and ephemera.
Personal correspondence of Thomas William Sweeny, chiefly his letters to the family and friends written from 1846 to 1892.
Military correspondence and documents - letters, orders, communications, reports, ordnance receipts, commissions, recruiting
records, etc. -- accumulated by Sweeny during his service in the Mexican War, the tours in California and Nebraska Territory,
and the Civil War, chiefly those received by him or his staff. There are some retained copies of outgoing communications and
reports, including official reports on the battles of Shiloh and Corinth, and the march on the Holly Springs, some with by
hand-drawn maps. Also included are the speech that Sweeny delivered on the first anniversary of the Battle of Shiloh, and
his farewell address to the troops (July 1864).
A large part of Sweeny's correspondence that he kept after his retirement from the army consists of letters from veterans
and veteran organizations, including the associations of the veterans of the Mexican War, the 52nd Illinois Infantry, Army
of the Tennessee, officers of the Irish Brigade, Associated Pioneers of the Territorial Days of California, Military Service
Institution, the Grand Army of the Republic, Hibernian Benevolent Society, and others.
Also included is the diary that Thomas William Sweeny kept during his service at Fort Yuma in 1851-1853. Another diary, titled
"Life in the American Desert" (1851, June-July) consists of clippings of the articles published in installments by the New
York Atlas in 1856-1857, with author's annotations.
Correspondence and papers of William Montgomery Sweeny, chiefly letters addressed to him and related to his biographical and
genealogical studies, including some genealogical data.
Materials created by US presidents include: Ulysses S. Grant letter to Thomas Sidney Jesup, 1847 January 31 (SW 181); James
K. Polk commission to Thomas W. Sweeny, 1848 April 21 (SW 358); Millard Fillmore commission to Thomas W. Sweeny, 1852 July
3 (SW 154); all items are in box 1.
Note: This collection doesn't contain any materials dealing with the Fenian invasion.
Persons represented by 5 or more items consist of: Sarah A (Sweeny) Barnard (7 pieces); Emile H. Brie (7 pieces); Charles
Brower (9 pieces); Francis D. Clark (10 pieces); James Edward Kelly (5 pieces); W. H. Lane (6 pieces); C. Osgood Morse (7
pieces); Samuel Vincent Niles (7 pieces); James Rowan O'Beirne (6 pieces); Grenville Mellen Dodge (5 pieces); Mary P. Kilby
(7 pieces); Fitz John Porter (7 pieces); Franz Sigel (11 pieces); Edward B Spalding Spalding (8 pieces); Charles Baxter Sweeny
(15 pieces); Eugenia O. (Reagan) Sweeny (5 pieces); Frances Ellen Sweeny (11 pieces); Sarah Bernard Sweeny (5 pieces); Sarah
Bernard Sweeny (5 pieces); and Thomas William Sweeny (335 (approx.) pieces)
Some notable items include:
- SW 181 Grant, Ulysses S. Letter to Gen. Thomas S. Jesup. 1847, Jan. 31
- SW 403 Scott, Winfield. Letter to David Conner: re. Taylor's victory over Santa Ana. 1847, Mar. 16
- SW 540 Sweeny, Thomas W. To C. Lovell: Report on Battle of Corinth (Miss.). 1862, Oct. 15
- SW 626 Sweeny, Thomas W. Official Report of the Battle of Shiloh. 1862
- SW 627 Sweeny, Thomas W. Official Report of Brig. Gen. Sweeny of the March to Holly Springs (Miss.). 1863, Oct. 21
- SW 634 Sweeny, Thomas W. "The Siege and Occopation of Corinth" (of 1862). c. 1865
- SW 771 Account of battle of 52nd Ill. Reg. at Pittsburg Landing under command of Thomas William Sweeny, Feb. 1862
- SW 850(1-120) Sweeny, Thomas W. & others. Letterbook. Contains correspondence re Yuma military reservation on the Colorado River, and the Sioux expedition in Nebraska Territory.
- SW 862(1-195) Sweeny, Thomas W. & others. Letterbook. Contains correspondence during Civil War
The letterbook containing Civil War correspondence (SW 862) has been disbound for conservation purposes and the individual
letters foldered sequentially in 4 boxes.
This finding aid was updated in 2022 by Melissa Haley as part of the American Presidential Papers Project with enhanced description
of the presidential material present.
Individual call numbers in the collection: mssSW 1-862.
This collection doesn't contain any materials dealing with the Fenian invasion. This period is covered in the
Thomas William Sweeny Papers in The New York Public Library. (Rare Books & Manuscripts Division, The New York Public Library)
See also: Dictionary of American Biography.
307184 Sweeny, Thomas William. Journal, 1849-1853. Ed. by Arthur Woodward. Los Angeles, Westernlore Press [c. 1956]
55348 Sweeny, Thomas William. Military Occupation of California, 1849-53. From the Journal of Lt. Thomas W. Sweeny. [N.Y.]
1909. Reprinted from the Journal of the Military Service Institution.
Nicholson Coll. (R.B.) Sweeny, William Montgomery. A Biographical Memoir of Thomas William Sweeny, Brigadier-General U.S.
Army. [1907]
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Atlanta Campaign, 1864 -- Sources
Corinth, Battle of, Corinth, Miss., 1862
Dakota Indians -- Wars.
Fort Donelson, Battle of, Tenn., 1862 -- Sources
Indians of North America -- Arizona.
Indians of North America -- Government relations.
Indians of North America -- South Dakota
Indians of North America -- Wars -- 1815-1875.
Irish Americans -- Archives
Kennesaw Mountain, Battle of, Ga., 1864 -- Sources
Mexican War, 1846-1848 -- Sources
Mexican War, 1846-1848 -- Veterans -- Archives
Shiloh, Battle of, Tenn., 1862 -- Sources
Yuma Indians -- Wars.
Fort Pierre (S.D.)
Fort Yuma Reservation (Ariz. and Calif.) -- History -- Sources
Georgia -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources
Missouri -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources
Tennessee -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Veterans -- Correspondence.
New York (N.Y.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
United States -- History, Military -- To 1900 -- Sources
Diaries -- United States -- 19th century
Genealogies -- United States -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 19th century
Military records -- United States -- 19th century
Fillmore, Millard, 1800-1874
Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885
Polk, James K. (James Knox), 1795-1849
Sweeny, William Montgomery, 1871-1945
Sweeny, Thomas William, 1820-1892 -- Archives
Sweeny, William Montgomery, 1871-1945 -- Archives
United States. Army. Illinois Infantry Regiment, 52nd (1861-1865)
United States. Army -- History -- Mexican War, 1846-1848 -- Sources.
United States. Army -- Officers -- Correspondence
Box 1
1830-1864
Box 2
1865-1870
Box 3
1871-1885
Box 4
1886-1892
Box 5
1893-1897
Box 6
1898-1920
Box 7
1921-1944; Photographs; Ephemera
Box 8
Sweeny, Thomas W. and others. Letterbook [re Yuma military reservation on the Colorado River, and the Sioux expedition in Nebraska Territory]. SW 850 1846-1860
Box 8a
Newspaper Clippings re: General Sweeny, U.S. Army (SW 849); Miscellaneous envelopes
Box 9
Sweeny, Thomas W. Civil War letterbook. SW 862 (1-50)
Box 10
Sweeny, Thomas W. Civil War letterbook. SW 862 (51-100)
Box 11
Sweeny, Thomas W. Civil War letterbook. SW 862 (101-150)
Box 12
Sweeny, Thomas W. Civil War letterbook. SW 862 (151-195c)
Box 8a
Sweeny, Thomas W. "Life in the American Desert : Diary of Lt. Sweeny, U.S.A." [1 volume] 1851 June 6-July 22
Box 13
Sweeny, Thomas W. Diary. SW 852 1851-1853
Box 14
Willis and Genealogy of Sweeny family. SW 853-860