{"id":102577,"date":"2025-04-18T11:42:54","date_gmt":"2025-04-18T15:42:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=102577"},"modified":"2025-04-18T11:43:15","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T15:43:15","slug":"easter-celebration-remembering-father-cooney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/easter-celebration-remembering-father-cooney.html","title":{"rendered":"Easter Celebration: Remembering Father Cooney"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry writes about Father Cooney celebrating Easter Mass for the Army of the Cumberland on a Civil War battlefield during the Atlanta Campaign in 1864. Melissa is a genealogist who has a website, americana-archives.com<\/a>, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

In 1864 during the Civil War, Union soldiers celebrated Easter with the Rev. P. P. Cooney (1822-1909), chaplain for the 35th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, also known as the First Irish Brigade.<\/p>\n

Here is an illustration of Catholic Chaplain Rev. P. P. Cooney celebrating Easter Mass on the battlefield in 1864. Several famous generals and service men are present, including Union Army General William Tecumseh Sherman, Surgeon George W. Parson, Lieutenant Colonel Augustus G. Tassin, and Union Army General David Sloane Stanley. The lower left image shows a soldier receiving holy communion in a battle scene, and in the lower right holy sisters are in a field hospital. Title: \u201cAtlanta Campaign. Army of the Cumberland. Divine Service by Rev. P.P. Cooney, C.S.C. Chaplain Gen. of Ind. Troops in the Field.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Illustration:
Illustration: \u201cDivine Service by Rev. P.P. Cooney, C.S.C. Chaplain Gen. of Ind. Troops in the Field.\u201d Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a letter to his brother dated 26 April 1864, Father Cooney wrote:<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is an artist in our brigade who took the picture of our regiment at Mass on Easter Sunday \u2013 my tent, etc. It was sent to Cincinnati to be engraved. It makes a most beautiful picture. It will cost about $500 and when finished I will send you a copy.\u201d (Notre Dame Archives)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Father Peter Paul Cooney (one of seven children) was born in County Roscommon, Ireland, in 1822 to Peter and Winifred \u201cWinnie\u201d (Mulheran) Cooney. He was five years old when his family immigrated to America from Ireland.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: Rev. Peter P. Cooney. Credit: Notre Dame Special Collection.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Father Cooney was well-loved by many and was held in high esteem. He forged a lasting friendship with Union General William Starke Rosecrans.<\/p>\n

In the same letter mentioned above dated 26 April 1864, Father Cooney wrote:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Commanding General [Rosecrans] has become a fervent Catholic convert, and his example is powerful over the men of his command.\u201d (Notre Dame Archives)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Scores of letters, diaries, books, and military accounts reveal the chaplain\u2019s enduring qualities which include humility, grace, compassion, and deep patriotism. Here are just a few\u2026<\/p>\n

In \u201cIndiana\u2019s Roll of Honor<\/a>,\u201d published in 1864, the following is noted (p. 561):<\/p>\n

\u201cFather Cooney, Chaplain of the Irish Regiment. Possessing all the elements of a soldier, he is endowed with the virtues of a good priest. Cool and brave under fire, he is kind and compassionate in the hospital. In the sluggish and dull monotony of the camp, he is energetic and active.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A report on an engagement filed by Lieutenant Colonel Augustus G. Tassin, Thirty-Fifth Indiana Infantry, of operations 15-19 December 1864 in the field, near Rutherford\u2019s Creek, Tennessee, 19 December 1864:<\/p>\n

\u201cMy officers and men behaved gallantly. Although the majority of the men of my regiment are recruits, they did well. Great praise is due to Father Cooney for his constant presence in the field, attending to the wants of the wounded and cheering us all by his presence.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Credit: \u201cOfficial Records of the Union and Confederate Armies,\u201d Volume 45, Part 1. Chapter 57, pp. 202-203.<\/p>\n

Here is a photo of the mess kit that Father Cooney used while serving as the beloved chaplain of the 35th Indiana Infantry during the Civil War.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: Father Cooney\u2019s mess kit. Credit: Notre Dame Special Collection.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Father Cooney wrote a heartfelt letter<\/a> of condolence to Mrs. Garfield after President Garfield\u2019s death. Credit: National Park Service. His letter to her, dated 19 October 1881, begins:<\/p>\n

Dear Madam:<\/p>\n

I beg leave to send you lines of condolence to the afflicted wife of him whom I have always held in the highest esteem \u2013 Jas. A. Garfield \u2013 late President of the United States, & whose virtues & merit I tried to express in an address delivered in South Bend, Ind., Sept. 26th, 1881 \u2013 the day appointed for his obsequies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In 1915 an Indiana newspaper article featured a long-time Notre Dame cobbler who was married by Father Cooney back in 1868.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
South Bend Tribune (South Bend, Indiana), 16 February 1915, page 7<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

John Peter Drum (1844-1917) married Mary Ellen Moriarity (1846-1905) on 28 June 1868 in St. Joseph, Indiana.<\/p>\n

This article reports:<\/p>\n

On the wall of the ancient cobbler\u2019s shop is a well-worn print commemorating the life and labors of the Rev. P. P. Cooney, C.S.C., who served as chaplain to the 35th Irish veteran regiment, which was made up of survivors of the Irish Brigade during the Civil War, and others who claimed Erin as their native land. This regiment was formed in 1861<\/a> [correction] and Mr. Drum points to Father Cooney as the man who married him.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Father Cooney was a member of a unique part of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) formed in Notre Dame, Indiana, on 6 October 1897. It was known as Post 529 and was composed of priests who served as chaplains during the Civil War.<\/p>\n

Here is a photograph of the priests who formed this unique G.A.R. post and their companies and regiments.<\/p>\n

In this photo we see (sitting left to right): Rev. William Corby, Chaplain of Eighty-eighth N. Y. Volunteers, Irish Brigade; Rev. Peter P. Cooney, Chaplain Thirty-fifth Medina and 1st Irish 35th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, Rev. James McLain, Company B, Twenty-fourth United States Infantry; Rev. William A. Olmstead, captain and lieutenant-colonel, Second New York Volunteers, colonel Fifty-ninth New York Veteran Volunteers, brigadier general by brevet, commanding First Brigade, Second Division. Second Army Corps, Army of Potomac; Rev. Mark A. Willis, Company I, Fifty-fourth Pennsylvania Volunteers; (second row, left to right): Rev. James Mantel, Company A, First Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery and Sixth United States Cavalry; John McInerny, Company H, Eighty-third Ohio Volunteers; Rev. Joseph Staley, Company C, Eighth Indiana Regulars; Rev. James C. Malloy, Company B, 138th Pennsylvania Volunteers; Rev. Nicholas A. Bath, Company D, Second United States Volunteers; Ignats Mayer, Company B, 133rd Pennsylvania Volunteers; and Rev. Edward F. Martin. United States Navy.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: priests of G.A.R. Post 529. Credit: Notre Dame Library Archives. Credit: Notre Dame Archives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Happy Easter!<\/p>\n

Explore over 330 years of newspapers and historical records in GenealogyBank. Discover your family story! Start a 7-Day Free Trial<\/a><\/p>\n

Note on the header image:<\/em><\/strong> close-up of Rev. Peter P. Cooney. Credit: Notre Dame Special Collection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Melissa Davenport Berry writes about Father Cooney celebrating Easter Mass on a Civil War battlefield during the Atlanta Campaign in 1864.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":102587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12235],"tags":[453,59010,52,59009],"class_list":["post-102577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","tag-american-civil-war","tag-clergy","tag-easter","tag-peter-paul-cooney"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/photo-0418-2025-featured-graphic-peter-cooney.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102577"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102586,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102577\/revisions\/102586"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}