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Myles Keogh: The Carlow man who fought in three wars
Myles Keogh, born in 1840 in Co Carlow, fought in three wars on two continents in his short life.
According to the Dictionary of Irish Biography, Keogh was born on March 25th, 1840, at Orchard House, Leighlinbridge, Co Carlow.
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He was the son of John Keogh, a farmer, and Margaret Keogh (née Blanchfield). Keogh was educated at the local school in Leighlinbridge, and he may also have later attended St Patrick's College, Maynooth, before leaving Ireland in 1860 to serve in the papal army.
He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Irish battalion (August 1860) and served under Major Myles O'Reilly and fought with distinction at the siege of Ancona.
After the war, with the reduction of the papal army, he managed to retain his commission and served in the company of Irish Zouaves.
He left the papal service in February 1862 and was awarded the Medaglia di Pro Petri Sede and the Order of St Gregory the Great by Pope Pius IX for his war service.
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The Dictionary of Irish Biography's David Murphy then recounts that Keogh travelled to America, where the civil war was raging, hoping to obtain a commission in the union army.
Armed with letters of introduction from Irish-American friends, Keogh and several other Irish ex-papal officers petitioned officials at the war department.
Keogh was commissioned as a captain in April of 1862 and he was made ADC to Dungannon-born James Shields.
He subsequently served as an ADC to Generals McClellan, Buford, and Stoneman, and was present at over 80 engagements, including the battles of Port Republic, Cedar Run, Second Bull Run/Manassas, and Antietam/Sharpsburg.
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He fought with Buford's 1st Cavalry Division, which made contact with, and delayed, the confederate army on the first day of the battle of Gettysburg (July 1st, 1863).
Keogh was captured in July 1864 with Stoneman while on a raid to Atlanta and he was imprisoned in Charleston, South Carolina. He was later exchanged and served until the end of the war.
Brevetted lieutenant-colonel in April 1866, he immediately found himself without a regimental position because of postwar reductions. He again lobbied friends and the war department, and eventually succeeded in gaining a regular army commission as a second lieutenant in the 4th US Cavalry.
In July 1866, Keogh transferred into the newly formed 7th Cavalry with the rank of captain. This élite regiment, commanded by Gen. George Armstrong Custer, served in frontier stations throughout the late 1860s and early 1870s.
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Brief return to Ireland
Keogh fought in the 1866–67 campaign against the Oglala Sioux and returned to Ireland on leave (1869), staying with his brother Tom Keogh at Park House, Co Carlow.
While there he sorted out financial arrangements for two unmarried sisters, giving them a property in Co Kilkenny that he had inherited in 1863.
On his return to the regiment (March 1870) he was given command of I Troop. Keogh's career remains inextricably linked with that of Custer, and he served with him during his last campaign in the summer of 1876.
He was with Custer's battalion at the Little Big Horn river in the Montana Territory on June 25th, 1876, and, as the second most senior officer with the detachment, commanded the right-wing column of three troops.
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Death and legacy
There has been much debate as to what occurred when Custer engaged the Native American forces just after 3pm that day and, as he and all his men were killed, some doubt must remain.
The Dictionary of Irish Biography said modern research and archaeological evidence would suggest that Keogh and his men fought tenaciously and were killed while trying to reach Custer's final position after the right wing collapsed.
On June 27th, 1876, members of Gen. Terry's column reached the Little Big Horn battlefield and began identifying bodies.
Keogh was found with a small group of his men, surrounded by the evidence of a fierce fight. His was one of the few bodies that had not been mutilated by the Native American force, possibly because of a papal or religious medal that he wore about his neck.
Irish-born Lt James Henry Nowlan, a close friend, found Keogh's horse Comanche standing near the body.
Comanche, the only army survivor of the battle, was retired and kept with the regiment until his death in 1891; his body was stuffed and is on display at the University of Kansas.
The Dictionary of Irish Biography reports that Keogh was apparently responsible for introducing the tune 'Garryowen' to the 7th Cavalry; it is still used as a regimental march.
Some Keogh letters and papers, covering the period 1861–75, are in the possession of the family. There is a stained-glass window in St Joseph's chapel, Tinryland, Co Carlow, commemorating Keogh, his brother Tom, and his sister-in-law Alice Keogh.
He is also commemorated by a monument in Leighlinbridge and his name is inscribed on the Little Big Horn battlefield monument.
Orchard House is still occupied by members of the Keogh family, and items relating to him, including a dress uniform, are on display in Carlow town museum.
Keogh never married but at the time of his death was engaged to a Miss Martin, one of the Throop Martins of Auburn, New York.
Initially buried on the battlefield, his remains were disinterred in October 1877 and buried with full military honours in the Throop Martin plot at Auburn cemetery.
