“One of the Humble Instruments of Defending that Flag”

While the 61^st was home on its veterans furlough, friends of Colonel Stephen McGroarty held a dinner in his honor at Cincinnati’s St. Nicholas Restaurant on April 23, 1864.  McGroarty received a new sash and a sword inscribed with Presented to Col. S. J. McGroarty, 61^st Ohio Volunteer Infantry, by his friends and admirers, Cincinnati, April 23, 1864 and a list of the battles he had fought in.  McGroarty thanked his friends with the following remarks that were published in the Cincinnati Daily Gazette on April 25, 1864:

“I accept your gift.  You have honored me more than I have deserved.  I have done only what every soldier has done, having been one of the humble instruments of defending that flag.  I do not regret what I have done, but thank God that I have been able to serve my country.  No matter what caused the war or brought it on; it was enough for me to know that my country demanded my services.  I took my stand under the stars and stripes and I am ready to die for that country, as have already died many of its heroic defenders.”

McGroarty then honored his dead comrades and pledged to continue the fight.  He also spoke of liberating his native Ireland from British rule before concluding with: “I will take that sword and wear it honorably.  No stain or blot shall come upon it, nor shall any one of its donors find it disgraced.  I thank you for your testimonial.”

A number of toasts were then offered.  Captain Leonidas Jewett of the 61^st offered a toast to the regiment.  Lieutenant Peter Duffy, also a native of Ireland, led a toast to the Fenian Brotherhood, the organization founded by Irish immigrants in the United States and dedicated to Irish independence.  Another toast was offered to the 10^th Ohio Infantry where McGroarty had served as a captain in 1861.  The late General William Lytle, who had served as colonel of the 10^th and had been killed the previous September at the Battle of Chickamauga, was also honored.

Simon Stevens Davis served as the presiding officer of the evening.  Davis was a banker and former city council member in Cincinnati.  During the war he led the effort to raise funds for the relief of soldiers’ families (Davis would be elected mayor of Cincinnati in 1871).  Brigadier General James Kiernan was also at the dinner.  Kiernan, born in Ireland, had served in the war in the west, including the Battles of Pea Ridge, Arkansas and Port Gibson, Mississippi.    Former Hamilton County judge Patrick Mallon, who, like McGroarty, had immigrated from Ireland at a young age and was a lawyer in Cincinnati, also attended.

Following the festivities at the St. Nicholas the party visited Major General Daniel Sickles, who was in Cincinnati staying at the Burnett House.  According to the Daily Gazette, Sickles greeted them warmly and complimented the 61^st on its performance at the Battle of Gettysburg.