John Lonergan

He Reclaimed Six Guns in the Fury of Gettysburg

John Lonergan was born in Ireland in 1839 and later immigrated to the United States, settling in Vermont. Like many Irish immigrants of his generation, he built a new life in America while maintaining a strong connection to his Irish heritage. By the beginning of the American Civil War, Burlington had become his adopted home, and it was there that he became closely associated with a company of Irish-American volunteers who would eventually enter Union service.

In 1862, Lonergan became captain of Company A of the 13th Vermont Infantry. The company was widely known as the regiment’s “Irish Company,” reflecting the backgrounds of many of the men serving in its ranks. The 13th Vermont was organized for nine months of Federal service and became part of the Vermont Brigade assigned to the defenses around Washington, D.C.

For much of its early service, the regiment performed guard, picket, and defensive duties in northern Virginia. These assignments lacked the fame of the great battles, but they helped protect strategically important approaches to Washington and prepared the regiment for the much more demanding campaign that followed.

In late June 1863, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s invasion of Pennsylvania forced the Army of the Potomac northward. The 13th Vermont joined the movement toward Gettysburg, marching rapidly to reach the battlefield as Union forces concentrated against the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.

By July 2, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the fighting had spread across a vast front. Confederate attacks struck the Union left and center, placing enormous pressure on positions along Cemetery Ridge. Captain Lonergan and Company A entered the battle as part of the 13th Vermont Infantry during one of the most dangerous periods of the engagement.

It was there that Lonergan performed the action for which he would later receive the Medal of Honor.

During the fighting, Confederate forces had gained possession of Union artillery pieces. Lonergan participated in a determined counterattack that recovered four captured Union guns. The action did not end there. Two additional artillery pieces were captured from the enemy, and a number of Confederate soldiers were taken prisoner.

The achievement was particularly significant because artillery pieces represented far more than battlefield equipment. Guns provided concentrated firepower and could influence an entire section of the battlefield. Losing them weakened one side while potentially strengthening the other. Recovering captured Union guns while simultaneously taking Confederate artillery therefore represented a substantial battlefield success.

Lonergan’s leadership during the action placed him directly at the center of the fighting. As captain of Company A, he was responsible not simply for his own conduct but for leading soldiers through a rapidly changing combat situation. The official recognition of his actions emphasized his gallantry in the recovery and capture of the six guns as well as the prisoners taken during the attack.

The 13th Vermont remained heavily engaged at Gettysburg. On July 3, the regiment again played an important role as Confederate forces launched the massive assault against the Union center remembered as Pickett’s Charge. Vermont troops moved against the flank of the attacking Confederate formations, helping deliver destructive fire into the advancing lines and contributing to the defeat of the assault on Cemetery Ridge.

Gettysburg became the defining battle of Lonergan’s wartime career. The Union victory ended Lee’s invasion of Pennsylvania and became one of the major turning points of the Civil War. For the soldiers of the 13th Vermont, it was also the culmination of a short period of Federal service that placed them at the center of one of the conflict’s most consequential battles.

The regiment’s original term of service expired shortly afterward. The 13th Vermont returned home and was mustered out in July 1863. Lonergan had entered the campaign as the commander of an Irish-American company from Burlington and returned as an officer whose conduct at Gettysburg had distinguished him in battle.

National recognition, however, did not come immediately.

More than thirty years passed before Lonergan’s Gettysburg actions were formally recognized with the nation’s highest military decoration. On October 28, 1893, he was presented with the Medal of Honor for his gallantry on July 2, 1863.

His citation remained direct and concise, recognizing his role in the recapture of four guns, the capture of two additional guns from the enemy, and the taking of Confederate prisoners. The Medal of Honor thus preserved a specific moment from the enormous Battle of Gettysburg—one in which Lonergan helped transform a dangerous battlefield situation into a successful counterattack.

His award also reflected an important characteristic of Civil War Medal of Honor history. Many veterans were recognized decades after their battlefield actions as wartime records, recommendations, and individual cases continued to be reviewed. Lonergan lived to receive his decoration personally, three decades after the fighting that earned it.

After the war, he remained active within Vermont’s Irish-American community. He helped promote public recognition of Irish heritage and maintained a strong interest in the cause of Irish independence. His life therefore connected two powerful loyalties: commitment to his adopted United States and continuing attachment to the country of his birth.

Lonergan also continued public service as a U.S. Customs officer. His work eventually took him to Montreal, Canada, where he spent part of his later life. By then, he was remembered not only as an Irish-American community figure but also as the former Vermont captain whose company had fought at Gettysburg.

John Lonergan died in Montreal on August 6, 1902. His remains were returned to Vermont, and he was buried in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Burlington, the city with which his American life and military service had been so closely connected.

His military legacy remains centered on July 2, 1863. At Gettysburg, amid the confusion of artillery fire, infantry attacks, lost positions, and counterattacks, Captain John Lonergan helped recover four Union guns, capture two enemy guns, and take prisoners. Thirty years later, the Medal of Honor formally recognized the courage and leadership he had displayed.

For a man who had crossed the Atlantic as an Irish immigrant and built a new life in Vermont, Gettysburg became the moment that secured his permanent place in American military history.