One of the many stories attached to Myles Keogh that can be found in
'Keogh, Comanche and Custer' by Edward S. Luce is that he was part of a five officer honour guard that escorted President Abraham Lincoln during his entire trip to the Maryland theatre of war soon after the Battle of Antietam. Furthermore, it is stated that he also accompanied President Lincoln (
left) on his return to Washington four days later.
Despite an extensive search of official records, no reference to Keogh performing such duties could be found - in fact, it is recorded that Lincoln returned to Washington by train from Frederick, Maryland directly back to the capitol. However, as seems to be the case with Luce's novel, there is
some truth in what was first published in 1939.
According to Lincoln's official records, as found on the excellent
http://www.thelincolnlog.org/, the following is an account of his visit to the Army of the Potomac;
Wednesday, October 1, 1862 at 6a.m. -- The President and his party left Washington on a special train to visit the headquarters of the Army of Potomac and battlefields in vicinity of Antietam. The party consists of General McClernand, Capt. Wright Rives of McClernand's staff, Marshal Lamon, Ozias M. Hatch (Illinois politician), John W. Garrett, president of B. & O. Railroad, and others. The train arrived Harper's Ferry at noon. Major Lawrence Kip and Captain Samuel S. Sumner escorted the President and his associates to General Sumner's headquarters. In afternoon General McClellan arrives from camp and with President reviews troops at Bolivar Heights. Lincoln spends night in Harper's Ferry.
Thursday, October 2, 1862 -- In the morning, Lincoln and General Sumner reviewed the troops at Loudoun Heights and Maryland Heights. President leaves Harper's Ferry at noon. Arrives headquarters, Army of Potomac, too late in day to review troops. Occupies tent for night next to Gen. McClellan's headquarters. Second Cavalry band serenades President.
Friday, October 3, 1862 -- At sunrise President and O. M. Hatch walk to nearby hilltop. Surveying army camp, Lincoln comments: "This is General McClellan's bodyguard." During morning, Lincoln reviews General Burnside's corps and cavalry near Antietam battleground. At midday, the President and McClellan ride in ambulances three miles to Bakerville, Md., for review of cavalry and troops of Gen. Fitz John Porter's and Gen. Franklin's corps. On the three-mile ride, Marshal Lamon sings several comic ballads [which later result in much public criticism of President]. Lincoln poses for half-dozen group pictures. Again sleeps in tent next to McClellan's headquarters.
Saturday, October 4, 1862 -- President Lincoln and Gen. McClellan (
pictured above during visit) visit wounded in vicinity of headquarters. At Sharpsburg, Md., (Antietam) Lincoln visits "Fighting Dick" (Gen. Israel B.) Richardson who lies mortally wounded in farmhouse. At noon, they ride to South Mountain battleground and conclude their survey. Enthusiastic reception with signal guns and parade welcomes President to Frederick about 4:45 P.M. He goes to residence of Mrs. Ramsey to see Gen. George L. Hartsuff who is ill from wounds received at Antietam. Addresses brief remarks to crowd assembled in front of house. About five minutes later speaks to crowd at railway station (
illustrated below in Harper's Weekly 1862):
"FELLOW-CITIZENS: I see myself surrounded by soldiers, and a little further off I note the citizens of this good city of Frederick, anxious to hear something from me. I can only say, as I did five minutes ago, it is not proper for me to make speeches in my present position. I return thanks to our soldiers for the good service they have rendered, for the energies they have shown, the hardships they have endured, and the blood they have so nobly shed for this dear Union of ours; and I also return thanks not only to the soldiers, but to the good citizens of Maryland, and to all the good men and women in this land, for their devotion to our glorious cause. I say this without any malice in my heart to those who have done otherwise. May our children and our children's children to a thousand generations, continue to enjoy the benefits conferred upon us by a united country, and have cause yet to rejoice under those glorious institutions bequeathed us by Washington and his compeers. Now, my friends, soldiers and citizens, I can only say once more, farewell."
At 10 P.M. special train bearing Presidential party arrives in Washington.
-------------------------
Above is the official record of the visit and it is highly probable that Captain Myles Keogh, as a member of staff, accompanied General McClellan for some, if not all his time, with President Lincoln -- the President toured the battlefield with 'Little Mac' as his guide.
According to
'The Antietam Campaign' by Gary W. Gallagher, Lincoln was less attentive of his host when shown the battlefield HQ at the Pry house near Antietam on the second day of the visit, October 2nd. When the President finally said -
"Let us go and see where Hooker went in" - McClellan could only but gather that Lincoln wanted to see the where a '
fighting' general performed his duty. Later, when McClellan and his staff arrived at the union right flank, the President was nowhere to be seen. Apparently, McClellan
"dispatched one staff officer after another to find the errant chief executive" without success. Was Captain Keogh part of that search party?
One can only presume that Keogh did indeed spend some time in the presence of the iconic Abraham Lincoln, although if he had developed some loyalty to McClellan during his short stint on his staff, Myles may not have been too endeared at being in the President's company. Lincoln was losing his patience with McClellan at the time and the atmosphere during the visit must have been tense -- likely given Lincoln's comment on the Army before him being "
General McClellan's bodyguard".
Regardless, Lincoln was to be proven correct by history and has become one of America's most famous and admired presidents. In later years, one can only wonder what Keogh's recollections were of those four days in 'Abe's' presence - not a bad memory for a young man from a small town in Ireland...
On this day, 173 years ago, Myles Keogh was born at Orchard House just outside Leighlinbridge, County Carlow in Ireland. We continue to honour his life and his military career: 
One of the many stories attached to Myles Keogh that can be found in 'Keogh, Comanche and Custer' by Edward S. Luce is that he was part of a five officer honour guard that escorted President Abraham Lincoln during his entire trip to the Maryland theatre of war soon after the Battle of Antietam. Furthermore, it is stated that he also accompanied President Lincoln (left) on his return to Washington four days later.
Keogh (seated fourth from left) with General McClellan's staff and aides - October 1862
General McClellan says in his general report: "His Excellency the President honored the Army of the Potomac with a visit, and remained several days, during which he went through the different encampments, reviewed the troops, and went over fire battle-fields of South Mountain and Antietam, I had the opportunity during this visit to describe to him the operations of the army since the time it left Washington, and gave him my reasons for not following the enemy after he crossed the Potomac." 
The ground around Manassas was not auspicious for the Union forces. It was here in July 1861 that the Union army had broken on the bulwark of General Thomas Jackson's brigade and thus earned the Southern general his nickname 'Stonewall'. Victory here in 1862 was crucial as, from the battlefield, Washington was only 26 miles away while Richmond was also within striking distance. Union forces were combined in the area in the form of the newly created Army of Virginia under Major-General John Pope (left); a deeply unpopular figure both within his own army and similarly disliked by the normally respectful, Robert E. Lee.
At around 8.15 a.m., Buford reported that 17 regiments of infantry, one battery, and 500 cavalry were moving through Gainesville - this was General James Longstreet's (left) wing arriving from Thoroughfare Gap - and Buford's report warned the Union generals that trouble lay to their front. Myles Keogh later recorded that Buford's cavalry "engaged Longstreet's advance and cut his communications with Jackson".
From his vantage point to the west, Brigadier-General Beverly Robertson (left), commanding the Confederate cavalry, could only see what looked like a small detachment of Union cavalry galloping aimlessly, apparently dispersing and he gave Colonel Munford and the 2nd Virginia cavalry the honour of attacking the isolated Federal squadron. Munford, in turn, directed one detachment under Colonel J.W. Watts to pursue the enemy which they duly did until coming over the crest of a nearby ridge.
Pictured above is Lewis Spaun, 1st Michigan, Killed at Second Manassas, 30 August 1862 - The frock coat and Hardee hat are an excellent illustration of the early war uniform of the 1st Michigan.
"The head of Robertson's cavalry was now on the ridge overlooking Bull Run, and having seen no enemy in that direction, I was returning to the position of the artillery enfilading the Groveton road, when I received intelligence from General Robertson at the point I had just left that the enemy was there in force and asking re-enforcements. I ordered the two reserve regiments (Seventh and Twelfth) rapidly forward, and also a section of artillery, but before the latter could reach the point our cavalry, by resolute bravery, had put the enemy, under Buford, to ignominious flight across Bull Run, and were in full pursuit until our own artillery fire at the fugitives rendered it dangerous to proceed farther.In this brilliant affair over 300 of the enemy's cavalry were put to hors de combat, they, together with their horses and equipments, falling into our hands. Colonel Bromhead, First Michigan, died from his wounds next day. He was cut down by Adjutant [Lewis] Harman, Twelfth Virginia Cavalry. Major Atwood and a number of captains and lieutenants were among the prisoners."
Buford received some sort of wound in this fight although there are conflicting interpretations of its severity. Indeed, he was reported killed in some southern newspapers. Myles Keogh himself recorded that Buford "was wounded by spent ball in the knee". What ever it was, the wound did not appear to slow down the general - he was able to send an intelligence report the very next day and the brigade medical officer made no mention in his report of personally attending to Buford's injury.
In rough terms, military professionals in the 19th century thought it took two years to train a raw recruit into a cavalryman. This is harder when the man you are training doesn't know how to ride a horse to begin with. This gave the Confederate cavalryman a distinct advantage in the first year of the Civil War and even up to the time, July 31st 1862, when Captain Myles Keogh (left) and Captain John O'Keeffe were assigned to the personal staff of cavalry brigade commander, General John Buford.
In practice, poor horsemanship affected cavalry regiments from the East more, and was felt in the Army of the Potomac/Army of Virginia. Union cavalry there had enough trouble just moving mounted in formation, often losing a substantial number of men to falls and mishaps in a simple change of position. Actually fighting while mounted with such troops must have sent shudders through old mounted troopers like Buford. It was only practical for them to develop an early preference for dismounted action.
Mounted infantry were forces that moved on horseback but dismounted for fighting on foot, armed principally with rifles. In the second half of the war, most of the units considered to be cavalry actually fought battles using the tactics of mounted infantry. An example of this was the celebrated "Lightning Brigade" of Col. John T. Wilder (right), which used horses to quickly arrive at a battlefield such as Chickamauga, but they deployed and fought using standard infantry formations and tactics. By contrast, at the Battle of Gettysburg, Federal cavalry under John Buford also dismounted to fight Confederate infantry, but they used conventional cavalry tactics, arms, and formations.
Equipping a cavalry regiment was an expensive proposition - approximately $100,000 per year for a Union regiment - and they demanded a large logistical infrastructure to support them. (Pictured above is a blacksmith's station at Antietam, 1862) A cavalry horse ate 10 pounds (4.5 kg) of grain each day, which had to be transported behind the otherwise fast-moving force.
Despite Southern attitudes towards such weapons, there were several notable instances where the saber saw much use by both sides, including the Battle of Brandy Station and the cavalry battles on the third day of Gettysburg. The American cavalry saber was lighter than the typical European saber, the latter being similar to the older U.S. Model 1840 "wrist breaker" (right). The curved blade of the saber was generally sharpened only at the tip because it was used mostly for breaking arms and collarbones of opposing horsemen, and sometimes stabbing, rather than for slashing flesh. A notable exception to this was the saber of Nathan Bedford Forrest (CSA), which was sharpened on both edges.
1st Sgt. Butler's Battlefield Marker
