Thomas William Sweeny
To earn the name “Fighting Tom,” a man must experience a great deal of battle. That was certainly the case with Thomas “Fighting Tom” Sweeny. The Irishman was born in County Cork in 1820, and emigrated to New York City in 1833. During his voyage across the Atlantic, young Tom Sweeny was swept over the side of the ship, and survived over 30 minutes in the frigid water until he was rescued. The toughness shown by the young boy would be a staple of his adult life as well.
In 1846, Sweeny got his first taste of the military. He joined up with the 2nd New York Volunteers, and went on to fight in the Mexican-American War. During that conflict, Sweeny was wounded at the Battle Churobusco in August 1847. As a result of his injury, Sweeny’s right arm was amputated after the battle. Sweeny’s bravery and heroism caused his fellow soldiers to call him “Fighting Tom.”
Sweeny then went on to fight in the Yuma War against various Native American tribes in present-day California and Arizona in the early 1850s. When the Civil War began, Fighting Tom Sweeny was named a General almost immediately. He fought in many Civil War battles, including Shiloh, the Battle of Atlanta, and the Battle of Wilson’s Creek in Missouri. Sweeny’s fighting spirit was not only reserved for the enemy. In 1864, Sweeny engaged in a fistfight with another Union General, Grenville Dodge. Fighting Tom was court-martialed for the brawl, but was later acquitted. After the Civil War, Sweeny focused his passion and energy on another cause he believed in.
Like many other Irish Americans, Sweeny was a member of the Fenian Brotherhood, an organization dedicated to an Ireland free of British rule. In 1866, Sweeny participated in the ill-fated invasion of Canada the Fenian Brotherhood. The Irishmen’s goal was to hold the transportation infrastructure of Canada hostage in exchange for Ireland’s freedom. Needless to say, the plan did not work out as Sweeny as his men had hoped, and Ireland remained under British rule. Sweeny retired to Long Island, New York, where he resided until he died in 1892 at the age of 71.