Civil War Union Army Major General. He had the most combat experience of any General of either side at the start of the Civil War, losing his arm in the Mexican War and commanding French troops in the Italian War. He took command of the First New Jersey Brigade, and trained it to be an outstanding fighting force. He commanded a division in the Peninsular Campaign and the Second Battle of Bull Run. He was responsible for the Union Army Corps identification markers, and a medal awarded in his honor, The Kearny Patch, became the inspiration for the Congressional Medal of Honor. He was killed in the Battle of Chantilly on September 1, 1862 when he inadvertently rode into Confederate lines, and was shot as he turned away. His body was forwarded to the Union line by Robert E. Lee under a flag of truce, and his death was lamented by commanders on both sides. His body lay in an unmarked vault in Manhattan's Trinity Churchyard until 1912, when the efforts of CMOH recipient Charles Hopkins (who had served under General Kearny in the First Jersey Brigade) secured his re-burial with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery. Today his grave is marked by one of the only two equestrian statues in the Cemetery.
Civil War Union Army Major General. He had the most combat experience of any General of either side at the start of the Civil War, losing his arm in the Mexican War and commanding French troops in the Italian War. He took command of the First New Jersey Brigade, and trained it to be an outstanding fighting force. He commanded a division in the Peninsular Campaign and the Second Battle of Bull Run. He was responsible for the Union Army Corps identification markers, and a medal awarded in his honor, The Kearny Patch, became the inspiration for the Congressional Medal of Honor. He was killed in the Battle of Chantilly on September 1, 1862 when he inadvertently rode into Confederate lines, and was shot as he turned away. His body was forwarded to the Union line by Robert E. Lee under a flag of truce, and his death was lamented by commanders on both sides. His body lay in an unmarked vault in Manhattan's Trinity Churchyard until 1912, when the efforts of CMOH recipient Charles Hopkins (who had served under General Kearny in the First Jersey Brigade) secured his re-burial with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery. Today his grave is marked by one of the only two equestrian statues in the Cemetery.
Family Members
Advertisement
