Being from Northern Ireland, James Thompson enlisted in Great Britain's Royal Regiment Artillery as a gunner and driver in 1844. He received the DeGree of True Orangeman in 1850. He participated in the Crimean War and was promoted after distinguishing himself at the Battle of Balaklava. Following this War and upon his return to England, he determined to come to the United States. He was discharged from the military on June 30, 1856 and soon afterward immigrated with his family, eventually settling in the Pittsburgh area and making his living as a painter. His youngest child and namesake was born there in October, 1856. Thompson's years of service in the British artillery made him a valuable asset following the outbreak of the Civil War. On September 24, 1861 he was mustered into the Union Army as a Captain and began recruiting for Battery C of the Pennsylvania Independent Light Artillery, which became commonly known as "Thompson's Battery" throughout the War. This unit first defended the City of Washington, D.C., and then fought at Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and most notably at Gettysburg from July 1-3, 1863. This unit was honored with a monument there. Thompson's first wife, Eliza, bore seven children, four of these children lived to adulthood. Eliza died during the War, in 1864. In 1868 he remarried a woman named Letittia, and together they had a child who did not live beyond infancy. After the War, Thompson lived out his days in the Pittsburgh area and was again widowed. He was living in the home of his eldest child, John, when he died at the age of 85.
Being from Northern Ireland, James Thompson enlisted in Great Britain's Royal Regiment Artillery as a gunner and driver in 1844. He received the DeGree of True Orangeman in 1850. He participated in the Crimean War and was promoted after distinguishing himself at the Battle of Balaklava. Following this War and upon his return to England, he determined to come to the United States. He was discharged from the military on June 30, 1856 and soon afterward immigrated with his family, eventually settling in the Pittsburgh area and making his living as a painter. His youngest child and namesake was born there in October, 1856. Thompson's years of service in the British artillery made him a valuable asset following the outbreak of the Civil War. On September 24, 1861 he was mustered into the Union Army as a Captain and began recruiting for Battery C of the Pennsylvania Independent Light Artillery, which became commonly known as "Thompson's Battery" throughout the War. This unit first defended the City of Washington, D.C., and then fought at Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and most notably at Gettysburg from July 1-3, 1863. This unit was honored with a monument there. Thompson's first wife, Eliza, bore seven children, four of these children lived to adulthood. Eliza died during the War, in 1864. In 1868 he remarried a woman named Letittia, and together they had a child who did not live beyond infancy. After the War, Thompson lived out his days in the Pittsburgh area and was again widowed. He was living in the home of his eldest child, John, when he died at the age of 85.
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Brevet Lt. Colonel, Battery C, Independent Artillery
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