Captain James Hennessey
Born in County Cork in 1827, he came to this country around 1847 and settled in New Haven where he wed Miss Catherine Walsh. He enlisted in the Ninth, Sept. 5, 1861 and was mustered captain of Company E on October 30 of that year. One of his sons, Richard Hennessey, was a drummer boy in the company enlisting Sept. 4, 1861 when aged 11 years and 10 months. This was under the age prescribed, but the matter was satisfactorily arranged. Richard, like his father, served with fidelity and courage. Both resigned in October of 1862 three months after the ill fated canal attempt when disease ravaged the regiment. Years later James Hennessey was survived by his widow and six children including son, Richard, who for a number of years was the brigade chief trumpeter in the National Guard of Connecticut. A grandson, Rev. F. J. Hennessey, was a priest in the diocese of Hartford in the early 1900s. A number of descendants of James Hennessey live in Connecticut currently.