Sgt. James T. Mullen

Born Aug. 30, 1843 in New Haven, Mullen enlisted in Company C of the Ninth, Sept. 11, 1861, and was a sergeant in the company. Five months after the ill-fated “Williams Canal” he was honorably discharged Dec. 27, 1862, owing to sickness. Subsequently, he became a lieutenant of police in New Haven, and later engaged in a number of successful business pursuits. He was a fire commissioner of New Haven for thirteen years; president of that board for several years; and was also a member of the board of alderman.

He belonged to the Knights of St. Patrick and the Sarsfield Guards, an Irish Catholic militia organization that was incorporated into the National Guard of Connecticut after the Civil War. He was the Supreme Knight of the Order of the Red Knights (1875-1880), an local Irish American fraternal society and an offshoot of the Guards. He was one of the founders of the Knights of Columbus, was the first Supreme Knight ( Feb 2, 1882 – May 17, 1886) and was credited with the choice of the word “Knights” as opposed to the Sons of Columbus. He also designed the Knights of Columbus emblem.

He was married to Annie K. Pigott, a sister of the Hon. James P. Pigott, a member of Congress from New Haven. They had one son. James Mullen died July 6, 1891 and is buried at St. Bernard’s cemetery in New Haven.