Page:General James Shields, Soldier, Orator, Statesman.djvu/18

 his lost resources, he turned to America and settled in the city of Baltimore, where he died in 1852, his wife only surviving him a year. The daughter, thus left, for a time attended a convent boarding school and made her home with relatives.

The Shields and Carr families were friends in Ireland, had intermarried, and quite naturally James Shields and Mary Carr met and were friends in America. During the summer of 1861 Miss Carr was visiting at the convent in San Francisco, and when General Shields found he had business in that city, he pressed his suit and won his bride. They were married August 16, 1861, in the Church of St. Ignatius. The General and his bride embarked that evening on a steamer for Mazatlan, Mexico, thus auspiciously beginning their matrimonial voyage on the smooth and placid waters of the Pacific, truly typical of the happy and tranquil domestic life which was ever theirs.

Soon after Sumter was fired on, General Shields, blazing with loyalty and soldierly ardor, tendered his services to his old friend, now President of the United States. Official notice of his appointment as brigadier general of volunteers to date from August 19, 1861, reached him in Mexico, where he was manager of a profitable mine in which he had a large interest. As soon as his business affairs could be adjusted, he repaired to Washington and reported for duty. He was sent to the Shenandoah valley in Virginia, which had been the theater of much indecisive marching and fighting.

March 7, 1862, General Shields assumed command of the division of General Lander, who had died two weeks before of Mexican war disabilities. The division instantly felt the magic of his touch, and although only a few men of his new command had previously been in battle, they recognized that their commander had brought with him his master hand, and if any soldier had doubts as to the courage or ability of General Shields the doubts soon vanished. In fact, within two weeks from his taking command they were fighting "Stonewall" Jackson's army at Winchester, on the 22d of March. The battle continued two days, ending at Kernstown. Early in the engagement, General Shields was wounded, as usual, having his arm fractured and his shoulder badly torn by the explosion