Jack McGovern( Irish Ancestor of Senator George McGovern)
and his son James

provided by Andy Kirby

Jack McGovern: Irish Rebel and Soldier

 Jack McGovern was born in County Cavan, Ireland possibly in the early 1770s. He died probably in the mid-1850s. He married Julia Cosgrove, who was born in the late 1770s in the town of Enniscorthy, County Wexford. They are buried in the church cemetery at Roslea, County Fermanagh, Ireland, about three miles north of Clones. Apparently, they had eight children: Patrick, Joseph, John, Daniel, Michael, James, Ellen, and a son for whom records have not been located.

Young Jack McGovern was 6'1" tall and weighed 14 stone (about 196 lb.). His hair was black and he was smooth shaven. The following dates are approximate and relate to the key events of his life:

·         1796 - Joined the Irish Rebel Group, participated in the Irish Rebellion.

·         1799 - Joined the British Army.

·         1808-11 - Traveled through Spain and Portugal as a servant to the Duke of Wellington.

·         1813 - Traveled to Montreal, Canada

·         1815 - Wounded in the ankle, Battle of Waterloo

·         Married Julia Cosgrove in Belgium.

·         Returned to England for garrison duty until full recovery.

After he was mustered out in late 1815, Jack and his wife returned to Clones, Ireland. They rented a three and one half acre plot about three miles east of Clones in a section known as Tondrogee. He built a small house, farmed the land, and raised family of seven sons and one daughter.

Julia Cosgrove was apparently a governess to the children of the Wellington family and then later a maid. She may have first joined the family when the Duke, a young English Officer, was stationed near Dublin, Ireland. Although not much survived about her later years, one of her sons (James McGovern) said she was a sturdy, tireless worker, and a good manager.

Apparently it was possible and perhaps even customary for higher ranking officers of the British army to be accompanied by their families during long campaigns. In the campaign against Napoleon, the Duke of Wellington kept his family a few miles behind the main lines in Belgium. Julia Cosgrove was a maid at that time and ate her meals at the family "second table" with the other household servants. Jack McGovern, who had been in the British Army about 15 years, was in charge of General Wellington's stable. He too, took his meals at the family's second table which is where he is said to have met Julia Cosgrove.

In the major campaigns of the early nineteenth century, many soldiers were assigned nonmilitary duties when they were not actually fighting. But during the Battle of Waterloo, Jack McGovern was with his regiment. He belonged to a special Company of men over 6 feet in height; uniformity in stature was desirable for parade and drill. Height was also considered an advantage in hand to hand combat.

Jack was wounded in the ankle in the Battle of Waterloo. During his recovery he received rather special attention due to his relationship with General Wellington's household staff. In fact, he and Julia Cosgrove were married while he was recuperating and still on crutches. They received the blessings of the Wellington family and returned with them on the same ship back to England. There, was assigned barracks duty and Julia continued to serve the Wellingtons as a maid until Jack was well enough to be discharged. As a result of his injury, Jack limped the rest of his life.

During the time Jack served overseas with the British Army, he was credited with time and a half toward his pension. As a result, he retired from the military with 19 years of service. His life pension was one shilling per day.

During his service in Spain and during Wellington's campaign against Napoleon, Jack's life was rather difficult. For the common foot soldier, there was much marching, frequent change of headquarters, intense heat and dust during the summer, and cold and damp during the winter. Jack claimed to have been fortunate, however, and told this story to one of his sons which has been passed down as family folk lore:

My regiment had been marching for several days across Spain and I suddenly became very ill. Violent cramps kept me from resuming the march. In fact, my company considered me so ill that they did not expect to see me again. They left me under a tree with a canteen of water and some hard tack for food and proceeded. It happened in the morning and I stayed under the tree that day and the following night. On the second morning a Spanish countryman was passing by on a mule when he saw me in my red coat under the tree.

The Spanish hated both French and British soldiers and blamed them for overrunning their territory. The countryman tied his mule to a nearby tree, looked around and picked up a rather large stone. He carried it against his stomach and headed toward me apparently with the intention of putting me out of my misery. My blunderbuss was loaded and laying beside me. I waited until he was within range (probably 20 to 30 feet), raised my blunderbuss, and fired on his legs. This wounded the Spaniard and left him helpless. I then pulled the fellow up under the same tree where I had been. Although I wasn't well, I was feeling much better than I had the previous day. I untied the Spaniard's mule, mounted, and later that afternoon, I caught up with my regiment.

James McGovern Page