Enright, John Collins, 1837-1900
Dates
- Existence: 1837 - 1900
Biographical Note
John Collins Enright, a soldier in the 18th Virginia Infantry, was born on January 22, 1837, in Kilmeedy, County Limerick, Ireland. Emigrating to New York at age 11, he settled in Danville, Virginia in 1859. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Enright joined the Danville Blues, which was mustered into Confederate service as Company A, 18th Virginia Infantry. He was promoted from corporal to second sergeant on October 15, 1861, and to first sergeant on March 1, 1862. Records indicate that Enright was discharged from the service on July 23, 1862, but he was assigned for the remainder of the war to the Quartermaster's Department in Richmond. (In the final letter of this collection, Enright indicates that he is no longer in the army but is employed cutting clothes in Richmond for the Confederate Army.)
Enright married Mary ("Mollie") Adams of Petersburg on May 7, 1863. He was taken prisoner during the evacuation of Richmond in 1865 but was soon paroled. Following the Civil War, he operated a tailoring business in Danville, counting among his customers several prominent Civil War-era families. He was a member of the Cabell-Graves Camp of the United Confederate Veterans and the Masonic Knights Templar. He died in Danville on October 13, 1900, and was buried in Danville's Green Hill Cemetery.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
John Collins Enright Letters
This collection includes the transcribed war-time letters of John Collins Enright, first sergeant in the 18th Virginia Infantry, written from camps in northern and eastern Virginia, during the American Civil War.