Casements Irish Brigade

[leibregiment]

Just been doing some random research and I have come across Michael Keogh's Bavarian army record it appears he enlisted under the name of "Georg Kehoe" it confirms he was made POW in 1914 and has him serving with the US 7th Cavalry during the Philippine insurrection. 

"Georg Kehoe Birth Date:17 Jan 1891 Birth Place:Stadt Tullomore Kreis König Irland (Ireland) Combat Arm: Infanterie
Type of Unit: Ersatztruppenteile der Infanterie Regimenter
Unit: Infanterie-Leib-Regiment (München) I. Ersatz-Bataillon"

[tullybrone]

Hi.

 

Thanks for sharing. My schoolboy German isn't good enough to decipher it all but he's likely from Tullamore, County Offaly (previously Kings County), Ireland.

 

Quick look on 1911 Irish census shows there is only one George Keogh listed but he is 29 so likely not you man.

 

Steve

[corisande]

A remarkable find Leibregiment. That is undoubtedly Michael Keogh

 

I have asfull a life of his as you will find on this link - click

 

He was a story teller, as many of us Irish are, who never let the truth get in the way of a good story. This makes it vary difficult to follow his life, as one has to cross check everything and find an independent source to verify or refute what he has claimed

 

He was born in Tullamore, Kings Co in 1891.

 

He claimed to have fought in the Mexican Border wars, rather than the Phillipines, but his claims are always changing

 

I have this on his Bavarian Army service, he claimed to have been in the Prussian? Army earlier

 

1918 Nov 25 Joins the the 3rd Bavarian Army Corps, with Jeremiah O'Callaghan, and served in the German Army until Sept 1919. Sgt Major Keogh's cover name was Kurt Schwarz in his post war service in Germany. He was transferred to General HQ of this Army Group. He says they were working in Army Secret Service Staff attached to War Department. His rank was Feldwebel the highest NCO rank or on a different account Feldwebel-Leutnant, a Army Reserve officer ranked with the Commissioned Officers, but was always inferior to the lowest Leutnant

 

This is a photo of him at his wedding at a time when I think he was in Bavarian Army. Can you confirm the uniform

 

 

He then appears in the Freikorps in Munich in Apr 1919. I am unclear if he is still with the Bavarian army at this point or not

 

Any help you can give on dates or translation of the Bavarian Army form would be very helpful to me. For example what date is given for him joining, and when did he leave

.

 

Edited 28 December , 2017 by corisande

[corisande]

My little knowledge of the USA Phillapines War is that it was from 1899 to 1902, in which case Kehoe (he used both that and Keogh) would have been too young to have taken part

[leibregiment]

Been looking at this and the 7th Cavalry were in the Philippines from 1911 to 1915 (second tour) and he would have been eligible for the US Philippine Campaign Medal.

as for the uniform he served with the Bavarian “Leibregiment” which wore white “Litzen” on the collar and cuffs...an honour and would have expected him to wear it.

will do more digging today

here is a photo of an Irish Brigade tunic from Dublin 

[leibregiment]

PS his claim to have “fought” on the Mexican border rings true, much as the Philippines was a posting and the Mexican border was active service, much like being stationed in Germany and Serving in Northern Ireland.

 

To confirm, his US service was from 8th June 1907 to Mai 1912, his records also state he served at Fort Riley 7th Cavalry;  (7th Cavalry confirms being dates 1907 - 1910 Fort Riley, Kansas; Garrison, outpost and border patrol duty).

His records state "Fort George Manila" unless this is an undocumented Fort I cannot find it in Manila at that time, there is how ever a "Fort George Wright" in Spokane that trained mounted infantry, the records then state " Fort Sam Houston"  this is in Texas, he could have gone there to be discharged as his regiment was still in the Philippines.

His address on discharge was 346 West 46 street  New York (Now a bar).

I have found a "Thomas L Kehoe" from New York who enlisted in 1911 discharged March 1914 who served in the 1st and 7th Cavalry. (the nearest in age) and a "George M Keogh" who served with the 7th Cavalry from 1908-9 again similar age and from New York. 

Edited 28 December , 2017 by leibregiment

[corisande]

What I have on him at that tme is

 

He left Ireland on 7 March 1907 on the SS Majestic (in his memoirs he writes the SS Celtic. but he is mistaken) when invited by his father's aunt, Mary Keogh, to visit her in New York. His aunt had married Jack Tynan and was living in New Jersey. He travelled 2nd Class, with four to a cabin. He arrived at Ellis Island 16 Mar 1907, and became at some point an American citizen

 

1908 He attended school at Fordham College. In New York he became a member of the Gaelic League classes under the Presidency of Major McCrystal in the Emmet Arcade, 59th St and Lexington. Later he became a member of Clan-na-Gael in New York, and later of the same group in Denver, Colorado. He joined the US 69th Regiment National Guard and trained with them at their summer camp near Fort Riley, Kansas.

 

1909 He writes that he obtained an engineering degree from Columbia University. It seems improbable that he had the time to complete a degree course in a year. There is no record of him getting such a degree. And he makes no other reference to a degree in his memoirs

 

1911 He was working in New York municipal engineering dept, and when US government called for volunteers for a frontier force to patrol the Mexican border. Keogh remarks that the events were a welcome relief to the monotony of his life as a mining engineer. He joined a mixed bunch of about 300 men in this frontier force. They rode out of Fort Riley for the Texas border after three months training. Twice during the Revolution, the U.S. actually sent troops into Mexico. The first time was in 1914, during the Ypiranga incident. The second was in 1916, the unsuccessful chase in Chihuahua by General John J. Pershing of revolutionary leader Pancho Villa.

The 1911 border crisis appears just to have involved sending troops to the border as a pre-emptive move on March 7, 1911 President Taft orders 20,000 troops to the Mexican border. Keogh may have been among those men. They were not involved with fighting Mexicans. A temporary ‘Maneuver Division’ is activated along the Mexican border - extensive field exercises (including the use of airplanes and radio) to improve the US Army’s low efficiency and this lasts until Aug 1911. The US Army did award medals for Mexican Border Service defined as meaning " active military, naval, or air service during the period beginning on January 1, 1911, and ending on April 5, 1917, in Mexico, on the borders thereof, or in the waters adjacent thereto." Michael Keogh does not appear to have been awarded such a medal. I assume that he would have got one if he could.

 

1911 Dec. He first saw Casement in New York at a Gaelic League concert. Casement did spend a few weeks in the United States in Dec 1911 on his way back to London from South America.

 

 

[leibregiment]

22 hours ago, leibregiment said:

Michael

As per your research, he enlisted into the RIR, He was captured in 1914, but more interesting was the change from "Deserter" to "absent" 

My research also show two serving soldiers with the same name serving in France as well as a Corporal who only served in the depot in Ireland as well as another "deserter" called "Michael P Keogh"  

The remainder of his German file conforms to your research.

The one issue is his return from Germany in 1922...attached 

[corisande]

I would be grateful if you could give me the translation of

 

1. Column 8, which I assume is his next of kin

2 .Column 12. I have no idea what that is

3 . What is the wording below column 8. It mentions Danzig Troyl where he was a POW at one time

[leibregiment]

1. Column 8, Address and next of Kin, (In the USA) so he enlisted as a US citizen

2 .Column 12. Active service, Philippines and 1914

3 . What is the wording below column 8.This is normally medical, wound, injuries, so it looks like he hospitalized on the 5/5/1918

[leibregiment]

Medals, The US Philippine Campaign medal would only have been issued under very strict conditions "against hostiles" fundamentally any action in which US troops were killed or wounded between 1899-1913

Mexican Campaign same criteria from 1911 to 1917  

[leibregiment]

His Rank appears to be in column 8 as "Vizefeldwebel" Sgt Major which is consistant with the wedding photo

I have also found this 1922 Irish Free State (Eastern Division, Eastern Command) roll for a Captain Michael Keogh whose wife is "Marie" which is close to "Annamarie"

[corisande]

Thank you very much for that 

 

Can I ask another question as to what the date above Danzig Troyl refers to?

[leibregiment]

I am going to hazard a guess that it’s the date and location he returned from hospital 

[corisande]

Thanks - I appreciate that these documents are not straight forward to interpret

 

[corisande]

After more examining of the record, I cannot find it

 

When did he actually join the Bavarian Army, and what date did he leave it.

[leibregiment]

That’s the last box in column 10 “Munchen” his discharge as far as I can fathom is not apparent on the documents

[corisande]

Thanks. I have been trying, without sucess,  to work out if he ever actually joined the Freikorps, or whether he was in the Bavarian Army all the time

 

And I don't know if you noticed, but the shipping record in your post #8 has John Kavanagh on it as well as Keogh

[leibregiment]

Yes I saw that, the Freikorps angle will be almost impossible to fathom but from what I have seen in his archives and with no discernible discharge date more likely,

Here is the 1918 Kronik

 

"1918

Das Regiment nahm dann an der erfolglosen Frühjahrsoffensive von 1918 in Westflandern (Operation "Georgette") teil. Nach den äußerst blutigen Kämpfen bei Kemmel und Scherpenberg (18. bis 29. April 1918) musste es anGefallenen und Verwundeten 55 Offiziere sowie ca. 1.400 Mann beklagen. Die Kompanien waren auf je ca. 80 Manndezimiert. Noch im Herbst 1918 wurde es nach Abwehrkämpfen an der Somme (Gesamtstärke des Regiments am20. September 1918: 380 Mann!) nach Serbien verlegt, um den deutschen Rückzug zu decken. Am 10. Oktober 1918wurden die 4., 5. und 6. Kompanie des königlich bayerischen Radfahrer-Bataillons Nr. 3 unterstellt. Beim Rückmarschvom Balkan vom 12. bis 23. November 1918 musste sich das Regiment durch Gebiete mit feindlich gestimmterBevölkerung über Ungarn nach Bayern durchschlagen. Etwa 60 Mann wurden bis zur Ankunft in Münchenfahnenflüchtig, ein untrügliches Zeichen für die Auflösung der inneren Ordnung. Das Regiment wurde am 23. November 1918 in München bis auf einen geringen Stamm demobilisiert."

[corisande]

Thanks

I will have to make some time to go over my notes on Keogh. It is probably 5 years since I did the original research and lots has come online since then. This record of yours is really useful

Out of interest did the Baviarian Army records come from an online source?

[leibregiment]

Bingo........found him under a false name !!!! you inspired me to look as some of his aliases but in German..."Georg Michael König", 14. bayer. Infanterie-Regiment (Nürnberg) I. Ersatz-Bataillon, which means the wedding uniform makes sense but also attached is his colleague O'Callahan also known as Karl Braun.

Interesting to note that he was awarded the "Irish Medal" which I believe was the The 1916 Easter Rising Medal in 1917

It also confirms discharge in 1919, in red it confirms he applied in 1935 for the Hindenburg Cross with Swords .

Freikorps von Epp was formed 8 Feb 1919 in Ohrdruff, Königlich Bayerisches 14. Infanterie-Regiment „Hartmann“ became Reichswehr-Infanterie-Regiment 48 and was not as far as I can see part of Epp

[corisande]

As you say "Bingo". Those records are amazing

 

Those records are stuffed with dates and will a wonderful cross-reference in trying to tie down his own claims, against these records

[leibregiment]

This I believe the award of the wound badge

[corisande]

I remember now that he did travel back to Ireland with a passport in name of George King - its his little joke - King George backwards:-0

 

I also have him using "Kurt Schwarz " as an alias in Germany at the end of the war

[leibregiment]

Found another....