Charles P. Eagan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Charles P. Eagan
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| Birth name | Charles Patrick Eagan |
| Born | January 16, 1841 Ireland |
| Died | February 1, 1919 (aged 78) Bronx, New York City, New York State |
| Years of service | 1862–1900 |
| Rank |  Brigadier General |
| Commands held | Commissary General of the U.S. Army |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War American Indian Wars Spanish–American War |
| Other work | Real-estate, mining |
Brigadier General Charles Patrick Eagan (January 16, 1841 – February 1, 1919) was a career United States Army officer who gained notoriety as a Commissary General who testified during the "embalmed beef" scandal of the Spanish–American War. Eagan was born in Ireland and emigrated to the United States sometime prior to 1862.
Military career
Eagan was commissioned as a 1st lieutenant in the 1st Washington Territory Infantry Regiment on June 21, 1862 during the American Civil War. He was honorably mustered out of volunteer service on April 1, 1865. After the war, he joined the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, a military society of officers who had served the Union during the Civil War.
Eagan was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the 9th Infantry Regiment of the Regular Army on August 30, 1866. He was promoted to 1st lieutenant on January 2, 1869. He was re-assigned to the 12th Infantry on June 14, 1869 and promoted to captain and assigned as a commissary of subsistence on June 23, 1874. (Commissaries of subsistence were responsible for providing food supplies to units of the Army.) He received a retroactive brevet (honorary promotion) to the rank of captain on February 27, 1890 for "gallant service in action against hostile Indians in the Lava Beds, California on April 17, 1873". Eagan was promoted to major on March 12, 1892 and promoted to lieutenant colonel and assistant commissary general of subsistence on January 26, 1897. He was promoted to colonel on March 11, 1898 and to Commissary General with the rank of brigadier general on May 3, 1898, following the outbreak of the Spanish–American War.
Later life
After his retirement from the Army, Eagan pursued real estate and mining interests in Mexico. After a protracted struggle with other speculators, in May 1902, Eagan won a case in the Mexican Federal Court which granted him ownership of 2,500,000 acres in western Mexico.
General Eagan died of heart disease in the Bronx, New York, on February 1, 1919 at the age of 78.
Awards
- Civil War Campaign Medal
- Indian Campaign Medal
- Spanish War Service Medal
