James Calhoun was born around 1826 in Derry, Ireland. He eventually immigrated to America and settled in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. He married Catherine Burns there on October 10 or 11, 1848, and they had two children: Jane Eliza, born around October 1854; and Mary Catherine, born on December 20, 1860. By 1860, he was working as a laborer, and he owned $1,600 of real estate. A year later, he was working as a policeman.

 

He enlisted in the Union army on April 23, 1861, and he mustered in as a sergeant in Company A of the 7^th Pennsylvania Infantry later that day. According to his service records, he was 5 feet, 11 inches tall, with fair hair and gray eyes. He mustered out on July 29, 1861. He rejoined the Union army almost immediately, and on August 1, 1861, he mustered in as a sergeant in Company F of the 61^st Pennsylvania Infantry. The regiment took part in the Siege of Yorktown, the Battle of Williamsburg, and the Battle of Seven Pines. He died at Seven Pines on May 31, 1862.

SOURCES