Michael Walsh Cluskey

Michael Walsh Cluskey (c. 1832 – January 13, 1873) was an American politician who served in the Confederate States Congress during the American Civil War.

Sketch of Cluskey, by Alfred Waud^[1]

Biography

Cluskey was born c. 1832, in Savannah, Georgia, and was baptized May 11, 1832. He worked as a newspaper editor for the Memphis Avalanche and the Louisville Daily Ledger.^[2] From 1852 and 1859, he served as Postmaster of the United States House of Representatives, and was succeeded by Josiah M. Lucas.^[3] During the American Civil War, he served as an assistant quartermaster-general in the Confederate States Army and eventually rose to the rank of colonel.^[4] He was elected to represent Tennessee in the Second Confederate Congress from 1864 to 1865.^[1][5] He died on January 13, 1873, aged 40 or 41, from injuries inflicted during the Battle of Shiloh and was interred at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Washington, D.C.^[6]