Alexander Sweeney

Alexander Sweeney is known today through History of Company K of the 140th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers (1862-'65), a book published in 1906 with Benjamin F. Powelson. Library and public-domain catalog records consistently credit him as a co-author of that volume.

The book grew out of efforts by veterans of the regiment to record their experiences, and catalog notes indicate it was prepared by Powelson under the direction of "Aleck Sweeney" with help from other members of the company. That suggests Sweeney was not just a name on the title page, but an active participant in shaping the historical record.

Reliable biographical details about his life beyond this work are limited in the sources I could confirm. What stands out clearly is his role in preserving a soldier's-eye account of the American Civil War, making his contribution especially valuable to readers interested in memory, military history, and the voices of those who served.