At 12.20 pm on 27th May 1863, Admiral David Dixon Porter sent a brief message to General William Tecumseh Sherman. It stated simply ‘Cincinnati is sunk.’ Sherman already knew, as he ...
Spotlight
Irish American Civil War Trail Logo Design
The 42nd New York Infantry and ‘The Relief of the Destitute Poor of Our Native Land’
Irish-Born Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients: The Complete List?
Federal Recruitment of Irish Militiamen during the American Civil War
Will Butler is currently undertaking research on the Irish amateur military tradition in the British Army between 1854 and 1945. As he explains below, Will has come across intriguing evidence for the efforts of Federal recruiters to tap into this manpower pool in Ireland, as they sought to augment Union armies during the Civil War. [...]
‘Allow Me to Mingle My Tears’: The Aftermath of a 22-Year-Old Irishman’s Death
On 5th May 1862, Kerryman Lieutenant Patrick Henry Hayes led Company G of the 37th New York ‘Irish Rifles’ into action at Williamsburg, Virginia. As they charged toward the enemy, Patrick and his men also had to contend with nature; a severe rainstorm hampered their progress through a dense pine forest, which was littered with [...]
The Irishman They Couldn’t Kill: Wounded Six Times at First Bull Run
Irishman John Donovan served with the 2nd Wisconsin Infantry in the first major battle of the American Civil War, at Bull Run, Virginia. His unit fought side by side with the 69th New York State Militia, as part of the brigade commanded by William Tecumseh Sherman. For Donovan, this first day of fighting on 21st July [...]
Face to Face with the Fenians: Mugshots of American Civil War Veterans, Part 2
Part 1 of this series examined the mugshots of ten American Civil War veterans, arrested in Ireland in 1866 for their involvement with the Fenian movement. This post looks at a further ten of these men whose photographs were taken in Mountjoy Prison that year. They form a part of the series of Fenian mugshots [...]
Appeal: The Blockade Runner Minna and The Malcomsons of Co. Waterford
One of the roles of the Irish in the American Civil War site is to assist researchers exploring different aspects of the Irish experience of the conflict. To that end James Doherty, of Waterford Civil War Veterans and a founder of The 1848 Tricolour Celebration is seeking information relating to the Confederate Blockade Runner Minna, which had [...]
Irish American Civil War Trail
Readers of this site may have seen a recent post entitled Keeping Memory Alive of the Irish in the American Civil War. This highlighted the efforts of a number of like-minded individuals who wish to promote Irish involvement in the American Civil War in Ireland. The aim is to develop a Civil War Trail and Memorial to [...]
‘Faugh A Ballagh!’: The 17th Wisconsin at Corinth
The morning of 3rd October 1862 had not gone well for Major-General William Starke Rosecran’s Union forces. Holding the northern Mississippi town of Corinth, they had been attacked around 10am by Confederate forces of Major-General Earl Van Dorn’s Army of West Tennessee. By early afternoon, pressure on the Federal advanced position had grown so great that [...]
Irish Colonels: Michael Kerwin, 13th Pennsylvania Cavalry
Michael Kerwin was born in Co. Wexford on 15th August 1837. He emigrated with his parents to the United States at the age of 10, settling in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There he was educated in a private academy and trained as a lithographic printer. In his spare time he spent a number of years involved with [...]











