The latest addition to the Resources section of the site are the fatality details of 21 Irish regiments who served the Union during the Civil War. Check out the ‘More Resources’ tab on the top right of the site and access the drop down menu to see what else is available.
In 1889 William F. Fox published his Regimental Losses in the American Civil War. It has become famed for listing the 300 Union units which suffered the highest casualties during the conflict, but Fox also charts the losses of those Federal formations with casualty rates outside those fabled 300. Although certain elements of the work have been revised, it still stands virtually alone as a single source for detailed Union casualty figures from the American Civil War.
Although the majority of Irishmen served in non-Irish units during the conflict, there were still a large number of ‘Irish’ regiments. The list below reproduces Fox’s figures for 21 of these regiments. Despite being interesting in and of itself, the list necessarily needs to be treated with caution. It excludes what might be regarded as non-infantry ‘Irish’ units (such as the 13th Pennsylvania Cavalry), infantry regiments that were designated as Irish but did not have large Irish numbers in the ranks (such as the 15th Maine Infantry) and infantry regiments that despite not been termed ‘Irish’ did have large Irish numbers in the ranks (such as the 42nd New York Infantry).
The 21 infantry regiments suffered a combined total of 4,808 fatalities during the American Civil War. Of these 2,277 were combat related, with a further 2,531 being due to other causes, such as illness or accident. The 69th New York of the Irish Brigade was the regiment that suffered the most fatalities, with 401 deaths. The 69th also suffered the most combat casualties, but it was the 30th Missouri that sustained the most deaths due to disease, with a staggering 280 deaths. The 9th Massachusetts and 88th New York were the most dangerous regiments to serve in as an officer, with both losing 18 officers during the conflict. Not all of the men represented by these figures were Irish, and as stated above the statistics are ultimately of somewhat limited use when studying the Irish experience of the conflict. However they do present an interesting ‘at a glance’ review of some of the more famous Irish units, and perhaps most starkly highlight the role of disease as the greatest killer of the American Civil War.
Organised |
Regiment |
Officers KIA/DoW |
Enlisted KIA/DoW |
Officers DoD/Other |
Enlisted DoD/Other |
Total Deaths |
June 1861 |
9th Massachusetts |
15 |
194 |
3 |
66 |
278 |
December 1861 |
28th Massachusetts |
15 |
235 |
1 |
136 |
387 |
September 1861 |
9th Connecticut |
0 |
10 |
3 |
240 |
253 |
June 1861 |
37th New York |
5 |
69 |
1 |
37 |
112 |
August 1861 |
63rd New York |
15 |
141 |
1 |
92 |
249 |
September 1861 |
69th New York |
13 |
246 |
0 |
142 |
401 |
September 1861 |
88th New York |
15 |
136 |
3 |
69 |
223 |
November 1862 |
155th New York |
9 |
105 |
2 |
71 |
187 |
November 1862 |
164th New York |
10 |
106 |
3 |
126 |
245 |
October 1862 |
170th New York |
10 |
119 |
2 |
96 |
227 |
October 1862 |
175th New York |
2 |
12 |
3 |
117 |
134 |
November 1862 |
182nd New York |
8 |
65 |
0 |
53 |
126 |
August 1861 |
69th Pennsylvania |
12 |
166 |
3 |
107 |
288 |
August 1862 |
116th Pennsylvania |
8 |
137 |
1 |
88 |
234 |
June 1861 |
10th Ohio |
3 |
86 |
2 |
77 |
168 |
October 1861 |
35th Indiana |
5 |
82 |
0 |
164 |
251 |
June 1861 |
23rd Illinois |
4 |
50 |
2 |
93 |
149 |
August 1862 |
90th Illinois |
2 |
58 |
1 |
87 |
148 |
March 1862 |
17th Wisconsin |
0 |
41 |
0 |
228 |
269 |
June 1861 |
7th Missouri |
4 |
52 |
2 |
128 |
186 |
September 1862 |
30th Missouri |
2 |
10 |
1 |
280 |
293 |
TOTAL |
|
157 |
2120 |
34 |
2497 |
4808 |
*KIA (Killed in Action), DoW (Died of Wounds), DoD (Died of Disease).
References
Fox, William F. 1889. Regimental Losses in the American Civil War 1861-1865.
Joseph Maghe
March 13, 2013 4:21 pmOnce again a nicely done job of research and then pulling the facts together in a brief and concise format. Thanks, Damian.
Damian Shiels
March 15, 2013 10:17 amHi Joe,
Many thanks!
Kind Regards,
Damian.
Barry Spink
March 16, 2013 2:42 pmIn January 1862, of the 910 men present in the 28th Mass, fully 150 were non-Irish, a sizable minority of 15 percent for the unit. By August 1863, the total overall manpower of non-Irish had been reduced to 314 men. After the draft started in 1863, the 28th Mass had a number of non-Irish in its ranks. In August 1863 100 men came into the ranks. The majority, 76, came from Canada, but England, Germany, Sweden, France, and even Hungry contributed. Louis LaPorte, a French speaking Canadian, recalled years later, “At the time of and during my service [in the 28th Mass] I was unable to speak English and only a few of the Company who could speak French, so I did not get to know the English speaking commands very well.” The majority of the men arriving to the 28th Mass from the August 1863 draft were non-Irish bringing the number of non-Irish in the unit to 120, a 38% non-Irish population rat for the unit. The following year, 1864, the unit commander, Colonel Richard Byrnes, traveled to Boston, Mass, to personally handle recruiting for his unit. Within three months, Byrnes and his men recruited 288 new men, a number of them non-Irish. Byrnes, although Irish, was a “Regular Army” officer and did not care whether the men were Irish or not. In fact, by the end of May 1864 when the unit’s membership had risen to 429 men, the non-Irish personnel accounted for a whopping 50 percent of the regiment. By the end of the war, however, the heavy casualties had taken its toll. Only 169 men answered roll call on the morning of 30 June 1865, when the 28th Mass was released from its Federal service. Of these, 65 (38%) were not of Irish descent.
Damian Shiels
March 17, 2013 11:46 amHi Barry,
Thanks for that excellent information on the 28th! They are intriguing figures. There is not enough work done on the influx of draftee’s into these units, it is something I hope to look at in further detail down the line. One incident I am currently examining is the mass surrender of a large number of men of the 69th New York before Petersburg. In the aftermath and in an effort to explain the event, it was highlighted how many of the men were draftees and substitutes, and how few of the old soldiers had been taken. The regiments were effectively different entities after the bloodletting of 1864.
Kind Regards,
Damian.
shenandoah1864
October 29, 2013 1:56 amBarry, We met many years ago with the 28th Massachusetts. I am currently writing a book on Second Manassas and wanted to know if you have any more detailed info on the role of the 28th in Steven’s advance in conjunction with Porter’s attack. Thanks.
ab brown
April 5, 2013 3:57 amDamian,
I enjoy reading your blog…it’s an important contribution to our history.
Cheers,
AB Brown
Damian Shiels
April 5, 2013 3:28 pmHi AB,
Many thanks for your comment, I am really glad you enjoy it!
Kind Regards,
Damian.
Steve Reilly
August 25, 2015 1:51 pmWhat’s missing, is the 69th New York State Militia, the three month men. As we all know, it was made up in part (mostly?) of the NYC Irish Brotherhood. Commanded by Col. Corcoran, acting head of the Brotherhood. Many waiting for Corcoran to get exchanged and joined the 170th NYS with him.
Damian Shiels
September 1, 2015 2:09 pmHi Steve,
Absolutely, and of course it is only a very partial picture given that such a majority of Irish served in non-Irish units. An area where much work is needed!
Kind Regards,
Damian.
Steve Reilly
August 25, 2015 1:55 pmPS: This may have new life, Joe Maghe, reposted it on facebook
PAUL MC ARDLE
March 27, 2017 1:42 pmI AM IN THE PROCESS OF COMPILING A LIST OF CASUALTIES FROM 1861-5 WITH A CONNECTION TO COUNTY OF LOUTH IRELAND!
WHERE IS THE BEST PLACE TO BEGIN MY RESEARCH?
MANY THANKS,
PAUL MC ARDLE.