Irish in the American Civil War

On a recent trip to Edinburgh I took the opportunity to visit an unusual monument in one of the Scottish capital’s picturesque burial grounds. Within Old Calton Cemetery is a memorial to those Scots who served the Union cause- the only American Civil War memorial outside the United States. The cemetery is positioned in a [...]

American Civil War soldiers would often have to go months without receiving their pay, a state of affairs they could do little about while away at the front. The 26th December 1895 issue of The National Tribune relates the story of one Irishman who took extraordinary steps to secure what he was owed. Finding himself [...]

American Civil War historian Dr. Susannah J. Ural of the University of Southern Mississippi is the author of The Harp and the Eagle: Irish Volunteers and the Union Army, 1861-1865. Published in 2006, the book not only examines Irish motivation for joining the army, but also their changing attitudes to the war as it progressed. [...]

This third post in the Internet Resources series takes a look at the website of the New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center. The Museum’s mission is to ‘preserve, interpret and disseminate the story, history and records of New York State’s military forces and veterans.’ They have undoubtedly taken a giant leap towards achieving this [...]

The night of 14th April 1865 was one that Major James Rowan O’Beirne, Provost Marshal of the District of Columbia, would never forget. President Abraham Lincoln lay dying in William Petersen’s Boarding House, having been shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre. Secretary of State William Seward had been stabbed in his own home, [...]

History is filled with ‘what if’ moments, those occasions where a slightly different result or outcome may have radically altered history as we know it. One such moment occurred on 22nd September 1842, when Co. Tyrone native James Shields prepared to face a fellow Illinois politician in a duel. Shields’ opponent had selected swords as [...]