Discussion & Debate
The men who entered the Union military as substitutes from 1863 onwards are among the most neglected and maligned groups associated with the American Civil War. History–and many historians–have overwhelmingly focused on the negative aspects of their service, highlighting their...
Historically, we have tended to view the Irish American experience of the Civil War through the lens of ethnic formations such as the Irish Brigade and Corcoran’s Irish Legion. Yet of the c. 250,000 ethnic Irishmen who donned Union blue...
Back in 2015 Brendan Hamilton and I published a piece on the site entitled Recruited Straight Off The Boat: On the Trail of Emigrant Soldiers From the Ship Great Western. The work was based on Brendan’s discovery (and his extensive...
The 11th November 2018 marked the conclusion of events remembering the centenary of the First World War. During the last four years remembrance of that conflict has, along with the 1916 Rising, dominated Irish historical discourse and memorial culture. A...
Discussion of the Irish at Gettysburg is dominated by the Irish Brigade. Their contemporary and post-war fame– together with their striking battlefield monuments– have contributed to this continuing focus. As the most famed ethnic Irish formation of the conflict, their...
The Immigration and Ethnic History Society aims to promote the study of the history of immigration to the United States and Canada. Founded in 1965, the Society produces the Journal of American Ethnic History. I have just had a post published...
As readers are aware, I have long lamented the lack of study and commemoration in Ireland of the hundreds of thousands of Irish emigrants whose lives were forever impacted by the American Civil War. We have made many efforts to...
I have had the good fortune to deliver dozens of lectures around Ireland discussing local connections to the American Civil War. Wherever I am, I always highlight two factors; the reality that for many Irish counties, the American Civil War...
Gettysburg’s Big Round Top is home to one of the lesser known monuments on the battlefield. It marks the position held by the Irish 9th Massachusetts Infantry from the late evening of 2nd July 1863. The regiment had a proud...
When we think and examine the Irish of the American Civil War, we often consider first and foremost ethnic units; formations such as the Irish Brigade, Corcoran’s Legion or regimental level contingents such as the 9th Massachusetts and 69th Pennsylvania....