Posts filed under: Profiles

As rare as it is to find identified images of Irish immigrant soldiers of the American Civil in the field, it is rarer still to discover examples that include their families. The National Archives’ collection of Civil War images includes...
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The latest guest post comes from Joe Maghe, one of the longest running friends of the Irish in the American Civil War website. Joe has gathered together and curates one of the most important collections of artefacts relating to the...
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In a new guest post on the site, I am delighted to share a contribution from historian Stephen Callaghan. Stephen and I worked together many years ago at the National Museum of Ireland. Since then he has done fantastic work...
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Brigadier-General Michael Corocoran was one of the most famous Irish Americans of the 19th century. He led the 69th New York State Militia at Bull Run, and in the months of captivity that followed he became a hero of the...
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Beyond a relative handful of individuals such as Thomas Francis Meagher, it is surprising just how little we know about the lives of many senior Irish officers during the American Civil War. The latest guest post illuminates the story of...
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I am delighted to have an opportunity to share another guest post with readers, this time from Meg Groeling. Many of you will know Meg as a regular contributor to the Emerging Civil War blog and as an expert on...
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Historian and author Christopher Klein has recently published When the Irish Invaded Canada: The Incredible True Story of the Civil War Veteran’s Who Fought for Ireland’s Freedom, a book which charts Fenian efforts to advance their aims through attacks on...
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I recently came across a series of 1861 letters written between three notable members of nineteenth century Irish America. The authors were the Archbishop of New York, “Dagger” John Hughes; Father Bernard O’Reilly, who had served as the 69th New...
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Thoughts of the 69th New York State Militia’s leadership at Bull Run immediately conjures images of Michael Corcoran and Thomas Francis Meagher. Yet there were many others who held important command positions in the regiment on that fateful day in...
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The majority of the statistical knowledge we possess on United States volunteers during the American Civil War owes its origins to the Statistical Bureau of the United States Sanitary Commission. During the conflict the Commission painstakingly gathered information on both...
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