The 11th October 1862 was an auspicious day for those associated with the 69th New York State Militia. It was a little less than 15 months since they had returned– to great fanfare– from the Bull Run battlefield. Though the...
Perhaps the two most famous images of Catholic Mass being celebrated during the American Civil War are those of the 69th New York State Militia and 9th Massachusetts Infantry exposed in 1861. Though these photographs are very familiar to us,...
In August 1861, tens of thousands of Irish immigrants took part in a “Monster Irish Festival” on Manhattan. Organised to benefit the widows and orphans of Irish men who had fallen at Bull Run, its scale and scope were considered...
Each pension file contains fragments of one Irish family’s story. They are rarely complete, but nonetheless they often offer us rare insight into aspects of the 19th century Irish emigrant experience. Few match the breadth of the story told in...