History
St. Patrick’s Day was an important occasion for all the Irish regiments in the Union Army, and those in the Army of the Potomac were no different. The fighting of 1862 had turned these Irish volunteers into veterans, and many...
In an update on the previous post regarding the upcoming Fág an Bealach docudrama, Tile Films have kindly passed on the schedule information. For viewers in the United States the two episodes will be airing back to back on Smithsonian Networks...
The 5th and 6th of March last saw the inaugural 1848 Tricolour Celebration. The green, white and orange flag which would eventually become the national colour of the Republic of Ireland was first flown by Thomas Francis Meagher at...
A new resource page has been added to the Irish in the American Civil War site, providing brief biographies of the 32 Irish born men who were breveted Brigadier-Generals. The page has drawn on Roger D. Hunt and Jack R....
This second post exploring the stories of Irish born Medal of Honor winners focuses on Sergeant Thomas Plunkett of the 21st Massachusetts Infantry. He received his award for actions at the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia on 13th December 1862, when...
In the fourth of our Internet Resources series we examine the Internet Archive, a non-profit resource set up in 1996 and based in San Francisco. At the site you can access a vast amount of information, most notably through the...
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...
The National Museum of Ireland at Collins Barracks is home to a major award-winning exhibition on the Irish military experience. Entitled Soldiers and Chiefs: The Irish at War at Home and Abroad from 1550, it consists of a number of...
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...
Robert McLernon has studied the Irish Brigade for 25 years and has kindly supplied some of his research for this and some future posts. The following extracts refer to an Irish woman who followed the Brigade and most particularly the...