As many regular readers of the site will know I have been campaigning for some time (along with colleagues) to see greater recognition in Ireland of the cost of the American Civil War to the Irish community. It was the...
Newspapers that appealed to emigrant populations like the New York Irish-American often ran ‘Information Wanted’ sections, where people could place classified ads. Many are attempts to locate long-lost family, friends or beneficiaries of wills. These advertisements ran for three issues at the...
On 13th December 1862 the Irish Brigade had fought at Fredericksburg. Along with many other Union brigades they suffered horrendous casualties in the futile attempt to assault the Confederate positions at Marye’s Heights. The losses sent shockwaves through the Irish-American...
The ‘green-flag’ units were not the only Union regiments to contain large numbers of Irish within their ranks. Many others contained a substantial contingent of Irishmen, who were just as concerned with affairs amongst their community and at home in...
On 5th May 1862, Kerryman Lieutenant Patrick Henry Hayes led Company G of the 37th New York ‘Irish Rifles’ into action at Williamsburg, Virginia. As they charged toward the enemy, Patrick and his men also had to contend with nature;...
Part 1 of this series examined the mugshots of ten American Civil War veterans, arrested in Ireland in 1866 for their involvement with the Fenian movement. This post looks at a further ten of these men whose photographs were taken...
One of the roles of the Irish in the American Civil War site is to assist researchers exploring different aspects of the Irish experience of the conflict. To that end James Doherty, of Waterford Civil War Veterans and a founder of...
Michael Kerwin was born in Co. Wexford on 15th August 1837. He emigrated with his parents to the United States at the age of 10, settling in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There he was educated in a private academy and trained as...
On 8th September 1864, First Lieutenant Patrick McCarthy of Company C, 182nd New York Infantry (69th New York National Guard), sat down to write a letter to the father of one of his comrades. The young man found himself with...
On 24th April 1861, 17 year-old James Allen enlisted in the army at Potsdam, New York. Joining Company F of the 16th New York Infantry, he would see action in all the major battles of the Army of the Potomac...