The Irish Brigade in the American Civil War, 1861-1865

The Tunnel Wall

. . . " He was protesting the inadequate and ineffective response of the British government to the potato famine in Ireland [1845-1850] where approximately one million Irish-British subjects starved to death and approximately another two million emigrated in coffin ships to Australia, Canada and the United States. Corcoran was relieved of command and court-martial proceedings were instituted. The charges were dropped when the 69th New York State Militia responded to President Lincoln’s call to defend Washington City. " . . .

The Irish Brigade at Gettysburg

What can we contribute to St Patrick's Day?

The Unspoken Ghosts of Irish-Americans
"Ireland had no defense forces until about 1913, so its people were captured and enslaved by many nations over the years. They endured more oppression than American blacks and suffered living conditions not unlike Jews of the Holocaust. But harboring grudges against ghosts of heritages past was not a mainstay for Irish Americans*. They had more important things to do. We know so little of our Irish’s torturous past because of their impressive will to live beyond victimization rather than living in it. America’s Irish are prime examples of sheer determination turning adversity into stepping stones of a better life."
. . . 
 "Throughout the 1600-1700s the Irish settled in Early American colonies and by the 1860s they were among America’s greatest Civil War heroes, renowned for their bravery and leadership. Their competence, patriotic enthusiasm and ingrained confidence in overcoming obstacles helped to diminish some of the religious bigotry against them in a predominantly Protestant America. 

Animated map of the Battle of Fredericksburg

The Battle of Fredericksburg : "The Battle of Fredericksburg, fought December 11-15, 1862, was one of the largest and deadliest of the Civil War. It featured the first major opposed river crossing in American military history. Union and Confederate troops fought in the streets of Fredericksburg, the Civil War’s first urban combat. And with nearly 200,000 combatants, no other Civil War battle featured a larger concentration of soldiers."

 Below, the stone wall that no Yankee ever reached until 2nd Fredericksburg the following year. Beyond this wall the field was carpeted with the prone blue forms of Union dead and wounded .

What can we contribute to St Patrick's Day?

The Unspoken Ghosts of Irish-Americans
"Ireland had no defense forces until about 1913, so its people were captured and enslaved by many nations over the years. They endured more oppression than American blacks and suffered living conditions not unlike Jews of the Holocaust. But harboring grudges against ghosts of heritages past was not a mainstay for Irish Americans*. They had more important things to do. We know so little of our Irish’s torturous past because of their impressive will to live beyond victimization rather than living in it. America’s Irish are prime examples of sheer determination turning adversity into stepping stones of a better life."
*Apparently they had no Farrakhans or Rev. Wrights.
But I digress:
 "Throughout the 1600-1700s the Irish settled in Early American colonies and by the 1860s they were among America’s greatest Civil War heroes, renowned for their bravery and leadership. Their competence, patriotic enthusiasm and ingrained confidence in overcoming obstacles helped to diminish some of the religious bigotry against them in a predominantly Protestant America. Of this Civil War Irish History writes:

“There is perhaps no other ethnic group so closely identified with the Civil War years and the immediate aftermath of the war as Irish Americans.  Read more...

We posted this in the Tunnel Wall one year ago and felt it ought to have an encore: The Irish Brigade at Gettysburg

This painting by Don Troiani is titled New York’s Bravest. It is courtesy of 

www.historicalimagebank.com. 

Despite Cuts, Schumer Gets Marine Corps Band to Play at St. Patrick’s Day Parade  "Forget the sequester. If you're Chuck Schumer, there are ways around it. Consider the recent example of a U.S. Marine Corps band cancelling its scheduled performance at a St. Patrick's Day parade due to the "sequester"--and Chuck Schumer's successful "push" for the band to come anyway."

The Irish Brigade at Gettysburg

Gettysburg Daily "... the “Prince of Wales” flag which clearly and unambiguously refers to October 11, 1860 which is the date when the 18 year old Prince of Wales, son of Queen Victoria, later King Edward VII, visited New York City. The upper red riband on that flag reads, “PRESENTED TO THE 69TH REGIMENT.” The lower red riband reads, IN COMMEMORATION OF THE 11TH OCT. 1860.” The 69th New York State Militia was ordered to march in a parade in his honor. Colonel Corcoran refused. He was protesting the inadequate and ineffective response of the British government to the potato famine in Ireland [1845-1850] where approximately one million Irish-British subjects starved to death and approximately another two million emigrated in coffin ships to Australia, Canada and the United States. Corcoran was relieved of command and court-martial proceedings were instituted. The charges were dropped when the 69th New York State Militia responded to President Lincoln’s call to defend Washington City. The painting of the Prince of Wales Flag is courtesy of artist Erik Chipchase at mercenarygraphics.com. His e-mail address is echipchase@mercenary graphics.com.

This painting by Don Troiani is titled New York’s Bravest. It is courtesy of www.historicalimagebank.com. 

(Below) Licensed Battlefield Guide John Fitzpatrick is pointing to the William Patterson House located on the east side of the Taneytown Road. The Irish Brigade marched along the Taneytown Road from south to north (right to left) as they prepared to take position along Cemetery Ridge. http://www.gettysburgdaily.com/?p=10931

Brigadier General Thomas Francis Meagher “Of the Sword” was born in 1823 in Waterford, Ireland into a family with a successful shipping business. An educated, independent thinking, passionate orator and firm admirer of the American and French Revolutions, he had hoped to bridge the “Catholic” vs. “Protestant” divide in a common goal of uniting all Ireland as citizens and free men with their own indigenous non-denominational Parliament. He earned his sobriquet in 1846 when he argued that at some point only armed revolt might achieve political change. He firmly declared to the crowd; “Abhor the sword? Stigmatize the sword? No, my lord…” three times including passionate references to the American Revolution and the Battle of Fontenoy* in the War of Austrian Succession in 1745. He joined the “Young Ireland” movement and participated in the failed revolt of 1848. He was tried, convicted and sentenced to execution but the public outcry lead to a sentence of life imprisonment on Van Diemen’s island near the southeastern coast of Australia. He escaped, made his way to New York, became a lawyer, orator and joined the 69th NYSM. He participated in the Battle of Bull Run and personally recruited the 69th, 88th and 63rd NY Volunteer Infantry Regiments. On February 5, 1862 he was appointed Brigadier General. Immediately prior to the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862, the 28th Massachusetts and 116th Pennsylvania Regiments were added to the “Irish Brigade” in the Army of the Potomac. Meagher commanded the Brigade through the Peninsula, the Seven Days, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. When his requests for leave and the opportunity to recruit replacements for the depleted Brigade were denied, he resigned on May 8, 1862. He is the reason that the Irish Brigade was armed with the Springfield, Model 1842, smooth bore, .69 calibre “buck and ball” musket at the Battle of Gettysburg (except for the 28th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment which carried the Enfield .577 caliber rifle musket). 


*Fontenoy is a legendary battle that figures in the story of the "Wild Geese" or "Exiles of Hope" -- approximately 12000 Irish warriors under General Patrick Sarsfield who despaired of their own, and Ireland's future in the aftermath of the Elizabethan conquest of Ulster. 

.... On Fontenoy, on Fontenoy, like eagles in the sun,With bloody plumes the Irish stand -- the field is fought and won!"  Hence, the Irish battle cry "Remember Ireland and Fontenoy!"

149 Years ago: The Battle of Fredericksburg, Va. (BAD LINKS REPLACED)

The Battle of Fredericksburg : "The Battle of Fredericksburg, fought December 11-15, 1862, was one of the largest and deadliest of the Civil War. It featured the first major opposed river crossing in American military history. Union and Confederate troops fought in the streets of Fredericksburg, the Civil War’s first urban combat. And with nearly 200,000 combatants, no other Civil War battle featured a larger concentration of soldiers."

 Below, the stone wall that no Yankee ever reached until 2nd Fredericksburg the following year. Beyond this wall the field was carpeted with the prone blue forms of Union dead and wounded .

http://usa-civil-war.com/Fredericksburg/fdksbg_2.html

TD regrets the links formerly in this spot are no longer active. Let's hope these will be sufficient for you:

NPS: Sunken Road/Stone Wall Sector of Fredericksburg Battlefield

Sunken Road Walking Trail

Tourist's account of the battlefield tour

From "God's and Generals": The 20th Maine charges the stone wall You may want your speakers turned down-it's kind of a rock video. I'm just sayin'. 

 Here's a scene featuring the Irish Brigade in "Gods and Generals".

The Angel of the Battlefield;   

Cycling through Civil War history ,

Then and now photos of the Union approaches to the stone wall:  Sad to see how so much hallowed ground was covered by development.

Go here for a more detailed Battle account; Maps of the theater here.

Many NPS links here:  Virtual Tour of Fredericksburg Battlefield

"The Fredericksburg Battlefield driving tour consists of six stops. There are also links to battle sites not on the tour route as well as additional information on touring Fredericksburg Battlefield and learning about the battle."

Dramatic and excellent: Animated timeline map of the battle
Turn your speakers on. Civil war enthusiasts, turn 'em way, way up and also notice the controls at the bottom of the map frame that you can use. Keep your eye on the narrative at the bottom center describing each event of the battle as it occurs.  (Requires Adobe Shockwave)

Updates follow:

The Union Commander, General Ambrose Burnside "Burnside took part in the battle at Antietam (September, 1862) and afterwards President Abraham Lincoln asked him to replace George McClellan as commander of the Army of the Potomac. After the complaints that had been made by President Abraham Lincoln and the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, about the inaction of the Union Army, Burnside was determined to immediately launch an attack on the Confederate Army.....

 "After the disastrous battle at Fredericksburg Burnside was replaced by Joseph Hooker. Burnside was put in charge of the Army of Ohio in March, 1863 and succeeded in capturing Morgan's Raiders and performed well at the siege of Knoxville."



Hooker



Burnside's replacement: Gen. Joe Hooker and another disaster.  "After three months of Burnside, Lincoln decided to give overall command to Hooker. Aware of behind the scenes maneuvering while Burnside was in command and statements made by Hooker about the "country needing a dictator," the President wrote a famous letter  to Hooker"... "in which he stated which candidly discusses Hooker's strengths and weaknesses. Although Hooker failed to deliver the results Lincoln expected he was touched by the letter's tone. He told reporter Noah Brooks "That is just such a letter as a father might write to his son. It is a beautiful letter, and, although I think he was harder on me than I deserved, I will say that I love the man who wrote it."
 Lincoln said of Hooker's bombast and promises, "The hen is the wisest of all the animal creation because she never cackles until after the egg has been laid."

150 years ago today: Bombardment of Fort Sumter begins the American Civil War

Civil War at 150: How a Bloodless Battle Started It All  "...The Confederate government, knowing that its claims to sovereignty depended on no "foreign" power occupying any of its coastal forts, decided to act before the relief expedition arrived.

sonofthesouth

"Confederate leaders, therefore, ordered Charleston's chief military officer, Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, a flamboyant Louisiana Creole, to demand Fort Sumter's surrender. Should that be refused, he was to open fire on the stronghold.

"James Chesnut, Jr., the former U.S. senator­ who'd pledged to drink the blood of casualties, was one of two emissaries who delivered the ultimatum to an ashen-faced Anderson at 3:25 a.m. on April 12, 1861—150 years ago Tuesday."

Sumter's measurements in 1861

Post-battle Fort Sumter photos


Sumter today Fox News

 


The impact of our War Between the States on other lands:

Australia and New Zealanders (Anzacs) in the war. "This website is a dedication to the Australian Union and Confederate Veterans of the American Civil War of 1861 – 1865."

The Irish and Meagher of the Irish Brigade (pronounced "Marr")
The Garibaldi Guards  "Three companies consisted of Germans, three of Hungarians, one of Swiss, one of Italians, one of Frenchmen, and one of Spaniards and Portuguese." Called "Lincoln's Foreign Legion". 
German-Americans in the Civil War  "...the Germans and their Dutch cousins settled and left their mark upon those regions, and came forth to serve their adopted land when hostilities erupted between North and South in 1861."

Civil War began 150 years ago today  "Though no lives were lost during this opening engagement, it would end four years later with a Citizenry liberated and an overdue 14th Amendment to our Constitution, the eventual evils of Reconstruction resulting from the assassination of thoughtful leader, and the rise of a powerful party in the South that would embody the preservation of segregation and manipulation of race politics for more than a century." (Emphasis added) That party would be the Democrat Party for those of you who know nothing about the history of this nation.

Today's Professional victims will try to connect Federalists of today with slave owners of the 1800's. Along with our honoring American history for the next four years, expect the likes of "The Reverends" Jackson, Sharpton, Wright and most leftist activists to pile on America in the months to come.