Just under 200,000 Irishmen took part in the American Civil War, making it one of the most significant conflicts in Irish history. Hundreds of thousands more were affected away from the battlefield, both in the US and in Ireland itself. The Irish contribution, however, is often only viewed through the lens of famous units such as the Irish Brigade, but the real story is much more complex and fascinating. From the Tipperary man who was the first man to die in the war, to the Corkman who was the last General mortally wounded in action; from the flag bearer who saved his regimental colours at the cost of his arms, to the Roscommon man who led the hunt for Abraham Lincoln's assassin, what emerges in this book is a catalogue of gallantry, sacrifice and bravery.

The story of the Irish involved in the American Civil War, fighting and dying on both sides of the conflict.

In 1861, Americans flooded to enlist for what all thought would be a short and glorious war. Anxious to prove their loyalty to their new homeland, thousands of Irish immigrants were among those who hurried to join the fight on both sides. While the efforts of the Union's legendary Irish Brigade are well documented, little has been said regarding the role Irish American soldiers played for the Confederacy. This comprehensive history explores the Irish contribution to the Confederate military effort throughout the four major combat theatres of the Civil War. Beginning with an overview of Irish Americans in the South, the book looks at the Irish immigrant experience and the character of the typical Irish Confederate soldier, detailing the ways in which Irish communities supported the Southern war effort. The main focus is the military actions in which Irish American soldiers were present in significant or influential numbers. With a combat death rate disproportionate to their numbers, the 40,000 Irish who served in the Confederate army played significant roles in the Army of Northern Virginia, the Army of Tennessee, the hotly disputed coastal areas and the Mississippi and Trans-Mississippi campaigns. Most major battles of the war are discussed including Manassas, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, Shiloh, Murfreesboro and Appomattox. Appendices contain a list of various Irish commands and field commanders in the Confederate Army.

This is the story of the forgotten role of the 200,000 Irish men and women who were involved in various ways in the US Civil War.This book is based on several years of research by the author, a professional historian, who has put together a series of the best of his collected stories for this collection.The book is broken into 4 sections, ‘beginnings’, ‘realities’, ‘the wider war’ and ‘aftermath’.Within each section there are 6 true stories of gallantry, sacrifice and bravery, from the flag bearer who saved his regimental colours at the cost of his arms, to the story of Jennie Hodgers, who pretended to be a man and served throughout the war in the 95th Illinois.

On the eve of the American Civil War, 1.6 million Irish-born people were living in the United States. The majority had emigrated to the major industrialised cities of the North; New York alone was home to more than 200,000 Irish, one in four of the total population. As a result, thousands of Irish emigrants fought for the Union between 1861 and 1865. The research for this book has its origins in the widows and dependent pension records of that conflict, which often included not only letters and private correspondence between family members, but unparalleled accounts of their lives in both Ireland and America. The treasure trove of material made available comes, however, at a cost. In every instance, the file only exists due to the death of a soldier or sailor. From that as its starting point, coloured by sadness, the author has crafted the stories of thirty-five Irish families whose lives were emblematic of the nature of the Irish nineteenth-century emigrant experience.

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject English - Applied Geography, grade: 2,0, University of Heidelberg (Anglistisches Seminar), course: Landeskunde Seminar, language: English, abstract: Why did the Irish participate in the American Civil War in such a great number? Why were they so special? German immigrants, for example, joined the war in just as a big number as the Irish did. But never did a unit that consisted of mainly Germans carry the colours or symbols of their homeland into a battle of the American Civil War like the Irish did. In this paper I want to clarify why the Irish had such a big impact on the American Civil war. Further, I want to show that the Irishmen fought for more than just the Confederation or the Union but for their home country and much more.

As mid-19th century America erupted in violence with the invasion of Mexico and the outbreak of the Civil War, Irish immigrants joined the fray in large numbers, on both sides. They sometimes were disruptive elements. In Mexico, a body of Irish artillerymen defected to the other side. During the Civil War, Patrick Cleburne stirred controversy in the Confederacy when he proposed enlisting slaves in exchange for their freedom. The New York draft riots, a violent insurrection by a predominantly Irish mob, raged for three days before Federal troops restored order. Despite turmoil and contention, the Irish soldiers who fought in the Union army contributed significantly to the preservation of the United States. This collection of essays examines the involvement of Irish men and women in America's conflicts from 1840 to 1865.