Honour for Irish who fought for US from Bull Run to 9/11 (New York's Mayor Bloomberg pays tribute)

THE Mayor of New York flew to Ireland yesterday to mark the Irish contribution to the birth of the United States and to unveil a monument to the “69th Fighting Irish” regiment.

Michael Bloomberg was honouring the regiment, which fought with distinction for the Union during the American Civil War.

The ceremony took place in Ballymote, Co Sligo, where the regiment’s most famous commander, Michael Corcoran, was born. It was attended by politicians, military and diplomatic personnel and descendants of Corcoran.

Meanwhile, a small band of protesters held banners decrying US policy in the Middle East.

Mr Bloomberg’s speech drew parallels with America’s “war on terror” and brought tears to the eyes of many of the Irish US army veterans present.

The 69th New York State Volunteer Regiment, Company A, first served in the Revolution and the War of 1812.

The remainder of the regiment has its origins in early 1851, when the Irish citizens of New York formed a militia regiment known locally as the Second Regiment of Irish Volunteers. Most were recent arrivals from Ireland, having fled the Great Famine. Among them was Corcoran, the son of a British army officer who served briefly in the Royal Irish Constabulary. He would go on to become a close friend of Abraham Lincoln.

On October 12, 1851, the unit was accepted as part of the New York State Militia and designated as the 69th Regiment.

The 69th fought at the First Battle of Bull Run under General William T. Sherman, serving with distinction as the rearguard of the Federal withdrawal.

Colonel Corcoran, its commanding officer, refused to leave the battlefield until the withdrawal was completed. He was captured by Confederate forces. A year later he was freed. Upon his return to New York, Mr Bloomberg said, “enormous crowds thronged him in a parade up Broadway to City Hall”. Corcoran was promoted to general and led “the Irish Legion”.

The “Irish Brigade”, a second regiment formed out of the original 69th, was led by General Thomas Francis Meagher, a man of outspoken anti- English sentiments who had been exiled to Tasmania by the Crown for his activities on behalf of Irish independence.

By the end of the Civil War, the 69th NYSV had served in every important campaign of the eastern theatre. Of the 2,000 regiments that comprised the Union Army, the 69th NYSV ranked sixth in losses. When the Fighting 69th was reactivated for service in the First World War, 95 per cent of those who joined were Irish. The regiment remains steeped in its green heritage.

“The Fighting 69th has always answered the call to defend and protect America and on September 11, 2001, the call they answered was a local one,” Mr Bloomberg said. “On New York City’s darkest day, the members of the Fighting Irish were one of the first military units to respond to the attacks.”

The monument contained steel salvaged from the rubble of Ground Zero.

ON THE MARCH

The 69th Regiment was raised in New York in 1851. Its original members were mostly Irish volunteers who had fled the Famine
The regiment’s battle cry is “Faugh a Ballagh” meaning “Clear the Way”. Its patron saint is Patrick and its mascot is the Irish wolfhound
The American Civil War ran from 1861 to 1865
Nearly 150,000 Irish fought in the Union Army, mostly in “American” units
The Irish Brigade was created to advertise the important contributions to the Union cause made by Irish Catholics
The fighting prowess of the Irish led to many Union generals crying “Where are my green flags?”
The regiment received its nickname from another famous general. After hearing that the 69th NYSV faced him across the field during one of the Seven Days battles, Confederate General Robert E. Lee said, “Ah yes, that Fighting 69th”
Captain Doherty, a US soldier born in Ireland, was given $2,000 for shooting John Wilkes Booth, who had assassinated Lincoln