The FReeper Foxhole Revisits The Irish Brigade

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The brigade recuperated somewhat from its ordeal while encamped on Bolivar Heights at Harper's Ferry after the battle. Here the 116th Pennsylvania joined them. Before they were again committed, the electrifying news reached them that McClellan had been relieved of command of the army. Many of the angered officers of the Irish Brigade, nearly all of them Democrats, resigned on the spot. Only Meagher's persuasiveness kept them with the army. As it was, at McClellan's final review of the Army of the Potomac, the brigade broke ranks to swarm around their departing hero.

An unusual incident is reported to have occurred as the Irish Brigade was enroute to Fredericksburg. As the men passed the house of the slain Confederate General Turner Ashby's mother, a disheveled-looking woman rushed into the midst of the marching soldiers, shrillingly invoking the curse of God upon those who had taken her son's life. To some of the more superstitious Irish her cries must surely have seemed akin to the dreaded wail of the feared banshee (signifying in Celtic lore a death to come).

Prior to crossing a pontoon bridge into Fredericksburg that bleak December day, the command shook out its colors. The nearby 14th Brooklyn (84th N.Y.) cheered the marching Irishmen, as the band of Hawkins' Zouaves (9th N.Y.) struck up the brigade's marching tune, Garry Owen. Less cheering was the presence of professional embalmers who passed out cards advertising their "patriotic services." One brigade member refused with a scathing "be damned to yez."

Once in town some of the "byes" joined in the plundering. One Irishman staggered under the weight of a huge feather bed, while two others sported women's bonnets and a more practical fellow carted off a ten-gallon coffeepot. The men of the 116th amused themselves by fishing up the contents of some sunken tobacco barges.

Despite the tragic outcome of the battle of Fredericksburg, a previously planned banquet to receive new colors for the New York regiments was held in a Fredericksburg theater. The Irish colors (the regiments carried no state flags) had been donated by an appreciative citizens' committee of native Americans. About 300 officers, including twenty-two generals, attended the "Irish wake." The bereaved Meagher made an unfortunate reference to political generals" (after all, he was one himself) in a speech which was held against this Democrat in his later efforts to gain permission to recruit his brigade.

Colonel Patrick Kelly

It was, incidentally, at Fredericksburg that the 69th thought they had lost their national standard. The next day the color-sergeant was found dead, sitting up against a tree with this hands clasped upon his chest. Further examination revealed the Stars and Stripes wrapped around his body. The regiment and the Irish Brigade could still maintain their claim to Appomattox that they had never lost a flag.

After Fredericksburg the contending forces settled down in winter quarters. As usual, the Irish Brigade believed it incumbent upon them to enliven things a bit. The day chosen was, naturally, St. Patrick's Day, March 17. As was customary, the day began with church services. Shortly afterwards about 30,000 gathered to watch the "Grand Irish Brigade Steeple-Chase." General Hooker, the new army commander, was given wine with which he proposed "The Irish Brigade--God bless them!" which was followed by three resounding cheers. After two races Meagher invited his guests to partake of sandwiches, wine, and spiced whiskey punch. The main feast of thirty-five hams, a side of roasted ox, roasted pig stuffed with boiled turkey, chickens, ducks, and small game, washed down by eight baskets of champagne, ten gallons of rum, and twenty-two gallons of whisky would come later, just before the evening's theatricals and excitations. Nor were the enlisted men forgotten. Their events included a half-mile run, half-mile hurdles, weight throw, greased-pig contest (winner got the victim), sack race, blindfolded wheelbarrow race, and Irish dance contests. At one point Meagher chased onlookers from beneath the grandstand with the exhortation that they stood in danger of being crushed "by four tones of major generals."

There was also a good deal of plotting being carried on within the Irish units of the army. Logically it centered in the Irish Brigade. Many of the men were members of the Fenian Brotherhood and thus were dedicated to the overthrow of the British in Ireland. Doctor Reynolds, the surgeon of the 63d New York, was Head Center of the Army of the Potomac Fenian Circle. Meetings were held regularly on the first Sunday of every month in the brigade's hospital tent. Contributions were sent to the Head Center of the Brotherhood in New York.

Despite the heavy losses, the men of the brigade always tried to maintain friendly relations with the enemy pickets. Sugar, coffee, whisky, and tobacco were freely bartered. In one instance some brigade pickets gave their Confederate counterparts a gift of several "captured sheep."

Then in the Chancellorsville Campaign the brigade helped round up the XI Corps fugitives after Stonewall Jackson's famous flank attack, and on May 3 it marched from Scott's Mills to near the Chancellor House to support the 5th Marine Battery, dragging it off when its gunners were rendered hors de combat.

Meagher by now however, had made himself unpopular with the other high-ranking officers in the army by his constant political speeches and activities. It was also generally believed that he regarded the brigade more as an independent symbol of Irish glory than an effective unit of the army. Consequently, his request to recruit replacements was refused, and instead it was proposed to abolish the brigade by distributing its units among other commands. Highly indignant at this proposal, Meagher resigned his commission May 14, 1863 and went home in disgust. His resignation was accepted. However, he was re-commissioned, commanded the District of Etowah, but again resigned in early 1865.

The reduced brigade was then led into battle at Gettysburg by Colonel Kelly. By this time the three New York regiments had been formed in battalions of two companies each, while the 116th Pennsylvania was one battalion of four companies. During the famous Confederate charge of July 3, one thought kept recurring to the commanding officer of the 116th. "It was Fredericksburg reversed." A more profound thought, perhaps, occurred to a private when he was informed his regiment would be held in reserve. "In resarve, yis," he muttered, "resarved for the heavy fightin'."

There was more "heavy fightin'" and "heavy marchin',"ahead for the brigade. In the withdrawal from Cedar Run it fought two major engagements and marched seventy-six miles in fifty-six hours, capturing two stands of colors, five guns, and 450 prisoners.

Then on May 3, 1864 the Irish Brigade moved out of its winter encampment with ten field officers. Within six weeks six of these would be dead and the other four seriously wounded. Its losses were so great that it finally disappeared into the so-called Consolidated Brigade (2d and 3d Brigades joined together). But as II Corps historian Walker later wrote, "The Irish Brigade...was to the close of the war one of the most picturesque features of the Second Corps, whether in fight, on the march or in camp."

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Irish Units in the American Civil War

There were roughly 185,000 Irish-American immigrants who fought on both sides of the American Civil War. Of that number all but about 40,000 were in the Union forces. (The large total does also not include descendants of earlier immigrants who may have still held some affinity to their Irish heritage.) The bulk of the immigrants served in largely Irish units, though the organizational placement of those Irish units in the Union and Confederate armies was considerably different.

Why separate Irish units? It helps to understand how the armies were formed but it is also impossible to ignore that there was a certain amount of distrust and discrimination against the Irish in the United States at the time the war broke out.

The Confederates, of course, had to start from scratch and since they considered them selves a union of almost sovereign states, turned to those states to raise military forces. As for the Union, Lincoln had only a small standing army at his disposal when it became obvious that the Southern states were going to secede and that war was inevitable. That army was further reduced in size by the resignation of officers and men who felt their primary loyalties lay with the Southern states they called home and accepted positions in the Confederate forces.

In 1861, Lincoln also lacked the authority to raise a federal army or to institute a draft. (The draft didn't come until 1863.) Rather, he had to call upon the States that remained loyal to the Union to raise units that would in turn support the cause of preserving the Union by swearing allegiance to one of the Union's armies, such as the Army of the Potomac.

On both sides, states raised forces by recruiting for specific units. Each unit raised carried its state's name and was raised in the neighborhoods of large northern cities, or in the towns and rural communities across all of the States. Brothers, cousins, fathers, and uncles signed on together and went to battle side-by-side. Since the largely Catholic Irish were not completely trusted by their Protestant neighbors, particularly in the North, they generally joined separate units. These units, of company strength, were roughly 80-100 men, including about 65-80 privates. Many communities, of course, felt the price for this as the war progressed if the unit(s) they sent off suffered heavy casualties. (It was not unusual for individual units to experience 50 percent casualties in some Civil War battles.)

Once they joined the Union or Confederate armies, the Irish units faced different experiences. In the Union forces, where numbers of everything, including Irish units, were quite large, the Irish companies were joined together as Irish regiments (10 companies) and even Irish brigades (4-5 regiments). One of the more famous of these was Meagher's Irish Brigade that carried a battle flag boasting its heritage: an emerald green flag with a golden harp.

For years conventional thought about the Irish in the Confederate States Army (CSA) has been that they were largely native-born Protestants who were descendants of Scots-Irish Presbyterians or Anglo-Irish Episcopalians. More recent research published by Kelly O'Grady in his book Clear the Confederate Way! reports that there were close to 40,000 Irish Catholics in the units of the CSA, as mentioned above. His contention is that these were Irish who, true to their agricultural roots, had made their homes in the rural South rather than in large Northern cities. Catholic parishes in the South raised Hibernian units but there were not enough to organize them into separate regiments and brigades. Instead, they were integrated into other Confederate units.

Colonel Richard Byrnes

Whether they were Union soldiers, who often signed up to prove their loyalty to their adopted country, or Confederates who felt the Union a threat to their chosen way of life (much as the agricultural Irish resented the industrial English), the Irish were renowned for their bravery and success on the battlefield. On both sides the Gaelic war cry "Faugh A Ballaugh!" (meaning "Clear the Way!") rang out as the Irish units often led the charge.

The spirit of the Irish units survives, in their songs survive, too, as discussed in my article, Irish-American Patriotic Music, and through reenactment groups across the United States. They still carry the distinctive Irish battle colors and keep the memory of these Irish-American patriots alive.

Pat Friend

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While most Irish immigrants in the U.S. fought for the Union during the Civil War, others sided with the Confederacy, seeing the secession of Southern states as a reflection of Ireland´s efforts to win independence from English dominance. Nativist sentiments in Missouri, and the anti-Catholic mood of a number of Unionist German immigrants in St. Louis also contributed to Irish pro-Southern sympathies.

Capt. Joseph Kelly, an Irish immigrant and a grocer in St. Louis in the years before the war, organized the Washington Blues in 1857, the city's finest militia unit, closely tied to Fr. John Bannon´s Catholic Total Abstinence and Benevolence Society. In fact, a drill performance by the Blues helped raise money for Bannon to build St. John the Apostle and Evangelist Church, which stands today.

Rebel Sons of Erin

They too fought for the Cause. America's Irish community - like so many other Americans - was divided by the War Between the States. Irish volunteers in the North achieved fame through the battlefield exploits of units like "Meagher's Irish Brigade." Less known, but no less fervent in their patriotism, were Southern Irishmen - who promptly took up arms in defense of the South and Southern Independence.

Most prominent among Irish Confederate commanders was General Patrick R. Cleburne, and among the best-known Irish Confederates were the troops of the 10th Tennessee, C.S.A.

At 1:25 p.m., on Thursday, February 13, 1862, the 10th TN engaged the enemy at Erin Hollow near Dover, Tennessee. It was the only combat the troops would experience as a full regiment.

In November 1860, Kelly´s men went to western Missouri to repel Kansas invaders, and were among the earliest volunteers in Sterling Price´s Missouri State Guard. In 1861, as a regiment in the 6th Division of the Missouri State Guard, Kelly´s men participated in the battles at Carthage, Wilson´s Creek (where Kelly was wounded) and Lexington; in 1862 they were at the Battle of Pea Ridge. Later, most of the regiment joined the 5th Missouri (CSA), which fought in Mississippi and other western battles, including the Atlanta campaign. St. Louis researcher Doug Harding, who has traced much of the history of “Kelly´s Boys,” says that only 23 of the 125 men who enlisted in Kelly´s regiment in 1861 returned to St. Louis at the end of the war.

Kelly´s fate is uncertain. He commanded a regiment in 1861 and was appointed to Gen. Mosby M. Parsons´ staff, in 1862. We do not know what happened to him after this point in time, but he apparently did not return to St. Louis after the war, nor did he accompany Parsons to Mexico at the end of the war to join Price and Shelby in their ill-fated attempt to offer themselves as mercenaries to Maximillian.

Additional Sources:

www.allaboutirish.com
www.civilwarhome.com
www.oldgloryprints.com
www.28thmass.org
www.anyflag.com
www2.smumn.edu
www.thewildgeese.com
www.militaryartshop.com
www.hauntedfieldmusic.com
www.dentistry.com
The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Irish Brigade - Mar. 17th, 2003

IRISH BRIGADE

The Irish Brigade was, probably, the best known of any brigade organization, it having made an unusual reputation for dash and gallantry. The remarkable precision of its evolutions under fire ; its desperate attack on the impregnable wall at Marye's Heights; its never failing promptness on every field; and its long continuous service, made for it a name inseparable from the history of the war. It belonged to the First Division of the Second Corps, and was numbered as the Second Brigade. The regiments which properly belonged to the Irish Brigade, together with their losses, were :

Killed and Died of Wounds

63rd New York Infantry 156
69th New York Infantry 259
88th New York Infantry 151
28th Massachusetts Infantry 250
116th Pennsylvania Infantry 145
Total (during the war) 961

The Irish Brigade lost over 4,000 men in killed and wounded; it being more men than ever belonged to the brigade at any one time. With the exception of the Twenty-eighth Massachusetts, the regiments were small. At the start they were not recruited to the maximum, but left New York with about 800 men each. The three New York regiments became so reduced in numbers that, at Gettysburg, they were consolidated into two companies each; the One Hundred and Sixteenth Pennsylvania had been consolidated into four companies.

The brigade, which was organized in 1861, consisted originally of three New York regiments, which selected numbers corresponding to those of certain famous Irish regiments in the British Army. The One Hundred and Sixteenth Pennsylvania and Twenty-eighth Massachusetts were added in the fall of 1862. Each of the five regiments carried green flags, in addition to the national colors.

While on the Peninsular and Antietam campaigns, the Twenty-Ninth Massachusetts was attached to the brigade, but after Antietam it was detached and its place was taken by the Twenty-eighth Massachusetts. In September, 1864, the remnant of the Seventh New York Heavy Artillery was added; but it was detached in February, 1865, and the Fourth New York Heavy Artillery took its place. In July, 1864, the One Hundred and Sixteenth Pennsylvania was transferred to the Fourth Brigade.

But the Irish Brigade was composed, substantially, as above; and, each of the regiments having reenlisted, its service was continuous and unbroken. It was commanded, in turn, by General Thomas Francis Meagher, Colonel Patrick Kelly (killed), General Thos. A. Smyth (killed), Colonel Richard Byrnes (killed), and General Robert Nugent.

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And a fine Top o the Morning to ya lassie for a wonderfull thread on the Irish on the day after The Feast of St Patrick.

Ye may consider this the obligatory and last night shift bump for the Foxhole for the next couple o weeks

Regards

O'alfa6 ;>}

Greetings Snippy and Sam. And a Happy Saint Paddy's Day to ye both. Even if the wishes be a day late.

What can I say about the Irish Brigade, but UP THE IRISH! :)

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Good morning everyone.

Good morning

March 18, 2005

Is Fear Healthy?

Read:
2 Chronicles 17:3-10

The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom. -Proverbs 15:33

Bible In One Year: Joshua 22-24

cover During a severe thunderstorm, a mother tucked her child into bed and turned off the light. Frightened by the tempest, he asked, "Mommy, will you sleep with me?" Hugging him, she replied, "I can't, dear. I have to sleep with Daddy." Stepping out of the room, she heard, "That big sissy!"

Fear is real. But it's not always negative. In 2 Chronicles 17:3-10, we read about a healthy, positive fear that prevented neighboring countries from going to war against Judah. What had caused this fear? We are told that "the fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat" (v.10).

A respectful fear of the Lord was also what King Jehoshaphat desired for his own people. So he made it a priority that they be taught God's Word. He knew that if the people were in awe of the Almighty, they would humble themselves and obey Him. Doing what was right would bring prosperity to Judah and respect from neighboring countries.

Proverbs 15:33 declares, "The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom." Those who fear Him act with wisdom; they walk faithfully before Him as they obey His commands. -Albert Lee

God dwells in light and holiness,
In splendor and in might;
And godly fear of His great power
Can help us do what's right. -D. De Haan

The right kind of fear will keep us from doing wrong.

FOR FURTHER STUDY
How Can I Know God Through His Book?

Good morning ladies. It's Friday!

Morning Snippy.

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Ye may consider this the obligatory and last night shift bump for the Foxhole for the next couple o weeks

Welcome back to the daytime. :-)

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Morning E.G.C.

No rain yesterday, could Spring have come back so soon?

Hi Feather.

Is Fear Healthy?

Read:2 Chronicles 17:3-10

The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom. -Proverbs 15:33

Bible In One Year: Joshua 22-24

Read:
2 Chronicles 17:3-10