To me, one of the most fascinating and admired regiments in the United States Civil War was the Irish Brigade. The Irish brigade was a group of regiments made up of the 63rd, 69th and 88th New York, the 116th Pennsylvania, and the 29th and 28th Massachusetts that fought with the Army of the Potomac. However, the 29th Massachusetts, not wanting to be part of a predominantly Irish New York Brigade, left the brigade in 1862 after the battle of Antietam.(1) These men fought with gallantry and ferocity, which made them heroes in their new found home. It was these repeated heroic acts that helped solidify the place of the Irish in American culture.

The call to arms in the early spring of 1861 excited many Irish Americans for two reasons, one, they were eager to show loyalty to their new homeland, and two, they wanted to learn new battle tactics to gain experience to take back to Ireland and use against the British. (2) This especially excited the members of the Sixty Ninth New York State Militia under the direction of Michael Corcoran. Corcoran had just been reinstated after being court-martialed for refusing to parade his regiment for the visiting Prince of Whales. (3) Soon, there were a thousand Irishmen ready to go into battle. They marched down Broadway, in New York City, leading the procession with a decorated wagon drawn by four noble steeds. The wagon bore the following inscription: “Sixty-ninth remember Fontenoy” and No North no South, no East, no West, but the whole Union.” (4) This was significant because Fontenoy referred to a battle in 1745 where the Irish Brigade of the French Army fought with exceptional bravery against the British. (5)

The first major engagement that these men were involved in was that of the first battle of Bull Run also known as first Manassas. The brigade waited to be called into the fight and when their time came, they sprang into action to support a charge on Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s position, the position where Jackson got his now famous nickname. The brigade moved to the right and initially pushed back the enemy, but the Confederate forces got reinforced and stopped the advancement of the Irish Brigade and began to move the Union forces back. The Sixty-ninth would not go down that easily, they rallied and charged multiple times under heavy artillery fire, only to be stopped. (6) When General Meagher, the commander of Company K Sixty Ninth N.Y.S.M., had his horse shot out from under him, he jumped up, waved his sword, and exclaimed, “Boys! Look at that flag! Remember Ireland and Fontenoy!”. (7) The brigade made one final advance and suffered heavy losses. One of those losses was Lieutenant Colonel Haggerty, a native of Glenswilly, County Donegal, who was described by Captain David Power Conyngham as “A fine a specimen of a Celt as Ireland could produce.” (8) Haggerty was just one of many men who died bravely that day. Another loss to the Brigade that day was Michael Corcoran who was captured. (9) After the battle General McDowell, who watched the charge, rode up to the Sixty- ninth and personally thanked them. (10) The Irish Brigade, although not a victorious in this battle, the first of the war, showed the Union Army a great deal about dedication to a cause.

The next major action these brave Irishmen saw was in 1862, at the Battle of Antietam. The Irish Brigade was once again thrust into heavy fighting. The Sixty-ninth, Sixty-third, Eighty-eighth New York and Twenty-ninth Massachusetts formed the left wing of the battle field. Under heavy fire, they marched up hill cheering as they went. At the time, they did not know that this would be some of the deadliest combat witnessed by the Brigade to this point. In the thick of the fighting, the color bearer advanced and waved his flag definitely in the enemy’s face. This action prevented the line from being broken. The men of the Brigade, still under the heaviest of fire, continued to charge and face heavy losses due to the Confederates’ entrenchment in the sunken road. The green flag, a revered symbol of the Sixty-ninth, was torn and tattered with holes from rifle shot and was laying on the ground, (11) when General Meagher yelled out, “Boys, raise the colors and follow me!” Captain James McGee shouted back “I’ll follow you!” (12) He picked up the colors. As he raised the tattered colors, a bullet struck his hand and splintering the flagstaff breaking this symbol of the Brigade in two. This push went back and forth till the Irish won the day. After the fight, it was reported that General Meagher’s uniform was perforated with bullets and that he had another horse shot from under him. (13) As we know now the Battle of Antietam was a crucial day in American history, it is due to this tactical victory that Lincoln saw an opportunity to get his Emancipation Proclamation passed.

Later that same year, the brigade faced off against some of their fellow countrymen, at the Battle of Fredericksburg. The men they faced belonged to the 24th Georgia, commanded by Irish born Colonel Robert McMillan. The Unions Irish mounted a gallant charge against the 24Th Georgia and were repelled. (14) When the Confederate Irish from Georgia noticed the green flag of the Union’s Irish Brigade, one member was said to have uttered “Oh God, what a pity! Here come Meagher’s fellows.” McMillian replied “Give it to them now, boys! Now’s the time! Give it to them!” (15) The charge of the Union and its Irish brigade was soundly defeated that day on Marye’s Heights. Again, though not victorious, the Brigade was an inspiration to all, that day.
By July 1863, the Irish Brigade was a well-seasoned group of veterans. This would bode well for them, as on July first they were well on their way to a little town known as Gettysburg.

A long march put the Irish Brigade at Gettysburg in the evening of the first of July. They rested that night and awoke the next day knowing the deadly business at hand. The Brigade attended a general benediction performed by Father William Corby, the Chaplin of the 88th New York and future president of the University of Notre Dame. Both catholic and protestant alike kneeled in prayer together that day. (16) After the Benediction, the Brigade marched to what is now known as the “Wheatfield”, and again the fighting was fierce. The fighting was described by Captain David Power Conyngham in the following passage: “Our rifled guns repelled with effect and for two hours the air seemed literally filled with screaming messengers of death”. (17) Eventually, the Confederate troops pushed the Irish Brigade back. The 69th New York came into that battle with five hundred and thirty men and left with three hundred of the original recruitment of over two thousand. (18) The Irish Brigade played a valuable role in the Unions’ victory at Gettysburg.

While continuing to serve with honor, losses continued to compound and by June 1864 the Irish Brigade had been drastically decreased down to regimental size, after its two of its newly appointed commanders were killed in battle Colonel Richard Byrne at Cold Harbor and Colonel Patrick Kelly during the Siege of Petersburg. The Federal Army disbanded the Brigade and incorporated the remaining elements of it into the 3rd and 4th Brigades of the 1st Division, II Corps. (19)

Eventually a second Irish Brigade was reformed from the old Irish Brigade of the 63rd, 69th, and 88th New York, 116th Pennsylvania, and 28th Massachusetts Regiments as well as the addition of the 7th New York Heavy Artillery (later replaced by the 4th New York Heavy Artillery in early 1865

By the  spring of 1865, the Confederacy was lost and on April 9th of that year, Lee surrendered at Appomattox with the Irish of the 69th New York State Volunteers (NYSV) present for the ceremony. On April 11th the 69th NYSV began their extensive march home. In May the 69th proudly marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC to the cheers of thousands. The war that cost a tremendous loss of life in the entire country was finally over.

The American Civil War was a turning point in the history of the Irish American, their devotion, bravery and sacrifices both north and south gave a new dignity and admiration to America’s Irish population. The Irish became widely accepted and a well-respected and vital part of America. A journalist of the period is quoted as saying, “There are several kinds of power working at the fabric of the American republic water power, steam power and Irish power, the last works hardest of all”. (20) The Irish had done a complete 180 degree turn from their humble immigrant beginnings. They had become individuals with political power, and with a unique and well-earned sense of Irish pride that is still felt today. Erin Go Braugh!

Notes

1. Steven J. Wright “The Irish Brigade” (Springfield, PA: Steven Wright,1992), iv

2. D.P Conyngham with an Introduction, by Lawrence Frederick Kohl “The Irish Brigade and It’s Campaigns” (New York: Fordham University Press, 1994), xv-xvi

3. Evert A Duyckinck “National History of the War For The Union Civil, Military and Naval.” (New York: Johnson, Fry and Company, 1861), 411

4. Quoted in D.P Conyngham with an Introduction, by Lawrence Frederick Kohl “The Irish Brigade and It’s Campaigns”, 21

5. British Battles.com “The Battle of Fontenoy 1745” (British Battles.com, 2010) http://www.britishbattles.com/battle_fontenoy.htm

6. D.P Conyngham with an Introduction, by Lawrence Frederick Kohl “The Irish Brigade and It’s Campaigns”, 35-36

7. Quoted in D.P Conyngham with an Introduction, by Lawrence Frederick Kohl “The Irish Brigade and It’s Campaigns”, 37

8. Quoted in D.P Conyngham with an Introduction, by Lawrence Frederick Kohl “The Irish Brigade and It’s Campaigns”, 37

9. Evert A Duyckinck “National History of the War For The Union Civil, Military and Naval.”, 411

10. D.P Conyngham with an Introduction, by Lawrence Frederick Kohl “The Irish Brigade and It’s Campaigns”, 37

11. D.P Conyngham with an Introduction, by Lawrence Frederick Kohl “The Irish Brigade and It’s Campaigns”, 304-305

12. Quoted in D.P Conyngham with an Introduction, by Lawrence Frederick Kohl “The Irish Brigade and It’s Campaigns”, 305

13. Quoted in D.P Conyngham with an Introduction, by Lawrence Frederick Kohl “The Irish Brigade and It’s Campaigns”, 305-306

14. Thewildgeese.com The Civil War “’Undaunted Courage’: The Irish at Fredericksburg” (GAR Media, 2001) http://www.thewildgeese.com/pages/fredpt2.html

15. Quoted in Thewildgeese.com The Civil War “’Undaunted Courage’: The Irish at Fredericksburg” (GAR Media, 2001) http://www.thewildgeese.com/pages/fredpt2.html

16. Steven J. Wright “The Irish Brigade”, 23

17. Quoted in D.P Conyngham with an Introduction, by Lawrence Frederick Kohl “The Irish Brigade and It’s Campaigns”, 416-417

18. Steven J. Wright “The Irish Brigade”, 23

19. James M. Bergquit, Daily Life in Immigrant America, 1820-1870 (Westport CT, Greenwood Press, 2008) 241

20. J.J. Collins, Famine to Freedom The Irish in The American Civil War (J.J Collins, 2011), 244