Recent from talks
Irish Brigade (Union army)
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Irish Brigade (Union army)
The Irish Brigade was an infantry brigade, consisting predominantly of Irish Americans, who served in the Union Army in the American Civil War. The designation of the first regiment in the brigade, the 69th New York Infantry, or the "Fighting 69th," continued in later wars. The Irish Brigade was known in part for its famous war cry, the "Faugh a Ballaugh" which is an anglicization of the Irish phrase, fág an bealach, meaning "clear the way" and used in various Irish-majority military units founded due to the Irish diaspora. According to Fox's Regimental Losses, of all Union army brigades, only the 1st Vermont Brigade and Iron Brigade suffered more combat dead than the Irish Brigade during America's Civil War.
The formation of an Irish Brigade was authorized by the Secretary of War Simon Cameron in September 1861. The brigade originally consisted of the 63rd New York Infantry, the 69th New York Infantry, and the 88th New York Infantry. The three New York regiments were soon joined by a predominantly "Yankee" regiment from Massachusetts, the 29th Massachusetts. The 29th was never fond of being brigaded with three Irish "Fenian" regiments from New York and soon after the Battle of Antietam the 29th was replaced by the 28th Massachusetts Infantry regiment, made up mostly of Irish immigrants. Soon after that, the City of Philadelphia offered a regiment to the brigade and soon after the 116th Pennsylvania Infantry was added to the brigade, bringing the total number of regiments in the Irish Brigade to five.
There were three core regiments of the Irish Brigade, the 69th, 88th, and the 63rd. The 69th New York Volunteers, was largely made up of the pre-war 69th New York Militia, a unit which first gained notoriety prior to the Civil War, when Colonel Michael Corcoran refused an order to parade the regiment for the Prince of Wales during the latter's visit to New York City. The 63rd New York Volunteers, known as the "Third Irish" was composed mainly of the Irish in "the Old 9th" New York Militia and several hundred Irish recruited in Boston. The 63rd was organized by Lt Col Patrick Daniel Kelly and later commanded by Major then Colonel Richard C. Enright. The 88th was numbered out of sequence after the British 88th Connaught Rangers, and was the 2nd Regiment Irish Brigade. After Chancellorsville, the new Brigade Commander, Col Patrick Kelly of the 88th, formed these "core" NY regiments, now together only numbering 220 effectives, into a single battalion under the flag of the 88th.
Col. Corcoran was in the process of being court-martialed when the Civil War erupted. As the Army needed as many men at arms as quickly as possible, the charges were dropped and the Army rushed the 69th to Virginia.[citation needed]
At the First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas), the regiment served under the command of Colonel William T. Sherman, and was one of the few Union regiments to retain cohesion after the defeat, despite the wounding and capture of Col. Corcoran by Confederate forces. The 69th served as the Army of the Potomac's rear guard during the disorganized retreat to the defenses of Washington.[citation needed]
After Bull Run, Thomas Francis Meagher, the Captain of Company K, applied to have the 69th New York Volunteer Militia reorganized into Federal service as the core unit of a larger brigade composed predominantly of Irish immigrants. Meagher was promoted to brigadier general and designated the brigade's commander. Before the war, he was a leading agitator for Irish independence. A visible participant in the failed Rebellion of 1848, he was afterward tried and sentenced to death (commuted to life imprisonment in Australia, but he escaped to San Francisco CA). Gen. Meagher's battle sword, made by Tiffany & Co, is now on permanent exhibit at the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.[citation needed]
Leaders of the Federal Government were reluctant to form ethnically based brigades, which would undermine the notion of a Union. However, by mid-1861 the formation of an ethnically based, Irish brigade served two purposes for the North. First of all, it warned Britain that there could be Union-supported consequences in Ireland if Britain intervened (most of the brigade's leadership were known Irish revolutionaries). Secondly, it served to solidify Irish-American support for the Union. Many Irish were divided between supporting the Confederate States in their struggles for independence or to preserve the Union, which gave the Irish a set of rights and freedoms under the Constitution but which they had to struggle to obtain. There were also concerns by some Irish about a flood of freed slaves migrating north and competing for the lowly jobs for which they already had to scrabble. An ethnically based brigade would thus solidify the support of the largest Catholic minority for the Union cause. Several officers were permitted to purchase and carry non-regulation model 1850 Staff and Field officer's swords bearing a large four-leaf clover pierced into the hand guard. Having their own paid Catholic chaplains within the brigade implied a social acceptance for Irish Catholics which had eluded them in the antebellum period. Their head chaplain was Fr. William Corby, CSC, a Holy Cross priest and future president of the University of Notre Dame. He became famous for his giving general absolution to the troops of the Irish Brigade before the Battle of Gettysburg.[citation needed]
The Irish Brigade distinguished itself from the rest of the Army of the Potomac by Meagher's insistence on arming the eight line companies of each NY regiment with Model 1842 smoothbore muskets, an obsolete weapon that was largely phased out during 1862, because he wanted his men to be able to fire buck-and-ball shot (a .69 caliber musket ball with four smaller balls), which produced a shotgun effect in close-range combat and could not be used with rifles. The three original New York regiments carried Model 1842 muskets all through the AoP's campaigns and battles in 1862–63, using buck-and-ball shot with deadly effect in the Sunken Road on September 17, 1862 at Antietam and in the Wheatfield on July 2, 1863, at Gettysburg. The two light companies of each NY regiment were issued with either Springfield Models 1854 (A rifled modification of the Model 1842 musket), 1861, 1863 or Enfield rifles and with these sniped at Pettigrew's command during Pickett's Charge. The 28th Massachusetts (which joined in October 1862) had Enfield rifles and were with the 6 Company, NY "Light Battalion" often detailed for skirmishing duty.[citation needed]
Hub AI
Irish Brigade (Union army) AI simulator
(@Irish Brigade (Union army)_simulator)
Irish Brigade (Union army)
The Irish Brigade was an infantry brigade, consisting predominantly of Irish Americans, who served in the Union Army in the American Civil War. The designation of the first regiment in the brigade, the 69th New York Infantry, or the "Fighting 69th," continued in later wars. The Irish Brigade was known in part for its famous war cry, the "Faugh a Ballaugh" which is an anglicization of the Irish phrase, fág an bealach, meaning "clear the way" and used in various Irish-majority military units founded due to the Irish diaspora. According to Fox's Regimental Losses, of all Union army brigades, only the 1st Vermont Brigade and Iron Brigade suffered more combat dead than the Irish Brigade during America's Civil War.
The formation of an Irish Brigade was authorized by the Secretary of War Simon Cameron in September 1861. The brigade originally consisted of the 63rd New York Infantry, the 69th New York Infantry, and the 88th New York Infantry. The three New York regiments were soon joined by a predominantly "Yankee" regiment from Massachusetts, the 29th Massachusetts. The 29th was never fond of being brigaded with three Irish "Fenian" regiments from New York and soon after the Battle of Antietam the 29th was replaced by the 28th Massachusetts Infantry regiment, made up mostly of Irish immigrants. Soon after that, the City of Philadelphia offered a regiment to the brigade and soon after the 116th Pennsylvania Infantry was added to the brigade, bringing the total number of regiments in the Irish Brigade to five.
There were three core regiments of the Irish Brigade, the 69th, 88th, and the 63rd. The 69th New York Volunteers, was largely made up of the pre-war 69th New York Militia, a unit which first gained notoriety prior to the Civil War, when Colonel Michael Corcoran refused an order to parade the regiment for the Prince of Wales during the latter's visit to New York City. The 63rd New York Volunteers, known as the "Third Irish" was composed mainly of the Irish in "the Old 9th" New York Militia and several hundred Irish recruited in Boston. The 63rd was organized by Lt Col Patrick Daniel Kelly and later commanded by Major then Colonel Richard C. Enright. The 88th was numbered out of sequence after the British 88th Connaught Rangers, and was the 2nd Regiment Irish Brigade. After Chancellorsville, the new Brigade Commander, Col Patrick Kelly of the 88th, formed these "core" NY regiments, now together only numbering 220 effectives, into a single battalion under the flag of the 88th.
Col. Corcoran was in the process of being court-martialed when the Civil War erupted. As the Army needed as many men at arms as quickly as possible, the charges were dropped and the Army rushed the 69th to Virginia.[citation needed]
At the First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas), the regiment served under the command of Colonel William T. Sherman, and was one of the few Union regiments to retain cohesion after the defeat, despite the wounding and capture of Col. Corcoran by Confederate forces. The 69th served as the Army of the Potomac's rear guard during the disorganized retreat to the defenses of Washington.[citation needed]
After Bull Run, Thomas Francis Meagher, the Captain of Company K, applied to have the 69th New York Volunteer Militia reorganized into Federal service as the core unit of a larger brigade composed predominantly of Irish immigrants. Meagher was promoted to brigadier general and designated the brigade's commander. Before the war, he was a leading agitator for Irish independence. A visible participant in the failed Rebellion of 1848, he was afterward tried and sentenced to death (commuted to life imprisonment in Australia, but he escaped to San Francisco CA). Gen. Meagher's battle sword, made by Tiffany & Co, is now on permanent exhibit at the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.[citation needed]
Leaders of the Federal Government were reluctant to form ethnically based brigades, which would undermine the notion of a Union. However, by mid-1861 the formation of an ethnically based, Irish brigade served two purposes for the North. First of all, it warned Britain that there could be Union-supported consequences in Ireland if Britain intervened (most of the brigade's leadership were known Irish revolutionaries). Secondly, it served to solidify Irish-American support for the Union. Many Irish were divided between supporting the Confederate States in their struggles for independence or to preserve the Union, which gave the Irish a set of rights and freedoms under the Constitution but which they had to struggle to obtain. There were also concerns by some Irish about a flood of freed slaves migrating north and competing for the lowly jobs for which they already had to scrabble. An ethnically based brigade would thus solidify the support of the largest Catholic minority for the Union cause. Several officers were permitted to purchase and carry non-regulation model 1850 Staff and Field officer's swords bearing a large four-leaf clover pierced into the hand guard. Having their own paid Catholic chaplains within the brigade implied a social acceptance for Irish Catholics which had eluded them in the antebellum period. Their head chaplain was Fr. William Corby, CSC, a Holy Cross priest and future president of the University of Notre Dame. He became famous for his giving general absolution to the troops of the Irish Brigade before the Battle of Gettysburg.[citation needed]
The Irish Brigade distinguished itself from the rest of the Army of the Potomac by Meagher's insistence on arming the eight line companies of each NY regiment with Model 1842 smoothbore muskets, an obsolete weapon that was largely phased out during 1862, because he wanted his men to be able to fire buck-and-ball shot (a .69 caliber musket ball with four smaller balls), which produced a shotgun effect in close-range combat and could not be used with rifles. The three original New York regiments carried Model 1842 muskets all through the AoP's campaigns and battles in 1862–63, using buck-and-ball shot with deadly effect in the Sunken Road on September 17, 1862 at Antietam and in the Wheatfield on July 2, 1863, at Gettysburg. The two light companies of each NY regiment were issued with either Springfield Models 1854 (A rifled modification of the Model 1842 musket), 1861, 1863 or Enfield rifles and with these sniped at Pettigrew's command during Pickett's Charge. The 28th Massachusetts (which joined in October 1862) had Enfield rifles and were with the 6 Company, NY "Light Battalion" often detailed for skirmishing duty.[citation needed]