The Impact of the Irish immigrants during the American Civil War!
Many of the Irish immigrants arrived at the U.S. in vast numbers during the middle of the 1800s. There were many reasons for the Irish diaspora into America including the various famines in Ireland but also word regarding potential opportunities one could find on the other side of the ocean.
That was not always the case as many found themselves in as much poverty as they were in their homeland. In many situations, Irish immigrants found themselves caught in the middle of the American Civil War. Some of these individuals traveled across the Atlantic to give themselves an opportunity to wear a uniform and be paid. There were others who were just trying to survive only to find themselves drafted into the military or willingly signing into an Irish brigade on both sides of the conflict.
John Poniske is an author of a fictional Civil War series which he began a few years ago. The tenth in the 16-book series regarding the American conflict is expected to be completed later this year. The series is called “Snakebit.”
I had an opportunity to speak with John Poniske recently about the impact of the Irish immigrants in the American Civil War. He mentioned that many Irish immigrants found themselves caught in the conflict for various reasons and that these same immigrants fought on both sides of the conflict. That number ranged from 200,000 to 250,000 Irish born men and their sons who served during the Civil War. An estimated 150,000 to 180,000 fought on the Union side while 20,000 to 40,000 served for the Confederacy. Nearly 4,000 served in the famous Irish brigade. Poniske added that life was not good for many of these Irish soldiers as between 25,000 to 35,000 died in battle on both sides of the conflict.
However, 146 of these Irish soldiers did receive the Medal of Honor. There were also several Irish born Generals who served on both sides of the war. One of the more famous leaders was Brigadier General Thomas Francis Meagher who served as the commander of the Union Army’s Irish brigade. One of the highest-ranking Irish Confederate Generals was Patrick Cleburn who led the 2nd Brigade of William J. Hardee’s Division.
Author John Poniske also mentioned the July 1863 New York Draft Riots that followed the Battle of Gettysburg. This impacted many of the Irish immigrants who opposed the recent draft laws. These Irish immigrants were struggling to make ends meet while wealthy citizens managed to evade military service. These rich citizens were able to pay substitutes who ended up being mostly poor Irishmen to take their place as Union soldiers. Poniske claims that many of the poor Irish considered the conflict had become “the rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight.” They took out their anger especially on southern black refugees who had migrated from the southern states and were competing for what few jobs that were available at the time. As a result, more than 100 civilians were killed in addition to countless injuries during the riots.
Figure 1: By Currier & Ives - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs divisionunder the digital ID cph.3b50307. Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4100601
Figure 2: By Mathew B. Brady, circa 1823- 15 Jan 1896 - http://www.generalsandbrevets.com/ and https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.83.284.23, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=112874102
Figure 3: By Great riots : the great riots of New York City the Railroad riots of 1877. [s.n.] [188-?]). - Digital Collections, The New York Public Library - https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e1-281e-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=140185721
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