In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, UNMC Today will highlight the life and times of Irish Americans. The four-part series kicks off today with their involvement in the Civil War.
The Civil War
The Civil War was a pivotal moment for the Irish in America. By the late 1850s, the Irish were just beginning to work their way out of poverty and discrimination and establish their first firm foothold in American society. Irish loyalty to the New Republic was still in question as many Nativists continued to be suspicious of these newcomers.
When the war broke out, however, the Irish answered any doubts by enlisting in large numbers. From Gettysburg to Appomattox, thousands of young Irishmen gave up their lives on the battlefields. “Pat Murphy of the Irish Brigade” is one song that commemorates the tragic reality seen by the 200,000 Irish who fought in the battle between North and South.
The Irish ended up in the American fighting ranks for reasons that had little to do with the conflict between slavery and freedom or the sanctity of the United States. Many young bewildered Irish immigrants were drafted and marched away to fight in a war they barely understood — a situation described in the classic Civil War ballad “Paddy’s Lamentation.”
Others who enlisted were Irish nationalists hoping to gain military experience to help them in the battle against British rule in their homeland. Many more simply pledged military service in America to escape from poverty that still plagued post-famine Ireland. Throngs besieged the American Consulate in Dublin when they discovered that joining the Union army would get them a free passage to the United States and $700 (the equivalent of 10 years of work in Ireland).
Taken from “Far From the Shamrock Shore: The Story of Irish-American Immigration Through Song”, by Mick Moloney.