The Irish Brigade

In the first half of the 1800s, approximately 50 percent of immigrants to the United States came from Ireland. This huge reserve of Irish men for the military presented the government with two major problems. First, many Irish had sympathy for the Confederacy because they equated the South's secession with the Irish struggle for independence from England. Second, anti-Irish discrimination made it difficult for Irish immigrants to find and be hired for good jobs, and appealing to Irish patriotism for their new country was not always an effective means of recruiting. The Irish also saw freed slaves as competition for the few lower-paying jobs they could get. Still, some Irish did enlist to prove loyalty to their new country, and in the hope that their action would lessen the anti-Irish discrimination they faced.

In early 1861 an Irish immigrant named Thomas Francis Meagher, a U.S. Army captain, began campaigning for the formation of an ethnic Irish brigade. In February 1862 Meagher was made the commanding brigadier general of the Irish brigade he was instrumental in forming. The Union began recruiting Irish immigrants to fill positions in the ethnic Irish military unit. The unit was called "The Irish Brigade" and it drew men from New York and Boston where many Irish had settled. As part of the recruiting effort the military allowed the units to identify themselves as Irish and offered enlistment bonuses, extra rations, state subsidies for soldiers' families and Catholic chaplains as incentives. It is estimated that 150,000 Irish joined the Union army. Meagher had appealed to the Irish community to join to help preserve the Union.

The Irish Brigade formed with the 63rd New York Infantry Regiment, organized on Staten Island, and the 69th and 88th New York infantry regiments, organized in the Bronx. Later, the brigade would add the 116th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment from Philadelphia and the 28th Massachusetts Infantry to complete the Irish Brigade. The brigade developed a reputation for courage and tenacity, and it was the lead unit in many battles. Casualties of 50 percent to 60 percent were common in battles at Antietam, Fredericksburg and at Gettysburg in July 1863. The thinning ranks from casualties, and fewer enlistments due to the loss of enthusiasm for the Union cause, resulted in the Irish Brigade being disbanded in 1864.

Jack Dragoni attended Boston College and served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam. He lives in Chaffee, Missouri.