By David T. Gleeson
Interest in the history of the Civil War extends beyond its battles, soldiers and politicians to include societal groups and their roles in the War. The Irish in the South: 1815-1877 is the story of one of those groups.
Many think of Irish Americans as a northern group, but David Gleeson’s work shows that the Irish played roles in the south as well. Southern Irish are shown as being an integral part of their region in peace and in war. On crucial issues leading to and following the War, Irish joined in and led their fellow citizens. The positions of both laymen and clergy on slavery were often in conformity with those of their neighbors and openly at odds with Irish leaders in Ireland. During Reconstruction--as urban Irish were in economic competition with freedmen--it was the Irish who often instigated some of the anti-black violence that marred the era. The Confederate cause was often viewed as a reflection of the situation of Ireland, a largely agricultural land being invaded and dominated by an industrial and more populous aggressor.
Although more Irish fought for the Union, many who wore
the grey are featured in this work. Some
were common soldiers like the Louisiana “Irish Tigers” who “roamed about…like a
pack of untamed wildcats” or the Davis Guards from Galveston who performed well
under pressure at the Sabine Pass.
Others were commanders, such as Major General Patrick Cleburne, a former
member of the British Army who earned the moniker “Stonewall of the West,” and
Brigadier General Joseph Finegan who led his Florida troops to the defense of
Richmond. Also playing their parts are
Chaplains Abram Ryan, who would become the poet of the Lost Cause, and John
Bannon, who became a Confederate agent in Ireland. Civilians such as John Knox, who financed
blockade running activities, and Catherine Culhane, who lost three sons to the
War all made their contributions.
New Orleans cotton merchant John McFarland lent his
eloquence to the crystalizing succession cause, and Bishop Lynch of Charleston
defended the Confederate cause against his northern religious brethren. Thomas McMahon of Charleston inquired whether
Thomas Francis Meagher of the Federal Irish Brigade was “blind to the singular
inconsistency” of an “Irish refugee, who in the sacred cause of Ireland’s
inured rights, rebelled against England’s tyranny and oppression on the
motherland-but now buckles on the armor of Exeter Hall’s fanaticism to strike
down the liberties of a people contending only for the inalienable privileges
of self-government.” McMahon’s
Charleston Hibernian Society had Meagher’s name “unanimously stricken from the
roll of the honorary members of the society.”
Southern Irish sentiments were not uniform, though. Journalists John Maginnis and Hugh Kennedy of
the True Delta defended Gen. Ben Butler and encouraged New Orleans’
citizens to take the loyalty oath to the Union.
Author David Gleeson has crafted an edifying account of
Southern Irish who grew with their region and shared its successes and failures
before, during, and after the War. The index,
bibliography, footnotes and list of occupational classifications are helpful
additions to his work. It is a
worthwhile read for anyone looking for the social histories into which the
Civil War was intertwined.
The Irish in the South, 1815-1877: Gleeson, David T.
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Jim Gallen is a St. Louis, Missouri attorney. He is Chairman of the Military History Club of the Missouri Athletic Club, a member of the St. Louis Civil War Roundtable (https://civilwarstlmo.org/), and member of the Ulysses S. Grant Camp of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.
