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Irish-Americans and the Civil War

Tue, 2015-03-17 13:47 -- Jocelyn Green
"Erin's Pride" by artist Dale Gallon

 

I didn't expect to become so fascinated with the plight of Irish Americans when I began writing my first Civil War novel, Wedded to War. But as I researched 19th-century New York City, where my heroine Charlotte Waverly lived, I was totally drawn in to the story of how "the other half" lived. My heart broke as I read about immigrants trying to make ends meet in the city, and how Irish soldiers' families struggled to survive when the paychecks were not forthcoming. I created the character of Ruby O'Flannery to show a contrast between the privileged women of New York City, who had to fight to get their hands dirty as nurses, and the immigrant women whose hands were dirty with work all the time, and yet never seemed to have enough. Ruby's husband Matthew fought in the very real and very Irish 69th New York regiment. The 69th fought honorably at First Bull Run, the Seven Days Battle, Malvern Hill, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and was present at Lee's surrender at Appomattox.

Monument to the Irish Brigade at Gettysburg

 

Ruby's story in Wedded to War captured so many readers' hearts they begged me to finish her story in a future novel, which is why she comes back in Yankee in Atlanta, the third book in the Heroines Behind the Lines Civil War series. Toward the beginning of Yankee, we see through Ruby's eyes another piece of Irish American history: the New York City draft riots of July 1863. It was the largest civil and racial insurrection in American history, aside from the Civil War itself. What began as a protest against the draft which called up working-class Irishmen devolved into a race riot against free blacks of New York City, who were not eligible to be drafted at all. The four-day riot killed hundreds of people, destroyed blocks of property, and ended only when Union troops came to quell the violence with howitzers, muskets, and bayonets.

Depiction of the Draft Riots, Illustrated London News

 

Seven Union generals were Irish-born while an estimated 150,000 Irish-Americans fought for the Union during the war. Although significantly fewer Irish lived in the Confederacy, six Confederate generals were Irish-born. There is no doubt that Irishmen and the families who supported them made a significant impact in the Civil War.

 

About the Author: 

Jocelyn Green

Jocelyn Green inspires faith and courage as the award-winning and bestselling author of numerous fiction and nonfiction books, including The Mark of the King; Wedded to War; and The 5 Love Languages Military Edition, which she coauthored with bestselling author Dr. Gary Chapman. Her books have garnered starred reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly, and have been honored with the Christy Award, the gold medal from the Military Writers Society of America, and the Golden Scroll Award from the Advanced Writers & Speakers Association. She graduated from Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, with a B.A. in English, concentration in writing. As a speaker, Jocelyn inspires faith and courage in her audiences. She loves Mexican food, Broadway musicals, strawberry-rhubarb pie, the color red, and reading with a cup of tea. Jocelyn lives with her husband Rob and two children in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Visit her at www.jocelyngreen.com.

Comments

Loved this post, Jocelyn! Great inspiration for me as some characters I'm spending a lot of time with during the Civil War are also Irish. :)

Submitted by Jocelyn Green on
Terrific, Meghan! I'm so glad you enjoyed this. Hope you're having a good time with your own Irish characters!

Submitted by Jeanette Durkin on
Great information! I think I'll use this for my history lesson tomorrow for my girls!

Submitted by Randi on
Love this! Many of my ancestors are Irish, so this info is very meaningful. I am excited to read Wedded to War! As you've researched the Irish involvement in the Civil War, have you come across Irish communities outside of NYC and/or older, more established Irish communities? I love Civil War history and would love to set a story in that time period, but, in my research, I'm not finding much info about abolitionist believers in either the North or South - it seems as though there were a lot of churchgoers but that few were really living out their faith and, of those, most were more focused on revival/evangelism. Do you have any pointers on researching this further?

Submitted by Jocelyn Green on
Hi Randi, I'm so glad this was meaningful to you! I'm currently working on a series set in Chicago, so I can tell you that in my research I've found the established Irish community in that city, but Chicago was incorporated in 1848, so it might not be as old as you are looking for. As for abolitionist believers, it's difficult to tell from our vantage point which of them were just churchgoers and which had more personal relationships with Christ, but I am sure there were plenty of both. Kathleen Maher has a Civil War novel called The Abolitionist's Daughter, which I think is set in New York...she might be a good person to look up and reach out with your questions. I know she's done a lot of research! Oh, another novel that comes to mind is Gideon's Call by Peter Leavell, which shares about a few key historical figures (i.e. Laura Towne) who went to the Sea Islands in South Carolina after the slaves there were freed, in order to teach them. I'm not sure if that might interest you. The only other thing I can think of to suggest at the moment is to look into the American Missionary Association, an abolitionist group founded in 1846. Good luck!

Submitted by Courtney on
This is such interesting information. I really enjoy your books. Thank you for the time and effort you put into your research.

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