Talk:Irish Brigade (Union army)

Anon user removed several full paragraphs without explaination:

The core regiment of the Irish Brigade, the 69th New York, first gained notoriety prior to the Civil War, when Colonel Michael Corcoran refused an order to parade the regiment for the Prince of Wales during the latter's visit to New York City. Col. Corcoran was in the process of being court-martialed when the Civil War erupted. Needing as many men at arms as quickly as possible, the Army dropped the charges and rushed the 69th to Virginia.

At the Battle of First Bull Run (First Manassas), the regiment served in the command of Colonel William T. Sherman, and was one of the few Union regiments to retain cohesion after the defeat, despite the capture of Col. Corcoran by Confederate forces. The 69th served as the Army of the Potomac's rear guard during the disorganized retreat to the defenses of Washington.

After Bull Run, the Captain of Company K (Thomas Francis Meagher) applied to have the 69th New York Volunteer Militia reorganized into Federal service as the core unit of a larger brigade composed predominantly of Irish immigrants. As Great Britain was unofficially favoring the Confederacy in 1861, the proposal was accepted as a visible warning to the British that there could be Union-supported military consequences in Ireland if Britain officially entered the war on the Confederate side. Not only was the brigade Irish, but Thomas Meagher was promoted to brigadier general and designated the brigade's commander. He was a leading agitator for Irish independence from Britain, having been a visible participant in the failed Rebellion of 1848, a role for which he was tried and sentenced to death (commuted to life imprisonment in Australia, but he escaped to New York).

Can someone check these edits, or can the Anon user explain their actions: Thanks Seabhcán 07:56, 19 May 2005 (UTC)

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Can somebody clarify? If I understand correctly, the Reb Irish outfit @Marye's Hts was the 24h GA Rgt (& cf Fredericksburg Talk page). Trekphiler 08:41, 28 December 2005 (UTC)

There seems to be a lack of information here. As I understand it, the Irish Brigade (especially the 69th of New York), held a pretty significant place in the Union army. I would not consider myself qualified to make additions to this piece, but if someone has more worthwhile information, please add it.

Irish Brigade in World War II

Students of the Irish Brigade might be interested in learning about the 38th (Irish) Brigade in the British Army which fought with the US Army in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. Check out the The Irish Brigade website; www.irishbrigade.co.uk. Any memories from US Army veterans about the brigade are welcome. (Edmund O'Sullivan (talk) 19:25, 27 November 2010 (UTC))Edmund O'Sullivan

For the South?

Please listen to this YouTube video (which goes to the tune of Old Rosin the Beau - first published in Philadetphia). This Irish Brigade was fighting for the South. Are they written up anywhere on Wikipedia? — RHaworth (talk · contribs) 14:14, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

The article section Battle of Fredericksburg#Marye's Heights, December 13 mentions an encounter between the Union's Irish Brigade, commanded by Brig. Gen. Thomas F. Meagher, and Irishmen fighting for the C.S.A. It states, "By coincidence, they attacked the area defended by fellow Irishmen of Col. Robert McMillan's 24th Georgia Infantry. One Confederate who spotted the green regimental flags approaching cried out, 'Oh God, what a pity! Here comes Meagher's fellows.' But McMillan exhorted his troops: 'Give it to them now, boys! Now's the time! Give it to them!'"

The article 24th Georgia Infantry does not discuss that unit's Irish heritage but notes that the foregoing encounter was dramatized in the film Gods and Generals. However, in the film, the 24th was identified as another (fictitious?) unit.

My cursory search of Google Books revealed there were several C.S.A. regiments raised under a banner of "The Irish Brigade". The best known seems to have been the 24th Georgia Infantry. Wikipedia's article on the 24th doesn't mention this aspect of its history (...yet). Accurizer (talk) 21:18, 5 March 2016 (UTC)

‎In popular media

I removed the following passage:

• The world renowned band The Riverside Kingsmen (located in Riverside, CA) played the march "The Irish Brigade" by Collette Hausey dedicated to the 69th Regiment in 2015, winning many awards.

I was able to find only one reliable reference, here, which identifies the title of the song played as "The Irish Brigade" but the article does not associate it to the 69th Regiment as claimed or otherwise explain what the song was. Additionally, based on the limited coverage of this event, it is of questionable notability. Accurizer (talk) 18:55, 5 March 2016 (UTC)

Gettysburg

The article does make mention that the Brigade has a monument on the Gettysburg Battlefield. Of the (literally) 1000+ monuments at GNMP, that honoring the Irish Brigade is one of the best known and most moving. It features an Irish Wolfhound (maybe life size... maybe larger) laying mournfully at the foot of a large Celtic cross. I mean no disrespect when I say that most of the monuments begin to look the same, one after the other. And they tend to focus on the glory of battle rather than the pain. The Irish Brigade's in unique. Love, loss and loyalty. PurpleChez (talk) 17:06, 13 June 2018 (UTC)