GDG- Irish Soldiers

[Tom Ryan]

Andy,

The total number of Irish resident in the Northern states at the time of the
last census before the war (1860) was 1,502,267.  The actual number of Irish
that served as Union soldiers during the war was was 144,221.

During the war the number of Irish immigrants to the North was about 85,000
in 1861, probably somewhat higher in 1862 (do not have a figure on that),
175,000 in 1863 and 193,000 in 1864.  Do not have a figure for 1865.  This
info also comes from Ella Lonn's book.

In comparison, there were only 84,763 Irishmen in the Southern states in
1860.  I have seen a figure of about 40,000 Irish who fought for the South,
but suspect that may be inflated.

Tom

-----Original Message-----
From: gettysburg-bounces at arthes.com
[mailto:gettysburg-bounces at arthes.com]On Behalf Of Tom Ryan
Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2008 9:07 AM
To: GDG
Subject: RE: GDG- Irish Soldiers


Esteemed GDG Member Contributes:


<<By any chance, does anyone know the numbers and percentages of soldiers in
the Union army that were Irish?>>

Andy,

Ella Lonn gives the figure as 144,000 in her study Foreigners in the Union
Army and Navy.  As an immigrant group, the Irish were underrepresented in
the Union military as a percentage of the overall Irish population primarily
because many opposed the war.  For example, there were about 200,000 Germans
who fought for the Union, even though the German population was smaller, if
I recall correctly.

I did a study of the Irish immigration issue and the Confederate
government's secret effort to put a stop to Irishmen coming to America by
sending agents to Ireland for that purpose.  My article on the subject was
included in a special issue of "The Irish Sword," the Journal of the
Military History Society of Ireland, Summer 2002.  It was called "Out of
Ireland into the Union Army:  the battle over Irish emigration."

Tom Ryan


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