The Irish Brigade: And Its Campaigns (Irish in the Civil War) (The Irish in the Civil War)

No Civil War unit had a more colorful or distinctive history than the Irish Brigade of the Army of the Potomac. Made up of thousands of Irish immigrants from New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, it charged into battle under green flags and was served by Catholic chaplains. The brigade was created and led by Thomas Francis Meagher, an Irish revolutionary who had been condemned by the British for his part in the Rising of 1848. Making his way to New York after escaping from a prison colony, he established himself as one of the chief spokesman of the Irish-American community. In 1861 he led his countrymen into the Union Army. Once there, they earned a reputation for dash and courage in the most celebrated battles of the eastern theater.