March Toward the Thunder
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There is no doubt too that after years of struggle against “English despotism” that made the proud Irish people feel like slaves, many identified with the Union cause. A recruiting advertisement that appeared in the Boston Herald on July 30, 1862, begins with these words, which appeal to that Irish pride and patriotism:
“Shall villains drag our starry flag
By the blood of warriors consecrated
And raise instead the viper’s head
O’er Northern freemen subjugated?
No, no, the boasts of Southern hosts
By heaven right soon we’ll make them swallow,
They’ll shortly feel our Yankee steel
Backed by an Irish Faugh au Ballaghs.”
Faugh au Ballaghs is a Gaelic phrase that means “Clear the way.” It became the battle cry of the largely Irish regiments that became known as the Irish Brigade, men who combined the pride of being Irish with their desire to fight for freedom. In large part, the men of the Irish Brigade lived up to that motto. They were usually the first into battle where the fighting was the worst. By the end of the war, no other Brigade had been more praised for gallantry, dash, and discipline. They also suffered the third-highest casualty rate in the Union army. Of the 7,715 men who served in its ranks, over 4,000 were killed or mortally wounded.
Riamh Nar Dhruid O Saprin lann. Those words, also in Gaelic, mean “Who never retreated from the clash of spears.” They were emblazoned on a field of green, under a sunburst and an Irish harp, on the regimental colors of the 69th New York, that first and most famous of the five regiments that made up the Irish Brigade. Their nickname, the “Fighting 69th,” was given them by none other than Confederate General Robert E. Lee, who was less than pleased whenever he saw their green flag facing his lines.
Because their losses were always so great, the Irish Brigade went through several periods of major recruitment. One of them was in the early part of 1864. And although the Brigade was still mostly Irish, other men who had been common laborers, men from communities with an equal lack of opportunity, joined up. Some were American Indians, some were Canadians, and some, like my own great-grandfather, were both.
Selected Bibliography
I read hundreds of volumes in researching this novel. Here are a few I found especially useful and interesting, books that should also be helpful for any reader wishing to know more about the history behind my story.
Between Two Fires: American Indians in the Civil War by Laurence M. Hauptman. New York: The Free Press, 1995.
The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac 1861-1865 by E. B. Long with Barbara Long. New York: Da Capo Press, 1971.
Civil War Weapons and Equipment by Russ A. Pritchard Jr. Guilford, CT: The Lyons Press, 2003.
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Civil War by Alan Axelrod. New York: Alpha Books, 2003.
The Everything Civil War Book by Donald Vaughn. Holbrook, MA: Adams Media, 2000.
The Irish Brigade and Its Campaigns by David Power Conyngham, edited by Lawrence Frederick Kohl. New York: Fordham University Press, 1994.
The Life of Billy Yank: the Common Soldier of the Union by Bell Irvin Wiley. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1978.
The Life of Johnny Reb: the Common Soldier of the Confederacy by Bell Irvin Wiley. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1978.
The Negro’s Civil War by James M. McPherson. New York: Vintage Books Civil War Library, 2003.
They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Civil War by DeAnne Blanton and Lauren M. Cook. New York: Vintage Books, 2002.
Warrior in Two Camps: Ely S. Parker, Union General and Seneca Chief by William H. Armstrong. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1978.
What They Didn’t Teach You About the Civil War by Mike Wright. New York: Ballantine Books, 1996.