the Irish Immigrants’ role during the civil war
During my research, I decided to pick the Irish Immigrants’ role during the civil war as the historical event for my project. Just before the civil war started, there were millions of Ireland born citizens living in the United States. Citing the high population of Irish immigrants in the US, in the Union side there were several troops composed of Irish soldiers during the war for example the New York Irish Brigade and other fighting Unions which had thousands of Irish soldiers. On the Confederate side, the immigrants fought in the Tenth Tennessee Regiment and the First Virginia Battalion. Along with the fighting troops from both sides, there were other soldiers who of Irish origin who played major roles in the war. This event is significant since it attracted a great controversy with the Irish immigrants’ involvement in the Civil War because most of the soldiers were drafted into the war forcefully, leading to protests aimed at black people. However, the Irish immigrant soldiers played a significant role up to the end of the civil war, leaving lots of casualties and deaths.
Research Question: What role did the Irish immigrants play during the civil war? What events took place during the civil war, and what exactly did the Irish immigrants do during that time, which helped them through assimilation?
Search Terms and Sources
The search terms used in the research were: Irish immigrants, Irish immigrants during the civil war, photos: Irish-Americans, Irish Americans, and the Civil war. I used these terms along with the prepositions and conjunctions, ‘and,’ ‘during,’ and ‘in.’
The secondary sources that I used were;
- : Calkins, V. (1994). The fighting Irish of the Civil War. Cobblestone, 15(3), 24. This article was written by Virginia Calkins, which features Irish Americans who fought in New York’s Sixty-ninth Regiment during the Civil war and how they earned their nickname of `The Fighting Irish”. This can be found at: https://eds-b-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=10&sid=4d6bcfee-2cd3-48fb-814e-bd8eb028e399%40pdc-v-sessmgr05&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=9403077673&db=f5h
Bateson, C. V. (2018). Culture and sentiments of Irish American Civil War songs. Bateson and Victoria note that approximately 200,000 Irish- born immigrants took part in the Civil War as soldiers and their subsequent generations fought in the war in both the Union and confederate sides. After losing their family members in the army, the authors scribe that the soldiers’ family turmoil led them to create ballads and war songs massively. The authors describe the sentiments expressed in the songs. By elaborating on the role of the song culture played in consoling the families affected by the war. Retrieved from: https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsble&AN=edsble.764034&site=eds-live&scope=sitec. Nugent, B. A. (2015). Her Exiled Children in America: Irish American Identity and the Civil War. Flinders Journal of History & Politics, 31, 76–111. This article reconnoiters the things that motivated the Irish soldiers during the civil war. The author notes the economic, political, and social factors that influenced the Irish immigrants to fight in the war. The article also explores the diverse ways that the Irish soldiers were treated in the Union and the Confederate sides of the war. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edo&AN=117786697&site=eds-live&scope=site
I don’t have access to the school portal to get the recommended primary sources. Please insert them.
What I would like to know more about the role of Irish immigrants in the civil war.
Regarding the role of the Irish immigrants in the Civil war, I would like to know the following; first, what were the experiences of the Irish immigrant soldiers and their families during and after the war. Second, the fatalities of the Irish soldiers and how their remains were taken care of? Third, what kept the Irish immigrants going? What was their motivation?
My thesis statement.
This project aims to elaborate on the role of the Irish immigrants during the Civil war, their experiences as families, soldiers, and their generations and how they coped.
The audience aimed at by this historical event.
This event is history is meant to address all history students who would benefit academically. Second, this event aims to educate the Irish-Americans about their ancestors’ lives in the United States during the Civil war and the role they played. Third, all academists interested in American history, especially during the civil war and Irish immigrants’ role.
How I will tailor my message to the audience.
By using simple terminologies, my audience will easily understand my message. I would use an essay, or a web-blog or a newspaper column to address my audience.