In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day we are sharing a small piece of Irish pride from our rare book collection. Below are two American Civil War Irish regimental histories from our extensive collection of regimental histories. On the left is The Irish Ninth in Bivouac and Battle by M.H. MacNamara (Boston: Lee & Shepard, 1867; 9th Massachusetts regiment) and on the right is The Irish Brigade and Its Campaigns by Capt. D.P. Conyngham (Boston: Patrick Donahoe, 1869; 69th New York regiment). These histories give details of daily life in each regiment and report how the members of the regiment fared in the war. Of note is the assertion at the beginning of each account of how the Irish brigades were fiercely proud of their new country and eager, through their service, to show their loyalty and assist the Union in upholding democracy.
(click on the above images to enlarge)