American Civil War Widows in Ireland

Joined
Jul 29, 2010
Location
Cork, Ireland
I came across an interesting letter recently written by the US Consul in Ireland to the Commissioner of Pensions in Washington. The Consul was making reference to the plight of three Irishwomen, all of whom had lost their husbands in the American Civil War. What is interesting is that none of these women had ever been to the U.S. as far as I can tell, and never visited America subsequently. I made an attempt to tell their stories in the post below- one of the most interesting emigrant letters I have come across is also included; one can almost imagine its contents being read out by an Irish fireside to it's illiterate recipient.

http://irishamericancivilwar.com/20...il-war-widows-in-ireland-struggle-to-survive/
 
One of the continuing conundrums those of us in public service face is how to adequately "reach out" to those who need assistance but do not know how or where to ask for it.

A poignant story which did, through the assistance of others, yield these ladies their due pensions.
 
I came across an interesting letter recently written by the US Consul in Ireland to the Commissioner of Pensions in Washington. The Consul was making reference to the plight of three Irishwomen, all of whom had lost their husbands in the American Civil War. What is interesting is that none of these women had ever been to the U.S. as far as I can tell, and never visited America subsequently. I made an attempt to tell their stories in the post below- one of the most interesting emigrant letters I have come across is also included; one can almost imagine its contents being read out by an Irish fireside to it's illiterate recipient.

http://irishamericancivilwar.com/20...il-war-widows-in-ireland-struggle-to-survive/
Thanks for posting this.
 
Thank you for posting that; it is indeed a sad and interesting story. I'd bet there were many who just didn't know they even had a pension option or how to go about it if they did know of them. It says a lot about those guys who went off and ended up in the army in a foreign country. I'm sure most of them were just trying to find a way to support their families. A pension is a small part of what we owed them methinks.
 
Thank you for posting that; it is indeed a sad and interesting story. I'd bet there were many who just didn't know they even had a pension option or how to go about it if they did know of them. It says a lot about those guys who went off and ended up in the army in a foreign country. I'm sure most of them were just trying to find a way to support their families. A pension is a small part of what we owed them methinks.
Damian likes to remind us that the damage from the war went on for decades after the guns stopped firing.
 
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