Irish v. Irish

[tony_gunter]

In honor of St Patrick's Day: the Battle of Raymond featured the only instance I'm aware of with two Irish regiments going hand-to-hand. The 7th Missouri (Federal) and the 10th Tennessee (Confederate).

Were there other instances?

 

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

In honor of St Patrick's Day: the Battle of Raymond featured the only instance I'm aware of with two Irish regiments going hand-to-hand. The 7th Missouri (Federal) and the 10th Tennessee (Confederate).


View attachment 543031View attachment 543032

Were there other instances?

I didn't even know about that instance.

 

[tony_gunter]

I didn't even know about that instance.

The first half of the battle featured Smith's brigade + the 20th Ohio fighting in the creek.

After the charge of the 8th Illinois broke the Texans, the units fled to the hilltop and rallied around the 30th Tennessee.

The second phase of the battle involved McPherson trying to encircle the hill by extending his flank with the 48th and 59th Indiana from Quinby's Division + the 81st Illinois and the 7th Missouri.

The 10th Tennessee volunteered to charge down the hill to disorder the attackers long enough for the rest of the force to withdraw, and the fighting between them and the 7th Missouri on the Federal flank devolved into hand-to-hand.

 

[Lampasas Bill]

I was a curator at the Missouri State Museum during the Museum's battle flag restoration project. The majority of the flags had been wrapped around their poles and stored in glass-covered wall cases. Hadn't been unrolled in 60 or 70 years. In preparation for sending them to the flag restorer, a few at a time were taken out and unrolled to see if they were suitable for the expansive restoration process. The flag of the 7th Missouri had been rolled with a blue cloth covering, so you can imagine my surprise when we unrolled it and it was green! With shamrocks! And an Irish wolfhound in the center! Believe me, it was a thrill of a lifetime. Here's a link to the flag before restoration. Enjoy.

Flag, 7th (Irish) Regiment Infantry Missouri Volunteers, Obverse before Conservation

mdh.contentdm.oclc.org

 

[tony_gunter]

Apparently Gods and Generals created the idea that there was an Irish v Irish clash at Fredericksburg that's mostly myth:

Civil War Myth Busting: The Fictional Confederate Irish Brigade at Fredericksburg - Emerging Civil War

Another anniversary of the battle of Fredericksburg has come and gone. Mention of the December 1862 battle immediately brings to mind the repeated Federal attacks against Marye’s Heights that all failed to reach their objective. One of the most famous of those attacks was by the Army of the...

emergingcivilwar.com

 

[on again]

what about George Pickett quote on the charge of the 69th NY at Frderiskcburg?
"Your soldier's heart almost stood still as he watched those sons of Erin fearlessly rush to their death. The brilliant assault on Marye's Heights of their Irish Brigade was beyond description. Why, my darling, we forgot they were fighting us, and cheer after cheer at their fearlessness went up all along our lines."

Was there a cheer from the confederates?

 

[Scott1967]

what about George Pickett quote on the charge of the 69th NY at Frderiskcburg?
"Your soldier's heart almost stood still as he watched those sons of Erin fearlessly rush to their death. The brilliant assault on Marye's Heights of their Irish Brigade was beyond description. Why, my darling, we forgot they were fighting us, and cheer after cheer at their fearlessness went up all along our lines."

Was there a cheer from the confederates?

Most of this tosh was written well after the war the average soldier would be concentrating on survival not cheering the enemy I don't think the Confederate ranks would give a **** who's charging them as long as they were repulsed however Picket might of cheered being further back imho.

 

[Enoch L. Cade]

Apparently Gods and Generals created the idea that there was an Irish v Irish clash at Fredericksburg that's mostly myth:

Civil War Myth Busting: The Fictional Confederate Irish Brigade at Fredericksburg - Emerging Civil War

Another anniversary of the battle of Fredericksburg has come and gone. Mention of the December 1862 battle immediately brings to mind the repeated Federal attacks against Marye’s Heights that all failed to reach their objective. One of the most famous of those attacks was by the Army of the...

emergingcivilwar.com

That tale may have predated G&G. I reading it in a book as a kid, which was (alas) a while ago. It would be interesting to see if there were company-level encounters. IIRC, the 10th TN was the only Irish regiment, but many Confederate regiments had Irish companies: Co I, 8th Alabama, for example. Or the Louisiana Tigers, which began as a company.

The story of Irish contributions to the Confederate cause is incredibly interesting, and (IIRC) less well known than it should be.

 

[JohnnyReb421745]

That tale may have predated G&G. I reading it in a book as a kid, which was (alas) a while ago. It would be interesting to see if there were company-level encounters. IIRC, the 10th TN was the only Irish regiment, but many Confederate regiments had Irish companies: Co I, 8th Alabama, for example. Or the Louisiana Tigers, which began as a company.

The story of Irish contributions to the Confederate cause is incredibly interesting, and (IIRC) less well known than it should be.

The 2nd Tennessee/5th Confederate Infantry was a majority Irish regiment from Memphis. Another candidate would have been the 6th Louisiana Volunteers. Their sobriquet was 'Irish Brigade' due to two of their companies (F and I) which were Irish Brigade, Company A and Irish Brigade, Company B. The regiment as a whole contained 4 majority Irish companies with 3 others that had a high Irish content. Out of the 960+ members on the original muster rolls, over 460 listed Ireland as their place of birth and a large percentage of 2nd Gen Irish-Americans.

 

[Stryker65]

(Bad pun time)

On May 24, 1862, Richard Taylor's Louisiana Brigade (including the 6th Louisiana) skirmished with Nathaniel P. Banks's rear guard. The artillery of that rear guard was led by Captain Robert B. Hampton and Lieutenant Nathaniel Irish. So, you could say that an Irish fought Irish.