JFK HONORS IRISH BRIGADE
The army of the United States included the Irish Brigade, led by Brigadier General Thomas Francis Meagher*, who had been one of the leaders in the Irish rebellion of 1848. The General implored his men to fight..."today to preserve America, tomorrow to liberate Ireland."
Meagher's men were volunteers who fled Ireland twenty years before their charge in the second Union attack on Mayre's Heights. According to one of their officers, the men marched out from town "in glorious style, their green sunbursts waving. Every man (with) a sprig of green in his cap..." The Brigade was stopped 30 yards from the Stone Wall.
JFK said...
General Robert E. Lee, the great military leader of the Southern Confederate forces, said of this group of men after the battle...
'The gallant stand which this bold brigade made on the heights of Fredericksburg is well known. Never were men so brave. They ennobled their race by their splendid gallantry on that desperate occasion. Their brilliant, though hopeless, assaults on our lines excited the hearty applause of our officers and soldiers.'"
SOURCE
"The Civil War: Rebels Resurgent," by William K. Goolrick, Time-Life Books, Alexandria, Virginia, 1985.
The Irish Brigade at Fredericksburg
Fredericksburg, Virginia (JFK+50) On December 13, 1862, the Union army launched an attack on Confederate positions on Marye's Heights near Fredericksburg.
The army of the United States included the Irish Brigade, led by Brigadier General Thomas Francis Meagher*, who had been one of the leaders in the Irish rebellion of 1848. The General implored his men to fight..."today to preserve America, tomorrow to liberate Ireland."
Meagher's men were volunteers who fled Ireland twenty years before their charge in the second Union attack on Mayre's Heights. According to one of their officers, the men marched out from town "in glorious style, their green sunbursts waving. Every man (with) a sprig of green in his cap..." The Brigade was stopped 30 yards from the Stone Wall.
President John F. Kennedy was the first President of Irish descent. He also was the first President to visit Ireland during his term of office. In his visit of June 1963, the President addressed the Irish Parliament and presented the flag of the Irish Brigade.
JFK said...
"One of the most brilliant stories (of Irish history) was written by a band of 1200 men who went into battle wearing a green sprig in their hats. They bore a proud heritage and a special courage, given to those who had long fought for the cause of freedom. I am referring, of course, to the Irish Brigade.
General Robert E. Lee, the great military leader of the Southern Confederate forces, said of this group of men after the battle...
'The gallant stand which this bold brigade made on the heights of Fredericksburg is well known. Never were men so brave. They ennobled their race by their splendid gallantry on that desperate occasion. Their brilliant, though hopeless, assaults on our lines excited the hearty applause of our officers and soldiers.'"
*Thomas Francis Meagher (1823-1867) was born in County Waterford, Ireland & studied at Stonyhurst College. TFM became an Irish nationalist & led the Young Irelanders in the Rebellion of 1848. Convicted of sedition, he was sent to Tasmania but escaped in 1852 & came to the U.S. TFM joined the U.S. Army in the Civil War & rose to Brigadier General. After the war, he served as acting governor of the Montana territory.
SOURCE
"The Civil War: Rebels Resurgent," by William K. Goolrick, Time-Life Books, Alexandria, Virginia, 1985.
The Irish Brigade at Fredericksburg
