Chicago's Irish Legion: The 90th Illinois Volunteers in the Civil War, 2nd Annotated Edition

330 Pages·2009·6.43 MB·English

by  James B. Swan PhD

Swan
Enhancing the volume are firsthand ac- Chicago’s Irish Legion E
counts from the soldiers who endured the xtensively documented and richly de-
misery of frigid winters and brutal environ- “With Chicago’s Irish Legion James B. Swan is offering more than tailed, Chicago’s Irish Legion tells the
ments, struggling against the ravages of dis- just another history of an Irish regiment in the Union Army— compelling story of Chicago’s 90th
T THE 90th ILLINOIS VOLUNTEERS IN THE
ease and hunger as they marched more than this is an overlooked unit whose story provides great insights into Illinois Volunteer Infantry, the only Irish regi-
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twenty-six hundred miles over the course the motivations and experiences of Civil War soldiers.” E ment in Major General William Tecumseh
Civil War
of the war. Also revealed are personal in- —Susannah Ural Bruce, author of The Harp and the Eagle: Sherman’s XV Army Corps. Swan’s sweeping
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sights into some of the war’s most harrowing Irish-American Volunteers and the Union Army, 1861–1865 0 history of this singular regiment and its pivot-
events, including the battle at Chattanooga th al role in the Western Theater of the Civil War

and Sherman’s famous campaign for Atlanta. “Through meticulous scholarship and rare personal letters, I draws heavily from primary documents and
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In addition, Swan exposes the racial issues photos, and documents, James B. Swan brings to life one of the L first-person observations, giving readers an
that affected the soldiers of the 90th Illinois, Civil War’s little-known Irish Legions. Swan’s roster of the 90th IN intimate glimpse into the trials and triumphs
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including their reactions to the Emancipa- Illinois and his extensive notes make Chicago’s Irish Legion an O h of ethnic soldiers during one of the most de-
tion Proclamation and the formations of invaluable resource.” I i structive wars in American history.
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the first African American fighting units. —Ellen Skerrett, editor of At the Crossroads: Old a At the onset of the bitter conflict between
Swan rounds out the volume with stories of V g the North and the South, Irish immigrants
Saint Patrick’s and the Chicago Irish
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survivors’ lives after the war, adding an even faced a wall of distrust and discrimination
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deeper personal dimension to this absorbing “Not as famous as some other units, the Irish Legion saw hard U s in the United States. Many Americans were

chronicle. N I deeply suspicious of Irish religion and politics,
action at Missionary Ridge and the Atlanta Campaign, and r
T i while others openly doubted the dedication
marched with General William T. Sherman to the sea and the E s
James B. Swan is an independent historian of the Irish to the Union cause. Responding
Carolinas. James B. Swan clearly and crisply recounts their mem- E h
and retired professor of agronomy at Iowa R to these criticisms with a firm show of patrio-
orable story, giving readers a fresh look at the Civil War in the L
State University. S e tism, the Catholic clergy and Irish politicians
west, and at the immigrant soldier experience.” g
in northern Illinois—along with the Chicago
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—Lesley J. Gordon, author of General N o press and community—joined forces to recruit
George E. Pickett in Life and Legend n
T the Irish Legion. Composed mainly of foreign-

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born recruits, the Legion rapidly dispelled any
southern illinois university press E
rumors of disloyalty with its heroic endeav-

1915 university press drive C
ors for the Union. The volunteers proved to
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mail code 6806 V
be instrumental in various battles and sieges,
carbondale, il 62901 I
L as well as the marches to the sea and through
www.siu.edu/~siupress $32.95 usd W the Carolinas, suffering severe casualties
wan isbn 0-8093-2890-9 A and providing indispensable support for the
Patricia S JSaacrksefite illdlu Rsetraal,t iwonhso: lCedap Ctaoimn pPaantryi cKk, isbn 978-0-8093-2890-1 R Union. Swan meticulously traces the remark-
June 1863–September 1864 (private col- able journey of these unique soldiers from
lection); and map of march of the 90th
their regiment’s inception and first military
Illinois during campaigns at Vicksburg
and Jackson, Mississippi. engagement in 1862 to their disbandment and
UnSo James B. Swan participation in the Grand Review of General
iversity Preuthern Illin Sherman’s army in 1865.
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sis

Printed in the United States of America
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Chicago’s Irish Legion
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Colonel Timothy O’Meara, born in Tipperary, served in the U.S. Mounted Riflemen and as
captain of Company E, 42nd New York Volunteer Infantry, before commanding Chicago’s
Irish Legion until his death at Missionary Ridge in November 1863. (Courtesy of the Abraham
Lincoln Presidential Library, Springfield, Ill.)
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Chicago’s Irish Legion
(cid:73)(cid:61)(cid:58)(cid:21)(cid:46)(cid:37)(cid:73)(cid:61)(cid:21)(cid:62)(cid:65)(cid:65)(cid:62)(cid:67)(cid:68)(cid:62)(cid:72)(cid:21)(cid:75)(cid:68)(cid:65)(cid:74)(cid:67)(cid:73)(cid:58)(cid:58)(cid:71)(cid:72)(cid:21)(cid:62)(cid:67)(cid:21)(cid:73)(cid:61)(cid:58)(cid:21)
CIVIL WAR
James B. Swan
Southern Illinois University Press
Carbondale
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Copyright © 2009 by the Board of Trustees,
Southern Illinois University
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
12 11 10 09 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Swan, James B.
Chicago’s Irish Legion : the 90th Illinois Volunteers in the Civil
War / James B. Swan.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8093-2890-1 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-8093-2890-9 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. United States. Army. Illinois Infantry Regiment, 90th
(1862–1865) 2. United States—History—Civil War, 1861–1865—
Regimental histories. 3. United States—History—Civil War,
1861–1865—Participation, Irish American. 4. United States—
History—Civil War, 1861–1865—Campaigns. 5.Irish American
soldiers—Illinois—Chicago—History—19th century. 6.Chi-
cago (Ill.)—History—Civil War, 1861–1865.I. Title.
E505.590th .S93 2009
973.7'473—dc22 2008026838
Printed on recycled paper.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum re-
quirements of American National Standard for Information
Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materi-
als, ANSI Z39.48-1992. ∞
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To the officers and men of the 90th Illinois
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Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
1. The Raising of the Irish Legion 5
2. Attention from Two Generals 30
3. Life on “One Cracker a Day” 49
4. The Father of Waters Unvexed 64
5. The March to Chattanooga 86
6. The Battle of Chattanooga 97
7. The Winter of Their Discontent 117
8. The Atlanta Campaign: Approach to Atlanta 130
9. The Atlanta Campaign: Battles around Atlanta 145
10. Hazen’s Summer Camp and a Stern Chase 161
11. An Armed Picnic 169
12. The Handsomest Thing I Have Seen in This War 177
13. Rocking the Cradle of Secession 191
14. Hail Columbia, Happy Land 204
15. Leaving the Cradle 210
16. Touring Tarheel Country 216
17. Like the Lords of the World 227
Epilogue 237
Appendix 1: Muster Roll Summary 244
Appendix 2: Regimental Roster 247
Abbreviations 259
Notes 261
Bibliography 287
Index 297
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Illustrations
Frontispiece
Colonel Timothy O’Meara
Maps
1. Movements through October 1863 31
2. Guarding railroads 32
3. Vicksburg and Jackson campaigns 66
4. March across Tennessee 87
5. Approach to Chattanooga 93
6. Attack of Loomis’s brigade 99
7. Relief of Knoxville 118
8. Atlanta campaign to Etowah River 133
9. Atlanta campaign: Kingston to Decatur 134
10. Approach to and battles around Atlanta 146
11. Pursuit of Hood 164
12. March to the sea: Piedmont 170
13. March to the sea: Coastal Plain 171
14. Attack on Fort McAllister 179
15. March through the Carolinas: Beaufort to Liberty Hill 192
16. March through the Carolinas: Camden to Fayetteville 211
17. March through the Carolinas: Fayetteville to Goldsboro 219
Figures
1. Attack of 90th Illinois and 100th Indiana at Missionary Ridge 106–7
2. Attack on Fort McAllister by Hazen’s troops 180–81
Photographs (following page 116)
Captain Patrick Sarsfield Real
Quartermaster Redmond Sheridan
Lieutenant Colonel Owen Stuart
Captain Peter Casey
Lieutenant William White
Corporal Patrick Sloan
ix
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