Learn about Irish Combatants in the Battle of Shiloh
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Contact: Chris Mekow, 731-689-5696
Patrick R. Cleburne
SHILOH, TN - On Saturday, March 16, Shiloh National Military Park will be presenting a special program in honor of Saint Patrick's Day about the contribution of Irish immigrants and Irish-Americans during the Civil War. This program will take place from 2:00 - 3:00 pm in the park's Visitor Center and will focus on Irish soldiers on both sides in the Battle of Shiloh. From 1820 - 1860, an estimated 1,956,557 Irish immigrants arrived in the United States, most of them coming during the Great Famine of 1845 - 1852, caused by the failure of the potato crop. It is estimated that 170,000 native Irish and 400,000 Irish-Americans joined the Union Army during the war. More than 40,000 Irish fought for the Southern cause. They were the largest immigrant group in the army and made up 10% of all Confederate combatants. The one-hour program will focus on the Irish contribution at Shiloh including Confederate General Patrick Cleburne, who would become known as the "Stonewall Jackson of the West," and contentious Union General Thomas Sweeny, who led an Irish invasion of Canada after the Civil War. This presentation is free and open to the public. For more information and to register to attend the event please call the Shiloh Visitor Center at 731-689-5696. Further information on upcoming Shiloh and Corinth Battlefield events is available at www.nps.gov/shil and www.facebook.com/ShilohNMP. |
Did You Know?
In Shiloh’s bloody aftermath, the dead of both armies were hastily buried across the battlefield. The U.S. dead were later re-interred in Shiloh National Cemetery (1866-1868), and the mass graves of Confederate dead preserved through the creation of Shiloh National Military Park in 1894.