Overview

"The era of the American Civil War is assessed as being from the start of abolitionism in the 1830s, through the war itself and its aftermath. This fascinating book deals in detail with the Ireland the thousands of emigrants left at this time, their arrival in America, how they fared, and their involvement in the civil war and afterwards. Irish immigrants to the United States in the nineteenth century met with prolonged prejudice from native-born Americans because they were foreign, numerous, poor, and mostly Roman Catholic. By participating in the Civil War, they hoped it would help diminish the negative stereotyping they had been experiencing. Aidan O'Hara's aim in writing this book is to share with readers the fruits of his research into what happened to Irish people who were caught up in the rapidly changing political and social life in America during the turbulent era of the American Civil War. Irish Catholics, in particular, had to struggle hard ""to force open the doors of American life so zealously guarded by those who had first settled the land"" and although it took a long time to do so, they eventually succeeded."

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9781739599706

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The book goes beyond the story of the war itself and gives us valuable insights into the Irish in America in that period. It also considers the conditions in Ireland that precipitated emigration in the first half of the nineteenth century. In that context, accounts of foreign travellers, who witnessed the poverty of the people, are especially compelling. Martin Morris Thoroughly researched and admirably written and organised. This book will grace many a home on either side of the Atlantic. It includes a wonderful panoply of persons and a detailed account of a deadly conflict. James MacNerney Historians will find here the depth and breadth of scholarly research analysed with perception and insight. Readers with a more general interest can enjoy what this gifted story teller reveals about human - and the Irish - nature ensnared in a hardscrabble war. Mary Reike Murphy

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