Damian Shiels Profile picture
Apr 12, 2021 9 tweets 4 min read Read on X
The Irish and the start of the American Civil War-A Short Thread. The conflict began today in 1861, when Confederates opened fire on Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. Within the Fort's walls, there were more Irish-born than American-born soldiers. 1/9 #IrishDiaspora
Within the Fort, Captain Abner Doubleday is regarded as the man who gave the command to return fire- the first U.S. shot of the war. Galwegian Private James Gibbons (below) may well have served that gun. Years later he would claim to be the man who physically fired that shot. 2/9
The Confederates had opened fire due to the imminent arrival at Fort Sumter of provisioning U.S. vessels. Many of those ship crews were also Irish-born. Dubliner Stephen Rowan held a key role during the operation, as Commander of the sloop-of-war USS Pawnee. 3/9
As news of events at Sumter reached Ireland, the ramifications were quickly grasped. The Cork Examiner predicted that "the lives of her (Ireland's) exiled children will be offered in thousands" and "many a fireside will be filled with mourning as each American mail arrives." 4/9
Fort Sumter surrendered without loss of life. But as her garrison fired a 100-gun salute at the lowering of the Stars & Stripes, an accidental explosion rocked one of the guns, sending her crew flying into the air. Of that crew, all but one had been born in Ireland. 5/9
Two of the men were mortally wounded. The first to die was Daniel Hough, a former farmer from Co. Tipperary. The second was Edward Gallwey, a former clerk from Greenpark, Skibbereen, Co. Cork. They were the first U.S. soldiers to be killed in the American Civil War. 6/9
It would not be the Gallwey family's last sacrifice during the conflict. An 1863 Cork Examiner Death Notification (below) brought the news that Edward's brother Andrew had fallen in the fighting at Port Hudson, Louisiana. He is buried in Baton Rouge. 7/9
The Cork Examiner's 1861 prediction would prove remarkably prescient. In the years that followed, some 180,000 Irish-born men and another c. 70,000 sons of Irish emigrants would enlist in the Union military. Tens of thousands of them would die in service to the United States. 8/9
Just as the Irish were there at the first, they were there at the last. Four years after Sumter, on the morning that Robert E. Lee surrendered, Tom Smyth from Ballyhooly, Co. Cork, died of his wounds in Virginia- becoming the last Union General killed during the Civil War. 9/9

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More from @irishacw

Apr 16, 2023
This is one of the very best images of Irish troops from the American Civil War. Surprisingly, it's not very well known, despite Thomas Francis Meagher's presence. Taken in the summer of 1861, it contains lots of fascinating details. A short🧵on some of them👇#IrishDiaspora Image
This is Meagher before he was a General, taken only a short time before he and the men around him - Zouaves attached to the 69th New York State Militia as Company K - would see action for the first time at the Battle of Bull Run on 21 July 1861. Image
The image offers incredible detail of some of the men. Many would have been born in Ireland, and many, if not most, would have been Famine emigrants. The “69” on their caps is clearly visible, as is a white Havelock (left), which some of the 69th NYSM wore at Bull Run. Image
Read 8 tweets
Aug 9, 2022
100 years ago today the most intensive day of fighting in the Battle for Cork was taking place around Rochestown. To mark the anniversary of the bloodiest engagement of Cork's revolutionary period, this🧵explores some of the archaeological traces left behind. #BattleforCork100 /1
The National Army had landed in Passage West the previous day, moving to engage IRA defenders on the high ground to the west. Some of the very first fire of this engagement can be traced today- these are impact scars from National Army bullets on buildings opposite the docks. /2
The IRA defence was aided by fire from Carrigaloe across the Lee Channel on Great Island. Fire from buildings here directed at the National Army landing force smacked into buildings in Passage West, especially those on higher ground. Here are impacts in Passage from that fire. /3
Read 19 tweets
Sep 30, 2020
The taoiseach: “iconic and historic locations such as this should be preserved or at a minimum incorporated into any new developments” But successive govts have not acted to identify & map these sites so they can be considered in planning. Thread /1 irishtimes.com/news/ireland/i…
The damage and destruction of revolutionary sites is wholesale around the country. For a small number of them (not many), a public outcry has occurred, but almost always late in the planning process (e.g. Moore St/O'Rahilly home). Very few have any significant protection. /2
Our legislation is extremely limited- we refuse to consider post 1700AD sites archaeologically, making it hard to protect them as historic landscapes. The protected structure mechanism works only in certain circumstances, and is also a limited form or protection. Fundamentally /3
Read 13 tweets
Sep 3, 2020
We have to try and start to resist the temptation to place new memorials and "tidy up" already memorialised revolutionary sites for the centenary when there hasn't been landscape archaeological assessments. Aside from other issues, we have no clue about any damage being done.
Having been banging on about if for years it's a bit exasperating to see additional memorialisation is still the unquestioned mainstay of remembrance. We need some funding guidelines at Council level. It would be great to see @HeritageHubIRE develop best practice guidelines.
Memorialisation has its place, but when as a State we are not prepared to place any protection on these sites, or even require that we understand them as landscapes, we have to try and be extra careful about the potential unintended damage we can cause them with new memorials.
Read 4 tweets
Jul 29, 2020
An urgent appeal re Vinegar Hill. Planning permission is being sought for a major development that will have an irreversible and catastrophic impact on the 1798 battlefield site. Details here. Time is short, but anyone who can should seek to lodge objections this week. Please RT Image
We have recently lost one portion of the battlefield in the vicinty of Green Hill, but this development will be even more detrimental. Located on the site of the former golf course, on 21 June 1798 it was within the United Irishmen's lines and is part of the core battlefield area
For those familiar with Vinegar Hill, if granted permission, the development (a nursing home and major residential estate) will be sited below the current battlefield carpark, forever impacting the visual setting of the Monument. Its detrimental impact can't be overstated.
Read 4 tweets
Jul 13, 2020
The New York City Draft Riots began #OTD in 1863. The Irish dominated among the rioters, and African Americans were particularly targeted and murdered. The Irish American noted: "wherever a colored person was seen, he was hooted, pelted, or badly beaten; and one even hanged." 1/8 Image
Among the buildings singled out by the rioters during those tumultous days was the Colored Orphan Asylum, which was set ablaze (above image). The New York Irish American Weekly gave their accounting of the week's events here: irishamericancivilwar.com/2013/07/18/150… 2/8
To my mind, class conflict was the main driver behind the Riots, and is also central to understanding why Irish Americans viewed African Americans as they did. I explore some of the reasons behind Irish racial attitudes here: irishamericancivilwar.com/2013/01/04/to-… 3/8
Read 8 tweets

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