For Honor and Loyalty: The Irish during the American Civil War

The Irish, as soldiers, wanted to help forge their identity, in New York, by joining the Union Army. Their motivations were rooted predominately in concepts of “honor” and “loyalty.” The question is: did they “really” want to become assimilated completely into American society, or did they really want to remain “Irish,” in an “American society”? What is significant, is that this loyalty can be construed as more frequently directed toward Ireland, than the United States. There are four main arguments that are put forth in this book as to why many New York Irish joined the military on the side of the Union : that the Irish mainly joined the Union force for the pay they received during service, the Irish wanted to save the Union for future generations of Irish immigrants, to develop military skills that they would bring back to Ireland to help promulgate a revolution with Britain who was the occupier of Ireland at the time, and to prove as victims of nativist prejudice, the value of the Irish in the greater society in America.