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Register for The Wild Geese Today email updates REVISED 1/21/08, 4:15 PM EDT 'The Harp and the Eagle': Earning a Foothold A Review By Michael Kraus Nearly every ethnic group new to American shores has struggled to achieve the stability and wealth that comprised the proverbial, often elusive, American dream. So also reads the chronicle of Irish Americans and their struggle in the United States. Intent on illuminating the cost of that struggle, showcasing the price that Irish Catholics paid in and around the crucible years of the Civil War, author Susannah Ural Bruce delves into complicated territory in her book "The Harp and the Eagle: Irish-American Volunteers and the Union Army, 1861-1865". Click on the cover to buy. For the student of American culture, as well as Irish American history, Bruce endeavors to understand why Irish Catholic immigrants, many who were on American shores for a short time, volunteered for military service in a country soon to be engulfed by civil war. For mid-19th century Irish Catholics in America, sorting out issues such as poverty, schooling, and religion was no easy task. Complicated by the political climate and the stigma of being Catholics in Protestant-dominated America, these new immigrants often further disadvantaged themselves by proclaiming strong political ties to Ireland. Bruce straightforwardly explores these complicated issues with well-laid out research. The author begins by considering the earliest Irish immigrants to America, the predominately Presbyterian Ulster Irish, who came seeking religious and economic freedom. By looking at these first Irish immigrants and the relationship between Catholic and Presbyterian in the old country, Bruce narrates why the Irish faced such venomous prejudice upon their arrival on American shores, and in the process, reigniting rivalries from 'the auld sod.' Harper's Weekly Cartoonist Thomas Nast's view of the competition between slaves and Irish immigrants. Uneducated and unskilled, the Catholic Irish flooded American ports, where they quickly acquired work providing cheap labor, carving a lowly berth in American society. Many of them felt that their jobs would be endangered by a war that might free Southern slaves, who, the Irish felt, would compete for those jobs. Community leaders fueled their fears, capitalizing on the power that came with solidarity. Bruce explores the portrayal of Irish Catholics in the national press and their self-depiction in letters and publications. These give background and voice to concerns emerging in the Irish American community. In this way, Bruce illuminates how American the Irish considered themselves. Many of the more vocal and political immigrants maintained strong ties to Ireland, seeing their mission in America as organizing opposition to continued British governance of Ireland, including the raising of an armed force of veteran Irish American soldiers to liberate Ireland. "The Harp and the Eagle: Irish-American Volunteers and the Union Army, 1861-1865" Paperback: 320 pages Publisher: NYU Press ISBN: 081479940X Questions of loyalty, economics and ethics arose for Irish Americans as civil war erupted. With the conflict's progress, Bruce follows the ever-evolving sentiments that challenged the new immigrants. Debate swings back and forth in the author's well-cited accounts. As national conflict loomed, the aspirations shifted, toward one of winning respect from American countrymen by backing the Federal cause and raising Union troops for predominantly Irish regiments. By stepping up, the Irish would cement loyalty to their adopted land. The author moves on to highlight the famous Irish Brigade, along with its stellar cast, and follows them through such legendary battles of the Civil War, as First Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg. As the brigade became immersed in the conflict, becoming legendary itself, it began to literally dissolve from the ranks of the Union Army by taking more than its share of combat casualties. Not only were many hundreds of men in the ranks lost, but so too were many leaders and future leaders of Irish America. Lost with them were the dreams of returning to Ireland as liberators after the war. Bruce ably goes on to consider what these grievous losses ultimately meant for the Irish in America. From Daily Illinois State Register An 1864 campaign poster mirrored Irish American thinking. As a result of the loss of so many Irish lives, and the commitment of the Republican Party to end slavery, many Irish Americans became disillusioned with the war. In the election year of 1864, they threw their support to the Democratic candidate for president, George B. McClellan. Bruce makes the case that McClellan's doomed bid for the presidency and a negotiated peace further distanced the Irish from mainstream America, and would continue to conjure racially prejudice depictions in the mainstream media for years to come. It would take Irish immigrants many more years to overcome racial prejudice and stereotypes in the United States. Ultimately, what the Irish community proved, most importantly to themselves, was that they were solidly invested in being Americans. Unrestrained commitment to the war effort had served as a sort of payment in full, negating any lingering fear that Irish Catholics were invested in places other than the United States. Susannah Ural Bruce's work brings the 19th-century struggle of the Irish Catholic to a better understanding, if not a whole new appreciation. WGT Michael Kraus is a longtime Civil War living historian, commanding Company I, 116th Pennsylvania Volunteers. He is a leading authority on the military history of America's Civil War, and served as military advisor for Miramax Films' 2004 movie "Cold Mountain" and military coordinator for Turner Film's 1993 epic movie "Gettysburg." This feature was produced by Joe Gannon and edited by Patricia Jameson-Sammartano. Copyright © 2008 by GAR Media LLC and Michael Kraus. This article may not be resold, reprinted, or redistributed for compensation of any kind without prior permission from the author. Direct questions about permissions to permissions@garmedia.com. Buy a hat, shirt, mug or other great "WGT" item at Show the world you are one of "The Wild Geese" Search WWW Search TheWildGeese.com E-mail us for more information about TheWildGeese.com Click to return to The Wild Geese Today's Home Page Copyright © 2008, Michael Kraus and GAR Media. All rights reserved.