Swan Enhancing the volume are firsthand ac- Chicago’s Irish Legion E counts from the soldiers who endured the xtensively documented and richly de- misery of frigid winters and brutal environ- “With Chicago’s Irish Legion James B. Swan is offering more than tailed, Chicago’s Irish Legion tells the ments, struggling against the ravages of dis- just another history of an Irish regiment in the Union Army— compelling story of Chicago’s 90th T THE 90th ILLINOIS VOLUNTEERS IN THE ease and hunger as they marched more than this is an overlooked unit whose story provides great insights into Illinois Volunteer Infantry, the only Irish regi- H twenty-six hundred miles over the course the motivations and experiences of Civil War soldiers.” E ment in Major General William Tecumseh Civil War of the war. Also revealed are personal in- —Susannah Ural Bruce, author of The Harp and the Eagle: Sherman’s XV Army Corps. Swan’s sweeping 9 sights into some of the war’s most harrowing Irish-American Volunteers and the Union Army, 1861–1865 0 history of this singular regiment and its pivot- events, including the battle at Chattanooga th al role in the Western Theater of the Civil War and Sherman’s famous campaign for Atlanta. “Through meticulous scholarship and rare personal letters, I draws heavily from primary documents and L In addition, Swan exposes the racial issues photos, and documents, James B. Swan brings to life one of the L first-person observations, giving readers an that affected the soldiers of the 90th Illinois, Civil War’s little-known Irish Legions. Swan’s roster of the 90th IN intimate glimpse into the trials and triumphs C including their reactions to the Emancipa- Illinois and his extensive notes make Chicago’s Irish Legion an O h of ethnic soldiers during one of the most de- tion Proclamation and the formations of invaluable resource.” I i structive wars in American history. S c the first African American fighting units. —Ellen Skerrett, editor of At the Crossroads: Old a At the onset of the bitter conflict between Swan rounds out the volume with stories of V g the North and the South, Irish immigrants Saint Patrick’s and the Chicago Irish O o survivors’ lives after the war, adding an even faced a wall of distrust and discrimination L ’ deeper personal dimension to this absorbing “Not as famous as some other units, the Irish Legion saw hard U s in the United States. Many Americans were chronicle. N I deeply suspicious of Irish religion and politics, action at Missionary Ridge and the Atlanta Campaign, and r T i while others openly doubted the dedication marched with General William T. Sherman to the sea and the E s James B. Swan is an independent historian of the Irish to the Union cause. Responding Carolinas. James B. Swan clearly and crisply recounts their mem- E h and retired professor of agronomy at Iowa R to these criticisms with a firm show of patrio- orable story, giving readers a fresh look at the Civil War in the L State University. S e tism, the Catholic clergy and Irish politicians west, and at the immigrant soldier experience.” g in northern Illinois—along with the Chicago I i —Lesley J. Gordon, author of General N o press and community—joined forces to recruit George E. Pickett in Life and Legend n T the Irish Legion. Composed mainly of foreign- H born recruits, the Legion rapidly dispelled any southern illinois university press E rumors of disloyalty with its heroic endeav- 1915 university press drive C ors for the Union. The volunteers proved to I mail code 6806 V be instrumental in various battles and sieges, carbondale, il 62901 I L as well as the marches to the sea and through www.siu.edu/~siupress $32.95 usd W the Carolinas, suffering severe casualties wan isbn 0-8093-2890-9 A and providing indispensable support for the Patricia S JSaacrksefite illdlu Rsetraal,t iwonhso: lCedap Ctaoimn pPaantryi cKk, isbn 978-0-8093-2890-1 R Union. Swan meticulously traces the remark- June 1863–September 1864 (private col- able journey of these unique soldiers from lection); and map of march of the 90th their regiment’s inception and first military Illinois during campaigns at Vicksburg and Jackson, Mississippi. engagement in 1862 to their disbandment and UnSo James B. Swan participation in the Grand Review of General iversity Preuthern Illin Sherman’s army in 1865. so sis Printed in the United States of America Swan jkt mech.indd 1 1/7/09 11:03:49 AM Chicago’s Irish Legion Swan Frontmatter.indd 1 1/7/09 8:25:50 AM Colonel Timothy O’Meara, born in Tipperary, served in the U.S. Mounted Riflemen and as captain of Company E, 42nd New York Volunteer Infantry, before commanding Chicago’s Irish Legion until his death at Missionary Ridge in November 1863. (Courtesy of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, Springfield, Ill.) Swan Frontmatter.indd 2 1/7/09 8:25:52 AM Chicago’s Irish Legion (cid:73)(cid:61)(cid:58)(cid:21)(cid:46)(cid:37)(cid:73)(cid:61)(cid:21)(cid:62)(cid:65)(cid:65)(cid:62)(cid:67)(cid:68)(cid:62)(cid:72)(cid:21)(cid:75)(cid:68)(cid:65)(cid:74)(cid:67)(cid:73)(cid:58)(cid:58)(cid:71)(cid:72)(cid:21)(cid:62)(cid:67)(cid:21)(cid:73)(cid:61)(cid:58)(cid:21) CIVIL WAR James B. Swan Southern Illinois University Press Carbondale Swan Frontmatter.indd 3 1/7/09 8:25:52 AM Copyright © 2009 by the Board of Trustees, Southern Illinois University All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America 12 11 10 09 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Swan, James B. Chicago’s Irish Legion : the 90th Illinois Volunteers in the Civil War / James B. Swan. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-8093-2890-1 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-8093-2890-9 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. United States. Army. Illinois Infantry Regiment, 90th (1862–1865) 2. United States—History—Civil War, 1861–1865— Regimental histories. 3. United States—History—Civil War, 1861–1865—Participation, Irish American. 4. United States— History—Civil War, 1861–1865—Campaigns. 5.Irish American soldiers—Illinois—Chicago—History—19th century. 6.Chi- cago (Ill.)—History—Civil War, 1861–1865.I. Title. E505.590th .S93 2009 973.7'473—dc22 2008026838 Printed on recycled paper. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum re- quirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materi- als, ANSI Z39.48-1992. ∞ Swan Frontmatter.indd 4 1/7/09 8:25:53 AM To the officers and men of the 90th Illinois Swan Frontmatter.indd 5 1/7/09 8:25:53 AM Swan Frontmatter.indd 6 1/7/09 8:25:53 AM Contents List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 1. The Raising of the Irish Legion 5 2. Attention from Two Generals 30 3. Life on “One Cracker a Day” 49 4. The Father of Waters Unvexed 64 5. The March to Chattanooga 86 6. The Battle of Chattanooga 97 7. The Winter of Their Discontent 117 8. The Atlanta Campaign: Approach to Atlanta 130 9. The Atlanta Campaign: Battles around Atlanta 145 10. Hazen’s Summer Camp and a Stern Chase 161 11. An Armed Picnic 169 12. The Handsomest Thing I Have Seen in This War 177 13. Rocking the Cradle of Secession 191 14. Hail Columbia, Happy Land 204 15. Leaving the Cradle 210 16. Touring Tarheel Country 216 17. Like the Lords of the World 227 Epilogue 237 Appendix 1: Muster Roll Summary 244 Appendix 2: Regimental Roster 247 Abbreviations 259 Notes 261 Bibliography 287 Index 297 Swan Frontmatter.indd 7 1/7/09 8:25:53 AM Swan Frontmatter.indd 8 1/7/09 8:25:53 AM Illustrations Frontispiece Colonel Timothy O’Meara Maps 1. Movements through October 1863 31 2. Guarding railroads 32 3. Vicksburg and Jackson campaigns 66 4. March across Tennessee 87 5. Approach to Chattanooga 93 6. Attack of Loomis’s brigade 99 7. Relief of Knoxville 118 8. Atlanta campaign to Etowah River 133 9. Atlanta campaign: Kingston to Decatur 134 10. Approach to and battles around Atlanta 146 11. Pursuit of Hood 164 12. March to the sea: Piedmont 170 13. March to the sea: Coastal Plain 171 14. Attack on Fort McAllister 179 15. March through the Carolinas: Beaufort to Liberty Hill 192 16. March through the Carolinas: Camden to Fayetteville 211 17. March through the Carolinas: Fayetteville to Goldsboro 219 Figures 1. Attack of 90th Illinois and 100th Indiana at Missionary Ridge 106–7 2. Attack on Fort McAllister by Hazen’s troops 180–81 Photographs (following page 116) Captain Patrick Sarsfield Real Quartermaster Redmond Sheridan Lieutenant Colonel Owen Stuart Captain Peter Casey Lieutenant William White Corporal Patrick Sloan ix Swan Frontmatter.indd 9 1/7/09 8:25:53 AM