Join Dr Damien Shiels for a three-week course on researching the Irish in the American Civil War.
Approximately 250,000 Irish American men served in the United States forces during the American Civil War, with another 20,000 Irish-born men fighting for the Confederacy. This three-part online course will provide participants with an overview of Irish American participation and provide details on how to discover more about both their service and the impact the conflict had on individual men and their families. Drawing on fifteen years experience of research on the topic, the talks will provide participants with details on how to access and interpret a multitude of records relating to Irish participation. This will include information on digital resources and where and how to locate archival documents, including the voluminous pension files, the largest and least-studied resource relating to ordinary 19th century Irish people that exists anywhere in the world. Each talk will consist of a c. 45 minute online presentation followed by a 30 minute question and answer session. The three talks will be arranged as follows:
1. An Introduction to the Irish Experience of the American Civil War, December 3rd 2024
An overview of Irish participation in the American Civil War, exploring where the Irish fought, in what numbers, the units they served with and some of the most well-known Irish individuals. The talk will also provide information on how to find out more details about some of the units in which the Irish were particularly prevalent.
2. Researching the Irish of the American Civil War: A Guide to Pension Files, December 11th 2024
The American Civil War pension files are the largest and most under-utilised resource on ordinary 19th century Irish people that exist anywhere in the world, often providing extraordinary information on Irish emigrants, particularly Irish women. This talk will explore the different types of pension files available, how to access them, and provide a guide on how to interpret and understand their contents.
3. Researching the Irish of the American Civil War: A Guide to Military & Other Records, December 18th 2024
The final talk will explore the copious other types of information available in both digital and archival form available on Irish American participants, exploring where to find this information and how to interpret it, as well as providing research tips on how to uncover details about individuals during this period.
Dr Damian Shiels is the author of the The Irish in the American Civil War (History Press, 2014), The Forgotten Irish: Irish Emigrant Experiences in America (History Press, 2016) and Green and Blue: Irish Americans in the Union Military 1861-65 (Louisiana State University Press, 2025). He established and is the Managing Editor of www.irishamericancivilwar.com, the largest repository of information about the Irish in Civil War America on the internet, and the co-host of Transatlantic: An Irish American History Podcast.