The Irish Brigade & the Civil War: Fighting on Both Sides of Freedom
Irish History Through the Lens of Rebellion and Resistance
The Irish & the Civil War: Fighting on Both Sides of Freedom
In the smoke and chaos of battlefields like Antietam and Gettysburg, the Irish Brigade charged fiercely, flags flying and voices roaring with courage born of desperation. These immigrants, fleeing famine, colonization, and persecution in Ireland, fought bravely in a nation that often treated them with disdain. Yet, the story of the Irish Brigade—and Irish immigrants in general during the American Civil War—is one of profound contradiction. They arrived seeking liberation and survival but found themselves navigating and even reinforcing America's deeply entrenched racial hierarchy.
When a community once bound by oppression begins to uphold oppressive systems, what does liberation truly mean?
Seeking Liberation, Facing Oppression
In the mid-1800s, Irish immigrants escaping poverty and British oppression landed in a deeply divided America. Initially, they faced severe discrimination themselves, seen by dominant Anglo-Protestant society as inferior, disposable labor. Many Irish immigrants lived in impoverished neighborhoods, worked dangerous jobs, and were routinely denied basic human dignity.
Yet despite this shared oppression, many Irish communities began to distance themselves from Black Americans, embracing a constructed whiteness in hopes of achieving social mobility. They faced a painful choice: solidarity with fellow oppressed peoples or acceptance into a racial hierarchy that promised limited, conditional privileges.
Fighting for Union: The Promise of Freedom
When the Civil War erupted, tens of thousands of Irish immigrants enlisted to fight for the Union. They fought bravely in battles, forming renowned units like the Irish Brigade, known for their fierce loyalty and staggering losses at battles like Antietam and Gettysburg. To these Irish soldiers, fighting for the Union was a path toward citizenship, acceptance, and equality—an opportunity to claim their place in a country that had treated them harshly.
Yet, even as they fought valiantly for the Union cause and the eventual abolition of slavery, many Irish soldiers held complex, often contradictory views. Some deeply resented the possibility that freeing enslaved Black people might threaten their economic opportunities. Their fight for freedom was tangled with fear and prejudice, underscoring the painful complexity of navigating oppression while upholding it.
Draft Riots: When Liberation Turned Violent
The complexities deepened with the 1863 New York Draft Riots, where predominantly Irish mobs violently rebelled against military conscription. Their anger, initially directed against wealthy elites who could buy their way out of the draft, quickly turned into horrific racial violence against Black Americans. Hundreds of Black people were attacked, homes burned, and communities destroyed.
This tragic moment highlights how deeply entrenched racial hierarchies had become: Irish immigrants, once themselves targets of bigotry, violently upheld the very systems that oppressed others in hopes of securing their own fragile status.
The Black-Irish Connection: After the Divide
During and even after the Civil War, the deep ties between Irish immigrants and Black Americans persisted, rooted in shared experiences of oppression, resistance, and cultural exchange. Despite the divisive forces at play, many Irish and Black communities continued to intersect:
Cultural Fusion: Irish and African communities influenced each other's music, language, dance, and storytelling. Irish jigs and African rhythms merged in shared cultural spaces, giving rise to new forms of expression.
Shared Struggle: Irish abolitionists, inspired by their own colonial experiences under British rule, advocated fiercely for Black liberation, recognizing parallels between Irish colonial oppression and American slavery. Figures like Daniel O’Connell openly condemned slavery, linking Irish liberation directly with abolitionist movements.
Interracial Solidarity: Even amidst widespread racial division, some Irish neighborhoods continued to shelter runaway enslaved people and form political alliances with Black activists. These acts of solidarity remind us that even in the face of overwhelming pressure, unity remained possible and powerful.
Acknowledging these connections is essential; they illustrate the constant presence of choice. Even at moments of deepest division, there were always people—Irish and Black alike—who chose solidarity, who saw liberation as something to be shared rather than hoarded.
This historical truth invites us to reflect deeply on how solidarity can once again become the bridge to collective freedom today.
A Choice of Solidarity or Supremacy
Not all Irish Americans chose division. Figures like Thomas Francis Meagher, leader of the Irish Brigade, became outspoken abolitionists, linking Irish struggles against British colonization to Black struggles against American slavery. They urged their communities toward solidarity rather than division, recognizing liberation as inherently collective.
This tension within the Irish immigrant community—between assimilation into whiteness and solidarity with other oppressed peoples—reflects a choice still faced today:
Do we choose the false security of division, aligning ourselves with oppressive systems in exchange for scraps of privilege?
Or do we choose solidarity, understanding that our liberation is interconnected, indivisible, and collective?
Embodied Learning
Listen:
"No Irish Need Apply" – Traditional Irish-American ballad highlighting anti-Irish discrimination.
"Follow the Drinking Gourd" – A Black American spiritual guiding enslaved people toward freedom.
"Paddy's Lamentation" – Traditional Irish folk song reflecting on Irish immigrant soldiers' experiences during the Civil War.
Read:
How the Irish Became White by Noel Ignatiev – Explores how Irish immigrants navigated racial hierarchies in America.
The Wages of Whiteness by David R. Roediger – Examines the psychological and social costs of white identity in America.
Watch:
Gangs of New York (Film) - Depicts tensions between Irish immigrants and other communities during the Civil War era.
The Irish Brigade in the American Civil War -Provides historical context and personal accounts of Irish soldiers.
Cook:
Irish Soda Bread – As you bake, reflect on nourishment, survival, and cultural heritage.
Collard Greens with Bacon – Prepare this traditional Black American dish while honoring resilience, sustenance, and shared food traditions.
These practices offer tangible ways to deepen understanding and reflection, connecting historical truths with physical experiences
Tomorrow's Lesson:
The Irish & The Transatlantic Slave Trade—Complicity, Resistance & Solidarity
Explore the full series of both Black and Irish history in the 59 Days of Resistance Guide and Lesson Plan.
Conclusion: Choosing Solidarity, Healing the Divide
Exploring the Irish experience in the Civil War reveals the ongoing costs of choosing division over solidarity. It shows how quickly a people can move from oppressed to oppressor when seduced by the promise of power within an oppressive system.
Yet it also reminds us that another path exists—a path rooted in shared struggle, collective liberation, and refusal to perpetuate cycles of oppression.
The history of Irish immigrants in the American Civil War confronts us with a profound truth: oppression can both wound and corrupt, blurring the lines between victim and oppressor. Yet, within this complexity lies an enduring lesson—that liberation, to be authentic and complete, must reject division and embrace collective solidarity.
When we acknowledge the contradictions of our ancestors, we step into deeper honesty about our past. This honesty is not merely a burden; it's an invitation to healing. It calls on us to confront our own complicities and biases, actively choosing unity over supremacy, solidarity over separation.
Today, as we stand in the echoes of these historical choices, we can decide differently. We can honor the deep ties that once bound Irish and Black communities in shared struggle. We can embody liberation through intentional actions, cultural exchanges, and the courageous reclamation of solidarity as our most powerful legacy.
In remembering the past clearly, we make room for a liberated future—a future where our identities no longer serve as weapons of division but as bridges toward collective freedom.
The story is ours to continue, and the choice, now as ever, remains ours. As we grapple with this complicated legacy, we're challenged to ask ourselves:
What side of freedom will we choose today?
Will you perpetuate division, or will you choose the courageous path of unity and collective liberation?
In solidarity and liberation,
Desireé B. Stephens, CPS-P
Educator | Counselor | Community Builder
Founder, Make Shi(f)t Happen