The Irish standard., 1905-07-29
In Both the Federal and Confederate Arm,..
Performed Daring and Memorable
Feats Of Bravery.
Race Prejudice and Lack of Political pull
Has Robbed Them of Credit Which
Belongs to Them.

The following interesting account of
the important part played by the Irish
soldiers in the Civil war from the pen
OF Michael Lynch, appeared in the
last issue Of the Boston Pilot:
AT the mouth of a narrow valley
fronting on the left bank of the Ten.
nessee river stands the city Of Chat
tanooga. On one side 1t is bounded by
lofty precipitous mountain, on the
other by a high, steep range of hills,
Yet, narrow and confined as is the
spot, there are here to be found more
battlefields of great historic interest
than on any other equal portion of
American territory. On one side of
the valley beetling up from the very
bed of the river stands Lookout
mountain; on the other stretches Mis-
sionary Ridge. Almost within the
| city limits is Orchard Knob, while ten
miles away on the other side of the
ridge lies the great battlefield of
Chickamauga. All of these were the
scenes of fierce encounters, while
Chickamauga was the second great
battle of the Civil war. More men
struggled here in deadly grapple at
one time or another than in any
other place in America. The greatest
military park in the United States is
here and the greatest National Gem
etery. 1t would be hard to associate
with any other spot such galaxy of
great names. Rosecrans, Thomas and
Garfield, Grant, Sherman, Sheridan,
Hooker and Logan on the side of the
Union are names whose reputation
will not soon die
Nor will soon be forgotten the illus
trious names of the Confederates
Bragg, Hood, Longstreet, Forrest, A.
p. Hill, d. II. Hill, and last, though
equal with the greatest the always
faithful and always unbeaten Patrick
Cleburne. 1t was here that the thin
Su6S VI llIC 4SoI tIlclu WcuSc WAS
driven into the body of the Confed.
eracy, rending 1t in two. And 1t was
from this narrow valley that Sher-
| man began his great march to the
sea.
AS one side of the valleys mouth
rests upon Lookout mountain, so does
the other upon Tunnel Hill. Here,
upon the extreme northeastern end of
Missionary Ridge, Cleburne after a
long march rested his little force and
waited the attack from Sherman.
Here the Irishman lay, full of conf
dence in himself, while the rest of his
associates were beaten before the war
began by the already great name of
Grant From here he hurled back
again and again a greatly superior
force of some of the finest soldiers in
America, led by the mighty Sherman
himself, and 1t was from here that, at
sunset, his portion of the field won,
seeing the rest Of Bragg's army re.
treating in disorder from positions as
strong as his own, he threw himself
into the gap between the Federals and
his beaten Confederate comrades,
checked the pursuit and saved the
remnant of Bragg's army from exter-
mination. So much to the glory of
one Irish soldier that day.
But the glory does not end here
Owing TO the fact that the main
stream of Irish emigration before the
war had not flowed much beyond the
Alleghanies, and that the army of the
Cumberland was composed entirely Of
western troops, Irish names are not so
plentiful upon the tablets that are
everywhere on three battlefields, as
ley are upon the fields of Virginia
where the Army of the Potomac i'm
mortalizes itself; but they are to be
found, and always to the credit of the
race. High up on the very top of
Tunnel Hill within few feet of Gle
burne's entrenchments, but greatly
nearer than any others, are standing
two stones. On one is the legend that
here was forced to halt the Goth ILL,
nois Infantry, Colonel Timothy o.
Meara commanding, Owen Stuart.