The Irish standard., 1915-02-20
IRISH SOLDIERS.

consideration of the share of the
Irish soldier in our Civil War is not
out of place at this time, when bigots
are ranting over the land. The Cath
olic News quotes DR.. John G.. Coyle's
articles on General Michael Corcoran,
published in Volume XIII of the Amer
lean Irish Historical Society Journal,
which shows by quotation of the Of
fetal figures of the United States sani-
tary commission on the nativities of
the soldiers on the Union side during
the Civil War, and by the figures of
the United States census regarding
the foreign-born population, just how
large part the native lrishman
played in the defense of the Union.
The author of the United States
sanitary commissions report was E.
A. Gould. His work is entitled I'm
vestigations in the Military and An.
thropological Statistics of the Ameri-
can Soldier" and was issued in 1859.
He found the official records gave the
nativities of 230.267 soldiers enlisting
from New York state From these
23O,267 known nativities OF New York
soldiers he made the reasonable deduc-
ton that the proportion therein exist
ing would apply to the 337 500 indivi-
dual soldiers from New York state.
This calculation gave the following
result: Natives Of the United States,
203,G22: foreign BORN BATS. OF the
foreign born New York soldiers, 49,
9S5 were born in British A.
O24 were of English birth; $3.50 were
natives of Germany; 5l,2O6 were born
in Ireland, and 1928 were born in
other foreign countries.
Therefore 39.7 per cent of the SOL
diers from New York were foreign
born. That is, two out of every five
OF New Yorks soldiers were foreign
ers. OF the foreign born soldiers from
New York, 80 per cent, or practically
Ireland. The Irish we're two out of
every five among the foreign born and
practically one out of every six Q5.l
per cent? of all of New York soldiers.
The United States census of 1850
showed that practically the entire
contribution of the foreign born was
made by the New England and the
Middle States. (The Middle States
are New York. New Jersey, Pennsyl-
vania and Delaware.) These states
reported 1913 per cent of all the for
eign born in the United States in
$780, DIR. Coyle goes on to show that
the same census of 1850 exhibited the
fact that 42.S per cent of all the for
eign born We're natives of Ireland.
From lS45 to 1861 an average of $780,
900 Irish immigrants year arrived in
the United States. These figures he
takes from John Francis Mcguire,
Thomas Darcy MCGEE. Charles Johns
ton and the port records. The Irish
population, which was 42.S per cent
OF all the foreign born, did not dimin-
ish during the decade to 1860. but in
creased. More of the Irish immi-
grants went west. however, than dur
ing the decade from 1910 to 1850. But
very few went to the southern states.
The United States census of 1900 re-
ported that persons of foreign birth
were practically a negligible element
In the southern States"
The native Irish were in the states
which fought for the Union. In the en-
tire United States they were more
than two out of every five of the for.
eigners in 1850. OF course, their pro-
portion would be much higher in the
northern states. since they were prac.
tically negligible element in the
southern states.
The figures of the foreign born
soldiers from New York, as regards
the native Irish. would not be too
high. If applied by percentage. to the