I'm new to the list. What an informative reply given by Dennis regarding how the Irish were recruited. I'm looking for information regarding my great-grandfather Simon C. Carey from County Clare, Ireland. He joined the Missouri State Militia in 1861. I believe he came to this country in 1860 with a brother. Does anyone have any more information? Thanks. Patricia Carey Bishop donbi@concentric.net "Dennis J. Francis" wrote: > kay bradley wrote: > > > > Would anyone have documentation of how the Irish were recruited to fight in > > the Civil War? What incentives were offerred and how exactly was the > > citizenship handled? Was there an oath of allegiance which was mandatory, > > and can I get a copy of any of these documents? > ----------------------------------- > Kay, > > Starting out, men readily volunteered on their own for various and > sundry reasons. The Irish were also motivated by the belief that the > war would be good training, that they could organize an army of seasoned > vets after the war and liberate Ireland. How many actually did join for > this reason is really anybody's guess. Another reason Irish enlisted > was to show that they were as American and part of the local community > as anyone else. There were communities which promised to assist > soldiers' wives and families, but most incentives didn't come about > right away. > > Recruiting meetings were held to drum up enlistments. Could best > describe these as something like a revival. > > A call for enlistments in the North was actually levying a quota on each > State, which then was passed down to the local level. To help meet the > quotas, cities, states, and the Federal government offered to pay a > bounty, often amounting to several hundred dollars, to anyone who > enlisted. > > Conscription also figures in all this, mainly in negative ways. Only > volunteers got a bounty, so if someone was worried about being drafted, > they might have taken the view of volunteering and getting a tidy sum of > money. Usually, they also got to decide what regiment they wished to > enlist in; draftees didn't. But one of the things wrong with the > conscription bill was it allowed people to escape service by paying > someone to serve in their stead, which lead to the creation of a new > life form: the substitute broker. > > Both sides employed conscription, and both allowed substitutes. The > broker would try to gather potential subs, often in unscrupluous ways, > and arrange a price with clients. I'm only speculating, but I've a > suspicion most of the money that was paid went to the broker. > > Some Union recruiting agents went to Ireland to entice Irishmen to > emigrate with promises of factory jobs. Once they got the Irish over > here, they herded them into the Army instead. At least one person tried > to put together a similar scam for the South, but when CS Secretary of > War Seddon found out, he squashed it. > > To encourage re-enlistments, the Federal government offered a 30 day > furlough, plus a bounty. The chance to go home, even though it meant > having to go back, was a big enducement. Unit-pride also figured in: if > enough men in a regiment re-upped, they got to keep their unit intact. > > Record of bounties should be in the soldier's service record. > > There was no requirement to become a citizen; and normally the only oath > with be that of enlistment, which would be part of the soldier's service > record. There were loyalty oaths, but these were generally only > inflicted on those known or suspected of not being loyal. Don't know > what the CS naturalization law was, but the US law was amended in 1862 > to allow honorably discharged Army vets to petition for > naturalization--without previously having filed a declaration of > intent--after only 1 year of residence in the US. > > Dennis > mailto:fran@ees.eesc.com > > ==== CIVIL-WAR-IRISH Mailing List ==== > "Faugh a Ballaugh!" (Clear the Way!) > Irish Battle Cry > > ============================== > Visit Ancestry.com for a FREE 14-Day Trial and enjoy access to the #1 > Source for Family History Online. Go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/subscribe/subscribetrial1y.asp?sourcecode=F11HB