Thanks Dennis for the info on the book. I'd like to read it. Another great book is "My Life in the Irish Brigade" - The memiors of private McCarter of the 116th PA, by O'Beirne. McCarter came from Derry, Ireland and was a Protestant. The book describes his travels through Virginia with his regiment, and a great deal on the battle of Fredericksburg, where he was wounded. Kevin O'Malley --- "Dennis J. Francis" <fran@ees.eesc.com> wrote: > "Irish Green and Union Blue: The Civil War Letters > of Peter Welsh", > Lawrence Frederick Kohl, editor, with Margaret Coss� > Richard, Fordham > University Press, New York, 1986. > > This book is a collection of the letters Peter Welsh > wrote from 14 > September 1862 to 15 May 1864. Most are to his wife > Margaret (nee > Prendergast), who preserved them. They offer one of > the few surviving > contemporary accounts by immigrant Irish Catholic > enlisted men. Peter > was an articulate, thoughtful man, and the letters > are an easy read, > while Professor Kohl's notes help put them in > perspective. > > Born in 1830 on Prince Edward Island to Irish > parents, in 1862 Peter was > a carpenter living in New York. While on a trip to > Boston to find work, > he got caught in the middle of a family squabble > between his relatives > living there. Upset with the way things were going, > he went on a spree, > spending every cent he had with him; once he sobered > up, he was so > ashamed of himself that, rather than go home, he > enlisted in the 28th > Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment on 3 > September 1862. > > Evidently, Peter soon made quite an impression on > his superiors. He was > promoted to corporal the following month, to acting > quartermaster/commissary sergeant in November, and > assigned to carry the > regiment's green flag on 17 March 1863, an honor he > took especial pride > in. Once a vacancy occurred on 1 September 1863, > his promotion to > sergeant became official. > > Unfortunately, Margaret did not like the idea about > her husband's being > in the army at all, and one gets the sense from > Peter's letters that she > fretted about this constantly. Suffering from poor > health to begin > with, the worry probably aggravated it. His > becoming a color bearer > seems to have distressed her a great deal. Peter's > response basically > was that he was in no greater danger than before > because "there is no > such thing as taking shure (sic) aim in the battle > field". > > Most of the letters are about Peter's day-to-day > activities, his > offering advice and encouragement to Margaret, > finding out if money sent > home got there and reporting if he'd received > packages from her, and > letting her know about friends/relatives who were > also in the army. > Although he talks about army movements, he does not > dwell on battles > very much. A very devout Catholic, he always gave > thanks to God for > seeing him safely through and for sustaining his > health. > > There was a division among the Irish as to whether > to support the War, > and in a letter to Margaret's father, Peter > expressed his reasons why he > was fighting for the Union - a belief that the US > was the best chance > for Irish freedom and the maintenance of the Union > was a black eye for > John Bull. > > Sadly, Peter did not survive the war. Shot in the > left arm at > Spotsylvania on 12 May 1864, what started out > diagnosed as only a flesh > wound turned out to more serious - the bullet had > struck bone- and blood > poisoning set in. Margaret had gone to be with him > at Carver Hospital > in Washington, and tried to convince him to allow > the surgeons to > amputate, but he would not. Peter died on 28 May, > and was buried in > Calvary Cemetery, Woodside, Queens, New York. > Interestingly, the > reverse of his monument includes the following: > > Peter Welsh > Color Sargeant > Co K 28th Mass Vol's > Irish Brigade > > So, what became of Margaret? The couple had no > children and she did not > remarry. In 1865, she returned to her family's home > in Athy, Co > Kildare. When her sister married and moved to NY, > Margaret alternated > between living with them and in Ireland. Somewhere > along the way, > somebody gave her a parrot, Polly, who "developed > quite a vocabulary" > (wonder what that means). She became very involved > in the Church. She > passed away in 1892 (age 52) and was buried next to > her husband. > > Dennis > mailto:fran@ees.eesc.com Sterling Heights Michigan > USA > > > ==== CIVIL-WAR-IRISH Mailing List ==== > To review past messages, visit the list archives at > http://archiver.rootsweb.com/CIVIL-WAR-IRISH-L/ > > ============================== > Search more than 150 million free records at > RootsWeb! > http://searches.rootsweb.com/ > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. http://shopping.yahoo.com/