Denis a chara, The Know Nothings are mentioned in your answer re the 9th Massachussets Volunteer Infantry. Who were the Know Nothings? What was their gripe with the Irish and what became of them?? Is mise le meas Eamonn -----Original Message----- From: Dennis J. Francis [mailto:fran@ees.eesc.com] Sent: Sunday, June 24, 2001 6:23 To: CIVIL-WAR-IRISH-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [Civil-War-Irish] 9th MA Vol Inf - 1 First of 2 books concerning the 9th MA: "The History of the Ninth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, June 1861 - June 1864" by Daniel George Macnamara, 1899 edition reprinted by Fordham University in 2000, introduction by Christian G. Samito. Originally recruited and organized as the 13th Massachusetts Volunteer Militia in April-May 1861, the regiment was designated the 9th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry upon mustering into Federal service in June. Its nucleus were members of the Columbian Artillery, a pre-war militia company composed mainly of Irishmen. When the Know Nothings took control of the State government, all "foreigner" militia companies were ordered to be disbanded in 1855. In response, its commander, Thomas Cass, kept the company going by reforming it into a social organization - the Columbian Association. When the war broke out, its members began raising an Irish-American regiment. Six companies were raised in Boston (Co A - Columbian Guards; B - Otis Guards; C - Douglas Guards; D - Meagher Guards; E - Cass Light Guard; I - McClellan Rifles), and one each in Salem (Co F - Fitzgerald Guards), Marlboro (Co G - Wolfe Tone Guards), Milford (Co H - Davis Guards) and Stoughton (Co K - Stoughton Guards). Cass was commissioned colonel. Upon mustering in, the change from a militia regiment to a volunteer one meant the elimination of some officer positions. Cass also took the opportunity to replace some officers with those he felt were better qualified. This caused a bit of dissatisfaction; while the majority of the enlisted men quickly recovered, it remained a sore point with many of the officers, and various cliques developed. On 26 June the regiment departed for the front. Held at Washington, the 9th did not take part in the First Battle of Bull Run. For the rest of its 3 years service, however, it took part in all the campaigns of the Army of the Potomac and saw action in many of its battles, from the Peninsular in Spring of 1862 to when it was pulled out of the lines at Cold Harbor on 10 June 1864. Along the way, 15 officers and 194 enlisted men were killed or mortally wounded; 99 others died of disease (source: Dyer's Compendium). At Malvern Hill on 1 Jul 1862, Col. Cass was seriously wounded and died 12 days later. Patrick R. Guiney took command; at the Wilderness on 5 May 1864, he was shot in the face and lost an eye. Patrick T. Hanley commanded the regiment until it mustered out at Boston on 21 June 1864. Those who had re-enlisted and added recruits were transferred to the 32nd MA. The author's brother Michael also wrote a history - "The Irish Ninth in Bivouac and Battle" - in 1867, prior to the availability of most records. Daniel's goal was to correct this shortcoming of Michael's book and provide a more scholarly, complete history. Another goal was to counter attacks by anti-Irish/Catholic bigots, who were still as rabid as ever. The book doesn't restrict itself to just telling the story of the 9th, but also places it in the larger scheme of things. So those researching someone in the 9th but may not be familiar with CW history will get a lot of background. Anecdotes are scattered throughout the text, keeping the book lively and fun to read. Chapters begin with a few lines of poetry, including some by Guiney's daughter Louisa. Appendices include a complete roster, including unassigned recruits, with individual service summaries. Dennis ==== CIVIL-WAR-IRISH Mailing List ==== To review past messages, visit the list archives at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/CIVIL-WAR-IRISH-L/ ============================== Ancestry.com Genealogical Databases http://www.ancestry.com/rd/rwlist2.asp Search over 2500 databases with one easy query!