A Dhonnochaidh, a chara, Thanks for all the interest to you and all the participants. Well it really does seem as if it may not have been Irish v. Irish after all. Could Burns and Co. really have made their statement without authenticating it's truth - such a great series in so many ways. I love the tangents that some of the contributors have diverted on re Michael Sullivan. I have read somewhere that Col. Robert Mc Millan was from Co. Tyrone but have not been able to track down much else on him. Its a bit tricky being here based in Perth, Western Australia. Is mise le meas, Eamonn Mac an Ultaigh -----Original Message----- From: Dennis J. Francis [mailto:fran@ees.eesc.com] Sent: Monday, June 18, 2001 4:42 To: CIVIL-WAR-IRISH-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [Civil-War-Irish] Fwd: Irish v. Irish @ Fredericksburg From "McNulty, Eamonn" <Eamonn.McNulty@health.wa.gov.au>: > > The Burns TV serial and book states that the Georgians behind the wall > at Maryes Heights were also Irish. I know it was the Georgian 24th > Regiment behind the wall. > > Why does Burns and co. say these Georgians were Irish. ---------------------- It's an oft-repeated and accepted story, but I wonder if anyone ever checked it out. It might be more folklore than fact. Question is, how Irish was the 24th? The regiment was commanded by Robert McMillan, an Antrim* man. 3 sons were also in the regiment, and Company K - the McMillan Guards - is ID'd by Kelly J. O'Grady as having a "green tint", although "not wholly Irish". He doesn't go into any specifics, and mentions only two other Irish members. While there certainly were Irishmen in the 24th, calling it an Irish regiment is a different matter. Looking at the roster at the 24th web site, not that many surnames leap out as being definitely Irish, but that doesn't mean much; there's a lot of Irish running around with monikers that originated elsewhere. Without checking the roster against, say, the 1860 census, it's hard to say whether the story's an exaggeration. It might be the story got its start in an article published by the Charleston Daily Courier entitled "A Gallant Irishman at Fredericksburg": "Meagher met his match at Fredericksburg in a gallant son of the Emerald Isle, Colonel Robert McMillan, of the Twenty-fourth Georgia. We should like to see McMillan at the head of the lamented Cobb's brigade, pitted against Meagher or Corcoran in an open field..." Once a commander's ethnicity is publicized, it doesn't take much for the public to extend it to the entire unit. Facts from "Clear the Confederate Way" by Kelly J. O'Grady, Savas Publishing, 2000; opinions are just my own. * Not sure about this; in the text, O'Grady says McMillan was born in Antrim, but in the preface he says Tyrone. Dennis ==== 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