02/11/2026
SSCWRT Member Dennis Doyle will be presenting Friday February 13, 2026 at the Kenosha Civil War Museum on "Irish Americans during the American Civil War".
Coming up this Friday, join us for our free program, "Irish Americans During the American Civil War" starting at 12pm, presented by Mr. Dennis Doyle.
Starting during the Irish Famine of the 1840’s, millions of Irish citizens immigrated to the United States to escape British Unionist political rule and economic poverty. Despite their lack of wealth and education, low social status, and discrimination, Irish-Americans distinguished themselves in their new home and during the American Civil War.
As many as 145,000 volunteered to serve in the Federal Army and over 40,000 would serve the Confederacy during the Civil War. These soldiers served on many battlefields and suffered heavy casualties. Seventy Irish-American Union soldiers received the Medal of Honor. Some of the outstanding Irish-American generals were notably Phil Sheridan for the North and Cleburne for the South.
Doyle’s program will focus on the motivation of Irish-Americans to serve during the Civil War and whether their hopes for a better position and social status was realized in post Civil War America. He will also explore how some Irish immigrants hoped to participate in a post-war uprising to liberate Ireland from British rule, which was not realized until 1922 when a Democratic Ireland was created.
