Description:
Finalist for the American Battlefield Trust Prize for History
Damian Shiels's Green and Blue explores Irish American service in the United States military by analyzing the written correspondence of ordinary rank-and-file soldiers drawn from across the Union's armed forces. Using a vast and largely untapped collection of letters penned by Irish American combatants to their families during the war, Shiels explains how these enlisted men navigated their duties from multiple perspectives, including how they adapted to and experienced military life, how they engaged with their faith, and how they interacted with the home front. Green and Blue offers the most detailed and intimate picture yet of Irish Americans' service in the United States military during the Civil War.Brief description: Damian Shiels is a postdoctoral research fellow at Northumbria University.
Review Quotes: "Damian Shiels makes a substantial contribution to the literature on Irish participation in the Civil War. His examination of a large body of fresh evidence illuminates the attitudes and actions of common soldiers who served the Union cause in a range of theaters and units. Green and Blue is the obvious first place to explore the topic."--Gary W. Gallagher, author of The Enduring Civil War: Reflections on the Great American Crisis