Monthly Archives: January 2025

Meeting of March 25, 2025

Join us at 6:30 PM, March 25, at Jack’s Restaurant & Bar, located at the Northwest corner of the Westgate Shopping Mall in San Jose, near Campbell (1502 Saratoga Ave, San Jose, CA 95129) and via ZOOM. This month’s topic is

Tonya Graham McQuade on “‘Paddy’s Lament’ and the Irish Brigade”

In the heartbreaking 19th century ballad “Paddy’s Lament,” a young Irishman – “Paddy” or “Patrick” – leaves Ireland, where he faces hunger and poverty, to go to America, where he hopes to make his fortune. Instead, upon his arrival, he is given a gun and told to “go and fight for Lincoln.” He soon finds himself fighting for a man named “Meagher,” who promises his troops that “if they get shot or lose [their] head” in battle, they will be given a pension. After “hard fighting” and losing his leg, all Paddy gets is “a wooden peg,” and he curses America. He wishes he were “home in dear old Dublin,” and he warns others not to come to America, for “there is nothing here but war and the murdering cannon’s roar.”

So, how accurately does this song represent the Irish experience in the Civil War?

In the ten years following Ireland’s Great Famine (1845-1850), approximately 1.5 million Irish emigrated to the U.S. Most settled in large cities such as New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, where they often faced significant prejudice due to their poverty, Catholic beliefs, cultural practices, and language. Many of those new Irish immigrants, however, chose to fight in America’s Civil War – approximately 180,000 in the Union army and 20,000 in the Confederate army. An estimated 30,000 Irishmen died in the conflict. Those who fought under the “General Meagher” referenced in “Paddy’s Lament” primarily did so as part of the Irish Brigade.

Three all-Irish volunteer infantries formed the core of what would become the Irish Brigade: the 63rd, 69th, and 88th New York Infantry Regiments. They were later joined by the 116th Pennsylvania and the Irish-dominated 28th Massachusetts. Most were recent immigrants; many, not yet citizens. Some, as described in “Paddy’s Lament,” were fresh off the boat. In the first two years of the war, the Irish Brigade had the highest casualty rate of any comparable unit in the Army of the Potomac.

In this month during which we celebrate St. Patrick, come listen to the song “Paddy’s Lament” and learn more about the history of the Irish Brigade and how accurately this ballad represents their experience in the Civil War.

Tonya Graham McQuade is the author of A State Divided: The Civil War Letters of James Calaway Hale and Benjamin Petree of Andrew County, Missouri, 1862-65, and is a contributing writer to the Emerging Civil War website. She has a love for both history and historical fiction, as well as a passion for writing, music, travel, and genealogical research.

In the summer of 2023, Tonya visited Ireland and Scotland with her husband Mike. Her first night in Dublin, she heard a live performance of the ballad “Paddy’s Lament,” and the song planted itself in her brain. She continued to think about the song’s haunting lyrics as she visited Dublin’s EPIC Immigration Museum, viewed the nearby Famine Memorial, and climbed aboard the replica Jeanie Johnson famine ship. Once she returned to San Jose, she began researching the song’s history, listening to its various versions, and studying the Irish experience in the Civil War, particularly as part of the Irish Brigade. She eventually wrote two related articles for the Emerging Civil War website. This presentation expands on those articles.

A long-time English teacher at Los Gatos High School, Tonya lives in San Jose, California. She is an active member of Emerging Civil War, South Bay Civil War Round Table, South Bay Writers/California Writers Club, National League of American Pen Women, and Poetry Center San Jose. You can learn more about Tonya on her website at tonyagrahammcquade.com, as well as find photos related to the book and to her research trips to Missouri. You can also find links to her Chasing History and Emerging Civil War blog posts, her poetry and photography, and her social media sites.

Meeting of January 28, 2025

Ron Vaughan on “The Battle of Little Round Top: More Than Just Chamberlain!”

Most of the research that has been performed regarding the Battle for Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburg has focused primarily on the actions of Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. Even the 1993 movie, Gettysburg concentrated its scenes on the actions of Chamberlain and his 20th Maine. In actuality, Little Round Top was successfully defended by a brigade under Colonel Strong Vincent, who was mortally wounded during the fighting and died five days later. Brig. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren climbed Little Round Top and found only a small Signal Corps station there. He saw the glint of bayonets in the sun to the southwest and realized that a Confederate assault into the Union flank was imminent. He hurriedly sent staff officers, including Washington Roebling, to find help from any available units in the vicinity; Vincent’s brigade was dispatched to take control of Little Round Top. The presentation will focus on how all four of the regiments under Vincent’s command successfully defended Little Round Top

Ron Vaughan has an MA in History and a Secondary Teaching Credential. His MA thesis was entitled “A Comparison of the Military Effectiveness of the US Army and Mexico, in 1846.” He has written two published books: Viva Juarez, A Source Book for the French Intervention in Mexico, and Handbook for the Spanish Civil War, plus many magazine articles in military history related publications, most recently “Joe Shelby’s Odyssey in Mexico” in the “North & South” December 2022 issue. Ron has also been a re-enactor for periods of Roman times, American Civil War, WW I, and WW II. He is the Head Docent at the Tulare City Historical Museum and Secretary and Editor for the San Joaquin Valley Civil War Roundtable.

Quiz for January 28, 2025

Civil War Quiz: What Do You Know About Little Known Facts of the Civil War?

Q#1 – What were the nicknames that President Abraham Lincoln used to refer to Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis?

Q#2 – Jefferson Davis served as a member of the US House of Representatives, a US Senator on two separate occasions and as the President of the Confederate States. What was common regarding all three of these?

Q#3 – Regarding the number people who earned the Medal of Honor, which war had the most medals awarded?

Q#4 – What piece of evidence led some people to believe that Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered the assassination of President Lincon?

Q#5 – John Wilkes Booth’s assassination of Lincoln was part of a broader conspiracy. What other actions were planned to be executed on April 14, 1865?

Q#6 – What foreign city did the Confederate Secret Service take refuge in during the Civil War?

Q#7 – What item on a pair of military pants was invented by the US Army?

Q#8 – During the Civil War era, it was commonly thought that firing a cannon over water would do what?

Q#9 – Approximately how many soldiers died of disease in the Civil War?

Q#10 – True or False: Only white people were slave holders?

Q#11 – What medical unit did Union General George B. McClellan create?

Q#12 – What was the purpose for creating the U.S. Sanitary Commission?

Q#13 – Other than carrier pigeons, what animal did the Confederate Arny use to deliver message??

Q#14 – During the Battle of Gettysburg, a group of gathered intelligence for the Union army. They posed as Confederate sympathizers and used their social networks to gather information about Confederate troop movements and plans. This information was then passed along to Union commanders, who used it to their advantage on the battlefield. What was the name given to this group of women?

Q#15 – During the Civil War, what was the monthly pay for a Black soldier?