When President Abraham Lincoln issued his call to arms in 1861; the 63rd; 69th and 88th New York Volunteers were among the first to step forward to defend the Union. Comprised primarily of first and second generation Irish immigrants; these three regiments were later joined by the 28th Massachusetts and the 116th Pennsylvania. Although many of these Irish men were decidedly anti–Lincoln—blaming the northern abolitionists as much as the southern rebels for the nation’s plight—they worked around their dilemma by pledging their allegiance to their new country and its flag rather than its president. Suffering heavy casualties; this Irish Brigade under the command of Thomas Francis Meagher became one of the most legendary fighting groups of the Civil War. This work provides a balanced; historically factual picture of the Irish Brigade and its commander by re-examining and re-interpreting existing accounts. It presents an unbiased account of the role that the Brigade played in the confrontations; during the Seven Days’ battles; at Sharpsburg; Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. The author examines the ways in which contemporary sources distorted the historical actualities regarding the Irish Brigade—attempting to write into the annals of legend a story which needed no embellishment—and the tempering effect which chronological distance has produced; resulting in more critical and dispassionate publications. The effect of politics and political manipulation on the Irish regiments is also discussed. Sources range from memoirs published by brigade veterans in the years immediately following the war to letters and memoirs published as recently as 1996.
#541987 in Books Castle Books 2001-05Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 1.45 x 6.07 x 8.86l; #File Name: 078581308X440 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Somewhat pedestrian description of a series of Pacific battles during World War 2By N. WallachThe seventh volume in this comprehensive history focuses on the first series of opposed landings in the Pacific when the U.S. Army; Navy and Marines started taking back territory from the Japanese and were developing the techniques; tactics; doctrine; and specialized craft required for amphibious landings. As the title describes; this volume covers the recovery of the Western Aleutians (a string of islands stretching southeast from Alaska which and which Japan conquered a few months earlier and established some forward bases on); Then it moves on to the recovery of the Gilbert Island chain - including Tarawa!; and completing the circuit by describing the taking of the Marshall islands. The time period covered by this volume really goes from June 1942 until April of 1944 but that is somewhat misleading as most of the action took place in the latter half of that time period.Since this series is trying to be comprehensive; the stories of these battles must be told. Also; as this history has proven; the author was trying to be balanced in his approach and therefore he tells the stories of what went wrong as well as of the achievements. This makes for an interesting and satisfying reading; even though the nature of this book is somewhat repetitive.The recovery of the Aleutians is almost comical. The Japanese got a foothold on them and therefore the Americans felt they had to take them back. Even though both sides knew that there was no value whatsoever in those islands. The back and forth between the navies who were severely constrained by what they could get in terms of equipment from higher commands and the stories of how difficult it is to operate in those waters with the period airplanes and ships makes you wonder even more why either side bothered. There was a significant naval battle that took place which does need to be remembered; and the final evacuation of the Japanese soldiers right from under the noses of the U.S. Navy is a neat reminder that the Japanese were not completely incompetent.The next section deals with the Gilbert Islands and the most famous operation there was on Tarawa. The Marines rightly remember Tarawa as a major operation and the author does not avoid telling the story here as well. In the author's descriptions one can tell how poorly prepared and unlucky were the Marines and Navy who attempted this landing. The reasons for why the landing was almost aborted and the American troops recalled are explained and it is obvious that the planning and capabilities of the U.S. were not as sharply honed as they became later. About the best you can say about Tarawa is that the U.S. learned some very difficult lessons there; but learned them so well that from then on those mistakes were not repeated and the landings went much smoother.The story of the conquest of the Marshalls is almost repetitive. The U.S. decides to invade an atoll; occupies some small islands to the sides of the main target; lands and occupies those islands with artillery units; lands on the main targets and clears out the Japanese holed up there; and then sends small forces to all the other islands on the atoll to clear or capture the Japanese who are on those other islands - unless there are too many Japanese there and then the U.S. basically starves them out for the remainder of the war. This repetitiveness shows a war machine becoming stronger and stronger; but from the reader's point of view it is rather repetitive and boring where the only apparent changes are the names of the various islands in Micronesia.This volume was originally published in 1951 which was rather soon after the end of the war. The nature of the fighting was such that not many Japanese survived on islands that were taken by U.S. forces and so there is a dearth of information told from the Japanese side. While some anecdotes dot the story; it would be interesting to compare the Japanese version to that American one presented here.Another point that comes to light is that the U.S. war machine had gotten going in earnest during this time frame. From a landing that was almost botched because of lack of proper equipment to the end of this book when there are hundreds of craft involved and many tons of ammunition expended in softening up islands by air and sea; it is clear that the Japanese are outmatched materially and by now the war's conclusion is certain. Also; the tempo of the landings increases as you read the book which also gives the reader an indication of the industrial might that was unleashed.I decided to give this book a three star rating because of the repetitive nature of the stories told herein. While previous volumes had some very strong opinions stated and was livened up by the way the text was written; this volume lacks that. Maybe the reason is that the author and his team were not as involved in these operations so they did not have those anecdotes; opinions; and stories to share? It's not clear to me; but this book suffers in comparison with some of the others in the series which are much more fun to read. Therefore I see this book as required to the comprehensiveness of the story but not much more.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. US naval operations in the Second World WarBy Henry BrunsProfessor Morison writes in an older; more correct style of English...it is pleasing to read. His admiration for the US Navy is evident and warranted. At the time he wrote this 15 volume history of naval operations in WW II; not all the facts were known so there are some historical inaccuracies; as noted by other reviewers. Nevertheless; there are no other such histories; in such detail; available. This volume (7) deals with the Alaskan operations and those of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands earlier in the war which shaped the Navy's response to island combat. Well worth reading.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great historical readBy Bonnie MckennaBook arrived as promised and in great condition
