Green & Gray: Irish Americans in the Civil War

established families who had helped build local neighborhoods over generations, working-class urban tradespeople, and recent arrivals who had fled the Great Hunger only years before. As the country fractured, men from across all these walks of life stepped forward to put on a uniform—some wearing Union Blue, others Confederate Gray.
This presentation looks past troop movements and casualty numbers to explore the people behind the conflict. We will examine the personal motivations, local ties, and political pressures that led Irish neighbors, friends, and family members to fight on opposing sides of the battlefield.