THE IRISH AT ANTIETAM

• Introduction
• "The Deadliest Day": The Battle of Antietam
• Dispatches from the 140th
• Antietam Narrative of "Gallowglass," The Irish American, October 1862 (6 Parts)
• WGT Antietam Edition Quiz (Best of Three Face-Off)
• The Irish Brigade Monument Unveiling (WGT Archives), October 1997
• Selection of Books and Videos About Antietam
• WGT Antietam Edition Poll: What drove the Irish to enlist?
• Call To Arms: Battlefield Preservation
• Sponsors

PART 1 of 6: OUT OF THE MIST

The Irish American, October 11, 1862 

Wednesday morning the mists rolled slowly away from the hills behind us, leaving our position and that of the enemy, which was in the front, still enveloped and enwreathed as with a cloud,through which there was no sun to pierce. At last, however, the fog rolled itself up into huge voluminous, cloudlike folds, and floated away from us. I do not know where, yet, leaving the enemy enwrapped as it were, in stillness, mystery, darkness..

From the heights whereon Richardson's Division was, a fine view of the salient points of the battlefield was had. On our right where Hooker was stationed, a point of the woods of much importance, jutted out, an open space mostly cornfield, intervened, and a corresponding piece of timber, opposite to the one first mentioned, was occupied by the Confederates.

Between our point of observation and the hills held by the enemy, a clear open country, great fields of corn, grassy slopes, rich bottom-lands extended. At many places and in all directions were comfortable homesteads with well-filled outhouses, and many evidences of comfort and contentment.

On the right as early as five o'clock, Hooker opened the game; the 20-pounder Parrotts at the centre, which we were supporting, also began their fire, and kept it up with force and fury. On the left there was an ominous and dead silence. The fire of the artillery is tremendous--advances are made through the fields under the shells from our guns, the farmhouse take fire, and the fierce red flames licking and spreading over all the buildings and fences, burn brightly and blaze steadily while the fight goes on. Flocks of skirmishers advance and retire; move to the right and to the left with varying fortune, and with some speed, accelerated by the enthusiastic cannoneers who watch with intense emotion the effect of the fire and give vent to their feelings by an occasional cheer and increased activity.

There goes from the point in the woods mentioned above, toward the corresponding point held by us, a brigade of the rebels in line. Out into the open field they march with precision and steadiness, the shot and shell flying around them; steadily onward they move, they gain the woods, they disappear within the trees. There goes the thundering and thrilling fire of musketry; for minutes the dark woods sway to and fro in the dull gray morning light, with the detonation and discharges. Then out of the woods, at precisely the place they entered, come two or three bearing a wounded comrade or commander; then some few cowardly scoundrels fly from their ranks back to their old shelter beyond the hills.

While you are looking, the musketry increases for a moment, dies away, and then pell-mell, at full speed, without order, without steadiness, without precision, broken, scattered, no two of them together, flying go the remains of the rebel brigade, that just now advanced, retreating toward their own lines. Two or three mounted officers gallop desperately about the field; in vain they wave their swords; in vain they shout or try to stop the rout. Hooker is driving them like sheep before him. This, remember, is away on the right, the guns from the centre playing upon the broken battalions, the left still preserving an unbroken dead silence. It is a pity it is so early in the day, else that success might have affected materially the fortunes of the day, and made them more speedily decisive.

In a few minutes after the first symptoms of the rebels' panic, Capt. McMahon, of General Richardson's staff rides up with orders and confirmatory intelligence of Hooker's success toward the right. The Division moves off by the rear to the right, the Irish Brigade leading.

Today we shall form the first line of the Division and long before night many a strange story will have been told. Many who are now advancing with bounding and buoyant steps, to the hot conflict, will have solved the mystery of life and death, and of the vast and wonderful spaces, which be beyond the boundaries of sight and sense, which we always call eternity. We march some distance than turn to the left, cross the small stream, the regiments are forming in line, ready to move off the flank-halt between the hollows of two hills. The advance is made once more, this time coming nearer and nearer to the dreadful and deafening discharges of musketry ahead. ... (To be continued.)

EDITOR'S NOTE: This series was compiled and edited by WGT Contributing Editor Mike Kane, e-mail: mkane@thewildgeese.com, from microfilm and produced by Ger Regan and Joe Gannon. The text was occasionally broken into paragraphs not indicated in the original columns of The Irish American, and punctuation added, for ease of reading. The headline on the story of October 11, 1862 was "ANTIETAM," while the reporting of "Gallowglass" in the October 18th issue reads "ANTIETAM-THE DEAD OF THE BRIGADE": "BY OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT". Both accounts ran on Page 2. Part 6 ran on Page 2 of The Irish American's Nov. 1, 1862 edition, headlined "The Irish Brigade and Its Losses."