The 69^th NYSM was an “Irish” regiment, made up, in large part of Fenians, mostly natives of Ireland, who wished to acquire the military training and experience needed to defeat the vaunted British military and bring freedom to Ireland. They saw themselves as the cadre of a future Irish rising against their country’s oppressor.

Although their 90-day enlistment had expired, at the personal request of President Abraham Lincoln, they remained in active service to fight in the coming battle.  Their colonel, Michael Corcoran, on October 11, 1860, had achieved international fame by refusing to parade the 69^th for the visiting so-called “Prince of Wales.” He was captured at Bull Run -- yet in Lang’s stunning portrait, his image appears on the front page of the newspaper being hawked by the newsboy in the painting’s lower right-hand corner.

Another dominant figure in New York’s Irish community, Thomas Francis Meagher, “Meagher of the Sword,” became commander of Company “K” (“Meagher’s Zouaves”) at Bull Run. The famed orator, and a leader of the 1848 Rising in Ireland, is seen, on horseback, near the center of the painting, doffing his hat to the cheering welcomers.  In response to Lincoln’s call for volunteers, Meagher would soon raise and command “The Irish Brigade” of the Union's Army of the Potomac. The Brigade’s first regiment would be the 69^th New York Volunteer Infantry -- drawing many from the 69^th NYSM.

The painting itself was donated to the New-York Historical Society by the artist in 1886, and remained on display until some time after the Second World War, after which it seems to have been stored away and neglected, until it was rediscovered, in pieces, in 1977.  In 2006, it was decided to assemble the jigsaw-puzzle-like painting and restore it.  A 1940s black-and-white photo of the painting, plus the original 1862 descriptive brochure from Goupil’s Gallery, were helpful to the Williamstown Art Conservation Center in Massachusetts, which was given the assignment.  After more than five years and investment of $220,000, the result is a masterpiece, which looks as if it has just been painted.  It is a treasure for all Americans.

Making American Taste exhibition features 55 works from the New-York Historical Society’s collection, each informing the history of American art and the molding of American cultural ideals from the 1830s through the 1860s. The exhibit gives pride of place to The Return of the 69th (Irish) Regiment, an oil-on-canvas work painted in 1862. The exhibition will be open through August 19, 2012, except for April 1 through May 4.

However, since the Commander of the 1^st Battalion, 69^th Infantry, Lieutenant Colonel James Gonyo, also left with a print, it is more than likely that that print will be on display by next year in the 69^th Regiment Armory, today on Lexington Avenue and 26^th Street.

“The Return of the 69^th (Irish) Regiment” -- too big to travel when the rest of the show goes on the road ­-- will be installed at the entrance to the Henry Luce III Center for the Study of American Culture, on the society’s fourth floor.  Do not miss it, or the rest of the show. WG