Soldiers on the front lines of a war often have more in common with the soldiers on the other side than they do with the people who sent them to war. A soldier’s side often depends on which side of the border he was born. This was even more dramatic with the thousands of Irish who fought in America’s Civil War. The Irish left Ireland in droves in the 1840s and 1850s, boarded ships and sailed to America. They did not know where in America they were going – it was enough that they were going somewhere there.
On which side an Irish-born soldier fought depended on where the ship from Liverpool, or other Irish or British ports, landed. Those who landed in a northern port – most often New York, Boston, or Philadelphia – fought in the Union army. Those who landed in a southern port – most often New Orleans, Savannah, or Charleston – fought for the Confederates.
New York was the largest port of entry for Irish immigrants throughout the 19th Century. Before the Civil War, New Orleans was the second. New Orleans was the least expensive fare for the crossing. Cotton was America’s largest export during this period, with much of it going to Liverpool for England’s cotton mills. Since America imported less than it exported from Britain, many ships were refitted in Liverpool for Irish passengers. This story is told in The Cornfield. Over 400,000 Irish disembarked at the Port of New Orleans from 1846 to 1859. Many took steamboats up the Mississippi River for points north and west. But by 1860, one of every five residents of New Orleans was Irish. During and after the war, Boston became the second most frequent port of entry for Irish immigrants.
Over 200,000 Irish Americans fought in the war. There may be 200,000 reasons why they fought at all. But for whom they fought? That depended, in large part, upon their port of entry into America.