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IS THE LAND OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE IRISH ?

Home › Forums › Early America › IS THE LAND OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE IRISH ?

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  • July 25, 2010 at 2:45 pm #2303 Reply
    Everlast
    Participant

    And if the U.S owes its independence from Irish!.We know that 9 of the 56 signers of the famous declaration were Irish .The most largest ethnic group represented.Between 1/3 and 1/2 of General Washington army were Irish.George Washington said, “When our friendless standard was first unfurled for resistance, who were the strangers who first mustered around our staff? And when it reeled in fight, who more bravely sustained it than Erin's generous sons?''Sir Henry Clinton wrote home to London that, “the emigrants from Ireland are our most serious opponents.''

    July 25, 2010 at 3:56 pm #21834 Reply
    Everlast
    Participant

    I am neither American nor Irish my interest to the relationship between U.S  independence and Ireland begun when I first heard and read the U.S national anthem. I was struck by the passionate tone and hate of British in the lyrics and I found myself  turning my attention to Ireland it was in the ?80s . Somewhat it is quite strange and amazing that most of the Washington?s army is Irish.Well !I have done intensives researches on the subject and I have come to the conclusion that Cromwell successful campaigns to subdue Ireland have produce results far beyond his expectations. One of Cromwell?s legacies is the ?lost of the America?.The cruelty of the Cromwell?s army and administration led to the undercover massive exodus of Irish .This ,combined with the banishes, convicts and rascals sent to West Indies to serve as slaves .There were overseas a sizable minority of persons who hate all things British at the time . Early Irish settlers in America fled English tyranny in the old world and were determined it would not follow them to the new. Its no surprise therefore, that when separation from England was first proposed, the Irish were its most enthusiastic supporters. When the issue finally came to rebellion that support became the backbone of Washington's army.Is it coincidental if the first troubles began in Massassuchets then largely dominated by Irish.Youngters who threw rocks on the Redcoats in Boston  were probably all from Irish ancestry, the incident that led to the so-called Boston massacre and subsequent events. When British forces left Boston to destroy the rebels at Lexington and Concord, their Major Pitcairn declared, “We will drive the Yankees and Irish to cover. ” Not only were there 147 Irish among the minutemen that Apr 19, but when the `Shot Heard Round the World' was fired and the smoke cleared , among the dead were Irish who had routed Pitcairn's redcoats and given their lives in America's initial bid for independence. Those people were eager to rally behind America cause and settle their long disputes with Britain.Irish were the most devout Patriots because Ireland was also a British colony?a situation which the Irish had resisted violently for years.  Those who escaped Ireland in search of tolerance and opportunity in the New World were as ready to fight British rule in the Americas as in their homeland.  Their opposition to the English primed them for the new American cause of independence. .In July, 1775, when the Continental Congress was in need of finances, a plea was sent to the people of Ireland seeking support for the Irish in America.  Irish-born Oliver Pollock  $300,000 to help finance the revolution, and ended up in debtor's prison for his efforts.The largest ethnic group to sign the Declaration of Independence were those with Irish roots, Charles Dunlop of Co Tyrone printed the first copies, and the first man to read it before Congress was Charles Thomson of Derry ? Secretary of the Continental CongressWith the revolution underway, the Irish swelled the ranks of Washington's rebel force in record numbers.A letter from Ambrose Serle to the British Secretary of State went as far as to say, “Great numbers of Irish are in the rebel army”, and recommended that they be prohibited from leaving Ireland [sic] because “they add strength to the rebel army.” [resic] .According to Major General Marquis de Chastellux, “On more than one occasion Congress owed their existence, and America possibly her preservation to the fidelity and firmness of the Irish.”  General Henry Lee's memoirs noted that the Pennsylvania line,”might have justly been called the Line of Ireland.” Twenty generals in U.S Revolutionary Army were of Irish ancestry. Ranked among Washington's most trusted officers were Irish-born Generals Wayne, Sullivan, Irving, Shee, Lewis, Butler, Montgomery were in the thick of the battle and Commodore John Barry considered by many the father of the United States Navy, was born in County Wexford ?unforgettable in the Irish popular memory Cromwell massacres took place in Co.Wexford-. Washington's personal Secretary was Major Charles McHenry and his Irish Aides de Camp included Joseph Reed, Joseph Carey, Stephen Moylan, and John Fitzgerald indicating just how deep that trust was.As officers and as soldiers, sailors, and marines, Irish immigrants added fire to the American Revolution, a fire that ignited a flame of liberty as had never before been seen.After the war, Lord Mountjoy stated in the British Parliament, “America was lost through the action of her Irish immigrants.”George Washington acknowledged America's debt to the Irish in a letter thanking them for the part they played in winning America's independence. He wrote to the Marquis de Lafayette that “the people of Ireland need that critical moment to shake off the badges of slavery they have so long worn.”Washington and the founding fathers continuously demonstrated their trust in America's adopted Irish sons and daughters. The first U.S President wrote of their pride in accepting membership in the Friendly Sons of St PatrickIreland gave America soldiers to win her freedom, and those soldiers left another legacy in true Irish fashion. Alan Lomax, renowned American collector of folk songs noted the presence of the Irish in Washington's continental army by the songs those soldiers sang. He wrote, “If soldier's folk songs were the only evidence, it would seem that the armies that fought in the early American wars were composed entirely of Irishmen.”

    July 25, 2010 at 8:26 pm #21835 Reply
    DonaldBaker
    Participant

    America owes the Irish in more ways than one.

    July 29, 2010 at 1:31 pm #21836 Reply
    Phidippides
    Keymaster

    How does that saying go?  “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”?  So it seems that Ireland certainly may have had a dog in the fight between the Americans and British.

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