The Green and the Gray - (Civil War America) by David T Gleeson (Paperback)

About the Book

Green and the Gray: The Irish in the Confederate States of America

Book Synopsis

Why did many Irish Americans, who did not have a direct connection to slavery, choose to fight for the Confederacy? This perplexing question is at the heart of David T. Gleeson's sweeping analysis of the Irish in the Confederate States of America. Taking a broad view of the subject, Gleeson considers the role of Irish southerners in the debates over secession and the formation of the Confederacy, their experiences as soldiers, the effects of Confederate defeat for them and their emerging ethnic identity, and their role in the rise of Lost Cause ideology.
Focusing on the experience of Irish southerners in the years leading up to and following the Civil War, as well as on the Irish in the Confederate army and on the southern home front, Gleeson argues that the conflict and its aftermath were crucial to the integration of Irish Americans into the South. Throughout the book, Gleeson draws comparisons to the Irish on the Union side and to southern natives, expanding his analysis to engage the growing literature on Irish and American identity in the nineteenth-century United States.

Review Quotes

"[An] eye-opening account. . . . As [Gleeson's] analysis unfolds, there is much that will surprise, perhaps even unsettle." -- Boston Globe

"[An] important book." -- Journal of American History

"A 'must have' book for your Confederate library!" -- The Lone Star Book Review

"A remarkable achievement on a hitherto neglected subject. It is well argued, deftly written, and exhaustively researched. This book will surely become the standard text for anyone wanting to understand more about the Irish in the Confederacy." -- West Virginia History

"An extremely important and significant study. It is the most comprehensive analysis of the Irish in the Confederacy by some distance, and stands to remain so for some time to come." -- IrishAmericanCivilWar.com

"Gleeson has written an exemplary study that is at the crossroads of several different historical fields. . . [and] has provided [an] important piece in the jigsaw of nineteenth-century Irish American identity." -- Dublin Review of Books

"Gleeson persuasively demonstrates how the southern Irish readily assumed a Confederate identity but perhaps just as easily cast it aside once the Civil War ended. . . [A] solidly executed volume." -- Virginia Magazine

"Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, and general readers." -- CHOICE

"Reading Gleeson's book will reward anyone interested in these subjects." -- North Carolina Historical Review

"Well done." -- The Journal of America's Military Past