tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8262783067993808760.post2338603010818864897..comments2023-09-29T06:18:27.221-07:00Comments on Cosmic America: What's With the Irish Brigade? (Obligatory - and late - St. Patrick's
Day Post)M. Keith Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02444898713867430753noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8262783067993808760.post-86950355647265569242011-03-18T23:53:00.000-07:002011-03-18T23:53:00.000-07:00I entirely agree with the disproportionate focus o...I entirely agree with the disproportionate focus on the Irish Brigade, but it seems inevitable, given the emphasis many Americans place on their Irish lineage, even when it's only a fragment of their genealogical makeup. Along with the Scots, the thread of Celtic self-identity runs very strong in this country, and there's a big crossover of folks who celebrate their Scots and Confederate lineage simultaneously, sometimes with <a href="http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff147/riverkilt/Z%20Misc%20Pics/ConfederateMemorialRobsmall.jpg" rel="nofollow">less-than-optimal results</a>. (Though I've never seen anyone with a button reading, "Kiss me, I'm Scots! And I just had haggis!")<br><br>But there are other examples bound up by a sense of distinct cultural that are not so explicitly ethnic as the Irish Brigade. Look at the <a href="http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/5172/40730056.jpg" rel="nofollow">Texas Brigade</a> on the other side -- a unit that was genuinely in the think of it at several major battles and in a score of smaller ones -- but even so probably one whose reputation today derives as much from its cultural identity as from its performance on the field.Andy Hallhttp://deadconfederates.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8262783067993808760.post-89544681990288135252011-03-19T00:42:12.000-07:002011-03-19T00:42:12.000-07:00Hey! We all love the Irish and what is more pictu...Hey! We all love the Irish and what is more picturesque than that beautiful green flag?James Swanhttp:www.chicagosirishlegion.comnoreply@blogger.com