Git Yer Irish Up

It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since our last Bull Runnings Battlefield Tour. May 11, 2019, was a fun day on the battlefield, following in the footsteps of the 69th New York State Militia (see recap here), and feedback was great. But a pandemic (and the reaction to it), job changes, well, one thing led to another. But things are looking up!

On Sunday, September 22, we will again be tromping the ground at Manassas National Battlefield Park. This time, we will be following in the footsteps of Irish soldiers in the battlefield, this time not constraining ourselves to one regiment. That’s right, Union and Confederate Irish soldiers. We’ll again be joined by longtime Friend of Bull Runnings (FOBR) Damian Shiels (pictured above), historian, author, and host of Irish in the American Civil War, who enthralled participants with his detailed accounts of participants back in 2019. Join us (I’ll be providing background at the various stops along the way) at 9 AM for what promises to be another great day on the field. Details on where to meet and park will follow. For now, let me know if you’re interested in attending this free event.

If you’re interested and want to make a weekend of it, I’ll be speaking on September 21 in the Pry Barn (above) at Antietam National Battlefield Park on the subject of one of my contributions to the Commanders of Antietam project for the Antietam Institute (see here for the whole speaker series). Come and learn about one of the more mysterious of that lot, Albert Magilton. I think you’ll enjoy it.