Historian Damian Shiels, an expert on Irish American history and the U.S. Civil War, will bring to life the experience of Irish American soldiers fighting for the Union. Don’t miss his in-depth presentation and conversation with Senior Genealogist Melanie McComb.

Damian Shiels’s remarkable new book explores Irish American service in the United States military by analyzing the written correspondence of ordinary rank-and-file soldiers from across the Union’s armed forces. Drawn from a vast and largely untapped collection of letters penned by Irish American combatants to their families during the war, Green and Blue explains how these enlisted men navigated their duties from multiple perspectives—how they adapted to and experienced military life, engaged with their faith, and interacted with the home front. Join us and moderator Melanie McComb to learn more about Shiels’s research and findings and gain the most detailed and intimate picture yet of Irish Americans’ service in the United States military during the Civil War.

Damien Shiels is an historian and archaeologist. He has lectured and published widely on both social military history and conflict archaeology. Formerly a curator at the National Museum of Ireland, he established and runs the website irishamericancivilwar.com. Shiels’s previous books include The Irish in the American Civil War and The Forgotten Irish: Irish Emigrant Experiences in America.

Melanie McComb, Senior Genealogist at American Ancestors, assists members and visitors with family history research. She has particular expertise in Irish and Jewish genealogical research, tracing their families back to their ancestral homelands. She's also experienced in DNA and Atlantic Canada, and lectures internationally on various topics. She's a blogger known as The Shamrock Genealogist.