The Irish Fighting 69th Monument at Calvary Cemetery in Queens

I visited the monument erected by the veterans of the most famous Irish American regiment of the Civil War, the Fighting 69th (69th NYVI) at Calvary Cemetery in Queens, N.Y.C. Although the cemetery is a Catholic institution, during the Civil War, the City of New York bought a small plot within it to bury Irish Catholic soldiers. 21 Civil War soldiers are buried on the plot and a large monument to those who served in the war is behind the 69th monument. You can see the obelisk from the city monument in the background.

The 69th was one of the most famous regiments of the Civil War. The unit existed since at least 1849 and it is still an active military unit. In fact, those who study the U.S. involvement in Iraq are familiar with “Route Irish” in which the 69th secured the road from Baghdad to the airfield.

The 69th Regiment remains active as a National Guard unit, having most recently been deployed to Iraq (“Route Irish”). Since many current and former members of the regiment live within a couple of hours of the monument, it is not unusual to see them visiting it with their families. This is why you see flags and mementos at the monument. There are also several gatherings of veterans of the unit here such as Memorial Day and the Anniversary of Fredericksburg.

The regiment is best known to the people of New York City as the lead contingent in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade every March 17.

You can see in the photo below that while this is a military monument it also identifies the men who served as Catholic.

The 69th Monument is also used to commemorate the Civil War service of two brigades that grew out of the old 69th NYSM-The Irish Brigade and Corcoran’s Legion. Michael Corcoran had led the 69th before the war and he led it at First Bull Run. Thomas Francis Meagher joined the 69th after Fort Sumter and commanded a company during the battle. Corcoran was captured at Bull Run, becoming s national hero. Thomas Francis Meagher began organizing the Irish Brigade almost immediately. A second Irish Brigade regiment, the 88th NY, survives today as the New York Guard’s 88th Area Command.

Corcoran’s Legion was formed after Corcoran’s release.

Both Corcoran and Meagher were prominent in Irish independence struggles through most of their lives. In fact, Meagher had introduced the flag that Ireland uses today in 1848 and was sentenced to death by his British captors during an abortive uprising..

In this close-up you can see the two Irish Wolf Hounds on the monument. I took this picture in 2018. Even today the regiment marches with a wolfhound.

The Irish wolfhound is one of the tallest dogs. It often weighs two hundred pounds. The Irish say that these dogs are “Gentle when stroked, but fierce when provoked.”

Thomas Francis Corcoran was the regiment’s colonel at the start of the war. He was denounced in the press for refusing to parade his regiment in honor of the Prince of Wales, who was visiting New York in 1860. Just a decade after the Great Famine, many Irish immigrants viewed the English Royal Family as responsible for what is now called genocide after a million Irish perished. Corcoran was arraigned for a court marshal at the time that Fort Sumter was fired on, but his cooperation in mobilizing Irish immigrants for the army led to him commanding the 69th in the field at the First Bull Run. After his release, the Colonel raised Corcoran’s Legion which was assigned to the Army of the Potomac.

The unit became part of the Rainbow Division during World War I (“The World’s War in France”) and the monument records its battles. The monument was erected just two years after the war. Later, after World War II, those battles were added.

The monument also records those members of the 69th buried in its little plot of soil here with the years they died.

As the photo above shows, the sculptor Patrick Horan was a member of the regiment.

The back of the monument says simply “69.”

From the monument there is a little straight path down the hill.

Calvary has nearly three million bodies buried here and it has more “permanent residents” than any cemetery in the United States.

Here is a photo of the Fredericksburg commemoration in December, 2018. The tall monument on the left is the NYC Civil War memorial. Standing in front of it is the 69th NYVI color guard. The soldiers in camo are from the 88th (also an Irish Brigade unit). Behind them, on the right, is the back of the 69th NY monument.

After any visit to the cemetery I like to end the day with a bite to eat and a stout. This is the Bantry Bay, the local Hibernian bar.

The pub is at Greenpoint Ave. and Bradley Ave.

Myself and my Guinness.