Following the release of her book Irish American Civil War Songs: Identity, Loyalty, and Nationhood last autumn, Associate Lecturer of American History, Dr Catherine V. Bateson, has published a chapter in Armies in Retreat: Chaos, Cohesion, and Consequences.
The Army University Press volume examines the ways in which military retreats play out, are remembered, and can be re-evaluated for modern day military understandings and scholarship through a range of historical, temporal and geographical conflicts.
Dr Bateson’s chapter “We Did Retreat but Were Not Beat”: The Irish-American Experience at Bull Run as Told through Civil War Songs considers the the first battle of the American Civil War, exploring how Irish American Union soldiers sang about their role in the battle as a form of victory despite being on the losing side.
Armies in Retreat: Chaos, Cohesion, and Consequences – included the chapter by Dr Catherine V. Bateson – is available to read online for free.