The selections below illustrate the lives of Irish Catholic Immigrants in the U.S.:

• Letters written to Rev. John Hughes by Kirwan (pseudonym for Protestant admirer Nicolas Murray), ca. 1847, New York City. Pages45-46 speak about the Irish as a mass of the poor and suggests involvement by the Catholic Church in keeping them superstitious.  However, most of the letters praise the Archbishop’s defense of the faith and work in his community.
• Rev. John Hughes sermon about the Irish Potato Famine and the need for U.S. sympathy and aid, 1847.

These sources provide information about the Irish Catholic involvement in the U.S. military:

• Reports by the leader of the 69^th regiment in the Civil War, the Irish brigade, at different battles.  The reports illustrate the motivations of some Irish immigrants during the Civil War.
  • Antietam 
  • Fair Oaks 
  • Gettysburg 
  • Fredricksburg 

These are sources on the draft riots in NYC, 1863:

• "The Great Riot" Continental Monthly, 1863.  A newspaper account of the draft riots which shows suspicion of Catholics at the time and describes the role of religion (The article is the eleventh one on the page).