{"id":726,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:48:37","latitude":41.70172699999999821329765836708247661590576171875,"longitude":-86.2423923000000058891600929200649261474609375,"title":"The Irish, the Civil War, and South Bend","subtitle":"The Fighting Irish’s Legacy","fullsize":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/5e295330519f6253d2cd6891be429af4.jpg","address":"","all_locations":[],"zoom":8,"creator":["Kaitlyn Leib"],"description":"L’Université de Notre Dame du Lac (the University of our Lady of the Lake) was founded in 1842 by eight members, led by the French priest Reverend Edward Sorin; all eight were a part of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Though Father Sorin was French, four members of the founding group were Irish. In 1844, the University of Notre Dame received an official charter from the Indiana legislation. Students from the University of Notre Dame are collectively known as the “Fighting Irish.”<br />\r\n<br />\r\nThe Fighting Irish nickname originally referenced the Irish immigrant Union soldiers who fought during the Civil War. Many of them were a part of the 69th New York Regiment, also known as the Irish Brigade due to its high percentage of Irish soldiers. Indiana boasted two regiments that had a high percentage of Irish soldiers: the 35th Indiana Regiment and the 61st Indiana Regiment (the 61st merged with the 35th in 1862). The University of Notre Dame had a number of students, alumni, and staff who joined the Union Army. Reverend William Corby was a priest at the University who became an army chaplain for the Irish Brigade. Soldiers remembered Father Corby for giving the Brigade absolution or forgiveness of their sins during the war. Father Corby went on to become the third president of the University. Another Notre Dame priest, Father Peter P. Cooney, was a part of the 35th Indiana. The Irish Brigade’s valor and bravery in multiple battles despite high casualties resulted in others recognizing and distinguishing them as fierce fighters.<br />\r\n<br />\r\nDespite the Irish veterans’ prominence and earned respect, the Irish throughout Indiana, especially in South Bend, were often of a lower social status. In 1870, South Bend’s Irish population owned less property than other European immigrants. Low income resulted in limited social mobility. Whether or not the Fighting Irish nickname comes from the Irish Civil War soldiers, Irish immigrants were present in South Bend’s history and their legacy continues into the present.","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"","lede":"","website":"","related_resources":["“Absolution Under Fire.” Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame. ThinkND<br />\r\nBlog. Accessed April 27, 2025. https://think.nd.edu/absolution-under-fire/.","Blantz, Thomas E. University of Notre Dame: A History. South Bend: University of Notre Dame<br />\r\nPress, 2020.","Giffin, William W. The Irish. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 2006.","“History.” University of Notre Dame. Accessed April 27, 2025.<br />\r\nhttps://www.nd.edu/about/history/.","O’Shaughnessy, Brendan. “What’s in a Name: How Notre Dame became the Fighting Irish.”<br />\r\nOffice of Public Affairs and Communication, University of Notre Dame. Accessed April 27, 2025. https://www.nd.edu/stories/whats-in-a-name/.","Rodgers, Thomas E. “Hoosier Soldiers in the Civil War.” Indiana Historical Bureau.<br />\r\nhttps://www.in.gov/history/about-indiana-history-and-trivia/annual-commemorations/civil-war-150th/hoosier-voices-now/hoosier-soldiers-in-the-civil-war/.","“Thomas Francis Meagher.” American Battlefield Trust. Accessed April 27, 2025.<br />\r\nhttps://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/thomas-francis-meagher."],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/5e295330519f6253d2cd6891be429af4.jpg":{"id":3449,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Rev. Edward Sorin","description":"Father Edward Sorin is credited with founding the University of Notre Dame in South Bend. Father Sorin led seven others in a missionary group from France to the United States. Together, the group established the university, erected buildings with the help of other settlers, and began teaching their enrolled students. | “The Journey to Found Notre Dame,” The University of Notre Dame, trail.nd.edu","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/5e295330519f6253d2cd6891be429af4.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/5fde2c8fc1b29c801751da4daa770360.jpg":{"id":3450,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Brigade Chaplains","description":"This 1862 picture of men from the Irish Brigade includes three brigade chaplains. Father Patrick Dillon (back left), Father James Dillon (front middle), and Father William Corby (front right) were all priests from the University of Notre Dame serving in the Irish Brigade. | Library of Congress | 1862 | Alexander Gardner","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/5fde2c8fc1b29c801751da4daa770360.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/a16153bb868c76f0562418ff570cde27.jpg":{"id":3451,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Corby’s Absolution","description":"This painting by Paul Henry Wood titled Absolution Under Fire was created in 1891. It depicts Father William Corby’s speech to the Irish Brigade where he forgave the group for their sins. Father Corby recalls this moment in his book Memoirs of Chaplain Life: Three Years with the Irish Brigade in the Army of the Potomac. A statue of Father Corby stands at Gettysburg as well. | Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame | 1891 | Paul Henry Wood","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/a16153bb868c76f0562418ff570cde27.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/6bba56ae136374771084b1da3241cdd4.jpg":{"id":3452,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"The Founding","description":"This engraving by Francis Xavier Ackermann interprets what Father Edward Sorin and his missionary group may have looked like upon arrival at the future spot of the University of Notre Dame. | University of Notre Dame Archives | 1842 | Francis Xavier Ackermann","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/6bba56ae136374771084b1da3241cdd4.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/5ce6b9bc17cd402813fbe735cc5134ce.jpg":{"id":3453,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Peter P. Cooney","description":"In this image, Father Peter P. Cooney is depicted in front of Indiana troops. As a chaplain for the 35th Indiana Regiment, Father Cooney would have been a religious leader for the soldiers, helping them keep faith throughout the war by delivering sermons and performing necessary religious rites, especially in the case of death. | c. 1877 | American Oleograph Co.","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/5ce6b9bc17cd402813fbe735cc5134ce.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/fe42f4f9a01e29c1d478a711093bf508.jpg":{"id":3454,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"35th Monument","description":"This monument for the 35th Indiana Regiment stands in the Holy Cross and Saint Joseph Cemetery in Indianapolis. The monument reads: “1st Irish of Indiana, 35th Volunteer Infantry. In faithful remembrance of the sacrifices by the sons of Erin in the War for the Union, 1861-1865.” | Brian Henry, Wikimedia Commons","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/fe42f4f9a01e29c1d478a711093bf508.jpg"}}}