With the Civil War raging by 1863, all Irish regiments in the Union army looked forward to St. Patrick’s Day as a day of stress release and entertainment. Below are sketches of some of the horse racing competitions from the Irish Brigade’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities in 1863, drawn by Edwin Forbes, a landscape painter and etcher who gained fame during the Civil War for his detailed and dramatic sketches of battlefield combat scenes.
Aside from horse racing competitions, the Irish Brigade’s festivities on St. Patrick’s Day in 1863 also included the following events:
1st event: Foot race, a distance of one-half mile, best of heats. This event was open to all non-commissioned officers and privates. First place received $7. Second place received $3.
2nd event: Weight distance throwing. The weights varied between 10 and 14 pounds. The winner received $3.
3rd event: Running after the soaped pig (also referred to as a greased pig). The pig was awarded to whoever caught it.
4th event: Hurdle race, a distance of one-half mile, best of heats. This event was open to all non-commissioned officers and privates. First place received $7. Second place received $3.
5th event: Wheelbarrow race. The participants were blindfolded during this event. The winner received $5.
6th event: Jumping in sacks for a distance of 500 yards. The winner received $5.
7th event: Irish jig dancing contest. The best dancer received $5. The second best received $3. Winners were determined by three assigned judges.
Another event consisted of climbing a greased 15-foot pole, where a pass for 10 days leave waited at the top for whoever could reach it.
One soldier witnessing this event, wrote, “One tall, stout fellow made a desperate effort to lift himself from the ground, and, after trying for about half an hour, was reluctantly compelled to give up, having in that time only achieved about an inch; he looked wistfully at the paper fluttering above him, and then turned away to give room to an ambitious youngster, who succeeded in getting half way up, when, coming to a spot greasier than the rest, he began to slip, and did not pause until he came to the ground, amid the roars of the crowd.”
No one was able to obtain the pass.
There were refreshments served throughout the Irish Brigade’s St. Patrick’s Day events, which wrapped up with an award ceremony.
St. Patrick’s Day parades are normally a joyous occasion for participants and spectators. However, this was not the case for one parade in 1867. That year, the St. Patrick’s Day parade started off in high spirits in New York’s Lower East Side, an area known at the time for its slums and gang violence.
A recent snowfall had left mounds of snow along the parade route. During the event, a wagon became lodged in one of the snow mounds, holding up the rest of the parade behind it. A few participants in the parade became enraged at the holdup, rushing in and attacking the wagon driver. When a police officer stepped in to help the driver, he was “knocked down and severely injured by being trampled upon”, as was reported in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, in which the cover depicting that day’s violence is seen in the first image below.
Anger spilled over into other participants, and before long, the parade had turned into a riot. Other officers arrived and were immediately attacked by the angry mob. Rioters grabbed makeshift clubs to beat officers with, even using officers’ own clubs. One officer was wounded with a saber. In all, twenty officers were wounded that day.
More officers were sent to control the chaos and after 30 minutes were able to restore order. The New York Times reported the following day, “We trust there is no Irishman or Irish American, outside of a small lawless minority, that does not feel keenly the disgrace brought upon such celebrations as that of yesterday, by the wanton and brutal assaults upon the Police.”
The second image below, this one from Harper’s Weekly, depicts the day’s violence, with the caption, “RUM. BLOOD. THE DAY WE CELEBRATE.” This image, with its caption, was responsible for creating a stereotype throughout the country of the Irish as rowdy individuals who drink too much and who take pleasure in fighting when drunk.
