In Open Country, there are many characters like in a Russian novel but I hope they are not hard to tell apart. For instance, there is only one Irish Confederate, Owen O’Grady. Robert E. Lee once said that his favorite soldier was the Scotch-Irish who came to the U.S. by way of Ireland, “because they have all the dash of the Irish in taking a position, and all the stubbornness of the Scots in holding it.” Alright, he’s talking about the Ulster Irish and I’m writing about the ones from County Cork who have the dash, but not the stubbornness of the Scots. I have to disagree because I have been married to an Irish lady from County Cork, Connie Callahan, for 39-years. I know through experience that she has the dash and that she could hold the line as well as any Scotsman. The Irish fought for the South because they were not treated so well in the north. They were Papists. They often saw Northerners as akin to the English. Here is a tribute to those Irish:
Patrick Cleburne, one of the most famous Irish Confederates who fell at Nashville.