#OnThisDay 1863 At the Battle of Gettysburg, the Pennsylvanian 69th Irish Regiment bore the brunt of Pickett’s Charge engaging in hand to hand combat. The 69th lost 143 men from 268. Despite being almost surrounded, they held the line & pushed the Rebs back.
#OnThisDay 1916 Among the thousands of casualties from the 36th Ulster Division at the Battle of the Somme were these Royal Irish Rifles men from Belfast:
Rflm John Ritchie 22
Rflm John Bashford 20
Rflm Robert Brown 18
#OnThisDay 1863 The Irish Brigade fought at the Battle of Gettysburg. Lead by Galway born Colonel Patrick Kelly, the already much depleted brigade lost 198 of 532 troops engaged, or 37% of total soldiers, but still held their ground at the Wheatfield.
#OnThisDay 1798 Fr. John Murphy, the leader of the Wexford rebels, was stripped, flogged, hanged, decapitated, his corpse burnt in a barrel of tar & his head impaled on a spike. This was meant to be a warning to all others who fought against the British Crown.
#OnThisDay 1916 At the Battle of the Somme, the three Donaldson brothers from Comber, Co. Down, went over the top. Serving with B Company 13th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles, all three brothers, John, James &Samuel were killed in action. They have no known grave
The Irish at War 