New York Irish Brigade – This Deathless Field

Alternate Designations:

63rd New York: Third Regiment Irish Volunteers

69th New York: First Regiment Irish Brigade

88th New York: Fifth Regiment Irish Brigade

Commander:

63rd New York: Lt. Col. Richard Bentley (1830-1871), wounded; Capt. Thomas Touhy (1833-May 30, 1864).

69th New York: Capt. Richard Moroney (ca. 1828-Dec. 29, 1865), wounded; Lt. James J. Smith (1835-1913).

88th New York: Capt. Denis F. Burke (1841-1893).

Numbers:

63rd New York: 112; 5 killed, 10 wounded, 8 missing.

69th New York: 75; 5 killed, 14 wounded, 6 missing.

88th New York: 126; 7 killed, 17 wounded, 4 missing.

Raised:

63rd New York: New York City and Albany County.

69th New York: New York City.

88th New York: New York City.

Dedicated: July 2, 1888.

Location: Located on Sickles Avenue east of the Loop.

Description: A polished Quincy granite shaft with inset bronze carved in the shape of a traditional Celtic Cross. At the top of the cross is the trefoil symbol of the 2nd Army Corps. Beneath it are five medallions with the numeric designation of the three New York regiments that made up the Irish Brigade, the New York State Seal, and the seal of Ireland. At the base lies a life-size Irish wolf hound in bronze, representing faith and devotion. The sculptor was William Rudolph O’Donovan; John H. Duncan designed the monument; and Maurice J. Powers was contractor. Monument is a 1.8×11.4 foot polished black granite Celtic Cross with a bronze ornament set on a 10.2×8 foot rough hewn base. It has bronze inscription tablets attached and a bronze likeness of a Irish wolfhound. Overall height is 19.6 foot.A bronze plaque on the right face of the base represents a section of an artillery battery in action and honors Captain James Rorty’s 14th New York Independent battery. The monument honors three New York regiments of the Irish Brigade, a unit organized by former Irish revolutionary Thomas Francis Meagher.

National Park Service List of Classified Monuments Number: MN156.

Sculptor: O’Donovan, William Rudolf, 1844-1920, sculptor; Power, Maurice J., 1838-1902, contractor; Duncan, John Hemingway, 1855-1929, architect.