Soooo, uhm, There wasn't an 'overt' act by the US to recruit potential service members from across the pond but maybe a little bit of the ol 'word of mouth' or letters home by those who were here might have been in play. ok, scratch that "might" part. We figured out that's probably true didn't we? The Irish were in a vulnerable position and many may well have decided that Dad or older son's going to war to earn at least some income was better than nothing. Then the rest of the family (IF they came over too) may have gained employment in a factory or some of the women or older girls worked as maids and such.

The immigration ports of entry were only open in the North because the Southern ones, such as New Orleans were in Union hand in the early part of the disagreement. The Southern ones I've encountered were NOLA, Mobile, Charleston and that hub area with Virginia and Maryland. Boston and NY were pretty much the active entry points during the war. Maybe the Union wasn't just thinking of a supply line for goods for the South when they took the Southern ports but also were thinking of the body in uniform supply count. No reenforcements a comin over the sea for the Gray. Had there been, it may have made a difference. We'll never know. I'm not including San Francisco because of the time element and I'm not sure how many different nationalities came in through that entry point.

Pam