National Guard To Honor Civil War’s Irish Brigade Soldiers

MENANDS, N.Y. (AP) — Members of the New York Army National Guard will pay tribute to New Yorkers who fought in the Union Army's Irish Brigade during the Civil War.

Soldiers in the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment will hold a wreath-laying ceremony Sunday morning at the Grand Army of the Republic monument in the Soldier's Lot in Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands.

They'll also place small Irish and American flags on the graves of Civil War soldiers who fought in mostly Irish volunteer regiments.

Irish Brigade soldiers fought in some of the war's bloodiest battles, including Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg.

The ceremony is being held a week before the 69th Infantry marches in New York City's St. Patrick's Day Parade. The unit is based at Manhattan's Lexington Avenue armory.