'To live and die [for] Dixie': Irish civilians and the Confederate States of America

Around 20,000 Irishmen served in the Confederate army in the Civil War. As a result, they left behind, in various Southern towns and cities, large numbers of friends, family, and community leaders. As with native-born Confederates, Irish civilian support was crucial to Irish participation in the Confederate military effort. Also, Irish civilians served in various supporting roles: in factories and hospitals, on railroads and diplomatic missions, and as boosters for the cause. They also, however, suffered in bombardments, sieges, and the blockade. Usually poorer than their native neighbours, they could not afford to become 'refugees' and move away from the centres of conflict. This essay, based on research from manuscript collections, contemporary newspapers, British Consular records, and Federal military records, will examine the role of Irish civilians in the Confederacy, and assess the role this activity had on their integration into Southern communities. It will also look at Irish civilians in the defeat of the Confederacy, particularly when they came under Union occupation. Initial research shows that Irish civilians were not as upset as other whites in the South about Union victory. They welcomed a return to normalcy, and often 'collaborated' with Union authorities. Also, Irish desertion rates in the Confederate army were particularly high, and I will attempt to gauge whether Irish civilians played a role in this. All of the research in this paper will thus be put in the context of the Drew Gilpin Faust/Gary Gallagher debate on the influence of the Confederate homefront on military performance. By studying the Irish civilian experience one can assess how strong the Confederate national experiment was. Was it a nation without a nationalism

A model for uranium, rhenium, and molybdenum diagenesis in marine sediments based on results from coastal locations

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2009. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 73 (2009): 2938-2960, doi:10.1016/j.gca.2009.02.029.The purpose of this research is to characterize the mobilization and immobilization processes that control the authigenic accumulation of uranium (U), rhenium (Re) and molybdenum (Mo) in marine sediments. We analyzed these redox– sensitive metals (RSM) in benthic chamber, pore water and solid phase samples at a site in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, U.S.A., which has high bottom water oxygen concentrations (230–300 mol/L) and high organic matter oxidation rates (390 mol C/cm2/y). The oxygen penetration depth varies from 2–9 mm below the sediment–water interface, but pore water sulfide is below detection (< 2M). The RSM pore water profiles are modeled with a steady–state diagenetic model that includes irrigation, which extends 10–20 cm below the sediment–water interface. To present a consistent description of trace metal diagenesis in marine sediments, RSM results from sediments in Buzzards Bay are compared with previous research from sulfidic sediments (Morford et al., GCA 71). Release of RSM to pore waters during the remineralization of solid phases occurs near the sediment–water interface at depths above the zone of authigenic RSM formation. This release occurs consistently for Mo at both sites, but only in the winter for Re in Buzzards Bay and intermittently for U. At the Buzzards Bay site, Re removal to the solid phase extends to the bottom of the profile, while the zone of removal is restricted to ~2–9 cm for U and Mo. Authigenic Re formation is independent of the anoxic remineralization rate, which is consistent with an abiotic removal mechanism. The rate of authigenic U formation and its modeled removal rate constant increase with increasing anoxic remineralization rates, and is consistent with U reduction being microbially mediated. Authigenic Mo formation is related to the formation of sulfidic microenvironments. The depth and extent of Mo removal from pore water is closely associated with the balance between iron and sulfate reduction and the consumption of pore water sulfide via iron sulfide formation. Pore water RSM reach constant asymptotic concentrations in sulfidic sediments, but only pore water Re is constant at depth in Buzzards Bay. The increases in pore water U at the Buzzards Bay site are consistent with addition via irrigation and subsequent upward diffusion to the removal zone. Deep pore water Mo concentrations exceed its bottom water concentration due to irrigation–induced oxidation and remobilization from the solid phase. In sulfidic sediments, there is no evidence for higher pore water U or Mo concentrations at depth due to the absence of irrigation and/or the presence of more stable authigenic RSM phases. There are good correlations between benthic fluxes and authigenic accumulation rates for U and Mo in sulfidic sediments. However, results from Buzzards Bay suggest irrigation ultimately results in the partial loss of U and Mo from the solid phase, with accumulation rates that are 20–30% of the modeled flux. Irrigation can augment (Re, possibly U) or compromise (U, Mo) authigenic accumulation in sediments, and is important when determining burial rates in continental margin sediments.The authors also acknowledge financial support from the National Science Foundation (JLM, WRM: OCE–0220892), Research Corporation (JLM, CMC), Franklin & Marshall College, and the Hackman Summer Research Program at F&M

Theories of American Imperialism: A Critical Evaluation

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68828/2/10.1177_048661347400600303.pd