Excavating The ‘Green Redcoat’:Historical Archaeology And New Approaches To The Irish Military Tradition And Experience In The British Army, 1815-1919

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Historical Archaeology on the Island of Ireland: New Perspectives" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In the early 1980s, Peter Karsten referred to Irish soldiers in British military service as the ‘Green Redcoat’; a powerful phrase that has been used by many to identify this large group ever since. (Karsten, 1983-4: 34-6) In Irish and British military historiography, the concept of national identity has long been explored, with a trend in recent years for a re-assessment of Irish participation in the British Army.

This paper aims to consider the merit - or otherwise - of attempting to historically/archaeologically isolate an ‘ethnic’ group from a ‘regimental’ identity and assess their committment. Three examples will be addressed; the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment at Waterloo [1815], the 8th King’s (Royal Irish) Hussars at Balaklava [1854] and the 6th Royal Irish Rifles at Gallipoli [1915].

REFERENCES

Karsten, P. (1983-4), ‘Irish Soldiers in the British Army1792-1922, Suborned or Subordinate?’ Journal of Social History, vol. 17.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020   •
• Historical Archaeology on the Island of Ireland: New Perspectives

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 767