Meet 'Little Yankee' who returned to Cork after fighting in the American Civil War, only to be found floating in the Lee — the victim of a gruesome murder. It details the pensions awarded by the American government to Irish soldiers who fought in some of that country's biggest military campaigns — including the American Civil War, Custer’s Last Stand and the US war with Mexico. It’s the US pension system that grew out of the American Civil War." Mr Shiels says there were many more Irish pension files than those so far mapped in existence, but whose home address is yet to be established. After his death, his widow Catherine applied for and received an American pension in 1905.

Source: Irish Examiner December 30, 2025 21:30 UTC