Flight of the Wild Geese: Difference between revisions

{{useUse dmy dates|date=MayFebruary 20132022}}

[[Image:Uniform and colonel’s flag of the Hibernia Regiment.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Uniform and colonel's flag of the [[Regiment of Hibernia]] in Spanish service, mid-eighteenth century]]

[[File:Portumna castle.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Portumna castle]]. Wild Geese heritage museum.]]

[[Image:Regimiento de Infantería Irlanda.jpg|thumb|right|200pxupright|Picture displaying the uniform of the ''Regimiento de Infantería Irlanda'']]

<blockquote>that every year Your Highness should order to recruit in Ireland some Irish soldiers, who are people tough and strong, and nor the cold weather or bad food could kill them easily as they would with the Spanish, as in their island, which is much colder than this one, they are almost naked, they sleep on the floor and eat oats bread, meat and water, without drinking any wine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tcd.ie/CISS/mmspain.php|title=Irish and Scottish Military Migration to Spain|publisher=[[Trinity College, Dublin]]|date=13 February 2008|access-date=26 May 2008}}</ref></blockquote>

During the 18th century, Spain's Irish regiments saw service not only in Europe but also in the Americas. As examples, the Irlanda Regiment (raised 1698) was stationed in Havana from 1770 to 1771, the Ultonia Regiment (raised 1709) in Mexico from 1768 to 1771, and the Hibernia [[Regiment of Hibernia]] (raised 1709) in Honduras from 1782 to 1783.<ref>{{cite book| last = Chartrand | first = Rene | title = The Spanish Army in North America | date = 20 November 2011 | isbn = 978-1-84908-598-4 | pages = 17, 19, 39}}</ref>

At the time of the [[Napoleonic Wars]] all three of these Irish infantry regiments still formed part of the Spanish army. Heavy losses and recruiting difficulties diluted the Irish element in these units, although the officers remained of Irish ancestry. The Hibernia Regiment had to be reconstituted with Galician recruits in 1811 and ended the war as an entirely Spanish corps.<ref>{{cite book| last = Chartrand | first = Rene| title = Spanish Army of the Napoleonic Wars (2) 1808–1812 |isbn date = 13 85532August 7652010|isbn = 978-1-85532-765-8 | page = 17| publisher = Bloomsbury USA}}</ref> All three regiments were finally disbanded in 1818 on the grounds that insufficient recruits, whether Irish or other foreigners, were forthcoming.<ref>{{cite book|last = McLaughlin | first = Mark G | title = The Wild Geese{{spaced ndash}} The Irish Brigades of France and Spain| date = 15 June 1980 | isbn = 0 -85045 -358 -5 |pages = 27, 32| publisher = Bloomsbury USA }}</ref>

[[File:Brigade irlandaise.jpg|thumb|300pxupright=1.2|Flags of the Irish regiments in French service]]

France recruited many foreign soldiers during various periods; Germans, Italians, [[Walloons]]Irish, Scottish and Swiss. André Corvisier, the authority on French military archives, estimates that foreigners accounted for around 12% of all French troops in peacetime and 20% of troops during warfare.<ref name="tcd">{{cite web|url=http://www.tcd.ie/CISS/mercenaries/index.php|title=Soldiers of the Irish Regiments in French Service, 1691–1791|publisher=[[Trinity College, Dublin]]|date=12 December 2006|access-date=13 June 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317234353/http://www.tcd.ie/CISS/mercenaries/index.php|archive-date=17 March 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In common with the other foreign troops the Irish regiments were paid more than their French counterparts. Both Irish and Swiss regiments in French service wore red uniforms, though this had no connection with the [[Red coat (military uniform)|redcoats]] of the British army.<ref>{{cite book| authorslast1 = Funcken, |first1= Liliane; |last2= Funcken, |first2= Fred |date = 1975 | title = L'Uniforme et les Armes des Soldats de La Guerre en Dentelle | publisherlocation = Tournai: | publisher =[[Casterman]] | isbn = 2-203-14315-0}}</ref>

The crucial turning point came during the [[Williamite War in Ireland]] (1688–91), when [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] gave military and financial aid to the Irish [[Jacobitism|Jacobites]]. In 1690, in return for 6,000 French troops that were shipped to Ireland, Louis demanded 6,000 Irish recruits for use in the [[Nine Years' War]] against the Dutch. Five regiments, led by Justin McCarthy, Viscount Mountcashel formed the nucleus of Mountcashel's French [[Irish Brigade (French)|Irish Brigade]]. A year later, after the Irish Jacobites under [[Patrick Sarsfield]] agreed to favorablefavourable peace terms and capitulated at the [[Treaty of Limerick]] in 1691, the fully armed and equipped Irish Army withdrew to France.{{sfn|McGarry|2013|p=64-5}}

During the [[Seven Years' War]] efforts were made to find recruits from among Irish prisoners of war or deserters from the British Army. Otherwise, recruitment was limited to a trickle of Irish volunteers who were able to make their own way to France, or from the sons of former members of the Irish Brigade who had remained in France. During the Seven Years' War, the Irish Regiments in French service were: Bulkeley, Clare, Dillon, Rooth, Berwich and Lally. Additionally, there was a regiment of cavalry: ''Fitzjames''. By the end of the 18th century, even the officers of the Irish Regiments were drawn from Franco-Irish families who had settled in France for several generations. While often French in all but name, such families retained their Irish heritages.{{sfn|Lyons|2008|p=55-60}}

Following the outbreak of the [[French Revolution]], the Irish Brigade ceased to exist as a separate entity on 21 July 1791 when the 12 non-Swiss foreign regiments then in existence were integrated into the line infantry of the French Army. Although the remaining Irish regiments: Dillon's, Berwick's and Walsh's, lost their distinctive red uniforms and separate status, they were still known informally by their traditional titles. Many individual Franco-Irish officers left the service in 1792 when [[Louis XVI]] was deposed, as their oath of loyalty was to him and not to the French nation.

In 1803 [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] raised a light infantry Irish unit composed mainly of veterans of the [[Irish Rebellion of 1798]]. Napoleon's [[Irish Legion]] originally comprised one under-strength battalion but it was later raised to a regiment comprising four battalions and a regimental depot or headquarters. The Legion was designated as a distinctly Irish unit from its establishment. The intention was that the Legion would spearhead an invasion of Ireland, supported by French troops.{{sfn|McGarry|2013|p=194-5}} The unit was dressed in emerald-green uniforms faced with gold and received their regimental colour of a gold harp in each corner on a green background inscribed with "Le Premier Consul aux Irlandos Uni" ("The First Consul to United Ireland") and on the obverse; "Liberte des Conscience/Independence d'Irlande" ("Freedom of Conscience/Independence to Ireland"). In December 1804 they received a new Colour and Napoleon's cherished bronze-cast Imperial Eagle.{{sfn|McGarry|2013|p=196}} Many officers from the ancien régime Irish Brigade also joined the unit, where it gained distinction in the [[Walcheren Expedition]] in the Low Countries and during the [[Peninsular War]], in particular during the Siege of Astorga (1812) where an Irish detachment of elite voltiguersvoltigeurs formed the "forelornforlorn hope" and led the assault battalion, comprising the 47th Regiment of the Line, which stormed through the breach, taking cover all night under heavy fire inside the city's walls. By morning the Spanish surrendered as they were out of ammunition. The last Irish huzzah on the Continent was during the Siege of Antwerp (1814), when the Irish regiment defended the city for three months against a British force who had landed in the Low Countries to defeat Napoleon. The siege was lifted after Napoleon's abdication and the Irish unit was shortly afterwards disbanded, ending a 125-year-old Irish military tradition in France.{{sfn|McGarry|2013|p=213}}

Despite being less studied, the ancient and traditional "''mestiere delle armi''" in Italy was also a well-known profession by the Irish. The "''tercio''" of Lucas Taf (around 500 men) served in Milan towards 1655. The Army of Savoy included also Irishmen, but in Italy, the Irish were organized basically by the Spanish administration. In 1694, another regiment in Milan was exclusively composed byof Irishmen. Around 3–4% of a total of 20,000 men were Irish in the Spanish Army of Milan. It is not a high figure, but it was important as regards quality. In this context, [[James Fitz-James Stuart, 2nd Duke of Berwick|James Francis Fitz-James Stuart (1696–1739), Duke of Berwick and of Liria]] is just one example of this success. He began to serve the monarchy in 1711 and succeeded in becoming General Lieutenant (1732), ambassador in Russia, in Austria and in Naples, where he died.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.tcd.ie/CISS/mercenaries/spanish/index.php | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070322123820/http://www.tcd.ie/CISS/mercenaries/spanish/index.php | title = Soldiers of the Irish Regiments in Spanish Service, 1580–1818 | publisher = TCD |archive-date=22 March 2007 }}</ref> In 1702, an Irish grenadier company led by Francis Terry entered Venetian service. This company of [[Jacobitism|Jacobite]] exiles served at Zara until 1706. Colonel Terry became the Colonel of a Venetian Dragoon Regiment, which the Terry family mostly commanded until 1797. Colonel Terry's Dragoons uniforms were red -faced blue in the Irish tradition. The Limerick Regiment, of Irish Jacobites, transferred from Spanish service to that of the [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]] king of [[Sicily]] in 1718.

Throughout this period, there were also substantial numbers of Irish officers and men in the armies or service of European powers, including the Austrian [[Habsburg Monarchymonarchy|Habsburg Empire]].{{sfn|Newerkla|2020|p=5}}{{sfn|Riviere|2000|p=121}} It was not uncommon for Irish commanders of the Habsburg Empire to encounter enemy armies led by other Irishmen, Irishmen who they would have previously fought alongside in rebellions against [[British rule in Ireland]]. One such example was [[Peter Lacy]], a [[field marshal]] in the Imperial Russian Army, whose son [[Franz Moritz von Lacy|Franz Moritz Graf von Lacy]] excelled in the Austrian service.{{sfn|Harvey|1988|p=5}} General [[Maximilian Ulysses Browne|Maximilian Ulysses Graf von Browne]], the Austrian commanding officer in the [[Battle of Lobositz]], was also of Irish descent.<ref>[[Stefan Michael Newerkla|Newerkla, Stefan Michael]] (2019). "Die irischen Reichsgrafen von Browne-Camus in russischen und österreichischen Diensten. Vom Vertrag von Limerick (1691) bis zum Tod ihres Hausfreunds Ludwig van Beethoven (1827)" [The Irish Imperial Counts of Browne-Camus in Russian and Austrian Service. From the Treaty of Limerick (1691) to the Death of their House Friend Ludwig van Beethoven (1827)]. In: Lazar Fleishman, [[Stefan Michael Newerkla]] & Michael Wachtel (eds.), ''Скрещения судеб. Literarische und kulturelle Beziehungen zwischen Russland und dem Westen. A Festschrift for Fedor B. Poljakov'' (= Stanford Slavic Studies, Volume 49). Berlin: Peter Lang. {{ISBN|978-3-631-78385-6}}, pp. 47–50.</ref> Recruitment for Austrian service included areas of the midlands of Ireland, and members of the [[Viscount Taaffe|Taaffe]], O'Neill and Wallis families served with Austria.{{sfn|O'Hart|1878|p=653}} Count Alexander O'Nelly (O'Neill), who came from Ulster, commanded the 42nd Bohemian Infantry Regiment from 1734 to 1743. Much earlier, in 1634, during the [[Thirty Years' War]], Irish officers led by Walter Deveraux assassinated general [[Albrecht von Wallenstein]] on the orders of the Emperor. In the late 18th and throughout the 19th century, further Irish officers served in the Habsburg Empire, so [[Andreas O'Reilly von Ballinlough]] (1742–1832),<ref>[[Stefan Michael Newerkla|Newerkla, Stefan Michael]] (2020). "Das irische Geschlecht O'Reilly und seine Verbindungen zu Österreich und Russland" [The Irish O'Reilly family and their connections to Austria and Russia]. In: ''Diachronie – Ethnos – Tradition: Studien zur slawischen Sprachgeschichte'' [Diachrony – Ethnos – Tradition: Studies in Slavic Language History]. Eds. Jasmina Grković-Major, Natalia B. Korina, [[Stefan Michael Newerkla|Stefan M. Newerkla]], Fedor B. Poljakov, Svetlana M. Tolstaja. Brno: Tribun EU. {{ISBN|978-80-263-1581-0}}, pp. 265–267, [https://uscholar.univie.ac.at/o:1405256 (accessible online)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221025162529/https://uscholar.univie.ac.at/detail/o:1405256 |date=25 October 2022 }}</ref> whose military service extended through the [[Seven Years' War]], the [[War of the Bavarian Succession]], the [[Austro-Turkish War (1787–1791)|Austro-Turkish War]], the [[French Revolutionary Wars]], and the [[Napoleonic Wars]], furthermore [[Laval Nugent von Westmeath|Laval Graf Nugent von Westmeath]] and [[Maximilian Karl Lamoral O'Donnell|Maximilian Graf O’Donnell von Tyrconnell]], who saved the life of [[Emperor]] [[Franz Josef I of Austria|Franz Joseph I]] during an assassination attempt. [[Gottfried von Banfield]] finally became the most successful [[Austro-Hungarian]] naval aeroplane [[Aviator|pilot]] in the First World War.

The Catholic Irish troops in Protestant Swedish service changed sides during athe [[Battle of Klushino]], against largely Catholic Poland, the only European country with [[Warsaw Confederation|statutory]] [[freedom of religion]] at the time.{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}} The Irish then served in Polish service for several years during the [[Polish–Muscovite War (1605–1618)]], until their wages went unpaid.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.illyria.com/irish/mcginn_irishagains.html |title=Irish Fighting Irish By Brian McGinn |publisher=Illyria.com |access-date= 24 March 2013 |archive-date=2 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502063210/http://www.illyria.com/irish/mcginn_irishagains.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Irish recruitment for continental armies declined sharply after it was made illegal in 1745. In practical terms, this meant that recruiting within Ireland itself effectively ceased and Irishmen seeking employment in foreign armies had to make their own way to the Continent. Replacements accordingly were drawn increasingly from the descendants of Irish soldiers who had settled in France or Spain; from non-Irish foreign recruits such as more readily available Germans or Swiss; or from natives of the recruiting countries.

{{quoteblockquote|I cannot but highly esteem those gentlemen of Ireland who, with all the disadvantages of being exiles and strangers, have been able to distinguish themselves by their valour and conduct in so many parts of Europe, I think, above all other nations.{{sfn|Scott|1814|loc=pp. vii–viii}}}}

It was some time before the British armed forces began to tap into Irish Catholic manpower. In the late 18th century, the [[Penal Laws (Ireland)|Penal Laws]] were gradually relaxed and in the 1790s the laws prohibiting Catholics from bearing arms were abolished. Thereafter, the British began recruiting Irish regiments for the Crown Force{{spaced ndash}} including for such units as the [[Connaught Rangers]]. Several more Irish-labelled units were created in the 19th century. By 1914 infantry regiments in the British Army that were associated with Ireland included the [[Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment]], the [[Royal Dublin Fusiliers]], the [[Irish Guards]], the [[Royal Irish Regiment (1684–1922)|Royal Irish Regiment]], the [[Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers]], the [[Royal Irish Rifles]], the [[Royal Irish Fusiliers]], the Connaught Rangers and the [[Royal Munster Fusiliers]]. With the creation of the [[Irish Free State]] in 1922, five of the above regiments were disbanded, with most of the remainder undergoing a series of amalgamations between 1968 and 2006. The United Kingdom still retains four Irish-named regiments: the [[Irish Guards]], the [[The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment)|Royal Irish Regiment]], the [[Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry]], and the [[London Irish Rifles]]. The [[Queen's Royal Hussars]], the successor regiment of the [[Queen's Royal Irish Hussars]], and the [[Royal Dragoon Guards]], the successor regiment of the [[4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards]] and the [[5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards]], maintain the Irish heritage of their antecedent regiments through their uniforms, regimental bands and traditions, such as the celebration of [[Saint Patrick's Day|St. Patrick's Day]].

* {{cite journal|last = Lyons | first = Mary Ann | title = Digne de compassion: female dependants of Irish jacobite soldiers in France, c.1692-c.1730 | journal = Eighteenth-Century Ireland | volume = 23 | year = 2008 | pages = 55–75 | doi = 10.3828/eci.2008.6 | jstor = 27806924 | url = http://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/11508/1/ML_Digne_2008.pdf }}

* {{cite journal| last = Murphy| first = James H. | title = The Wild Geese | journal = The Irish Review | issue = 16 (Autumn -– Winter, 1994) | publisher = Cork University Press | year = 1994 | pages = 23–28 | doi = 10.2307/29735753 | jstor = 29735753 }}

* {{cite journal|last= Riviere| first = Marc Serge | title = The Earl of Tyrconnell's Impact on Franco-Prussian Relations (1750–2) |journal = Eighteenth-Century Ireland | volume = 15 | year = 2000 | pages = 120–138 | doi = 10.3828/eci.2000.9 | jstor = 30071445 | s2cid = 256179013 }}

* [https://www.nli.ie/en/udlist/current-exhibitions.aspx?article=0a7328e2-5ccd-4387-9993-1a5982c93ab6 National Library of Ireland exhibition, ''Strangers to Citizens: the Irish in Europe, 1600–1800''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181104172104/https://www.nli.ie/en/udlist/current-exhibitions.aspx?article=0a7328e2-5ccd-4387-9993-1a5982c93ab6 |date=4 November 2018 }}