1861.71

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Irish Soldiers play ball with Rebel shells

Salience Noteworthy
Tags Civil War, Military
Location WV
City/State/Country: Romney, WV, United States
Immediacy of Report Contemporary
Age of Players Adult
Text

The Cleveland Herald, Nov. 26, 1861, headlined "New One for Paddy" explains how Irish-American soldiers reacted to Confederate shelling: "One of the Massachusetts regiments had a game of base ball they day after the slaughter of Edwards' Ferry [the battle of BAlls Bluff], bu the Cleveland Hibernian Guard of the Eighth Ohio regiment, beat them at Romney... the Hibernian Guard actually stacked their arms and commenced playing ball with the six pounders that the enemy sent among them, tossing them about as cooly as if they were in the Cleveland Public Square."

Given the weight of the cannon balls, could this have been a rugby-like ball game?

Sources

The Cleveland Herald, Nov. 26, 1861

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Submitted by Bruce Allardice



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