The Irish Brigade was intended to help the Jacobite cause but, ironically, helped solidify the English Crown. This account of the history of the Irish Brigade sheds light on a formation that has received very little attention previously from historians – Highly Recommended
NAME: The Irish Brigade, 1670-1745, The Wild Geese In French Service FILE: R2920 AUTHOR: D P Graham PUBLISHER: Pen and Sword BINDING: hard back PAGES: 472 PRICE: £30.00 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: Charles II, James II, Jacobites, insurrection, exiles, The Nine Years War, The War of Spanish Succession, The War of the Austrian Succession, The 1745 Jacobite Rebellion, elite formation
ISBN: 1-52672-773-0
IMAGE: B2920.jpg BUYNOW: tinyurl.com/y2fw3khx LINKS: DESCRIPTION: The Irish Brigade was intended to help the Jacobite cause but, ironically, helped solidify the English Crown. This account of the history of the Irish Brigade sheds light on a formation that has received very little attention previously from historians – Highly Recommended Ireland has a history of fighting that goes back into the mists of time. When there is no one else, the Irish fight amongst themselves. For much of recent history, the Irish have fought largely on religious lines and the Irish Brigade was established to support the Roman Catholics against the Protestants in the British Isles, rallying behind the Stuart Kings, Charles II and James II, both of whom were believers in the divine right of Kings and the Catholic Church. The French, as with many other countries in the 17th and 18th Centuries, relied on foreign armed bands to augment their own native troops. The Irish Brigade was initially just one of a number of foreign formations, many of whom were there only for the money. One Scottish family maintained two regiments in Germany for much of this period, fighting alongside the Swedish armies. For most British, the Royal Navy offered the most lucrative opportunities, with prize money setting up many a family. On the European mainland the opportunities for loot and pay lay with armies and an almost continuous flow of wars between ever changing alliances. The author has provided an absorbing account of a military formation that became an elite force within the French Army that continued to serve the French through to the French Revolution. There is economical illustration to support the able text.