Series 1 - United States Consular Despatches

273pp

Copies of these letters were originally provided to Kerby A. Miller by his collaborator, Dr. Arnold Schrier, from which Miller created his initial transcripts of the letters. Miller was later provided reproductions of some of the letters by the National Archives and Records Administration which were taken from microfilmed copies of United States Consular Despatches in the National Archives, Washington [microfilm number T-570].

1. Copies of letters taken from United States Consular Despatches issued from Galway between 1858 and 1864, written mainly during the American Civil War. Many are written by active soldiers to their families and were printed in the dispatches to help establish the right to pension for themselves or their next of kin. The letters document a wide range of experiences encountered by Irishmen serving in the United States Army. Included are: Kerby A. Miller's transcripts of the letters; reproductions of the letters provided to Miller by Arnold A. Schrier and the National Archives and Records Administration; veterans' records for some of the letter writers; correspondence between Miller and fellow researchers and academics regarding the letter writers.
2. Miller's typed notes (80pp) on United States Consular Despatches sent from Galway (1837-1863), Dublin (1791-1905), Derry (1834-1875), Belfast (1803-1906), and Cork (1804-1906). The notes focus on despatches pertaining to emigration, depopulation, economics, and Irish-American relations