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Napoleon's Irish Legion. By John Gallaher. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-8093-1825-3. Bibliography. Index. Pp. xi, 218. $39.95.
John Gallaher's interest in the Irishmen who served France has led to a valuable study of the Irish units within the Napoleonic armies. After sketching the role played by the Irish in the armies of Louis XIV, he examines the conditions in Ireland during the Revolutionary period that motivated them to seek service and support from England's longtime enemy. Gallaher examines the origins and traces the difficulties involved in recruiting, organizing, training, and commanding Irish units. Many Irishmen, including members of the Society of United Irishmen, came to France convinced that their homeland could only be freed with the support of French arms. However, after Napoleon's proposed invasion of the British Isles was canceled in 1805, some politically inclined Irishmen quietly left the Irish units while others adjusted to the situation and became...