z Sold Original Civil War Brass Irish Brigade Hat Insignia

 Brass Irish Brigade Hat Insignia - Insignia is the coat of arms for Ireland, shows honest age & no use. This is a hat badge of the famous New York Irish Brigade. This brigade was originally formed by the 63rd, 69th and 88th New York Infantry regiments. The only commander of the original brigade was Brigadier General Thomas Meagher. If you have an Irish collection from the Civil War, north or south, it's not complete without one of these. This insignia was originally designed for use by pre Civil War Irish-American militia units and by the Irish Republican Brotherhood (Fenians) established in New York in 1858. Both sides during the Civil War contributed large amounts of Irish-immigrants and native born Irish- American manpower to their Armies. These forms of insignias were unofficially worn by members of those Irish units as an identity item. In the Post-War period, these Harps were again taken up as the badge for the Irish-American Fenian military units that invaded Canada in two campaigns of 1866-70 to force Great Britain into negations to release its control over Ireland and to establish an Irish Republic.
This example is formed from a die- stamped mold with separate lead soldered attached wires for mounting.  The dimensions are: 2” in height by 1 ½” wide measured across the top.
We guarantee this artifact as original and of the 19th century period.