Saint Patrick’s Day on March 17, 1780 was ushered in with music and the hoisting of colors showing the 13 stripes, the favorite harp, and an inscription declaring the independence of Ireland. Irishmen fought on both sides of the American Revolution, serving the British in battles from Maine to Georgia in the Royal Irish Artillery, the Queen’s Rangers, and the Volunteers of Ireland, but the largest number served in the American army. Seven of the eleven brigades at Jockey Hollow were commanded by generals born in Ireland or with Irish parents, and it is estimated that one quarter of the entire Continental Army was from Ireland; in some regiments from Pennsylvania and Maryland, almost half of the soldiers were Irish. The Irish presence was so strong in the Pennsylvania Line that General Henry Lee of Virginia called it the “Line of Ireland.” During the hard winter of 1779-1780 at Jockey Hollow, General Washington granted Saint Patrick’s Day as one of the army’s holidays, hoping recognition of the Irish holiday might further political unrest in Ireland. He ordered all work parties to cease for the day, the New York Brigade’s officers were told not to detail for duty any sons of Saint Patrick, and Colonel Johnson of the Second Pennsylvania Brigade bought a large barrel of rum for his men while expecting them to conduct themselves with the greatest sobriety and good order.
