Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 108 Part 1.djvu/74

 108 STAT. 48 PUBLIC LAW 103-217—FEB. 22, 1994 Public Law 103-217 103d Congress Joint Resolution Feb. 22, 1994 [8.J. Res. 119] To designate the month of March 1994 as "Irish-American Heritage Month". Whereas the first Irish emigrants arrived in America as early as 1621; Whereas 9 of the generals who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution were Irish born; Whereas Commodore John Barry of County Wexford, Ireland, served brilliantly in the Continental Navy and is widely regarded as the father of the American Navy; Whereas James Smith, G«orge Taylor, Matthew Thornton, and Charles Thomson, 4 of the individuals who signed the Declaration of Independence, were Irish born and 9 other signers were of Irish ancestry; Whereas the contributions of the Irish to America's victory in the American Revolution led Lord Mountjoy to exclaim in the British Parliament that "America was lost by the Irish emigrants"; Whereas beginning at the time of the potato blight and famine in Ireland in 1845, over 700,000 Irish immigrants came to the United States during the 1840's, 900,000 during the 1850's, and over 300,000 in each decade through 1910; Whereas Irish Americans participated heavily in the industrial and economic development of America during the nineteenth century, building our cities and canals and the railroads that expanded the Nation to the West; Whereas even today, it is said that under every railroad tie an Irishman is buried; Whereas the Irish contributed greatly to the development of the labor movement in the United States, including the establishment of the American Miners Association in 1861; Whereas nearly 150,000 natives of Ireland served in the Union forces during the Civil War; Whereas more than 500 members of the Irish Brigade were killed while fighting for the Union in the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, a date that has been called the bloodiest day in American history; Whereas the Irish Brigade fought courageously in several other Civil War battles including Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Yorktown, Fsdr Oaks, Gaines Mill, Allen's Farm, Savage Station, White Oak Bridge, Glendale, Malvern Hill, Gettysburg, and Bristow Station; Whereas in 1892, Annie Moore from County Cork, Ireland, at age 15 became the first immigrant to pass through Ellis Island;

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