"Hibernian Leatherheads"

Charleston's Irish labourers and their move into the Confederacy

“…In 1860, Charleston and Savannah had the highest percentage of Irish police, more than any other Southern cities. 30 According to the 1860 census, sixty members of Charleston's day force, and nineteen of its night patrol, were Irishmen, comprising nearly one-third of the entire force. 31 Although working-class Irishmen made up the majority of the Charleston police force, they were absent from the leading 'Irish' organisation there, the Hibernian Society, whose membership was open to a range of ethnicities and religions, but not to a range of social classes.…”