About
The Irish Volunteers, organized in Charleston, South Carolina about 1798, included many prominent members of the Hibernian Society who served as officers. Originally part of the 28th Regiment of the South Carolina Militia, the Irish Volunteers Company was first on active service in the War of 1812 where they served on patrol and constructed defenses. The Irish Volunteers supported Nullification in 1832 and served in the Seminole War (1836) and the Mexican War. During the American Civil War the Irish Volunteers became Company K, First Regiment, South Carolina Volunteers of the Confederate States of America Army under command of Captain W.H. Ryan. In 1916 the unit was called upon to patrol the Mexican border from attacks by Pancho Villa. During World War I the unit became the 105th Ammunition Train. Following the war the Irish Volunteers was maintained as a veterans’ social organization.