Capt tyree
He was an Irish imigrant---- How did he get into West Point?
The earliest the Irish imigraltion flood was wast 1850.
I'd rather go hunting with Dick Cheney, than driving with Ted Kennedy
He recieved an appointment to West Point from a Senior Officer who would go on to command the 2nd Michigan at Chickamauga where he died during Gen Thomas's famous stand that covered the retreat of the Army of the Ohio back to Chattanooga. Tyree did not immigrate necessarily to escape the potato famine, he might also have been a Fenian on the run from the redcoats.
"I'm goin' to war...with every one of them carpetbaggin' sons a B!#+c#es!"
We know he served in the Mexican War with Grant back in the 1840s, as there is a reference to this in the movie. Perhaps he went to the Point after, as a reward for services rendered in the line of duty.
shareThe thing I find kind of hard to believe about Tyreen is that he was a West Point graduate, and he's only a Captain??? Unless he's really incompetent, otherwise got into trouble, or was captured early in the war, that is highly unlikely. Speaking as a huge Civil War buff, I can vouch for the fact that status as a West Point graduate virtually assured an officer in either army at least a Colonelcy - especially in the Confederacy. It's even harder to believe if he'd been an officer during the Mexican War as is implied (though the other explanation, that he was a "grunt" who went to the Point later is possible). That's something that's always bothered me about this movie, although it's not enough of a flaw to seriously detract from it.
"You're takin' advantage of your cloth, Father!"
"That's what it's for."
Perhaps there was more black marks going against him than killing a brother officer in a duel. Hard to imagine the CSA leaning on that too much if the fellow he killed was a Northerner.
Tyree isn't a born Southerner; that may go against him too. Plus he did let himself get captured.
Perhaps, but then Patrick Cleburne - an Irish immigrant to the South - became a Lieutenant General in the Confederate Army before his death. Perhaps he had run afoul of Jefferson Davis or other Confederate officers? That seems the only explanation.
There's also a possiblity that Captain was just his regular Army rank, and he was a higher-rank of volunteers. I believe that about Dundee - a cavalry Major probably couldn't do a great deal to affect a large battle like Gettysburg, unless he accidentally shot Elon J. Farnsworth - he was a Colonel or above in the USV, but when transfered West he reverted to his regular Army rank of Major. Just an idea though. . . I spend too much time thinking about these things perhaps.
"You're takin' advantage of your cloth, Father!"
"That's what it's for."
The Irish potato famine was 1846 onward and many Irish emigrated to the US, the UK and Australia etc. yes - the UK too, don't believe all the stories - they weren't all nationalists on the run from redcoats. Cities like Liverpool and Glasgow grew greatly as a result of Irish families escaping the famine.
But there were still Irishmen who went to the USA well before this for their own reasons.
So Irish arriving in the mid-1840's could have taken part in the US-Mexican War, but West Point in that timing is hard to believe. To be a West Point in the 1850's is more possible but I think a WP candidate needed a sponsor, preferably with political clout. Who would his sponsor be ?
Didn't Custer get a helping hand from the Governor of Michigan or someone like that to get into WP ? Didn't he graduate 34th out of 34 ?
Never mind I've always loved this film !
Here's tae us ! - Wha's like us ? Gae few an'they're a'deid !
Major Dundee is a regular army officer in the 5th US Cavalry. In real life the 5th Cavalry was in the east in 1864-65 with the Army of the Potomac. But this is the movies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5th_Cavalry_Regiment
It is quit possible that Dundee took a leave of absence from the regular army to serve in a higher rank in the United States Volunteers during the Civil War. He might have commanded a regiment or even a brigade at the Battle of Gettysburg where he may have disobeyed orders and been discharged from the Volunteers Then he may have been sent west to join his regular army regiment.
As for Captain Tyreen, maybe it took him some time after the beginning of the war in April 1961 to get commissioned as maybe a 2nd Lieutenant in the Rebel army. He might have risen to the rank of captain in apparently the 8th (insert name of state here) Cavalry by the time he was captured with his company. Maybe they were captured during the Rebel invasion of New Mexico in 1862. If they were captured that early they would probably have been exchanged before the system of exchange broke down later.
But if they were captured in Summer, 1862 and not exchanged they would have been in prison for two years by the beginning of the movie. If Tyreen had been imprisoned for 2 long years he might have felt that he would have been a colonel or a general by November, 1864 if he hadn't been captured.