Product Description

In 1832, 57 Irish Catholic workers were brought to the United States to lay one of the most difficult miles of American railway, Duffy's Cut of the Pennsylvania Railroad. These men were chosen because, in the eyes of the railroad company that hired them, they were expendable. Deaths were common during the building of the railway, but this stretch was worse than most. When cholera swept the camp basic medical attention and community support was denied to them. In the end all 57 men--the entire work crew--died and were buried in a mass unmarked grave. Their families in Ireland were never notified about what had happened to them. The company did its best to cover up the incident, which was certainly one of the worst labor tragedies in U.S. history. Set against the backdrop of a rapidly industrializing America, this books tells the story of these men, the sacrifices they made, and the mistreatment that claimed their lives. The saga of Duffy's Cut focuses particularly on the Irish laborers who built the railroads. Who were these men? Who hired them? Why did they come? Perhaps most important, why did they die? Based on archaeological digs at the site and meticulous historical research, the authors argue that the annihilation of the work crew came about because of the extreme conditions of their employment, the prejudice of the surrounding community, and the vigilante violence that kept them isolated. In shedding light on this tragic chapter in American labor history, The Ghosts of Duffy's Cut also illuminates a dark side of America's rise to greatness.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #85560 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

Review
“In the summer of 1832, Irish immigrant Philip Duffy contracted 57 of his newly arrived countrymen to lay a stretch of railroad some 30 miles west of Philadelphia. Within two months, all were dead, struck down in the global cholera pandemic that hit Philadelphia the same time they did. Four historians, three at Immaculata College in Pennsylvania, tell the story, putting into the context of immigration, industrialization, and epidemiology. They draw on surviving archival and archaeological evidence.”–Reference & Research Book News

About the Author
WILLIAM E. WATSON is Associate Professor and Chair of History at Immaculata College in Pennsylvania. He is the author of Tricolor and Crescent (Praeger, 2003) and The Collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union (Greenwood, 1998).

J. FRANCIS WATSON has a Ph.D. in historical theology and is a Lutheran clergyman and ecclesiastical archivist in New Jersey. His articles on religious history have appeared in various journals.

JOHN H. AHTES III is Assistant Professor of History, Immaculata College. He has published in Irish Review.

EARL H. SCHANDELMEIER III received his BA in history from Immaculata University, where he served as history department assistant. He teaches history in Maryland. He worked for many years in business, including as a consultant for Toyota Motor Production Systems, and also as an operations manager.

Customer Reviews

An Irish-American Tragedy
This remarkable new book is a must read for Irish-American history. A reconstruction of the fate of an immigrant Irish work crew who died of cholera (and possible violence) while building the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad in rural Chester County in 1832 is the main focus. The story of the tragic deaths of 57 young Irish immigrants is combined with much fascinating detail concerning Irish and Irish-American history of the time. The much neglected history of the P and C Railroad is handled very well as is the discussion of the pandemic of Asiatic Cholera in North America. There is even a evocatively described ghost story. Readable, yet scholarly, this is an incredible book.

Good read on Irish immigrant railroad workers, cholera and ghosts
This book offers a fascinating look into the world of 1830s-era
Philadelphia and its environs. There is interesting material
here on the history of immigration, the Irish in America, railroad construction, epidemiology, ghosts and folklore. The core of the book is a story about Irish railroad workers in Chester County that was largely unknown until the authors began studying it (they obtained a historical marker for it from the Commonwealth's Historical Commission in 2004). In addition, there are interesting ghost stories that will make for better than average Halloween reading.

The Ghosts of Duffy's Cut
Aside from the fact that this is a spell-binding story, this book is to be valued for its excellent summary of the situation in Ireland as well as in the United States at the time of this tragedy, and the factionalism that was such a chronic characteristic of Irish labor history on our canals and railroads. This is an exceedingly well-researched and written book and a very important addition to 19th century transportation and immigrant history in particular.