Catherine V. Bateson - Irish American Civil War Songs: Identity, Loyalty, and Nationhood

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

J ust as Robert E. Lee observed how you could not have an army without music, it is also true that you cannot do any research project without a wealth of support. I could write a thesis of thanks to all those who have helped and shared in this work along the way. First and foremost, unending gratitude goes to my supervisors at the University of Edinburgh for championing this study from its infancy. Enda Delaney and David Silkenat have provided many helpful suggestions and advice on Irish migrant transnational history and the American Civil War, respectively, and I am forever appreciative of their generous supervision over this projects formative years.

This research would not have been possible without grant support from the United Kingdoms Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (SGSAH), which not only allowed me to pursue a doctorate on this books topic in the first place but also gave me the ability to travel to archives across the United States, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Thanks also go to the Royal Historical Society and the Research Society for American Periodicals for further grants that led to transformative research to aid this project (and future ones). I am likewise very grateful to SGSAH for all their training workshops on handling delicate archive material, which proved particularly useful for dealing with wafer-thin songsheets! I am further indebted to the British Library, the Eccles Centre for American Studies, and Boston Athenaeum Library for awarding fellowships that funded trips to study songster and songsheet collections in their incredible special collection holdings.