Fr. John Bannon, Confederate chaplain, ambassador
to the Pope, advocate in Ireland, Ignatian retreat master

The best telling of the little known story of the unsung priest-hero on both sides of the Atlantic, Fr. John Bannon (1829-1913). Coming to St. Louis, Missouri, from Ireland at age 29, Fr. Bannon built a church there, then had to escape it (wearing a false beard!) with the Feds in hot pursuit to chaplain 1500 of his boys enlisted for the renowned First Confederate Missouri Infantry with which his Irish experience led him to identify politically. Three years in the War Between the States and battles at Pea Ridge, Corinth, and his capture at Vicksburg after being cannonballed during Mass, Fr. Bannon found release and was called by President Jefferson Davis, CSA, to seek formal recognition of the Confederacy by Pope Pius IX in meetings with him at Rome. Sympathetic to the Confederacy, the Holy Father sent Fr. Bannon on a secret mission to Ireland to successfully stymie the deceptive Federal recruiters and keep Irish boys from becoming the Federals’ cannon fodder. Hot-as-gun-lead American/European history with bishops, soldiers, priests, politicians, and even a pope, all in the mix. Includes 81 historic and current photographs, maps, illustrations, and graphs.
Great for boys and young men.

237pp. 6" x 9". Softcover. 81 photos, maps & illustrations.