The much-heralded Irish Brigade earned its reputation at Malvern Hill.

The Irish Brigade was an infantry brigade, consisting mainly of Irish Americans, who served in the Union Army in the American Civil War. Since its founding, the Union Army's Irish Brigade received a great deal of attention from the Northern press, largely due to its self-promoting commander, General Thomas Francis Meagher. However, with the exception of a few soldiers who participated in the First Bull Run, most of these Irish soldiers have yet to take any significant action. On July 1, 1862, that began to change. The Irish Brigade is one of the facts about the Battle of Malvern Hill.

Regarding the Irish Brigade, as Confederate attackers drew closer and closer to the Confederate gunners on Malvern Hill, Confederate infantry was dispatched to repel them. Among the units called upon to this task was the Irish Brigade, which rushed into battle late in the day to stop the Confederates' final assaults at Malvern Hills. From that point on, the Irish Brigade began to back up its early war hype with solid performances on the battlefield. They were united under the command of Thomas Francis Meagher, who had been sentenced to death for his part in the failed rebellion of the Young Irishmen of 1848. His sentence was reduced to exile, Meagher. was transferred to Tasmania, where he was able to arrange for an escape to America in 1852.