Andrew grew up in New York, his parents where Irish immigrants who moved to the USA when he was about 5 years old.  His father was a glassblower from Dublin who moved to the US in hope of a better life.  His mother made sure he spoke their native Gaellic and his father took him on as an apprentice when he was old enough.  In order to make some extra money Andrew took up Prize Fighting when he was 16 and used the money to help his parents afford a better home for them all.

A few years before the war Andrew had joined the NY state militia as an artilleryman, he learned to ride in order to keep up with the guns and limbers. And his skills with his hands saw him gravitate to Maj O'Donald's command.

Andrew is a little over six feet tall, broad shouldered and muscular  and weighs in at about 190lbs.  In his early twenties, he has brown hair and a thick beard and is usually seen wearing an unofficial Tam O'Shanter unless the unit is being inspected where he grudgingly wears his Kepi.