Foreign enlistment in the American Civil War

Foreign enlistment in the American Civil War was largely dominated by the Union, which was far more successful in attracting international volunteers. Nonetheless, thousands of immigrants and mercenaries served with the Confederacy.

Union enlistment

Although the Union Army's largest foreign-born contingents comprised Irish- and German-Americans, regiments such as the 79th New York Infantry Highlanders, originally formed in the 1850s, consisted completely of descendants of Scottish immigrants before accepting Irish, English and others into its ranks during the early years of the war. It should be noted that these immigrants had been living in the US for years prior to the war and did not come to this country to fight in the war.

Communication difficulties, especially in Union regiments, were a constant problem in divisions made up of varied nationalities. Such divisions included volunteers from Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, and other European countries. One regiment, in particular, was made up of officers and soldiers from 15 different nations, and the commanding officer's orders had to be translated in seven different languages. Major General Franz Sigel had his orders translated from his native German to Hungarian, for his officers, then to Reports to him then had to be translated in English for the rest of his command and finally to German again, when Sigel received reports.

The US, especially in the North, had received a large influx of European immigrants in the 1850s, due to people leaving Europe to avoid the ongoing wars and rebellions there. Europe had been in the midst of a pro-republican transformation with people such as Garibaldi, in Italy.

Confederate enlistment

Thousands of pre-war immigrants served in the Confederate Army, which had its own Irish Brigade and Polish Legion, as well as several German and Mexican divisions. These units were composed of men who had lived most of their lives in the USA. The most notable volunteer division comprised descendants of people from various European countries then living in Louisiana, under the command of French Major General Count Camille Armand Jules Marie, Prince de Polignac. Another prominent volunteer was the Scotland-born blockade runner, Captain William Watson.

See also

• African-Americans in the Civil War
• Andrew Cowan (soldier)
• German-Americans in the Civil War
• Hispanics in the American Civil War
• Irish military diaspora
• Irish-Americans in the American Civil War
• Italian Americans in the Civil War
• Military history of Jewish Americans

References

• Linedecker, Clifford L., ed. Civil War, A-Z: The Complete Handbook of America's Bloodiest Conflict. New York: Ballantine Books, 2002. ISBN 0-89141-878-4

Further reading

• Early, Curtis A. and Gloria J. Early. Ohio Confederate Connection: Facts You May Not Know about the Civil War. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, 2010. ISBN 9781450273732 Despite the title, this book does contain information on foreign-born Confederates.
• Mahin, Dean B. The Blessed Place of Freedom: Europeans in Civil War America. Dulles, Virginia: Brassey's Inc., 2003. ISBN 1-57488-523-5

External links

• Association to commemorate the Chinese serving in the American Civil War
• The Britons who died for the Stars and Stripes: How thousands of volunteers gave their lives in America's Civil War
• The Blue, the Gray and the Chinese: American Civil War Participants of Chinese Descent
• “Diversity In The Ranks: Foreign-Born Soldiers (And More) At Gettysburg”
• Englishmen in the Confederate Service
• Foreign Soldiers in the American Civil War by Andy Waskie
• From a Foreign Field: Service by Foreign-Born Residents in North Carolina's Confederate Ranks
• Scotland and the Confederate States of America