Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Union army
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
====Italian Americans in the Union army==== {{Main|Italian Americans in the Civil War}} The great majority of [[Italian Americans]], for both demographic and ideological reasons, served in the Union army (including generals [[Edward Ferrero]] and [[Francis B. Spinola]]). Six Italian Americans received the [[Medal of Honor]] during the war, among whom was Colonel [[Luigi Palma di Cesnola]], who later became the first Director of the [[Metropolitan Museum of Arts]] in New York (1879–1904). Most of the Italian-Americans who joined the Union army were recruited from [[New York City]]. Many Italians of note were interested in the war and joined the army, reaching positions of authority. Brigadier General [[Edward Ferrero]] was the original commander of the [[51st New York Volunteer Infantry|51st New York Regiment]].<ref>Belfiglio, p. 169</ref> He commanded both brigades and divisions in the [[Eastern Theater of the American Civil War|eastern]] and [[Western Theater of the American Civil War|western]] theaters of war and later commanded a division of the [[United States Colored Troops]]. Colonel Enrico Fardella, of the same and later of the [[85th New York Volunteer Infantry|85th New York]] regiment, was made a [[Brevet (military)|brevet]] brigadier general when the war ended. [[Francis B. Spinola]] recruited four [[regiment]]s in New York, was soon appointed Brigadier General by President [[Abraham Lincoln]] and given command of the [[Spinola Brigade]]. Later he commanded another unit, the famed [[Excelsior Brigade]]. [[File:March past of the 'Garibaldi Guard' before President Lincoln, 1861-1865 (c1880).jpg|thumb|Review of the [[Garibaldi Guard]] by President [[Abraham Lincoln]]]] The [[Garibaldi Guard]] recruited volunteers for the Union army from Italy and other European countries to form the [[39th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment|39th New York Infantry]].<ref>''Images: A Pictorial History of Italian Americans''. New York, 1986, p.26</ref> At the outbreak of the American Civil War, [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] was a very popular figure. The [[39th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment]], of whose 350 members were Italian, was nicknamed ''Garibaldi Guard'' in his honor. The unit wore red shirts and ''[[Bersaglieri|bersaglieri plumes]].'' They carried with them both a Union Flag as well as an [[Italian flag]] with the words ''Dio e popolo,'' meaning "God and people."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Belfiglio |first1=Valentino J. |title=Italians and the American Civil War |journal=Italian Americana |date=Spring–Summer 1978 |volume=4 |issue=2 |page=164 |jstor=41330626 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41330626 |access-date=21 December 2022}}</ref> In 1861 Garibaldi himself volunteered his services to President [[Abraham Lincoln]]. Garibaldi was offered a major general's commission in the U.S. Army through the letter from Secretary of State [[William H. Seward]] to [[Henry Sanford|H. S. Sanford]], the U.S. Minister at [[Brussels]], July 17, 1861.<ref>Mack Smith, Denis, Garibaldi, Prentice-Hall, 1969, pp. 69–70</ref> Colonel [[Luigi Palma di Cesnola]], a former Italian and British soldier and veteran of the [[Crimean War]], commanded the 4th New York Cavalry and would rise to become one of the highest ranking Italian officer in the Union army.<ref>Belfiglio, p. 167</ref> He established a military school in New York City where many young Italians were trained and later served in the Union army. Di Cesnola received the [[Medal of Honor]] for his actions during the [[Battle of Aldie]].<ref>{{cite web |title=LOUIS PALMA DI CESNOLA |url=https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/louis-p-di-cesnola |publisher=Congressional Medal of Honor Society |access-date=21 December 2022}}</ref> Two more famous examples were Francesco Casale and Luigi Tinelli, who were instrumental in the formation of the [[39th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment|39th New York Infantry Regiment]]. According to one evaluation of the [[Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies]], there were over 200 Italians who served as officers in the U.S. army.<ref>Belfiglio, p. 167</ref>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)