Italians in civil war

Klaudly

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Nov 11, 2013
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Italy
A few days ago in another topic, I spoke of the Italians in the Confederate Army, now post an old research, which I did a few years ago. Please excuse any grammatical errors and the length of the post. (Some small pieces of the Following script, I have already posted in the forum).

Introduction
The alliance between Italy and the United States began with the very origins of the new continent, when my fellow-citizen Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas. Between 1492 and 1860, small groups of Italians arrived in America. At the census of 1860 only 6-7000 Italians were present in American soil. The first major immigration occurred in the decade 1871-1880 when they reached 56,000. When in Italy a cholera epidemic broke out, came the second wave, and were the years 1884-87. Thousands of others followed in the years to come.
Let us go back, at the outbreak of the war, April 14, 1861 about 11,000 Italians were present on American soil. Some had fled from poverty, oppression, and there were former soldiers and civilians fled from the wars of the period. If all ports witnessed the landing of Italian citizens, those in New York and New Orleans were the major destinations (in fact the units of the North and South with the largest number of Italians were from the States of Louisiana and New York). At that time, the Germans and Irish were the foreigners present in greater numbers in the United States, but Italians embraced the cause (North and South), and despite the small number, it seems that in percentage, they were the largest ethnic group.

Italian Confederates
About a thousand Italians fought for the Confederacy. Enlisted both individually and in all Italian units. In the Militia of Louisiana, they were able to organize at least two units, remember that in New Orleans there was a strong Italian presence and those enlisted in the State Troops. Unlike in confederate regular units, it seems that only a company of Alabama was completely Italian, while for other companies (mainly from the state of Louisiana), were enrolled a large number of Italians, but never came to have sufficient numbers to organize whole companies. When the battalions of Militia disbanded, some men re-enlisted in units of Louisiana, but Italians were present in some regiments of all the states of the South. Even in the Navy were some Italians, people of sailors, arrived from the sea, continued to navigate.

Confederate units: Garibaldi Legion - Infantry Battalion, Louisiana Militia
New Orleans, which was then the most populous city of the Confederate States, had a very high percentage of foreigners, when the fever of secession reached her, virtually every ethnic group formed its units, Italians were no less, and preparing to organize its own unit. This was to be a battalion under the name of "Garibaldi Legion." The intention, at least two companies had to be ready for the parade on February 22, 1861, but did not go quite as planned, only one company was completed. In February 21, 1861 was prepared and perfectly fitted the "first company of Garibaldi Guards" or simply Garibaldi Guards, this should have been company ‘A’ of the battalion. Unfortunately, they were not able to form other companies and so the battalion remained only on paper. The officers, all Italians were: Captain Marzoni Gaudenzio and when became Major, he was replaced by Captain Giuseppe (changed to Joseph), Santini; the first lieutenant Ulysses Marinoni and the second lieutenant Ernesto Baselli. When most of the regular troops, were sent away from Louisiana, practically only the militia remained in defense of the state. Therefore, the governor called out the troops in state service, among them was the 'first company of Garibaldi Guards’, which was incorporate in a Spanish regiment of twelve companies: five companies were numbered from 1 to 5, and seven companies lettered A through G. The Garibaldi Guards became the company F. Initially only training field routine and provost service, but played an important role when (as part of the European Brigade) helped maintain order in the city. After the surrender of 29 April 1862 to General Butler, New Orleans was in a state of chaos and looting was at the order of the day. Finally, in May, the Legion broke up, but many men re-enlisted in volunteer regiments.

Note 1: Link of the newspaper "The New Orleans Bee" of 28 January 1861 with the description of the uniform. http://nobee.jefferson.lib.la.us/Vol-054/01_1861/1861_01_0091.pdf

Note 2: A fun fact concerning the Legion is take from a letter of apology that the former company commander Marzoni (now Major of the Spanish regiment "Cazadores espanoles") presents to General Mansfield Lovell, commander of the military district of Louisiana. In a mixture of English words, Spanish, misspellings and grammatical errors, Major Marzoni sprinkle ashes on his head, because the men of the company, during service as escort of prisoners, while they were intent on singing love and patriotic songs , not aware drain prisoners:

April 16, 1862

To: General Mansfield Lovell
Commander of Confederate Forces

District of Louisiana My Dear General, Please pardon my penmanship, as I am no too familiar with English as it is written. It is with mucho profoundest regret that I must relate an incident of prisoner escape. While conducting the prisoners assigned to the European brigade to thier work detail, it has always been the custom to place them in chains together. However the detail this morning was an exception owning to the fact that the prisoners were about to leave for duty at the Front Lines. One particular prisoner began to sing the "Bonnie Blue Flag" and soon both prisoners and guards were engaged in patriotic song, especially the song loving Italians of the Garibaldi Guards Company who were guarding said prisoners. Even civilians and young ladies along the street were singing. All proceeded normally with Lieutenant Guiseppi Santini proudly at the front of the column. Unfortunately, he was (I have determined) shoved in the path of a Creole maidservant who was pitching out her chamber pot onto the street. Lieut. Santini was immersed in ofal, right in the midst of his aria. He was said to have cried out desperately, "POOOYIEEEE!" and in the ensuing confusion several of the prisoners made an escape. All were rounded up except one private who calls himself "Jubal," whom I believe started the singing and by eyewitness accounts, shoved poor Lieutenant Santini into the path of the slop jar, causing him grevious accident. We have not been able to find and apprehend the felon "Jubal." PS: Lieut. Santini asks if the Department will pay for his soiled garments, as replacement is of paramount importance to the well being of his company. Several of his men are discouraged by the incident and say they cannot follow an officer in a soiled uniform, as it will cause the ladies to scorn them. The company may have to disband. In a situation of greatest embarassment,

I am your obedient servant, Major Gaudenzi Marzoni
Cazadores Espanoles -European Brigade
Provost Guard -New Orleans, Louisiana


Confederate units: Italian Guards - Infantry Battalion, Louisiana Militia
Italy in 1860 was divide into half a dozen states, the famous enterprise of Garibaldi Began to Genoa (my city); he departed with 1,000 ‘camicie rosse’, landed in Sicily, He with new volunteers (enrolled from men of the invaded country), conquered the whole Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Many Italians, of the beaten 'Bourbon army', were exiles and fled from Italy to New Orleans. The first ship came March 18, 1861, and with the landings of the following months, former soldiers of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies counted in 1800 men, many of them formed Italian Battalion. The information of the Battalion are very scarce, and even the uniform is unknown. We know that was organize in autumn 1861, during the organization of the European Brigades, but nothing more. The only known date is "prior November, 21, 1861". The new unit was called "Italian Guards Battalion", put in command Lieutenant Colonel Joseph G. Della Valle (the Italian with the highest rank achieved in the war for Confederacy) was so organized: a squad of sappers, a military band at the headquarters, and 5 companies, but only four were Italian, the fifth was of different ethnicity. These captains:
1st Company Captain Giuseppe Lavizza
2nd Company Captain Enrico Piaggio
3rd Company Captain Giuseppe Villiot
4th Company Captain Giuseppe Paoletti
5th company under Captain Leopold Fournier.
Enter in the Louisiana Militia as 6th regiment, European Brigade, later with other battalions became part of a regiment of the brigade of General Juge. Likewise Garibaldi Legion, the history of the battalion and the history of the militia of New Orleans coincide, remained for the defense of the city, maintaining the order until the surrender of New Orleans. In May 1862, the unit was disbanded, similar to the Garibaldi Guards, many members of the battalion re-enlisted in other Louisiana regular units.

Confederate units: other Italian companies
• ALABAMA - Southern (State) Guards. In Mobile a company of state troops under Captain Sylvester Festorazzi, was composed of Italians, actually among its ranks there were also some French and Spanish, but it was call Italian, however it seems that it was incorporate into a regular regiment. One source indicate Company K of the 21st Infantry.

• VIRGINIA - Italian company. Between the troops of the reserve of Virginia, there was the 19th Home Guard Regiment, formed by foreigners, it counted among its companies the "Italian company" formed by Italians and commanded by Captain Alfred Pico. When the regiment was call into service, these companies were order to camp around Richmond; members enjoyed the privilege of being able to continue their work, if they were out of service, and take advantage of rations from warehouses of the Government for their families at the same prices of government. There is an episode, which concerns the Pico’s company, described by the newspaper "Daily Richmond Examiner" of February 10, 1864, but was not able to find information.

• TENNESSEE - Garibaldi Guards. In number 441 of Osprey’s volumes, was nominate a Confederate company recruited in Memphis, from Italians living there, called ‘Garibaldi Guards. In my research I was aware of some Italian present in Memphis, but I do not know that had been formed a whole company. I know of no other information.

Confederate units with presence of Italians.
To complete the discussion on Italian confederates, remember that almost all the regiments of Louisiana had among their ranks Italians, these were mostly former members of the militia units disbanded in May 1862. These include the 10th, the 14th and the 20th Infantry. In other Confederate regiments were present Italians, but in single elements. Salvatore ferri, born in Licata (sicily), was the only survivor of the company I of the 10th Louisiana.
Only a few companies had a high percentage of Italians:

LOUISIANA - Tirailleurs d'Orleans. This company, which became the "I" of 10th Louisiana Infantry Regiment, contained soldiers 15 different States, the most represented were Italy with 27 elements. The Germans seconds in list have eight private. A source indicates that an Italian became captain, but I have no response.

SOUTH CAROLINA -Moroso’s Company. The 1st Regiment Charleston Guards, State Troops of South Carolina, was a regiment recruited among foreigners in the city. The company D, had many Italian (over half reading lists) and also the first commander was an Italian, Captain A. Moroso. In the census of Charleston in 1880, talking about an Italian resident, widower, 61-year-old named A. Moroso, definitely was our captain, since at the time the war was 42 years old. It seems that, the regiment was recruit, with the promise that, he should not serve outside the city. In fact the captain Moroso officially protested against the orders that assigned, his company D, in service on a steam in the port of Charleston, because contrary to the agreement and their obligations to the government, in fact while serving on the boat, the company would have exceeded the limits of the city.

Italians in the Confederate Navy
As said earlier, a number of Italian enlisted in the Confederate Navy. Watching some lists, I found that my compatriot had even boarded the famous CSS Alabama Captain R. Semmes. Finding information is quite complex and only a handful of news have emerged. In the rosters of the Confederate Cruiser, is referred as A.G. Bartelli, but I also found GiovanBattista Bartelli, as often happened, arrived in the United States the names were maimed or intentionally modified. His sea career began as steward in the merchant navy. In 1863 in Cape Town, he met Raphael Semmes who proposed him to enlist in the Confederate Navy, Bartelli accepted and embarked on CSS Alabama and became Captain's Steward. This is the description of Semmes of his steward: "A pale man, rather delicate and gentle manner; obedient, respectful and attentive, but very dependent on the use of wine.” One of the conditions for his enlistment was not to give in to alcohol while aboard. On June 19, 1864, GiovanBattista was one of the sailors who drowned in Cherbourg in France, when the famous cruiser met his fate in the famous battle with the USS Kearsarge.

An Italian, not a military, worked as a clerk at the Department of the Navy, in the office of Secretary Mallory. Throughout the war, a small team composed the office, among employees, C.E.L. Stuart. In the register of the Marina is list as being born in Italy. My investigations have not yielded results useful to reconstruct the history of this man. Probably is real name is, hidden in initial C.E.L.

Two tales of Italians of Genova.
I live in Genoa (The city of Columbus), part of Liguria, a region of northern Italy; almost two of my fellow-citizens were in confederate army, this is their story.

Abraham Baptista Vaccaro.
Italy Vaccaro.jpg
The last name is incorrectly transcribe, can be found in the various roster as Vaccarro or Baccaro. Baptist, was born near Genoa and arrival in Tennessee in 1851, he became a resident of Memphis. At the outbreak of the war, he enlisted in the 3rd Cavalry Regiment of the Tennessee under the command of Colonel Nathan B. Forrest, his role as fighter culminated in the Battle of Shiloh. Then in July 1862, he was transferred to Quartermaster Department, where he remained throughout the war, putting an end to his role as front-line soldier. Surrendered as part of the Army of Tennessee, and paroled April 26, 1865. He died in Memphis in 1919.

Anatole Placide Avegno

Just 10 miles from Genoa's downtown, there is a village called Avegno, one of my fellow-citizen was the organizer of a unit with a strong presence of Italian.
His father, Joseph Avegno, moved to New Orleans and had 10 children. Joseph died three days before the start of the war, but one of his sons, the twenty-six old Anatole Placide Avegno, formed a battalion of infantry of six companies (then with four other companies, became13th Louisiana infantry regiment).
We do not know why, maybe because He had not sufficient military experience, but the battalion was assigned to a Frenchman, Gerard Aristide. Anatole was awarded the rank of Major, as second in command, but the battalion would be forever known as "Avegno's Zouaves."

close up globale 2a versione 1.jpg
Among the soldiers present in the six-zuave companies, many sons of Italians, who at the time were defined in a derogatory manner "Dagoes”. On April 6 and 7, 1862, the Zouaves participated and fought hard in the battle of Shiloh, suffering several losses, major Avegno was mortally wounded on the second day of battle in the leg, underwent amputation died two or three days later.


Italian unionists
Italians in the Union Army were present in greater numbers than those enrolled in the ranks of the South, but dissimilar from Italian confederates who gathered in battalions and companies, those in blue fought scattered in the various regular regiments. Company A of the 39th NY remains the only unit of the Italians for the North.
Italy repetti.jpg Italy Poster.jpg
Lieutenant Colonel A. Repetti with the Italian Flag and the recruitment poster of 39th NY.
 
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A few days ago in another topic, I spoke of the Italians in the Confederate Army, now post an old research, which I did a few years ago. Please excuse any grammatical errors and the length of the post. (Some small pieces of the Following script, I have already posted in the forum).

Introduction
The alliance between Italy and the United States began with the very origins of the new continent, when my fellow-citizen Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas. Between 1492 and 1860, small groups of Italians arrived in America. At the census of 1860 only 6-7000 Italians were present in American soil. The first major immigration occurred in the decade 1871-1880 when they reached 56,000. When in Italy a cholera epidemic broke out, came the second wave, and were the years 1884-87. Thousands of others followed in the years to come.
Let us go back, at the outbreak of the war, April 14, 1861 about 11,000 Italians were present on American soil. Some had fled from poverty, oppression, and there were former soldiers and civilians fled from the wars of the period. If all ports witnessed the landing of Italian citizens, those in New York and New Orleans were the major destinations (in fact the units of the North and South with the largest number of Italians were from the States of Louisiana and New York). At that time, the Germans and Irish were the foreigners present in greater numbers in the United States, but Italians embraced the cause (North and South), and despite the small number, it seems that in percentage, they were the largest ethnic group.

Italian Confederates
About a thousand Italians fought for the Confederacy. Enlisted both individually and in all Italian units. In the Militia of Louisiana, they were able to organize at least two units, remember that in New Orleans there was a strong Italian presence and those enlisted in the State Troops. Unlike in confederate regular units, it seems that only a company of Alabama was completely Italian, while for other companies (mainly from the state of Louisiana), were enrolled a large number of Italians, but never came to have sufficient numbers to organize whole companies. When the battalions of Militia disbanded, some men re-enlisted in units of Louisiana, but Italians were present in some regiments of all the states of the South. Even in the Navy were some Italians, people of sailors, arrived from the sea, continued to navigate.

Confederate units: Garibaldi Legion - Infantry Battalion, Louisiana Militia
New Orleans, which was then the most populous city of the Confederate States, had a very high percentage of foreigners, when the fever of secession reached her, virtually every ethnic group formed its units, Italians were no less, and preparing to organize its own unit. This was to be a battalion under the name of "Garibaldi Legion." The intention, at least two companies had to be ready for the parade on February 22, 1861, but did not go quite as planned, only one company was completed. In February 21, 1861 was prepared and perfectly fitted the "first company of Garibaldi Guards" or simply Garibaldi Guards, this should have been company ‘A’ of the battalion. Unfortunately, they were not able to form other companies and so the battalion remained only on paper. The officers, all Italians were: Captain Marzoni Gaudenzio and when became Major, he was replaced by Captain Giuseppe (changed to Joseph), Santini; the first lieutenant Ulysses Marinoni and the second lieutenant Ernesto Baselli. When most of the regular troops, were sent away from Louisiana, practically only the militia remained in defense of the state. Therefore, the governor called out the troops in state service, among them was the 'first company of Garibaldi Guards’, which was incorporate in a Spanish regiment of twelve companies: five companies were numbered from 1 to 5, and seven companies lettered A through G. The Garibaldi Guards became the company F. Initially only training field routine and provost service, but played an important role when (as part of the European Brigade) helped maintain order in the city. After the surrender of 29 April 1862 to General Butler, New Orleans was in a state of chaos and looting was at the order of the day. Finally, in May, the Legion broke up, but many men re-enlisted in volunteer regiments.

Note 1: Link of the newspaper "The New Orleans Bee" of 28 January 1861 with the description of the uniform. http://nobee.jefferson.lib.la.us/Vol-054/01_1861/1861_01_0091.pdf

Note 2: A fun fact concerning the Legion is take from a letter of apology that the former company commander Marzoni (now Major of the Spanish regiment "Cazadores espanoles") presents to General Mansfield Lovell, commander of the military district of Louisiana. In a mixture of English words, Spanish, misspellings and grammatical errors, Major Marzoni sprinkle ashes on his head, because the men of the company, during service as escort of prisoners, while they were intent on singing love and patriotic songs , not aware drain prisoners:

April 16, 1862

To: General Mansfield Lovell
Commander of Confederate Forces

District of Louisiana My Dear General, Please pardon my penmanship, as I am no too familiar with English as it is written. It is with mucho profoundest regret that I must relate an incident of prisoner escape. While conducting the prisoners assigned to the European brigade to thier work detail, it has always been the custom to place them in chains together. However the detail this morning was an exception owning to the fact that the prisoners were about to leave for duty at the Front Lines. One particular prisoner began to sing the "Bonnie Blue Flag" and soon both prisoners and guards were engaged in patriotic song, especially the song loving Italians of the Garibaldi Guards Company who were guarding said prisoners. Even civilians and young ladies along the street were singing. All proceeded normally with Lieutenant Guiseppi Santini proudly at the front of the column. Unfortunately, he was (I have determined) shoved in the path of a Creole maidservant who was pitching out her chamber pot onto the street. Lieut. Santini was immersed in ofal, right in the midst of his aria. He was said to have cried out desperately, "POOOYIEEEE!" and in the ensuing confusion several of the prisoners made an escape. All were rounded up except one private who calls himself "Jubal," whom I believe started the singing and by eyewitness accounts, shoved poor Lieutenant Santini into the path of the slop jar, causing him grevious accident. We have not been able to find and apprehend the felon "Jubal." PS: Lieut. Santini asks if the Department will pay for his soiled garments, as replacement is of paramount importance to the well being of his company. Several of his men are discouraged by the incident and say they cannot follow an officer in a soiled uniform, as it will cause the ladies to scorn them. The company may have to disband. In a situation of greatest embarassment,

I am your obedient servant, Major Gaudenzi Marzoni
Cazadores Espanoles -European Brigade
Provost Guard -New Orleans, Louisiana


Confederate units: Italian Guards - Infantry Battalion, Louisiana Militia
Italy in 1860 was divide into half a dozen states, the famous enterprise of Garibaldi Began to Genoa (my city); he departed with 1,000 ‘camicie rosse’, landed in Sicily, He with new volunteers (enrolled from men of the invaded country), conquered the whole Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Many Italians, of the beaten 'Bourbon army', were exiles and fled from Italy to New Orleans. The first ship came March 18, 1861, and with the landings of the following months, former soldiers of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies counted in 1800 men, many of them formed Italian Battalion. The information of the Battalion are very scarce, and even the uniform is unknown. We know that was organize in autumn 1861, during the organization of the European Brigades, but nothing more. The only known date is "prior November, 21, 1861". The new unit was called "Italian Guards Battalion", put in command Lieutenant Colonel Joseph G. Della Valle (the Italian with the highest rank achieved in the war for Confederacy) was so organized: a squad of sappers, a military band at the headquarters, and 5 companies, but only four were Italian, the fifth was of different ethnicity. These captains:
1st Company Captain Giuseppe Lavizza
2nd Company Captain Enrico Piaggio
3rd Company Captain Giuseppe Villiot
4th Company Captain Giuseppe Paoletti
5th company under Captain Leopold Fournier.
Enter in the Louisiana Militia as 6th regiment, European Brigade, later with other battalions became part of a regiment of the brigade of General Juge. Likewise Garibaldi Legion, the history of the battalion and the history of the militia of New Orleans coincide, remained for the defense of the city, maintaining the order until the surrender of New Orleans. In May 1862, the unit was disbanded, similar to the Garibaldi Guards, many members of the battalion re-enlisted in other Louisiana regular units.

Confederate units: other Italian companies
• ALABAMA - Southern (State) Guards. In Mobile a company of state troops under Captain Sylvester Festorazzi, was composed of Italians, actually among its ranks there were also some French and Spanish, but it was call Italian, however it seems that it was incorporate into a regular regiment. One source indicate Company K of the 21st Infantry.

• VIRGINIA - Italian company. Between the troops of the reserve of Virginia, there was the 19th Home Guard Regiment, formed by foreigners, it counted among its companies the "Italian company" formed by Italians and commanded by Captain Alfred Pico. When the regiment was call into service, these companies were order to camp around Richmond; members enjoyed the privilege of being able to continue their work, if they were out of service, and take advantage of rations from warehouses of the Government for their families at the same prices of government. There is an episode, which concerns the Pico’s company, described by the newspaper "Daily Richmond Examiner" of February 10, 1864, but was not able to find information.

• TENNESSEE - Garibaldi Guards. In number 441 of Osprey’s volumes, was nominate a Confederate company recruited in Memphis, from Italians living there, called ‘Garibaldi Guards. In my research I was aware of some Italian present in Memphis, but I do not know that had been formed a whole company. I know of no other information.

Confederate units with presence of Italians.
To complete the discussion on Italian confederates, remember that almost all the regiments of Louisiana had among their ranks Italians, these were mostly former members of the militia units disbanded in May 1862. These include the 10th, the 14th and the 20th Infantry. In other Confederate regiments were present Italians, but in single elements. Salvatore ferri, born in Licata (sicily), was the only survivor of the company I of the 10th Louisiana.
Only a few companies had a high percentage of Italians:

LOUISIANA - Tirailleurs d'Orleans. This company, which became the "I" of 10th Louisiana Infantry Regiment, contained soldiers 15 different States, the most represented were Italy with 27 elements. The Germans seconds in list have eight private. A source indicates that an Italian became captain, but I have no response.

SOUTH CAROLINA -Moroso’s Company. The 1st Regiment Charleston Guards, State Troops of South Carolina, was a regiment recruited among foreigners in the city. The company D, had many Italian (over half reading lists) and also the first commander was an Italian, Captain A. Moroso. In the census of Charleston in 1880, talking about an Italian resident, widower, 61-year-old named A. Moroso, definitely was our captain, since at the time the war was 42 years old. It seems that, the regiment was recruit, with the promise that, he should not serve outside the city. In fact the captain Moroso officially protested against the orders that assigned, his company D, in service on a steam in the port of Charleston, because contrary to the agreement and their obligations to the government, in fact while serving on the boat, the company would have exceeded the limits of the city.

Italians in the Confederate Navy
As said earlier, a number of Italian enlisted in the Confederate Navy. Watching some lists, I found that my compatriot had even boarded the famous CSS Alabama Captain R. Semmes. Finding information is quite complex and only a handful of news have emerged. In the rosters of the Confederate Cruiser, is referred as A.G. Bartelli, but I also found GiovanBattista Bartelli, as often happened, arrived in the United States the names were maimed or intentionally modified. His sea career began as steward in the merchant navy. In 1863 in Cape Town, he met Raphael Semmes who proposed him to enlist in the Confederate Navy, Bartelli accepted and embarked on CSS Alabama and became Captain's Steward. This is the description of Semmes of his steward: "A pale man, rather delicate and gentle manner; obedient, respectful and attentive, but very dependent on the use of wine.” One of the conditions for his enlistment was not to give in to alcohol while aboard. On June 19, 1864, GiovanBattista was one of the sailors who drowned in Cherbourg in France, when the famous cruiser met his fate in the famous battle with the USS Kearsarge.

An Italian, not a military, worked as a clerk at the Department of the Navy, in the office of Secretary Mallory. Throughout the war, a small team composed the office, among employees, C.E.L. Stuart. In the register of the Marina is list as being born in Italy. My investigations have not yielded results useful to reconstruct the history of this man. Probably is real name is, hidden in initial C.E.L.

Two tales of Italians of Genova.
I live in Genoa (The city of Columbus), part of Liguria, a region of northern Italy; almost two of my fellow-citizens were in confederate army, this is their story.

Abraham Baptista Vaccaro.
View attachment 64553
The last name is incorrectly transcribe, can be found in the various roster as Vaccarro or Baccaro. Baptist, was born near Genoa and arrival in Tennessee in 1851, he became a resident of Memphis. At the outbreak of the war, he enlisted in the 3rd Cavalry Regiment of the Tennessee under the command of Colonel Nathan B. Forrest, his role as fighter culminated in the Battle of Shiloh. Then in July 1862, he was transferred to Quartermaster Department, where he remained throughout the war, putting an end to his role as front-line soldier. Surrendered as part of the Army of Tennessee, and paroled April 26, 1865. He died in Memphis in 1919.

Anatole Placide Avegno

Just 10 miles from Genoa's downtown, there is a village called Avegno, one of my fellow-citizen was the organizer of a unit with a strong presence of Italian.
His father, Joseph Avegno, moved to New Orleans and had 10 children. Joseph died three days before the start of the war, but one of his sons, the twenty-six old Anatole Placide Avegno, formed a battalion of infantry of six companies (then with four other companies, became13th Louisiana infantry regiment).
We do not know why, maybe because He had not sufficient military experience, but the battalion was assigned to a Frenchman, Gerard Aristide. Anatole was awarded the rank of Major, as second in command, but the battalion would be forever known as "Avegno's Zouaves."

View attachment 64554
Among the soldiers present in the six-zuave companies, many sons of Italians, who at the time were defined in a derogatory manner "Dagoes”. On April 6 and 7, 1862, the Zouaves participated and fought hard in the battle of Shiloh, suffering several losses, major Avegno was mortally wounded on the second day of battle in the leg, underwent amputation died two or three days later.


Italian unionists
Italians in the Union Army were present in greater numbers than those enrolled in the ranks of the South, but dissimilar from Italian confederates who gathered in battalions and companies, those in blue fought scattered in the various regular regiments. Company A of the 39th NY remains the only unit of the Italian North.
View attachment 64556 View attachment 64557
Lieutenant Colonel A. Repetti with the Italian Flag and the recruitment poster of 39th NY.
Nice post. I'll be back to discuss this one tomorrow.
 
On 24 June 1859, Sardinian forces joined with France to defeat the Austrian army at Solferino. It was a battle comparable to Gettysburg in terms of numbers and casualties (40,000); both the Red Cross and Geneva Conventions trace their origins to this battle. A unified Italy was finally realized in 1861. Future CSA Brig. Gen. James J. Pettigrew secured a commission to participate on the side of the Italians, but an armistice was concluded before he could proceed with his travel plans.

Some soldiers in the Eastern theater:

CSA
Private Louis Tessendore, Company C, 6th Louisiana, born in Italy.
Private Peter Saul, Company K, 7th Louisiana, born in Italy.
Private Augustin Cogno, Company K, 8th Louisiana, born in Italy.
Sergeant John Garibaldi, Company C, 27th Virginia, born in Genoa, Italy on 30 April 1831.
Private Carlo Fassadalto, Company G, 10th Louisiana, born in Italy.
Private Carlo Dondaro, Company I, 10th Louisiana, born in Sardinia.
Private/Corporal Antonio Galli, Company I, 10th Louisiana, born in Italy.
Captain Frank Arrighi of Company D, 16th Mississippi was born in Natchez, Mississippi, but his father was Italian.

USA
Michael Rogers, Company I, 95th New York, born in Italy.
Major Edward Venuti, 52nd New York, born in Italy in 1825; he led his regiment at Gettysburg, where he was killed near the famous Wheatfield.
Major Thomas Worcester Hyde, of John Sedgwick’s staff, was born in Florence, Italy in January 1841.
 
Nice work! I never realized there were so many Italians in the south.

Don't forget Major General William B. Taliaferro (CSA). OK, so he was born in VA. But, he was of Italian heritage, and not only was he of high rank, but he was fairly competent IMO. My GGGG-Uncle was under his command in the Valley.

I'm glad you pointed all this out. The Yankees like to pretend that they were the only side who had foreigners in the ranks.
 
Italian in local company. Company F (Scotch Boys) 18th NC Regiment

Capalini, Lewis, private

Born in Italy and enlisted at Camp Wyatt at age 22, November 1, 1861. Present or accounted for until wounded in the left thigh and captured at Hanover Court House, Virginia, May 22, 1862. Died on or about June 10, 1862, of wounds. Place of death not reported.
North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865, A Roster, Vol VI, 16th -18th, 20th-21th Regiments, p.369

Addenda

Capalini, Lewis, private.
Left leg amputated as a results of wounds received at Hanover court House, Virginia, May 27 1862.
 
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Italy Virginia cavalry.jpg
A private with Italian surname, Joseph (Giuseppe?) Minghini, company D, 12th regiment Virginia Cavalry.
Anyone have news about him, is italian?
 
Minghini has a two-card CSR. Not much there.

Enlisted September 21, 1862. In September and October 1863 was on detached assignment as a courier with J.E.B. Stuart. Discharged December 16, 1863, no reason given.
 
There are two Joseph Minghinis in Virginia in the 1860 Census -- a 17-year-old farmer's son in Berkeley County, and a 22-year-old clerk in Jefferson County. Both are listed as native Virginians.
 
Technically the Corsica was French, but before it was part of Italy, in fact the father of the cadet Pizzini was the Italian ambassador in Richmond for a period
Italy had an embassy in Richmond? How is that possible? Was it a consulate?
 
Technically the Corsica was French, but before it was part of Italy, in fact the father of the cadet Pizzini was the Italian ambassador in Richmond for a period
And historically, Corsica was linguistically and culturally more Italian than French, right? Particularly in the 19th century I thought. Like CSA Today, I've also read about Napoleon being treated like an immigrant when he went to France to attend a military academy, particularly the French cadets giving him a hard time over his accent.
 
Italy had an embassy in Richmond? How is that possible? Was it a consulate?
sorry, too quick to write, I meant consul. from VMI site:
Andrew Pizzini, Jr. was born on September 24, 1846 in Richmond, Virginia. His father was Juan Pizzini, a native of Corsica who for many years served as the Italian Consul in Richmond.
 
sorry, too quick to write, I meant consul. from VMI site:
Andrew Pizzini, Jr. was born on September 24, 1846 in Richmond, Virginia. His father was Juan Pizzini, a native of Corsica who for many years served as the Italian Consul in Richmond.
Some countries maintained their consulates is the Confederate states, but none established embassies as that would have meant recognizing the CSA. The British consulate in New Orleans had an interesting history in particular.
 
I’ve read that Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleone di Buonaparte) could never quite shake his Italian accent.

And historically, Corsica was linguistically and culturally more Italian than French, right? Particularly in the 19th century I thought. Like CSA Today, I've also read about Napoleon being treated like an immigrant when he went to France to attend a military academy, particularly the French cadets giving him a hard time over his accent.

The Corsica became French between 1768-1769.
Napoleone Bonaparte born in Corsica in 1769!!!!
 
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Major Angelo Paldi was a trusted member of Custer's Brigade. Major Paldi often led part of the 1st Michiagn Cavalry. He was born in Sardinia and had served with the French Army and then in the American Army before the Civil War. Before the Civil War he moved to Detroit where besides his civilian job he was the captain of the Michigan Hussars.
 
A few days ago in another topic, I spoke of the Italians in the Confederate Army, now post an old research, which I did a few years ago. Please excuse any grammatical errors and the length of the post. (Some small pieces of the Following script, I have already posted in the forum).

Introduction
The alliance between Italy and the United States began with the very origins of the new continent, when my fellow-citizen Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas. Between 1492 and 1860, small groups of Italians arrived in America. At the census of 1860 only 6-7000 Italians were present in American soil. The first major immigration occurred in the decade 1871-1880 when they reached 56,000. When in Italy a cholera epidemic broke out, came the second wave, and were the years 1884-87. Thousands of others followed in the years to come.
Let us go back, at the outbreak of the war, April 14, 1861 about 11,000 Italians were present on American soil. Some had fled from poverty, oppression, and there were former soldiers and civilians fled from the wars of the period. If all ports witnessed the landing of Italian citizens, those in New York and New Orleans were the major destinations (in fact the units of the North and South with the largest number of Italians were from the States of Louisiana and New York). At that time, the Germans and Irish were the foreigners present in greater numbers in the United States, but Italians embraced the cause (North and South), and despite the small number, it seems that in percentage, they were the largest ethnic group.

Italian Confederates
About a thousand Italians fought for the Confederacy. Enlisted both individually and in all Italian units. In the Militia of Louisiana, they were able to organize at least two units, remember that in New Orleans there was a strong Italian presence and those enlisted in the State Troops. Unlike in confederate regular units, it seems that only a company of Alabama was completely Italian, while for other companies (mainly from the state of Louisiana), were enrolled a large number of Italians, but never came to have sufficient numbers to organize whole companies. When the battalions of Militia disbanded, some men re-enlisted in units of Louisiana, but Italians were present in some regiments of all the states of the South. Even in the Navy were some Italians, people of sailors, arrived from the sea, continued to navigate.

Confederate units: Garibaldi Legion - Infantry Battalion, Louisiana Militia
New Orleans, which was then the most populous city of the Confederate States, had a very high percentage of foreigners, when the fever of secession reached her, virtually every ethnic group formed its units, Italians were no less, and preparing to organize its own unit. This was to be a battalion under the name of "Garibaldi Legion." The intention, at least two companies had to be ready for the parade on February 22, 1861, but did not go quite as planned, only one company was completed. In February 21, 1861 was prepared and perfectly fitted the "first company of Garibaldi Guards" or simply Garibaldi Guards, this should have been company ‘A’ of the battalion. Unfortunately, they were not able to form other companies and so the battalion remained only on paper. The officers, all Italians were: Captain Marzoni Gaudenzio and when became Major, he was replaced by Captain Giuseppe (changed to Joseph), Santini; the first lieutenant Ulysses Marinoni and the second lieutenant Ernesto Baselli. When most of the regular troops, were sent away from Louisiana, practically only the militia remained in defense of the state. Therefore, the governor called out the troops in state service, among them was the 'first company of Garibaldi Guards’, which was incorporate in a Spanish regiment of twelve companies: five companies were numbered from 1 to 5, and seven companies lettered A through G. The Garibaldi Guards became the company F. Initially only training field routine and provost service, but played an important role when (as part of the European Brigade) helped maintain order in the city. After the surrender of 29 April 1862 to General Butler, New Orleans was in a state of chaos and looting was at the order of the day. Finally, in May, the Legion broke up, but many men re-enlisted in volunteer regiments.

Note 1: Link of the newspaper "The New Orleans Bee" of 28 January 1861 with the description of the uniform. http://nobee.jefferson.lib.la.us/Vol-054/01_1861/1861_01_0091.pdf

Note 2: A fun fact concerning the Legion is take from a letter of apology that the former company commander Marzoni (now Major of the Spanish regiment "Cazadores espanoles") presents to General Mansfield Lovell, commander of the military district of Louisiana. In a mixture of English words, Spanish, misspellings and grammatical errors, Major Marzoni sprinkle ashes on his head, because the men of the company, during service as escort of prisoners, while they were intent on singing love and patriotic songs , not aware drain prisoners:

April 16, 1862

To: General Mansfield Lovell
Commander of Confederate Forces

District of Louisiana My Dear General, Please pardon my penmanship, as I am no too familiar with English as it is written. It is with mucho profoundest regret that I must relate an incident of prisoner escape. While conducting the prisoners assigned to the European brigade to thier work detail, it has always been the custom to place them in chains together. However the detail this morning was an exception owning to the fact that the prisoners were about to leave for duty at the Front Lines. One particular prisoner began to sing the "Bonnie Blue Flag" and soon both prisoners and guards were engaged in patriotic song, especially the song loving Italians of the Garibaldi Guards Company who were guarding said prisoners. Even civilians and young ladies along the street were singing. All proceeded normally with Lieutenant Guiseppi Santini proudly at the front of the column. Unfortunately, he was (I have determined) shoved in the path of a Creole maidservant who was pitching out her chamber pot onto the street. Lieut. Santini was immersed in ofal, right in the midst of his aria. He was said to have cried out desperately, "POOOYIEEEE!" and in the ensuing confusion several of the prisoners made an escape. All were rounded up except one private who calls himself "Jubal," whom I believe started the singing and by eyewitness accounts, shoved poor Lieutenant Santini into the path of the slop jar, causing him grevious accident. We have not been able to find and apprehend the felon "Jubal." PS: Lieut. Santini asks if the Department will pay for his soiled garments, as replacement is of paramount importance to the well being of his company. Several of his men are discouraged by the incident and say they cannot follow an officer in a soiled uniform, as it will cause the ladies to scorn them. The company may have to disband. In a situation of greatest embarassment,

I am your obedient servant, Major Gaudenzi Marzoni
Cazadores Espanoles -European Brigade
Provost Guard -New Orleans, Louisiana


Confederate units: Italian Guards - Infantry Battalion, Louisiana Militia
Italy in 1860 was divide into half a dozen states, the famous enterprise of Garibaldi Began to Genoa (my city); he departed with 1,000 ‘camicie rosse’, landed in Sicily, He with new volunteers (enrolled from men of the invaded country), conquered the whole Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Many Italians, of the beaten 'Bourbon army', were exiles and fled from Italy to New Orleans. The first ship came March 18, 1861, and with the landings of the following months, former soldiers of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies counted in 1800 men, many of them formed Italian Battalion. The information of the Battalion are very scarce, and even the uniform is unknown. We know that was organize in autumn 1861, during the organization of the European Brigades, but nothing more. The only known date is "prior November, 21, 1861". The new unit was called "Italian Guards Battalion", put in command Lieutenant Colonel Joseph G. Della Valle (the Italian with the highest rank achieved in the war for Confederacy) was so organized: a squad of sappers, a military band at the headquarters, and 5 companies, but only four were Italian, the fifth was of different ethnicity. These captains:
1st Company Captain Giuseppe Lavizza
2nd Company Captain Enrico Piaggio
3rd Company Captain Giuseppe Villiot
4th Company Captain Giuseppe Paoletti
5th company under Captain Leopold Fournier.
Enter in the Louisiana Militia as 6th regiment, European Brigade, later with other battalions became part of a regiment of the brigade of General Juge. Likewise Garibaldi Legion, the history of the battalion and the history of the militia of New Orleans coincide, remained for the defense of the city, maintaining the order until the surrender of New Orleans. In May 1862, the unit was disbanded, similar to the Garibaldi Guards, many members of the battalion re-enlisted in other Louisiana regular units.

Confederate units: other Italian companies
• ALABAMA - Southern (State) Guards. In Mobile a company of state troops under Captain Sylvester Festorazzi, was composed of Italians, actually among its ranks there were also some French and Spanish, but it was call Italian, however it seems that it was incorporate into a regular regiment. One source indicate Company K of the 21st Infantry.

• VIRGINIA - Italian company. Between the troops of the reserve of Virginia, there was the 19th Home Guard Regiment, formed by foreigners, it counted among its companies the "Italian company" formed by Italians and commanded by Captain Alfred Pico. When the regiment was call into service, these companies were order to camp around Richmond; members enjoyed the privilege of being able to continue their work, if they were out of service, and take advantage of rations from warehouses of the Government for their families at the same prices of government. There is an episode, which concerns the Pico’s company, described by the newspaper "Daily Richmond Examiner" of February 10, 1864, but was not able to find information.

• TENNESSEE - Garibaldi Guards. In number 441 of Osprey’s volumes, was nominate a Confederate company recruited in Memphis, from Italians living there, called ‘Garibaldi Guards. In my research I was aware of some Italian present in Memphis, but I do not know that had been formed a whole company. I know of no other information.

Confederate units with presence of Italians.
To complete the discussion on Italian confederates, remember that almost all the regiments of Louisiana had among their ranks Italians, these were mostly former members of the militia units disbanded in May 1862. These include the 10th, the 14th and the 20th Infantry. In other Confederate regiments were present Italians, but in single elements. Salvatore ferri, born in Licata (sicily), was the only survivor of the company I of the 10th Louisiana.
Only a few companies had a high percentage of Italians:

LOUISIANA - Tirailleurs d'Orleans. This company, which became the "I" of 10th Louisiana Infantry Regiment, contained soldiers 15 different States, the most represented were Italy with 27 elements. The Germans seconds in list have eight private. A source indicates that an Italian became captain, but I have no response.

SOUTH CAROLINA -Moroso’s Company. The 1st Regiment Charleston Guards, State Troops of South Carolina, was a regiment recruited among foreigners in the city. The company D, had many Italian (over half reading lists) and also the first commander was an Italian, Captain A. Moroso. In the census of Charleston in 1880, talking about an Italian resident, widower, 61-year-old named A. Moroso, definitely was our captain, since at the time the war was 42 years old. It seems that, the regiment was recruit, with the promise that, he should not serve outside the city. In fact the captain Moroso officially protested against the orders that assigned, his company D, in service on a steam in the port of Charleston, because contrary to the agreement and their obligations to the government, in fact while serving on the boat, the company would have exceeded the limits of the city.

Italians in the Confederate Navy
As said earlier, a number of Italian enlisted in the Confederate Navy. Watching some lists, I found that my compatriot had even boarded the famous CSS Alabama Captain R. Semmes. Finding information is quite complex and only a handful of news have emerged. In the rosters of the Confederate Cruiser, is referred as A.G. Bartelli, but I also found GiovanBattista Bartelli, as often happened, arrived in the United States the names were maimed or intentionally modified. His sea career began as steward in the merchant navy. In 1863 in Cape Town, he met Raphael Semmes who proposed him to enlist in the Confederate Navy, Bartelli accepted and embarked on CSS Alabama and became Captain's Steward. This is the description of Semmes of his steward: "A pale man, rather delicate and gentle manner; obedient, respectful and attentive, but very dependent on the use of wine.” One of the conditions for his enlistment was not to give in to alcohol while aboard. On June 19, 1864, GiovanBattista was one of the sailors who drowned in Cherbourg in France, when the famous cruiser met his fate in the famous battle with the USS Kearsarge.

An Italian, not a military, worked as a clerk at the Department of the Navy, in the office of Secretary Mallory. Throughout the war, a small team composed the office, among employees, C.E.L. Stuart. In the register of the Marina is list as being born in Italy. My investigations have not yielded results useful to reconstruct the history of this man. Probably is real name is, hidden in initial C.E.L.

Two tales of Italians of Genova.
I live in Genoa (The city of Columbus), part of Liguria, a region of northern Italy; almost two of my fellow-citizens were in confederate army, this is their story.

Abraham Baptista Vaccaro.
View attachment 64553
The last name is incorrectly transcribe, can be found in the various roster as Vaccarro or Baccaro. Baptist, was born near Genoa and arrival in Tennessee in 1851, he became a resident of Memphis. At the outbreak of the war, he enlisted in the 3rd Cavalry Regiment of the Tennessee under the command of Colonel Nathan B. Forrest, his role as fighter culminated in the Battle of Shiloh. Then in July 1862, he was transferred to Quartermaster Department, where he remained throughout the war, putting an end to his role as front-line soldier. Surrendered as part of the Army of Tennessee, and paroled April 26, 1865. He died in Memphis in 1919.

Anatole Placide Avegno

Just 10 miles from Genoa's downtown, there is a village called Avegno, one of my fellow-citizen was the organizer of a unit with a strong presence of Italian.
His father, Joseph Avegno, moved to New Orleans and had 10 children. Joseph died three days before the start of the war, but one of his sons, the twenty-six old Anatole Placide Avegno, formed a battalion of infantry of six companies (then with four other companies, became13th Louisiana infantry regiment).
We do not know why, maybe because He had not sufficient military experience, but the battalion was assigned to a Frenchman, Gerard Aristide. Anatole was awarded the rank of Major, as second in command, but the battalion would be forever known as "Avegno's Zouaves."

View attachment 64554
Among the soldiers present in the six-zuave companies, many sons of Italians, who at the time were defined in a derogatory manner "Dagoes”. On April 6 and 7, 1862, the Zouaves participated and fought hard in the battle of Shiloh, suffering several losses, major Avegno was mortally wounded on the second day of battle in the leg, underwent amputation died two or three days later.


Italian unionists
Italians in the Union Army were present in greater numbers than those enrolled in the ranks of the South, but dissimilar from Italian confederates who gathered in battalions and companies, those in blue fought scattered in the various regular regiments. Company A of the 39th NY remains the only unit of the Italians for the North.
View attachment 64556 View attachment 64557
Lieutenant Colonel A. Repetti with the Italian Flag and the recruitment poster of 39th NY.
Thanks for the post. We paisanos have to stick together!
 
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