58
Spaniard in the American Civil War
“To arms! To arms! 50$ bounty. Do not wait to be drafted, but volunteer!!” Or “Enlist! Enlist! 400$ bounty, 16$ per month, and clothed and fed! Better wages, boys, you can make at home.”
With such attractive promises on posters, there is no doubt why many brave men decided to fight in this war, either with the Union or the Confederates. This war is all we have heard about in the past years. But what do we really know about the people fighting this war? Do we know the truth about the life in the front? Do we know how many of our men fought this war?
The battle of Gettysburg, that took place from the first to the third of July in 1863 in the Pennsylvania zone named the same way, was the bloody battlefield in which Francisco Navarrete, a Spanish foot soldier fighting among Union lines, captured a Confederate flag. Although such achievement was usually awarded a Medal of Honor and his remarkable bravery is written down in the 39th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment’s documents, he never received the medal.
This regiment, commonly known as the “Garibaldi Guard”, was mainly made of foreign-born volunteers. Divided into various companies, the last one was formed by voluntaries from Spain and Portugal. They took the uniform from Garibaldi’s Italian revolutionaries.
At least twenty Spanish men enlisted in the 10th Louisiana Infantry Regiment. Some of them being Gustavo López; Pedro Barau, who was made prisoner and later pledged alliance to the Union; Juan Gutiérrez, who lost his arm; Antonio Campos and Manuel Castaño, both missing in action.
Of course, if we really want to know about the life in the front it is better to hear it from a person that has endured it. So we have obtained some of the letters that these men sent to their families. Here is a fragment:
by Lucia Mediano
Our National Heroes - Testimony from the battlefield
Merce, March 3, 1864
I’m writing this from the hospital. I was on duty when my rifle blew off and I got shot on my arm. They had to cut it off. But I am well, there’s no need to worry. After everything is over, we will get a nice house in the country. We were not able to send any mail for about a fortnight, but I would have written more if I had known we could send the letters. Will write more the first opportunity I have.
Yours truly,
Juan G.
Francisco Navarrete wore a Confederate uniform like this one.