France Immigrants in the U.S. Civil War

Question

Hi Wikitreers,

I notice maybe a handful of veterans at the most in the 106th Regiment whose fold3 record shows birthplace as “France” I am in awe that the Migrants from France would want to participate in the war. I have seen also German born join the Regt. 

This veteran was a laborer but maybe the pay and opportunity gave him a chance in the new world for opportunity to succeed?

Any collaboration in his genealogy is appreciated 

Thank you 

Answer 1

I am not sure he was given a choice whether or not to 'participate.' I know my relatives of fighting age were not. Not knowing when he immigrated, or where he lived in New York; a couple statements made in an article about Five Points, a well known depot for immigrants of the day.

Despite the neighborhood's reputation (or more likely because of it) some of the era's most famous individuals visited Five Points. In 1834, famous frontiersman Davy Crockett, who had fought in the Creek War, stated in his own observations of the area that he would rather fight in a war again than go out after dark in Five Points. 

About a year before he was inaugurated as president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln visited the Five Points House of Industry. According to "Five Points," Lincoln was shocked by the poverty he found there. He visited the dorms where homeless children lived and the workshops where teenagers learned trades to support themselves. A teacher asked Lincoln to speak to his students, and at first he refused, stating that he couldn't give children dealing with such hardship any advice that could help them. When pressed, he encouraged the children to always do the best they could. He cut his speech short, too overcome with emotion to continue.

Comments

Thanks for the star, Andrew. Another person who comes to mind is George M. Todd - Wikipedia. Like many who served in the Confederate Army, slavery and States rights were moot points. Their participation was more personal and was based on revenge.

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This is very enlightening. The thought of them having no choice…

What is even more intriguing is how many served as immigrants in the war. I’m not sure the percentage but it’s more common when you start researching each individual veteran of the regiment

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I forget his name but, we had a speaker whose  GR GR grandfather fought in the Battle of the Ravine. As he was severely wounded, his involvement was well documented. His grandfather was a German Immigrant, a skilled stonecutter. He suggested many of the immigrants fought for the Union because they came to America to better their living conditions. Once here, they were forced to compete against 'slave labor' used in much of the industry. He also noted, many came to America on ships used to transport cargo, not humans because they could not afford passage otherwise. As the ships returned to America to pick up cotton, cheap fares were offered by the shipping companies. As the Mississippi River served as a primary transportation route and St Louis the Gateway to the West, it makes since many chose the Midwest opposed to New York given the economic conditions of the times.

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i AGREE WITH WHAT K SMITH SAID.  MY GERMAN GREAT, GREATGRANDFATHER JOINED THE UNION ARMY IN ST LOUIS, MISSOURI IN 1861  BY JOINING THE UNION HE RECEIVED CITIZENSHIP WITHOUT HAVING TO WAIT.