Finnish sailors in the union and confederate navies

Finnish sailors in the union and confederate navies

Among the best examples of Finnish military involvement is found among the Union Forces, where Otto Mauno Geers served as a sailor and eventual quartermaster in the Navy (See Photo). Born in the parish of Eura, he immigrated to the United States in 1860 and settled in Boston. The following year he joined the Navy. Geers served in the Navy consecutively for 21 years.

Geers participated in a number of battles, and according to Ilmonen, the most memorable fight was the Battle of New Orleans. In this battle, Geers’ ship was sunk, and a large number of the crew drowned. As the ship was sinking, Geers jumped into the Mississippi River at the same time as the main mast was shot down by the Confederates. With the mast, the U.S. flag fell into the river. Geers grabbed the flag and swam to shore saving himself and the flag, which he kept as a treasured keepsake.

Among the Finns in the Confederate Forces, one sailor was discovered as being part of the 60-man crew of the renown Confederate Cruiser Alabama (Lonn, 1940:297). This sailor was named "Jackalanwiski", whose name is most likely spelled incorrectly. According to an autobiography written by an English sailor on board the ship Alabama, "Jackalanwiski" was such a difficult name to pronounce that the crew called this Finn by the name "Jack-o-lantern" (Haywood, 1886:36).

Haywood tells how the crew began to have re-occurring dreams which were interpreted as events that were to happen in the future. The Finnish "Jack-o-lantern" was a translator of dreams, and using a "dreambook" and speaking with "mysterious gutturals" (possibly in the Finnish language which does sound strange to foreigners!), attempted to embellish the situation and interpret the dreams. While the crew of the Alabama wanted to hear an interpretation of their dreams, an older bible-preaching member of the crew declared the event as being blasphemous and of the devil. This older sailor urged the crew to throw the devilish Finn overboard into the sea. Apparently the crew was afraid to do so. Haywood, who writes about the battles and travels of the C.C. Alabama until the final battle and destruction with the U.S.S. Kearsage in 1864 does not say anything else about the Finnish sailor (Haywood, 1886:114–115).

Conclusions

Much research remains to be done in a search for possible Finnish military involvement in the American Civil War. In discussions with members of the Virginia Civil War Round Table (a local group of Virginia historians interested in the Confederate Forces and the battles of the Civil War), even the thoroughly knowledgeable historians lack information on the involvement of the Finns (WSVA AM-550). The presence of the Swedes is much better known, and a few Russians have also been documented as participating in the Civil War. The Finns, however, remain a mystery. If, as Ilmonen suggests, the Finns represented a high degree of involvement compared to other immigrant groups found in the United States during the Civil War period, it is important to pursue this claim and uncover the stories and experiences of the Finns who fought on both sides of the War. Time consuming research in historical archives in locations such as Washington DC, Richmond, Virginia, and other locations are needed to build on the small list of names presented here.