Hungarianin American civil war

Hungarianin in American civil war

My interest concerning the participation of Hungarians in the Civil War (1861-65) began in earnest about a dozen years ago, when a friend in Hungary sent me a copy of Magyar America [Hungarian Amerika] by Ödön Vasváry, - better known in English-speaking circles as Edmund Vasvary - the renowned chronicler of Hungarian-American history.

An avid student of European and American history from an early age, I knew that Hungarians had fought in the conflict, but I was not familiar with the particulars of their lives. To satisfy my curiosity, I began to explore the Civil War literature and the writings of the 1848-49 War of Liberation exiles.

Initially I was laboring under the impression that, given the relatively small number of Hungarians involved, my findings would be meager. I didn't take very long to realize that my assumption was entirely incorrect; the amount of information available, albeit scattered, is simply staggering. Just in the massive 128-volume The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, the "Bible" of the Civil War, there are hundreds of reports and letters by Hungarians, and an even greater number of documents by others mentioning them.

By going through thousands of primary and secondary American and Hungarian sources patiently and systematically over the years, following leads as they materialized, I managed to accumulate a vast body of details on nearly 150 Hungarians who served in the war. Sources consulted and yielding dividends included military records, federal and state publications, general historical works, census data, obituary notices, diaries, biographies and autobiographies, regimental histories, local history books and pamphlets, official and personal correspondences, literary reviews, reminiscenses of soldiers and civilians, campaign and battle accounts, newspaper stories, diplomatic papers, and popular and scholarly journal articles.

As I delved deeper and deeper into my reasearch, two facts became obvious: 1) there is no single comprehensive work adequately recounting the lives of these Hungarians, and 2) many of the books and articles contain glaring factual errors, misleading statements, and unwarranted suppositions.

The best known and most frequently quoted publication is Vasvary's Lincoln's Hungarian Heroes. Written in 1939, this slim volume, with a bilingual text and an extensive list of references, provides capsule sketches on a number of Hungarians not only on the Union side but also in the ranks of the Confederacy. For those unable to read Hungarian, the book remains the definitive work to this day. For example, the large section devoted to Hungarians in Ella Lonn's monumental and highly acclaimed Foreigners in the Union Army and Navy is based almost entirely on Lincoln's Hungarian Heroes.

Vasvary certainly deserves a lot of credit for his trail blazing efforts. He not only revised and improved upon the earlier writings of Eugene Pivány and Géza Kende, but also brought to light new information and placed people and events in their proper historical settings. His book contains much useful data and is a valuable guide to those seeking an introductory picture on the role of Hungarians in the Civil War.

Mistakes and oversights are bound to occur in pioneering works, and therefore it would be a grievious omission not to mention the shortcomings of the book. As pointed out by the eminent German-American historian Carl Wittke in his review of the monograph (p. 422, Vol. 26 (1939-1940) of The Mississippi Valley Historical Review), Vasvary lists several individuals who were definitely not Hungarians. On the other hand, conspicuous is the absence of Hugo Hollan, one of the better known figures among the emigres. A substantial portion of the biographical sketches is woefully sparse; often consisting of no more than one or two sentences. Various major and minor factual inaccuracies crop up throughout the text. The phrase "we have no other information about him" occurs far too often, leading the unwary reader to conclude that this is indeed the case when usually the opposite is true.

American writers unfamiliar with Hungarian names, history and customs tend to let their imagination roam freely when giving biographical details, resulting in startling and often comical errors. For example, in some Wisconsin historical publications Joseph Vandor, colonel of the 7th Wisconsin Infantry, has been "Dutchified" to Van Dor.

While such errors are to be expected and perhaps even be overlooked, others are inexcusable. For example, according to Smithsonian's Great Battles and Battlefields of the Civil War by Jay Wertz and Edwin C. Bearss, names respected in Civil War circles, General Alexander Asboth's left arm was so seriously injured during the battle of Marianna, Florida, that the limb had to be amputated. The numerous wounds Asboth sustained are graphically described in Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion as well as in Medical Histories of Union Generals. According to these, the doctors were able to save the mangled arm, though it remained quite useless. The Smithsonian's book also purports the battle as a Confederate victory, a claim not entertained by even rabid partisans of the Lost Cause.

To provide a succint, but reasonably thorough, overview of Hungarian participation in the Civil War and to correct some of the errors abounding,  Also outlined at this site is a description of my book The Libby Prison Diary of Colonel Emeric Szabad, which contains an edited version of the diary, his biography, and a gist of the events which shaped the course of his life.

A very talented individual who wrote with equal ease in Hungarian, French and English, Szabad, a veteran of the 1848-49 War of Liberation and Giuseppe Garibaldi's campaign in southern Italy, spent several months in the notorious prison at Richmond, Virginia, after his capture by Confederate raiders while on a scouting mission. Because of its objectivity and non-recriminatory tone, his diary is often quoted in books and articles dealing with prisons and prisoners-of-war, perhaps the most sensitive and emotional issue of the war.

A lengthy article I contributed to the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS) on Major-General Julius Stahel, the highest ranking Hungarian of the Civil War and recipient of the prestigious Congressional Medal of Honor, while a shorter one on him for Arlington National Cemetery. My summary of the life and career of Frederick Knefler, colonel of the 79th Indiana Infantry, brigadier-general by brevet and lifelong friend of the famous author Lew Wallace, can be found at

A brief essay on Hungarian involvement in the Civil War, along with capsule biographies of six of the more notable figures (Alexander Asboth, Julius Stahel, Frederick Knefler, Nicholas Perczel, Charles Zagonyi and Frederick George D'Utassy), I prepared in conjunction with a presentation at the Hungarian Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto.

One of the gratifying results of these postings has been the feedback from other Civil War enthusiasts and the subsequent lively exchange of information. Most pleasantly surprising has been the contact initiated by a half-dozen descendants of the families of Hungarian veterans of the war. Spencer Radnich, a direct descendant of Stephen Radnich, one of the few successful settlers of the Hungarian colony in New Buda, Iowa, was kind enough to send a batch of family documents, which provided invaluable information not only about Stephen, but also on his two more adventurous brothers: Imre, a member of the Lopez filibustering expedition against Cuba in August 1851, and János, artillery commander of the Hungarian Legion in Italy.

Despite the abundance of reliable information, some errors have become so ingrained that they pass for facts. One of the most widespread and persistent of these concerns the fate of Charles Zagonyi, commander of General John C. Frémont's Body Guard and later the general's chief of cavalry. Zagonyi owes his fame and seemingly ceaseless fascination by Civil War historians to his daring charge against an overwhelming number of Confederates at Springfield, Missouri, on October 25, 1861. Recent American articles on Zagonyi and his gallant deed tend to conclude with the comment that he returned to Hungary following the Compromise of 1867 and became the proprietor of a tobacco shop (e.g. "Taking Off the Kid Gloves" by Judy Yandoh in America's Civil War, March 1992). This contention is most assuredly wrong, with the most compelling evidence coming from the memoirs of his good friend Lajos Dancs. Zagonyi simply disappeared around 1867 while still in the United States and his fate remains shrouded in mystery.

Francis B. Heitman's Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, published in 1903, denotes Leonidas Haskell, who served on General Frémont's staff, as a native of Hungary. Ever since, American writers, and even some Hungarian ones, have been routinely footnoting him as an Hungarian, even though it's quite evident from the writings of Jessie Benton Frémont, the general's redoubtable wife, that Haskell was the scion of an old New England family. Haskell was a sly and unpopular figure; fellow staff officer Colonel Albert Tracy refers to him in his diary as "a bird of ill omen," and asks: "Why are we to be always afflicted with this man - a most thorough disorganizer, and disliked by us all?" Therefore, Haskell's deletion from the list of Hungarians is no great loss.

A number of Hungarian works (e.g. Gábor Bona's Tábornokok és törzstisztek a szabadságharcban 1848-49 [Generals and Staff Officers in the 1848-49 War of Liberation]) state that Major Stephen Kovacs, 54th New York Infantry, perished while a captive in Libby Prison. Kovacs not only survived, but following his exchange returned to his regiment and continued his distinguished military career, as recapitulated in Frederick Phisterer's New York in the War of the Rebellion. He died in 1884; his obituary is printed in the April 17 issue of the New York Times.

Incidentally, while Hungarians fighting for the North have received considerable attention, Hungarians in the Southern army have been largely ignored. This is understandable; the overwhelming majority of Hungarians supported the Union, and only one, Colonel Bela Estvan, remembered more for his book War Pictures from the South than his military accomplishments, achieved prominence among the secessionists. For those desiring to learn more about Hungarians in the Confederacy, James P. McGuire's well-researched The Hungarian Texans is highly recommended.

Hopefully current and future writers will not repeat the mistakes of previous authors. Hungarians, in blue as well as in gray, served valiantly and deserve a faithful rendition of their lives, the only lasting monument to their memory.