Latin American History: Latinos in the United States Civil War (Part I)
Here is a short list of people from Latin America who participated in the United States Civil War as officers in the Union Army. Keep in mind that the term “Latino” was not in use during that time.
Diego Archuleta (1814-1884): Born in Alburquerque while the city was still part of Mexico,…
The Battle of Antietam (1862)
September 17, 1862 marks the 150th anniversary of not only the deadliest day of the U.S. Civil War but also in the entire military history of the United States. By the end of that late summer day, 3,654 Federal and Confederate soldiers lay dead on the Maryland battlefield. All told there were 23,000 casualties combined for North and South.
The leaders of the opposing forces were General George McClellan (U.S.A.) with his Army of the Potomac and General Robert E. Lee (C.S.A.) bringing with him the Army of Virginia. The battle began at 5:30 a.m. on the 17th and lasted 12 hours. From the start, the advantage was McClellan’s. Not only did his forces far outnumber Lee’s, 75,000 to 55,000, but McClellan had forewarning of Lee’s strategy when a corporal and sergeant discovered a copy of the Confederate battle plans, known as Special Order 191, wrapped around three cigars. But McClellan took advantage of neither, waiting 18 hours after finding the orders to attack Lee and leaving 25,000 troops completely inactive during the battle.
For all the loss of life the battle is deemed by historians as a “draw.” However since Lee was the one who fled the battlefield President Lincoln determined it to be a strategic, if tenuous, victory. (He did however fault McClellan for his complete lack of leadership and failure to press the Confederates after the battle. Eventually McClellan would be removed from command, and the general would actually run against Lincoln for president in 1864.)
The “victory” mattered for Lincoln because it gave him an opportunity to announce the Emancipation Proclamation, the document that would free the slaves – in Confederate territory. (Lincoln would not free the slaves in the U.S. for fear of alienating the border states, Maryland, Missouri, and Kentucky, who allowed slavery.) Had Lincoln issued the Proclamation after a Federal loss, it would have appeared to be a move of desperation. The Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863.
Sources: www.civilwar.org, www.thehistoricalarchive.com, wikipedia.org, and my history geek brain
(All images are photographs of Antietam taken by Alexander Gardner, a Scottish photographer, who took 70 photos of the battlefield and its dead.
Top left: loc.gov – “Confederate dead by a fence on the Hagerstown road”, September 1862. Facsimile. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (145) Digital ID # cwpb-01097
Top right: npr.org – “Bloody Lane”
Center: npr.org – “A lone grave on the Battle-field of Antietam”
Bottom left: shorpy.com – “Confederate soldier who after being wounded had evidently dragged himself to a little ravine on the hillside where he died.”
Bottom right: nationalparkstraveler.com – Untitled)
The daft old man who stole a magic box and ran away.
On 3rd September 1651, the Battle of Worcester took place, with the 21-year-old Charles II and his Scottish army fighting Oliver Cromwell’s forces.
Charles’s army were vastly outnumbered (28,000 against 16,000) and despite his efforts to keep his troops motivated, they suffered a heavy defeat, with thousands killed or taken prisoner.
The king himself escaped; during the day he had been incredibly visible on the battlefield, and allegedly had two horses shot out from underneath him as he was riding. His escape and subsequent return to exile is well-documented, and will be detailed on this blog over the next few weeks.
Before the battle, Charles had requested uniforms for his soldiers. He was unable to pay the debt, which remained outstanding until the current Prince of Wales repaid it in 2008.
The world’s first colour footage – shot in 1902 by Edward Raymond Turner (featured in the sixth gif) – England.
Carved Tibetan skulls.
Irish Mexicans (Spanish: Irlandés-mexicano or Hibernomexicano; Irish: Gael-Meicsiceach) are inhabitants of Mexico that are immigrants from or descendants of immigrants from Ireland. The majority of Irish immigrants to Mexico were Catholic and arrived during the time when Ireland was under British rule.
Many Mexican Irish communities existed in Mexican Texas until the Texas Revolution. Many Irish then sided with Catholic Mexico against Protestant pro-U.S. elements. The Batallón de San Patricio was a largely (ethnically) Irish battalion of U.S. troops who deserted and fought alongside the Mexican Army against the United States in the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848. In some cases, Irish immigrants or Americans left from California (the Irish Confederate army of Fort Yuma, Arizona during theAmerican Civil War in 1861) and blended into Mexican society instead.
Álvaro Obregón (O’Brien) was president of Mexico during 1920-24 and Ciudad Obregón and its airport are named in his honor. Actor Anthony Quinn is another famous Mexican of Irish descent. There are also monuments in Mexico City paying tribute to those Irish who fought for Mexico in the 1800s.
Today, there are roughly between 300,000 and 600,000 Irish-descendants living in Mexico City, and the Northern region of the country, where Irish last names such as Bay, Lamport, Byrne, Walsh, Foley, Hayes, and O’Leary are very common, especially in the states of Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon, and Durango.
