The
North had a very large population of foreign-born (nearly 3.4 million
compared to 233,650 in the South) to draw bounty-enriched recruits from
-- and the language of virtually every European country was heard in
Northern army camps. Native-born Northerner soldiers often derided them
as being the off-scouring of Europe rather than Americans.
Bernhard Thuersam, Chairman
North Carolina War Between the States Sesquicentennial Commission
"Unsurpassed Valor, Courage and Devotion to Liberty"
"The Official Website of the North Carolina WBTS Sesquicentennial"
Helpful Yankee Artillerist
“As
a result of [General Matthew C.] Butler’s scouting report, [General
Wade] Hampton noted that [the enemy’s] left flank was “in the air.” He
suggested that if the infantry attacked the Yankees from the west,
holding them in position at Ream’s Station, he could come up from the
south to drive the Federals away from the and back to their lines. [General Robert E.] Lee agreed with
the plan.
The
next morning, shortly after sunrise . . . Butler drove the Yankee
skirmishers back toward their lines, then waited for the infantry
attack. The enemy, of course, was uncomfortable with Butler on their
flank, so they opened an artillery barrage toward his ranks. “They are
disposed to be rather familiar this morning,” Butler observed calmly to
[General Thomas] Rosser.
[After Gen. A.P. Hill’s assault about 3PM],
Butler dismounted his men . . . to approach his adversary from the
rear. “The enemy, taken on the front and flank, fell back pell mell,”
one stated, “through trees cut down, fence rails, breastworks of every
kind . . . thrown up as a defense against us.”
The
Rebels captured the [enemy] artillery, but no one knew how to fire the
pieces. An enemy prisoner saw the problem. “If you boys will allow me,”
he called, “I can mow those Yankees down.”
The
astonished Confederates moved aside, and the Union gunner quickly
opened a devastating fire on his former friends (many of whom were
foreigners who did not speak English, some of whom had only recently
arrived from overseas). “[He] seems to enjoy the sport very much,” one
of [Butler’s] men recalled.”
(Southern Hero, Matthew Calbraith Butler, Samuel J. Martin, Stackpole Book, 2001, pp. 109-110)
