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When the Civil War broke out in 1861, there were an estimated 3,000 Hungarians living in the United States. Many had come for political reasons, following the crushed Hungarian War for Independence of 1848-49. A good number of them had fought in that war. These new immigrants settled mostly in the North, and the majority was opposed to slavery. They therefore rallied to support the Union cause.
Some did not wait for the outbreak of hostilities in April 1861, but as early as January of that year formed a company, together with some Czechs and Germans, who drilled intensively under the leadership of former Hungarian officers Géza Mihalotzy, Alexander Jekelfalussy, and others. (Mihalotzy wrote to Lincoln, requesting permission to name his company “Lincoln Riflemen”. The President’s handwritten approval may be seen at the bottom of his letter.) There were also Robert and Roderick Rombauer, sons of the former director of a munitions factory in Nagyvárad, who had served as officers of the Hungarian War for Independence, and who organized the National Guard in St. Louis.
It is almost impossible to determine how many Hungarians fought in the Civil War, because records did not specify nationality of origin, only States and regiments. Eugene Pivany, who pioneered research on this topic in 1913, guessed their number at 800, which may or may not be accurate. This present study by Vasvary lists 110, with brief biographies, many of which are extremely interesting. (Space limitations do not allow us to mention them all here.) An additional ten more Hungarians fought for the Confederacy. Some of these men were born in Hungary, but had played no role in the Hungarian War for Independence.
Many fought in the Civil War as merely enlisted men, but a few rose to higher rank. The highest ranking was Major-General Julius Stáhel-Számwald. Born in Szeged in 1825, he became a hussar in 1848, and escaped with Kossuth to the United States. In May of 1861, he enlisted in the Union army, and together with General Blenker, organized the 8th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment. General Stáhel fought with distinction in many battles, but it was his bravery in the battle of Piedmont, VA, on June 5th , 1864, which earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor. Although seriously wounded, he led another cavalry charge, and was thus able to prevent the Confederate army from entering the Shenandoah Valley, and advance on the capital itself.
After the War, Major-General Stáhel-Számwald entered the foreign service, and was named consul to Japan, and then to China. He died in 1912, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Also buried in Arlington National Cemetery is Major General Alexander Asbóth, born in Keszthely in 1811, from a family of English ancestry. He became an engineer. In the Hungarian War of Independence, he was an adjutant to Kossuth, and accompanied him into exile in Turkey. When the Congress of the United States offered Kossuth and his followers a new home, and President Taylor provided for transportation for them, Asbóth came to the United States (1851). He was employed in New York City as an engineer for the city planning commission, and played a prominent role in laying out Central Park and Washington Heights.
When the Civil War began, he enlisted, and became the chief of staff for General John C. Frémont. He fought in a number of battles, and particularly distinguished himself in the Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, so that Congress approved his appointment as Brigadier-General. Moved to the command of the West Florida Department, he was severely wounded at the Battle of Marianna, when his left arm was shattered in two places, and a bullet entered his face, which eventually contributed to his early death. He resigned from active service in March 1865, and was appointed Major General by Brevet in recognition of his meritorious services.
Upon the end of the War, Asbóth became U.S. Minister to Argentina and Uruguay. Even though his face wound was increasingly painful, and he was confined to his bed, he rendered valuable service in diplomatic negotiations in the war with Paraguay. He died in 1868, and is buried in the old English cemetery in Buenos Aires.
Another notable Hungarian who fought for the North was Charles Zágonyi. He too had taken part in the Hungarian War for Independence, and had twice saved the life of General Bem. Captured by the Austrians and imprisoned, he fled to Turkey, thence to England, and finally came to America. When he volunteered in the Civil War, he was appointed Major by General Fremont, and charged with organizing his personal Body Guard of cavalry. His attack on the Confederate army of 2,000 men at Springfield, MO, with a mere 150 men of his own, and routing them, became a national sensation. Zagonyi himself reported on his men that “I have seen charges, but such brilliant unanimity and bravery I have never seen, and did not expect it.” A poem was even written about the charge at Springfield by a poet of the time, George Henry Boker.
However, due to political considerations, the Guard was soon disbanded. When Fremont was given a new command, Colonel Zágony once again became commander of the cavalry. He distinguished himself in various battles in West Virginia, but resigned together with Fremont’s entire staff in 1863. The date of his death is not known.
Even Joseph Pulitzer, of later newspaper fame, who arrived in Boston at the end of the summer in 1864, served in the Union army for some eight months, before the War came to an end.
It is known that nine Hungarians died for the Union. They were: Frederick Bauer, Nicholas Fejérváry Jr., Nicholas Dunka, Alexander Gáll, George Grechenek, Alexander Kelemen, Géza Mihalotzy (who was killed at Chattanooga, and had a fort named after him), Anthony Vékey, and Sigismund Zsulavszky.
We do not know his first name, but a man whose name was recorded as Mickrel, born in Hungary in 1836 and serving in the 18th Mississippi Regiment of the Confederate army, took part in six battles and was killed in action at Sharpsburg in 1862. He is the only Hungarian of whom there is a record of having died for the Southern cause.
Only one Hungarian officer’s name is known in the Confederate army. Born in 1827, and originally spelling his name István Béla, he became “Estvan” in the South. He had fought under Radetzky in the Austrian army, and later in the Crimean War. In the U.S., he became a Colonel of Cavalry in the Brigade of Governor Wise. He later left the Confederate side, and eventually returned to Europe. He was arrested in Vienna; nothing further is known of his fate.
During the Civil War, it was customary to name camps after the commanding officer. Most of them were in Missouri, which was an important scene of battles during the first year of the War. It is interesting to note that four of these camps were named for Hungarian officers: Camp Zagonyi, Camp Rombauer, Camp Utassy, and Camp Asboth. And in Virginia, some 11 miles from Richmond, for reasons unknown, there was a place named “Hungary Station”.
We cannot leave the topic of the role of Hungarians in the Civil War without a few more words about Alexander Jekelfalussy. He was an officer in the Hungarian War for Independence, and then came to the United States, settling in Chicago. In 1853, he was a member of a government expedition which explored the unknown territory between St. Paul and Puget Sound. He enlisted in 1862, and became a Lieutenant in the 24th Illinois Regiment.
Every regiment received orders that all fugitive slaves hiding in different camps must be caught and given up. Jekelfalussy wrote Col. Mihalotzy on June 22nd, 1862, saying that he could not obey such an order, because it was contrary to his convictions and his self-respect. He was therefore resigning his commission in the army! It seems that his resignation was not accepted, because he served two more years. But he had the intestinal fortitude to speak out against an inhumane order that went against his conscience!
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