Ethnic Discrimination in Minnesota Volunteer Regiments during the Civil War

Abstract

Ethnic Discrimination in Minnesota Volunteer Regiments during the Civil War Kevin J. Weddle Historians of the Civil War widely acknowledge the role played by foreign-born soldiers in the Northern armies'defeat ofthe South. Unfortunately , with the exception ofa handful ofarticles, most works deal primarily with battlefield performance.1 Many historians have ignored the experience of these soldiers with discrimination and prejudice. Few have made the effort to determine either the existence or extent of discrimination within the armies of the North. In fact, many Civil War historians believe that the foreign-born soldier had the same opportunities for advancement as any other recruit. Still others feel that the question ofethnic discrimination in the Civil War is impossible to examine in any detail.2 I have approached this question from a new direction. While wages and salaries are usually used to evaluate discrimination, I have used promotion and officer appointment as the yardstick.3 By applying quantitative methThe author wishes to thank professors Russell Menard and Robert McCaa of the University of Minnesota fortheirguidance and encouragement in the completion ofthis project. The study was partially supported by a grant fromthe University of Minnesota Computer Center. 1 William L. Burton, "Indiana's Ethnic Regiments," in Journal of Popular Culture 14:2(Fall 1980):229. A notable exception is Ella Lonn's monumental Foreigners in the Union Army and Navy. 2 The opinions ofhistorians vary to some degree on the existence ofdiscrimination against foreign-born soldiers duringthe war. Bell I. Wiley hasclaimed theydid not sufferdiscrimination to any great extent. See The Ufe ofBilly Yank (Indianapolis: Bobbs Merrill, 1951), 313. For Ella Lonn's briefdiscussion of prejudice against and among foreigners see Foreigners in the Union ArmyandNavy (New York: Greenwood Press, 1951), 586-96. Murry M. Horowitz has done a limited examination ofethnic opportunities in the general officer ranks. He claims that no conclusions can be made about discrimination with the data available. See "Ethnicity and Command: The Civil War Experience," in Military Affairs 42(December 1978):188. 3 Gary S. Becker, 7Ae Economics of Discrimination (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1971), 14. Ofcourse, money was an issue as well because with increased rank came increased Civil War History, Vol. XXXV, No. 3, ® 1989 by the Kent Sute University Press 240CIVIL WAR HISTORY ods to military service and muster records, I have been able to determine the extent of discrimination in officer appointments and promotions in Minnesota volunteer regiments. The result of this examination indicates that there existed very definite patterns of strong discrimination both in officer appointments and promotions. The discrimination suffered by the foreign-born Civil War soldier is an important question for both military and social historians. The relative well-being of the first major wave of immigrants in the nineteenth century has always generated significant interest. Unfortunately, good comparative data on wages to test discrimination for the 1860s have often been unobtainable or inaccurate, leading to questionable results.4 These Civil War records are a virtually untapped source that can be very useful in the examination of the American immigrant. Also, these results provide insight into the social standing and opportunities of the foreign-born. Finally , for the military historian, this study can help illuminate questions such as morale, unit cohesion, and motivation. Minnesota regiments provide an excellent source for this type of study for several reasons. First, at the time of the outbreak of the Civil War, Minnesota was barely three years old as a state with a large immigrant population. The state provides a good example of a large, relatively unassimilated ethnic population.5 Second, the volunteer regiments of Minnesota during the Civil War were truly "volunteer" regiments. Minnesota had one of the smallest percentage of draftees among all Union states.6 Therefore , the question of compulsory military service should not adversely afpay . However, for this study money was essentially ignored, in part because of the short duration of the war. Therefore, rank, and appointments and promotions were used exclusively. 4 An example ofthe inadequacy ofmid-nineteenth-century wage and income data is evident in PeterJ. Hill's study ofskill and income levels ofthe foreign-born in the United States from 1 840- 1920. He tries to...