French in the North and in the South
In the same way as the Germans or the Irish, the French regroup in units whose names recall their origin. In Louisiana the volunteers of New Orleans raise the French legion then the French brigade. In New York, three regiments, where many French-speakers will be able to meet, are set up: "LaFayette guards", "Les zouaves d'Epineuil" and "Enfant Perdus" 14th, 39th and 62nd regiments of New York. Among the crowd of volunteers are representatives of the French elite as the two princes of the Orleans family exiled by the foundation of the second empire in France. The Count of Paris and the Duke of Chartres will serve in the staff of McCLellan. With their uncle, Prince de Joinville, the two princes went to Washington where they were received by Lincoln. At 23, Phillipe d'Orléans, Count of Paris, will actively participate in the fight against the Confederates alongside McClellan. From this experience he will write a newspaper entitled "Voyage en Amérique 1861-1862". Several French will also obtain the rank of general like Gustave Cluseret, Regis of Trobriand, Felix Agnus
In the southern camp there is also claimed the presence of a Prince, Camille de Polignac, son of a minister of Charles X, who will become general of the Confederate army and nicknamed "Lafayette du Sud". He fought at Shilo, Corinth, Mansfield, commanded a Texas brigade, and obtained the rank of Major General, and even demanded an audience before Napoleon III to plead the cause of the south, but without success.
The most famous French-speaking units in the North
Again New York, the largest port of immigration for Europe, has the largest number of Francophone units. The 55th Volunteer Regiment of New York commonly called the Lafayette Guards, existed since 1824 and owned 6 French and 4 American companies; But at Lincoln's call to arms, the regiment took too long to be "operational" through the fault of his colonel. The French already present went to join other companies more eager to go to battle. Thus the 14th regiment of Brooklyn and the 62nd regiment of volunteers of New York received a reinforcing company coming from the 55th and therefore francophones. Finally the 55th also left but to compensate the defections, one had to appeal to a recruitment that was not exclusively French. Régis de Trobriand, a French aristocrat, was elected Colonel of the 55th on the day of the battle of Bull Run. Under his impetus, the regiment gained in strength and recovered part of its first volunteers left in other units. Supported financially by the francophone minority for his clothing, the regiment finally passed on August 28, 1861 under federal service for a duration of three years.
Still in New York in the multicultural unit: the 39th regiment of volunteers or the guards of Garibaldi, there was a French company that was equipped, like the rest of the regiment, with the beautiful outfit of the Italian Bersaglieri. The 53rd regiment of the Zouaves, better known under the name of Zouaves d'Epineuil, was formed at Brooklyn in August 1861 by Colonel Lionel D'Epineuil. This last former officer of the French army gave to his unit a reply of the holding of the 6th regiment of French Zouave. Attracted by this French specificity, the regiment attracted other cadres from the French army giving a not inconsiderable experience to unity. Another peculiarity, in addition to its members, francophones, or of French origin, the regiment welcomed a company of Indians of the reserve of Tusca Rora. Although initially recruited for a three-year service, the regiment suffered internal disturbances and was dissolved in 1862, its members repatriated to different units such as the 132nd or 162nd regiments of New York.
The unit of the "Lost Children" was an independent battalion of New York raised by Colonel Felix Confort, former captain of the French army. The name "Lost Children" refers to small detachments used in perilous missions for the assault of the breaches of the besieged towns and certainly stems from the experience of the Crimean War of its colonel. The unit was assigned to the 18th Corps and participated in operations at Charleston near Morris Island. The unit consisted of 6 companies was mainly Franco-Germanic. Their outfit was that of French dark blue hunters with yellow daffodil cladding. A shako resembling the French model and wide pants. A beautiful outfit made clear the French influence of unity and that changed the eternal uniforms of Zouaves.
The French of the South
Louisiana's old French-speaking colony sold to the United States in 1803 by Napoleon contained the largest French-speaking minority in the South of about 15,000 people. Louisiana and the city of New Orleans saw several units of volunteers recruiting mainly French and totaling almost 3,000 men. It is well to remember that the engagement of the French of Louisiana did not necessarily correspond to a pure and harsh adherence to the principles of confederation, and was unfortunately tainted with constraint. The officers and soldiers of these detachments were sometimes forced to integrate their units under penalty of having to leave the state thus breaking their right to neutrality as demanded by their sovereign Napoleon III. If the French of Louisiana wished to help their adopted country this did not necessarily mean that they were ready to fight against the Union.
Among the French units of the city are the French legion of 6 companies and 1,200 men, the guard of Orleans, the French volunteers or 800 men and the independent volunteers. Financed and equipped at the expense of the notables and the francophone minority in the city, these men wore an outfit close to that of the French soldier of the Imperial army, ie a gray coat of blue iron (not horizon blue) trousers Red madder and a soft red and blue kepi.
These units were amalgamated with other detachments of volunteers and foreign militias such as the Belgians, the Swiss, the Spaniards, the Germans and the Italians and formed a European brigade. French officers refusing to join this multicultural recruitment grouped themselves within the "French Brigade" whose members were exclusively French or of French origin. These foreign units, and particularly the French, will behave admirably in the maintenance of the order of the city during the attack of the northern fleet and the retreat of the Confederate troops of New Orleans by preventing the rioters from putting the town on fire And bloodstained by ransacking and pillaging food supplies. Faced with the effectiveness of these militias, the federal troops commanded by General Butler insisted that they should remain active and continue to maintain law and order. But the foreign volunteers refused and were dissolved. Still in Louisiana regiments such as the 10th or 18th Louisiana, nicknamed the Creole regiment, included a significant number of French and francophones. The 10th regiment was also commanded by Colonel Antoine Jaques Philippe de Mandeville de Marigny, a former officer of the French army, and seconded by numerous French or French officers. Although the majority of the men in the regiment were not French, training was based on French regulations and orders were given in French.
But Louisiana remains the only example where constituted units with a French-speaking majority were able to materialize. Most of the time the French of the South who joined the Confederate cause did so in isolation in any unity. Attempts to set up other French units could not succeed due to lack of sufficient volunteers or too much dissension in the management. Frenchmen were also noticed as officers by commanding regiments such as Colonel Felix Dumonteil of the Greze of the 14th Cavalry Regiment or in Texas where a French immigrant Xavier Blanchard Debray raised the 26th Cavalry Regiment of Texas better known as Lancer of Debray with his men equipped and trained in the French.
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It is likely that nearly 15,000 Frenchmen fought in the American Civil War, an almost negligible contribution to the three million men who participated in the conflict. But this symbolic participation, which represented a much less anecdotal share of the French-speaking population present in the United States, confirmed the attachment of the French to American values, initiated with the intervention of La Fayette in his time for the independence of 13 American colonies. Moreover, the price of blood certainly played in favor of the Francophone minority for a better future integration within the American nation, making them deserve their place as well as the Germans or the Irish by the sacrifice granted on the fields of Battle and in both camps. Even if the intervention of these men did not decide the outcome of the fight, it appears as a need felt by this small minority to prove something. A goal that lies between the perpetuation of the military exploits of France abroad and the affirmation of its small presence in America by a war contribution.