behind AotW

I just finished a fairly thorough scrub through the rosters for the men of the 10th Louisiana Infantry – they were in very close combat along the Hagerstown Pike near the Miller Cornfield on the morning of 17 September 1862.

You can read about the members of the regiment I can put at Sharpsburg on AotW. They’re on a map, too.

What struck me immediately was the amazing variety of nationalities among them. One thinks of New York City as a ‘melting pot’ of course, but it had nothing on New Orleans in 1861!  Irish, Greek, Swiss, Mexican, Italian, French, German – and many more. And not just a few. I’d say well over half the men I looked at were foreign born.

I understand that commands were given largely in French, at least early in the War. You can still get by in French in New Orleans today …

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The painting “Eye to Eye” – of Starke’s Louisiana Brigade at Sharpsburg – is by Keith Rocco.