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 Is the idea of the great Italian
revolutionary warrior Giuseppe Garibaldi trading in his famous red shirt for a
Union officer's blue frock coat incredible? Is the idea improbable, even
impossible, especially since this man would be filling a position first held
by General George Washington? One would think the answer would be “absolutely,"
but, in reality, it was more than just an idle proposal. This great freedom
fighter, who was born (appropriately enough) on the Fourth of July, 1807, and
lived for a time in New York City, led some 1,000 men (all wearing red shirts)
in the 1856 campaign that ultimately defeated the 130,000 man army of the
Neapolitan kingdom, thus beginning the unification of Italy.
Look ahead some five years, to the summer of
1861. In the United States, a civil war was in its early months and many in
the North were optimistic that there would be a quick end to the strife. The
politicians of Washington City, their wives, and families loaded up their
buggies and carriages and rode toward Manassas to watch the show, soon to
unfold, that would undoubtedly end the unpleasantness. By the end of the day,
however, thousands of mud-caked men in blue competed with the panicked
civilian onlookers in a wild race to be the first back to the nation's
capital. The actions of a certain Col. William T. Sherman, on the field and
during the retreat, earned him favorable notice and promotion to brigadier
general of Volunteers.
Within days of the battlefield defeat, with
the North still smarting from the disaster and Lincoln contending anew with
the inexperience of his generals, one of the strangest diplomatic missions in
American history was begun. At risk were relations with the Vatican (which
still controlled large areas of Italy), other European kingdoms, and the
revolutionary government still striving to unite all of Italy. The potential
benefit of the mission was that the course of the war might be turned in the
North's favor, the emancipation of the Southern slaves hastened, and the
bloodshed and bitterness of a protracted conflict averted.
That mysterious mission was nothing less than
an attempt to enlist in the Northern cause the aid of General Giuseppe
Garibaldi, a living symbol of national unification and a man who already
regarded himself as an honorary citizen of this country. For several weeks,
the Italian newspapers had been speculating that Garibaldi would go to America
and take up the fight for the black man. The United States consul at Antwerp,
James W. Quiggle, without prior consultation or permission from the State
Department or White House, wrote a letter to Gen. Garibaldi indicating that,
if indeed he went to the United States to serve, there would be
"thousands of Italians and Hungarians who will rush to your ranks, and
thousands and tens of thousands who will glory to be under the command of the
'Washington of Italy.’ "
Quiggle forwarded copies of his
correspondence to Secretary of State William H. Seward. He then wrote to
Garibaldi again, this time informing the Italian leader that he would soon
receive a formal invitation to go to the United States "with the highest
Army commission which is in the power of the President to confer." At
this point, Lincoln was probably unaware of Quiggle's offer, but it must be
assumed that Seward discussed the consul's actions with Lincoln, while noting
that Quiggle had overstepped his authority. Still, the idea of obtaining
Garibaldi's services was tantalizing, especially after the debacle of Bull
Run.
Lincoln instructed Seward to begin direct
communications with Garibaldi. The U.S. minister at Antwerp, Quiggle's
superior, Henry S. Sanford, was instructed to offer the red-shirt hero "a
Major-General's commission in the Army of the United States, with its
appointments and the hearty welcome of the American people." Hoping to
forge a more intimate bond, Seward asked the general to consider him as not
just a government official, "but an old and sincere personal
friend." To help coordinate efforts, U.S. diplomat George Perkins Marsh,
the first American minister to the new kingdom of Italy, was also informed in
Turin. Although Lincoln's name was not mentioned in the correspondence, it was
obvious that only he could authorize conferring the rank of major general. The
closest Lincoln came to personal involvement was indicated in a confidential
note from Seward to Sanford: "It has been a source of sincere
satisfaction to the President that circumstances have rendered him able to
extend to him [Garibaldi], if desired, an invitation which would enable him to
add [to his already towering reputation] the glory of aiding in the
preservation of the American Union." Seward also notified Sanford that he
could reveal that one thousand pounds sterling had been put aside for the
"expenses" of Garibaldi and his retinue.
In September 1861, Sanford met with Marsh in
Turin. They decided to proceed cautiously at first, talking to Garibaldi on a
level below ministerial rank. If the general turned them down, it would appear
to be only an exchange of diplomatic courtesies, rather than a damaging rebuff
to the Lincoln Administration. After a positive response from the old
freedom-fighter, Sanford went to meet Garibaldi himself. Garibaldi had some
definite ideas as to the terms of his rallying to the Stars and Stripes,
however. The conditions set forth by the general were outlined in Sanford's
report to Secretary Seward: "He [Garibaldi] said that the only way in
which he could render real service, as he ardently desired to do, to the cause
of the United States, was as Commander in Chief of its forces; that he would
only go as such and with the additional contingent power - to be governed by
events - of declaring the abolition of slavery." Sanford also reported
that he informed the general that he was only empowered to offer the two-star
rank and could not go beyond it. Thus ended the first attempt to obtain
Garibaldi's services.
Some thirteen months later, in October 1862,
Garibaldi wrote to Minister Marsh. He indicated that he no longer asked for
supreme command and that a major generalship would suffice. However, he still
insisted on freedom for the slaves as a condition of his service. By this
time, soon after the Battle of Antietam, Lincoln had issued his preliminary
Emancipation Proclamation. This satisfied Garibaldi's condition of black
freedom, but the war had progressed past the point where a hero from abroad
was looked upon as a guarantor of victory.
The prestigious post of General-in-Chief of
the armies of the United States was never taken up by Giuseppe Garibaldi.
Interestingly, he had seen that emancipation was to be a core issue, and a
result, of the war at a time when Lincoln was still pondering the thought. In
the end, both men saw freedom for the black man achieved. The charismatic
Italian general in the red shirt never became an American general in blue.
While the sixteenth President still lived, however, in a remarkable gesture of
respect and honor, Garibaldi saw to it that one of his grandsons was named
Lincoln.?
E. Chris Evans of Heath, Ohio, is a Civil War
scholar, collector and amateur historian who has been published in both
"Civil War Times Illustrated" and "Blue & Gray"
magazines. He is most familiar to our members in his role as General W.T.
Sherman.
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