"Historian Recounts Role of Chinese Americans Who" Topic

… Fought in US Civil War

"Many people would be surprised to know that there were some Asian faces in the
crowds of white and black soldiers serving in the American Civil War.

The participation of Asians, and in particular Chinese Americans, comes into focus this month as the United States marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the war.

It began in 1861 after the election of an anti-slavery president, Abraham Lincoln. Fearing the eventual abolition of slavery, eleven southern states bolted from the union, setting up the pro-slavery Confederate States of America…"

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Armand

At least one New Zealander fought in the Civil War. He was in a Texas regiment in Hood's Division.

Should we make a big deal of it or just put it down to one of those interesting snippets of history. If you looked hard enough I bet you could find a Samoan or Lapplander or two.

Hmmm, well, yes, the Civil War did take place prior to the Georgia State Supreme Court declaring that Chinese were Black, so I suppose nobody knew quite what to think of the situation. I'm not so much surprised to learn that there were Chinese serving in uniform as I was surprised to learn that many were from "back East" regiments, instead of California regiments. California is closer to China and needed manpower to build railroads and work the mines, while my impression is that a lot of Chinese may have wanted to escape rather than be caught up in the aftermath of supporting the wrong side in the Taiping Rebellion.

Grelber

Between 35,000 and 50,000 Canadians fought in the Civil War – a few hundred for the Confederacy and the vast majority for the Union (including Calixa Lavallée, the musician who composed O Canada, the Canadian national anthem – he was a musician in the 4th Rhode Island Infantry)

Having worked and traveled in Asia the irony of the Georgia Supreme Court designating Chinese people as Black is colossal

Once you get into the details of segregated schooling in the United States, it is inconsistent, erratic, bizarre, and yes, full of irony.

Brown vs Topeka Board of Education (1954) is the US Supreme Court decision that struck down state school segregation laws. In the Topeka school system, not only Chinese, but also Hispanics were considered to be white. Go figure. I figure that as long as I read history, I will never have to worry about doing exercises to strengthen neck muscles that allow me to shake my head from side to side in wonder.

Grelber