What role did Immigrants play in the Civil War?

Question

I know about the Irish Brigade, and how the Native Americans helped with both the Union and Confederacy, but who else helped fighting in the Civil War?

Answer 1

A lot of immigrants became paid substitutes in the army. In both the Union and the Confederacy men had the option of sending a hired substitute to serve in their place- the rate was between $150 to $500 depending on many things (NYC and Boston were cheapest due to the huge number of immigrants, while in the South it was more due to the few immigrants).

That may not sound like much money now, but at the time it was more money than most immigrants would see in more than a year, several years if it was the higher figure, plus they got to keep the $11 per month the army paid. Even in the early 20th century there were immigrants working for $3 per week or less.

Many other immigrants HATED the notion of serving in the war. Look up the New York Draft Riots (the riot featured in the movie GANGS OF NEW YORK) for info on the Irish immigrants involved in the bloodiest/worst riot.

Answer 2

Besides the Irish, there were thousands of German immigrants in Union uniforms during the Civil War. Many regiments and even whole divisions of German speaking recruits had problems with command since few understood English and not all of their officers spoke German.
Some of these German units did not do very well in battles such as Chancellorsville and Gettysburg where they were routed and ran from Confederate attacks (11th Corps).
Not all German soldiers ran - I don't want angry retorts.
I am descended from German Americans who came over at that time. Many were so new to this country, they may have been a bit less motivated to fight to the death for a cause they did not understand.

From the Wiki - 23.4% of all Union soldiers were German-Americans; about 216,000 were born in Germany.

Answer 3

Many immigrants were given the chance to be citizens IF they immediately enlisted in the army