The Blessed Place of Freedom: Europeans in Civil War America

The Blessed Place of Freedom provides a comprehensive overview of European immigrants’ perspectives on the American Civil War and the reactions of immigrant participants and European observers to a wide variety of events. Dean Mahin examines each major immigrant group’s population and geographic distribution; the number who served in immigrant-dominated military units, such as the famous Irish Brigade and the Louisiana Zouaves; those who became officers during the war, such as the Union’s Carl Schurz (born in Germany) and the Confederacy’s Patrick Cleburne (born in Ireland); and significant individuals who visited America during the war as volunteers, correspondents, or observers.