Canadians in the American Civil War

Canadians in the Civil War Earl Plato

Six times I have gone to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and the ‘High Water Mark’ of the American Civil War. Why? I am a Canadian. What would draw me again to those terrible bloody years (1861-64) of American history? On a visit to Westfield Heritage Village near Hamilton, Ontario we saw a marker mounted on a granite boulder. It stated that over 50,000 Canadians fought in the Civil War. I knew this historical fact from years back. That’s one reason I wrote a series of articles. through the eyes of a Canadian. The American Civil War - 1861-1864 - is considered one of the world’s most devastating wars as it pertains to the shreer number of military loss of life and casualties. It killed some 360,000 Union soldiers and 258,000 Confederates and uncounted civilians on both sides. It left 500,000 men - North and South - with wounds and scars they would carry all their lives. More than 50,000 Canadians participated in this “blood bath” with the great majority serving on the side of the North (Union) against the South (Confederacy).
I will start this series at Gettysburg. Why? The picture of the monument to the 59th New York State Volunteers is there. It is here that this regiment and others held up against “Pickett’s Charge.” We will follow the 59th throughout the war. Again, you family researchers, use the government War Department records. Today the Internet offers great sites to help you find your way. Find a Civil War Site and just type the name of the relative and what follows may amaze you.
On the second of six trips to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania I took my son, Paul, three of his high school friends, and we camped in two tents for three days in August many years ago. Paul bought a Confederate officer’s hat and I bought a Union soldier’s cap, which I just wore. Why not the 59th?