The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2010

J U LY- A U G U S T 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 51 ext year marks the 150th anniversary of the U.S. Civil War’s first shots. As the United States prepares to commemo- rate that bloody conflict, it is worth re- calling the fact that several U.S. diplo- mats attempted to shorten the war by recruiting Italian independence hero Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882) to lead the Union Army. For a variety of reasons, Garibaldi did not accept two separate offers of a major- general commission. But it is neverthe- less interesting to speculate whether the course of the Civil War would have been affected if he had taken a major com- mand in the Union armies. Desperate Times Call for Desperate Remedies How had the Union arrived at the point where it felt that it had to recruit a foreign general to lead a sizable contingent of U.S. troops? Not long after taking office in March 1861, President Abraham Lincoln began fighting to restore the Union. But the First Battle of Bull Run, fought in July of that year, had ended in unmitigated disaster for the federal forces. So it is not surprising that both Pres. Lincoln and Secretary of State WilliamHenry Seward would look favorably upon (if not explicitly authorize) efforts already under way to recruit a proven fighting general, one whose boldness and élan could provide the spark needed to spur the Union army to victory. Giuseppe Garibaldi was an obvious choice. The most effective and popular figure in the struggle for Italian inde- pendence, he was known as the “Hero of the Two Worlds” because he had fought not only for Italy and for France, but also for the independence of Uruguay from Argentina. His common touch, cordial- ity and unselfish, seemingly unpreten- tious ways, coupled with his savvy in tac- tics and timing and his air of command and authority, made him a natural leader. In January 1861, the American writer Henry T. Tucker- man published an article in the North American Review praising Garibaldi. When news of the article reached the gen- eral in Italy, he asked a friend, Colonel Augusto Vecchi, to write a thank-you letter to the author. Vecchi did so and enclosed his own letter to Tuckerman, broaching the idea that Garibaldi be invited to take up a com- mand in the Union armies. He then discussed the proposal with the general, who did not reject it out of hand. Shortly thereafter, James W. Quiggle (1820-1878), the Luciano Mangiafico, a Foreign Service officer from 1970 to 1991, served in Milan, Palermo, Bucharest, Manila, Bridge- town and Washington, D.C. Since his retirement from the Service, he has continued to work as an inspector for the State Department. The author of two books, Contemporary Amer- ican Immigrants and Italy’s Most Wanted , he writes on foreign policy, business and the arts for various publications. FS H ERITAGE G ARIBALDI IN B LUE ? S EVERAL U.S. CONSULS SERVING IN E UROPE IN THE 1860 S WERE WILLING TO BEND THE TRUTH TO RECRUIT THE I TALIAN GENERAL . B Y L UCIANO M ANGIAFICO N Negotiating with Garibaldi was a difficult undertaking.