The Blues, the Greys, and the Red & Whites

"United States armed forces are today among the most powerful armies in the world. Currently only the active personnel of land forces of United States Army exceeds 519 000 soldiers. added on top of that should be the hundreds of thousands of people who form the National Guard, Army Reserve, State Defense Forces, and United States Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. The fact that the American expenditure on Armed Forces reaches approximately 3% of the GDP makes US armed forces have at their disposal state-of-the-art weapons and equipment, which lets them fulfill their mission in different parts of the world. Voices may sometimes be heard that the USA should not co-operate with the United Nations in the framework of peace missions, as “UN forces conducting peacekeeping missions neither are nor will in the nearest future be a factor increasing the military value of the American army”."(...

Przyczynek do dziejów 58. Pułku Ochotników Nowojorskich – Legionu Polskiego

Contribution to the history of the 58th New York Volunteers Regiment – Polish Legion Recently we may witness, both in Poland and in other countries of Central Europe, a growing interest in the American military history, especially in the American Civil War. A lot of people start asking questions about Polish participation in this bloody conflict that torn the American nation apart. Nations such as the Poles or the Irish, who in the 19th century were deprived of their own countries, were also a reservoir of conscripts for nearly every army of that period. Although the fates of the Irish Civil War veterans have extensive literature, the stories of the Polish veterans are still waiting to betold. This article focuses on three letters written by general Wladimir Krzyzanowski, c.o. of the 58th New York Volunteers Regiment (a.k.a. Polish Legion) found in the archives of the Polish Mission at the Orchard Lake Schools, Michigan. The letters (previously not recognized by Polish historians) are valuable documents showing the mechanism of promotions in the Union Army during the Civil War. They are also a primary source for the prosopography of the Polish ACW veterans. Thanks to the New York State Regiments rosters for the period of the Civil War as well as other sources we may trace the course of duty of these soldiers, try to determine their predecessors and successors. These letters are a glimpse into the ordinary life of the soldiers of that period