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I recently made the following post on American Civil War Forums:
"I have been researching the history of Austro-Hungarian Army (k.k. Army) weapons imported by the Federals and Confederates during the American Civil War. The chain of supply for the weapons has been quite interesting, and leads me to the Imperial French Army and the Sardinian Army following the Northern Italian Campaign of 1859/Second Italian War of Independence. The k.k. Army was defeated in northern Italy, and it appears that the French and Sardinians captured significant quantities of k.k. Army weapons in the field and from stockpiles in the Austrian provinces of what is now northern Italy. For example, early in the war Napoleon III cabled Empress Eugenie following the fall of Milan that the French Army had captured 12,000 k.k. Army muskets. Based upon my research I believe that some number of these captured weapons were trafficked to America during the Civil War.
"I need some research done at the Service historique de la Defense (SHD), Vincennes, regarding Imperial French Army captures of k.k. Army weapons during the Northern Italian Campaign, and the disposition of those weapons between their capture and 1862.
"I also need some research done at the Archivio Storico dell' Escercito in Rome regarding Sardinian Army captures of k.k. Army weapons during the Second Italian War of Independence, and the disposition of those weapons between their capture and 1862.
"There is a second qustion the Archivio may be able to answer. Among the weapons imported by the Federal Army were Muster 1844 and 1849 k.k. Army Kammerbüchse rifles. By late 1861 these Kammerbüchsen were being referred to in Federal Army correspondence as “Garibaldi” rifles. And, by early 1862 they were referred to in official Federal Army forms and regulations as “Garibaldis.” Modern American arms historians have assumed that the Kammerbüchsen were referred to as “Garibaldis” because Kammerbüchsen had been carried by General Garibaldi’s troops during either the Second Italian War of Independence, or during the Expedition of the Thousand in 1860, or both. Since numbers of native born Americans and Italian immigrants to America had served with Garibaldi in 1859 and 1860, this conclusion appeared logical on the surface. However, I have been unable to find any English language sources which indicate that Garibaldi’s troops were armed with Kammerbüchsen. So, there is the question of whether Garibaldi’s troops were, in fact, armed with Kammerbüchsen or other k.k. Army arms.
"I have contacted several European professional researchers -- two of them at the suggestion of the SHD -- with no response. But, they were genealogists, and the projects may not have been within their skill sets.
"If there is a forum member in Paris or Rome with reasonably good English who would be interested in cooperating with me on this project, or who knows an academic or student who might be interested, please contact me via the Forum's email system. I would have liked to do this myself, but my French and Italian are limited to food, drink, and politeness."
John Steele responded:
"Oh I wish you had asked this a decade ago! There was a French gent over on the Authentic Campaigner who had done some superb research on French sources of equipment sold into the US. FWIW he never found reference to sales to the CS. From what I remember he had discovered some numbers of those captured arms were sent to Maximilian in Mexico and some were sold to the US. I do not recall that he was ever able to identify the types of arms sold into the US only numbers and prices paid.
"IIRC he had excellent success in working with the French Foreign Legion Museum in Aubagne and another museum in Marseilles. Apparently a good number of those shipments originated in Marseilles. IIRC (my memory is some faulty of late) his contact in the Foreign Legion Museum was a retired Sgt Chef & veteran of Vietnam & Algeria so he may no longer be there. He was able to identify exactly what arms were with each Legion unit in the Crimea and Mexico
"I know I no longer have the contact information but I will look and see if I still have any of my notes... though that might be a tall order two children later finding them in the attic... the notes, not the children."
I have attempted to identity the poster and postings mentioned by Mr. Steele, but the current search function on Authentic Campaigner does not appear to go back far enough to give me the information. I wondered if forum administration could recover the posts and/or the identity of the French member of the forum. Your help would be VERY much appreciated.
Thanks and Regards,
Don Dixon
"I have been researching the history of Austro-Hungarian Army (k.k. Army) weapons imported by the Federals and Confederates during the American Civil War. The chain of supply for the weapons has been quite interesting, and leads me to the Imperial French Army and the Sardinian Army following the Northern Italian Campaign of 1859/Second Italian War of Independence. The k.k. Army was defeated in northern Italy, and it appears that the French and Sardinians captured significant quantities of k.k. Army weapons in the field and from stockpiles in the Austrian provinces of what is now northern Italy. For example, early in the war Napoleon III cabled Empress Eugenie following the fall of Milan that the French Army had captured 12,000 k.k. Army muskets. Based upon my research I believe that some number of these captured weapons were trafficked to America during the Civil War.
"I need some research done at the Service historique de la Defense (SHD), Vincennes, regarding Imperial French Army captures of k.k. Army weapons during the Northern Italian Campaign, and the disposition of those weapons between their capture and 1862.
"I also need some research done at the Archivio Storico dell' Escercito in Rome regarding Sardinian Army captures of k.k. Army weapons during the Second Italian War of Independence, and the disposition of those weapons between their capture and 1862.
"There is a second qustion the Archivio may be able to answer. Among the weapons imported by the Federal Army were Muster 1844 and 1849 k.k. Army Kammerbüchse rifles. By late 1861 these Kammerbüchsen were being referred to in Federal Army correspondence as “Garibaldi” rifles. And, by early 1862 they were referred to in official Federal Army forms and regulations as “Garibaldis.” Modern American arms historians have assumed that the Kammerbüchsen were referred to as “Garibaldis” because Kammerbüchsen had been carried by General Garibaldi’s troops during either the Second Italian War of Independence, or during the Expedition of the Thousand in 1860, or both. Since numbers of native born Americans and Italian immigrants to America had served with Garibaldi in 1859 and 1860, this conclusion appeared logical on the surface. However, I have been unable to find any English language sources which indicate that Garibaldi’s troops were armed with Kammerbüchsen. So, there is the question of whether Garibaldi’s troops were, in fact, armed with Kammerbüchsen or other k.k. Army arms.
"I have contacted several European professional researchers -- two of them at the suggestion of the SHD -- with no response. But, they were genealogists, and the projects may not have been within their skill sets.
"If there is a forum member in Paris or Rome with reasonably good English who would be interested in cooperating with me on this project, or who knows an academic or student who might be interested, please contact me via the Forum's email system. I would have liked to do this myself, but my French and Italian are limited to food, drink, and politeness."
John Steele responded:
"Oh I wish you had asked this a decade ago! There was a French gent over on the Authentic Campaigner who had done some superb research on French sources of equipment sold into the US. FWIW he never found reference to sales to the CS. From what I remember he had discovered some numbers of those captured arms were sent to Maximilian in Mexico and some were sold to the US. I do not recall that he was ever able to identify the types of arms sold into the US only numbers and prices paid.
"IIRC he had excellent success in working with the French Foreign Legion Museum in Aubagne and another museum in Marseilles. Apparently a good number of those shipments originated in Marseilles. IIRC (my memory is some faulty of late) his contact in the Foreign Legion Museum was a retired Sgt Chef & veteran of Vietnam & Algeria so he may no longer be there. He was able to identify exactly what arms were with each Legion unit in the Crimea and Mexico
"I know I no longer have the contact information but I will look and see if I still have any of my notes... though that might be a tall order two children later finding them in the attic... the notes, not the children."
I have attempted to identity the poster and postings mentioned by Mr. Steele, but the current search function on Authentic Campaigner does not appear to go back far enough to give me the information. I wondered if forum administration could recover the posts and/or the identity of the French member of the forum. Your help would be VERY much appreciated.
Thanks and Regards,
Don Dixon