Association to Commemorate the Chinese Serving in the American Civil War, Part 25

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Some comments from the readers

Some comments from the readers

Subj: Never realized Guangzhou and Gettysburg were so linked
Date: 9/7/2003 1:52:33 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: Joshua Kirkman
Mr. Kwok,
Your website was a real eye-opener. I've just returned from 2 years in Guangzhou, and will be studying Chinese for a graduate degree. I've always enjoyed history and have been to Gettsyburg, so I have to wonder about men like Pvt. John Tommy. I've seen the Pearl River he probably played in as a boy and the field he was killed at. Sad and strange to think there may be lonely Chinese ghosts so far from home. Do you have any insight into the inner world of Chinese soldiers in the Civil War? What did they think of the situation they found themselves in? How well did they understand the politics? Surely there must be letters home in Chinese, somewhere. And does your research extend into the Indian conflicts following? Thank you for your time and this amazing website.
Josh Kirkman

(Webmaster's reply)
Hi Mr. Kirkman,
Thanks for writing and congratulation on taking Chinese in the graduate school.
Very few writing written by the Chinese serving in the ACW could be found.
One possibility is Hong Noek Woo, who might have left some writing in Shanghai. But I have not found it yet. http://members.aol.com/gordonkwok/cacwpart11.html Woo talked about why he volunteered for the Union, and his story was written by someone in Lancaster, PA. Another Eurasian Chinese (father: Chinese Heritage, Siamese Nationality; mother, white North Carolinian) Christopher Wren Bunker (US born) joined the Confederate Cavalry. http://members.aol.com/gordonkwok/cacwpart6.html I got hold of his papers, and I am in the process of transcribing them and not yet ready for the website. This is the only writing (written in English) known to me by a Chinese CW veteran. I couldn't find any other direct writings. Regards, Gordon Kwok

Subj: The Chinese confederates
Date: 4/8/2002 1:49:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Hello Gordon Kwok, My name is Heather Lee and Lisa Chang contacted you about the Chinese soldiers for me. Are you the collector of these materials? What materials exist on these soldiers? I am a student at Emory University, studying Chinese-American history. I ask about the Chinese soldiers because I am interested in writing a paper about Chinese citizenship. Could you help me with finding primary sources about these young men? Thanks, Heather Lee

Subj: Re: Early Chinese in America
Date: 4/5/2002 7:23:16 PM Eastern Standard Time
Thanks Gordon, Your research and information are invaluable. I actually have corresponded with Monte before regarding WWII Chinese, and purchased his video. I have portrayed Joseph Pierce in first person a few times for living history programs. The public loves it. Still searching for that documented Japanese CW soldier. I sent off for Limon Dunn's records from the Archives out no luck yet. A friend of mine said he saw some muster roles from Arizona that had names that looked Chinese & Japanese. So, if I turn up anything, I'll let you know. See ya, Dave Furukawa

(Webmaster'sreply: Hi David, About two years ago, I went vacationing in California and stopped by Monterrey. There I visited an exhibit on Admiral Cheng Ho's Fleet in the 14th century. One of the exhibits indicated that in about 1700, a fishing boat met a typhoon and three Janpanese fishermen got blown off course and accidentally hit some current and trade wind (the exhibit mentioned the Janpanese name of the current, but I forgot what it is now.) Eventually, the three Japanese landed on a beach near Monterrey and were saved by the natives. They were believed to be the first Janpanese landing on America. Gordon)

Subj: Early Chinese in America
Date: 4/4/2002 7:46:09 PM Eastern Standard Time
Hello Gordon, This is David Furukawa, Civil War reenactor. I have a couple of questions. Approximately when did the first Chinese immigrate to the US? And do you have scanned pics of the CW Chinese soldiers you could email me? I am presenting a program on Asians in the military at Fort Bragg, NC over Memorial Day weekend. and It would be good, if I had some power point slides of the CW Chinese. Thanks Dave Furukawa, Atlanta, GA

(Webmaster's reply: Hello David, The Chinese first contacted America in the Manila galleon trade. Chinese and Filipino sailors were employed to transport cargoes of Chinese luxury goods in the Manila galleons to Acapulco, Mexico, from 1565 to 1815. The Spanish also brought Chinese shipbuilders to BaJa California in 1571. At that time, Manila, Philippine, Acapulco and BaJa California were Spanish colonies. By the 16th century, some Filipinos settled in Acapulco. In the 17th century, some Chinese became small store-owners in Mexico City. You could download the picture from my web site and used them for your talk.)

Subj: Re: Would you like to fix your web site a little?
Date: 4/4/2002 8:28:07 PM Eastern Standard Time
Hi Gordon again, Is this the same Chinese Admiral we are talking about? The time frame was almost on the same time line. Also do you know about those stone anchor ball they found in California coast that were similar to the anchors used by the Chinese Junkfleet before Columbus? Here is the news that was very interesting last month.. Chinese Beat Columbus To The New World By 70 Years - Historian 3-8-2002

LONDON (Reuters) - Is it goodbye Columbus? A British historian's claim that a Chinese admiral reached America decades before the Italian explorer has unleashed a frenzy of media interest in a theory that could force the rewriting of history. Gavin Menzies, 64, a former Royal Navy submarine commander, provoked headlines around the globe last week after a British newspaper published an outline of his thesis that China "discovered" the New World 70 years before the West. Based on contemporary European maps and records, Chinese star charts and archaeological finds, Menzies' case is that Chinese sailors mapped the world in the early 1400s before abandoning global seafaring in the middle of the 15th century. Historians contacted by Reuters say the amateur historian's thesis is speculative and leaps to conclusions that may be correct but have yet to be proved.

TRACING THE MAPS
Menzies says Chinese maps passed to the West through the Portuguese, by way of an Italian traveler, Nicolo da Conti, who went on some of their voyages. Don Pedro, son of Portugal's King Joao I, kept the resulting map of the world as a state secret. But elements of this map, drawn in 1428 and now lost, leaked out and were copied into other charts, says Menzies. These revealed parts of America and Australia before they were "rediscovered" by Europe's Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan and James Cook. "Every single one of them refers to maps he's either got with him or seen before he set sail," Menzies told Reuters. "My argument is somebody must have drawn these maps before the Europeans got there. Who was it?"

EUNUCH ADMIRALS
For Menzies the answer is Admiral Zheng He, a Grand Eunuch who commanded seven voyages of exploration from 1403 to 1433. In huge many-masted ships, the largest four times the size of Columbus' Santa Maria, the Chinese made increasingly ambitious tours of Indonesia and the southern Asian coastline. Historians agree that the fleet reached east Africa and may have rounded the Cape of Good Hope. Menzies says the 107-strong armada of the sixth voyage of 1421-3 went further, reaching Latin America, the Caribbean and Australia, circumnavigating the globe a century before Magellan. Wherever they went, split into four flotillas, they left porcelain, votive offerings and wrecks, he says. "There are 10,000 pieces of evidence," he said. "It's so blindingly obvious now that it's not Columbus. How he's got away with it for so long mystifies me," he added. He says the honor should go to two of Zheng He's fellow eunuch admirals, Heng-Bao and Zhou-Man, who continued the sixth voyage after Zheng He returned early to China. Nestor Enriquez

(Webmaster's reply: Hi Nestor, Thanks for the information. Admiral Zheng He is the same as Admiral Cheng Ho (tonal translation from different Chinese dialects, but same Chinese writing.) He was an Eunuch of the Ming Emperor. The huge many-masted ships are about four or five times the size of Columbus' ships. The Chinese in the Ming Dynasty had advance knowledge on Astronomy, Oceanography and Geography. I am not surprised they had drawn a detail map and star chart. The fleet had visited the Cape of Good Hope, but probably not beyond the Cape of Good Hope to the Atlantic to the western side of Africa. From what I have read from the Chinese text, Cheng Ho had not visited North/Central America. I knew the Spanish traders had brought Chinese ship builders from the Filipine to America (where trees were abundant in the California coast) to build their Spanish Galleon in 1571. About the stone anchor ball (ship wreck?) they found in California coast that were similar to the anchors used by the Chinese Junkfleet before Columbus, it could be explained that those were left (and made) by the Chinese ship builders from the Filipine brought by the Spanish for their ships in around 1600 - 1700.)

Subj: Re: Would you like to fix your web site a little?
Date: 4/4/2002 10:24:01 AM Eastern Standard Time
Hello Gordon, Thank you for the reminder about the visual problem in my web site. I have intended to do but keep putting it off. How are you doing? Did you read about the Chinese Admiral who might had re-discovered America before Columbus? I thought it was very interesting. I knew his armada visited the southern Philippines but now this amateur brit historian is claiming he landed in the east coast. Maybe his giant fleet is buried somewhere in China Beach waiting to be uncovered like the Chinese Army buried underground for centuries.
Your web site is very revealing and the amount of research you put into it must have been tremendous. It takes a lot of passion. I would appreciate that if you have any Filipino related discovery or stumble into something that might be related to my web site please let me know. Thanks and I will keep in touch. Nestor Enriquez

(Webmaster's reply: Hello Nestor, Thanks for writing. You are talking Cheng Ho, right? 15th century. I knew he took 7 voyages to the South Sea, Southeast Asia, Indian Ocean, Madagasca, Africa. I knew not he landed on the East coast. There is another legend on a Chinese monk in the 6 or 7 A.D. He went east. Some French scholar speculated that he might have landed on the west coast of America. There were writings about his trip, but not sure about the land he named was the west coast or not. Thanks again for writing.)

Subj: Naturalization of Chinese who served in the Civil War
Date: 3/26/2002 3:06:28 AM Eastern Standard Time
Dear Gordon: Your web site is fascinating indeed, and I plan to read all these interesting pages. My name is Taro Iwata, a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of History at the University of Oregon. I am writing an article on naturalization of Japanese immigrants, and came across the accounts that certain Chinese individuals were naturalized as American citizens prior to 1882, when Chinese were expressly barred from naturalization. This is of course out of scope of my article, but I am very curious as to how many actually became citizens. In your web site I found the mention of Hong Neok Woo, who served three months in Harrisburg and Chambersburg and later became a citizen. Do you happen to know any other? I am sorry to bother you, but I am too curious. Thank you. Regards, Taro Iwata

(Webmaster's reply: Hi Taro, In general, anyone who had served in the U.S. army/navy would be eligible to be a U.S. citizen. Joseph Pierce and Antonio Dardelle were both 'adopted' by American sea captain, and I believe both of them became U.S. citizens. Edward Day Cohota was also brought up by an American sea captain. About the end of the CW, Lincoln was thinking of passing a law that made CW veteran automatically be US citizen. Unfortunately, he died before signing the bill into law. Cohota took the erroneous believe that he automatically an US citizen. Actual procedure would be for him to apply for Naturalization, did the paper work, paid the application fee, and he would have got it. But he didn't do so under erroneous belief. When he applied for pension after 1882, the passing of the Chinese Exclusion Law, he was denied pension because he was not an US citizen. For those who took action before 1882, they would be ok, for the law could not be applied retroactively. Many other Chinese who served in the army/navy just drifted along and left the country. Never bothering to apply for citizenship or pension. Most did speak nor read English. I know there were quite a bit of Japanese living in Sandwich Islands (old name for Hawaii) growing pinapples in the 1800's.)

Subj: Re: Charles Chon -- 24th Texas Regiment
Date: 3/18/2002 7:12:48 PM Eastern Standard Time
Mr. Kwok, Thank you very much for the information. I knew of Charles Chon being buried in the McGavock Cemetery as I am currently in the process of publishing a book on Texans in the 1864 Tennessee Campaign. In the grave next to Charles Chon, interestingly enough, his company commander Lieutenant Ithamer Westfall lies buried, also a victim of Franklin. Private Valentine Hardt also of Company K, 24th Texas was the Texan to penetrate the farthest into the Federal works, as far as I can tell, before he was captured. It appears as if Charles Chon and the other members of his company played a gallant role in the slaughter at Franklin. I was more interested however, in Mr. Chon's nationality and how a twenty-year-old man from Yorktown, Texas (that is where he enlisted), with the surname of Chon came to be enlisted in the 24th Texas Dismounted Cavalry. I have checked the 1860 census and was not able to locate anyone of that age and name in south Texas, but I don't know if you have had any luck with that. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much. Sincerely, John Lundberg

Subj: not chinese
Date: 3/16/2002 4:57:47 PM Eastern Standard Time
Just to let you know, John, Frederick, and Jacob Moy {cacwpart20} of Wisconsin were brothers who, with their parents and two siblings, immigrated to the US in 1854 from Canton Bern, Switzerland. They are actually decendents of the French Hugenots (sp?) and have no Asian connection whatsoever. Thanks for a fascinating list of soldiers! Jennie Moy

Subj: Re: ACCSACW
Date: 3/5/2002 9:28:23 PM Eastern Standard Time
Gordon, Yes Maryland is just one of our home states. Our membership covers several states, Maryland, Virginia, Penn and far beyond. I belong to a group (Sykes' Regulars) that attempts to portray the Regular U.S. Army during the period 1861-1865. One of the most intriguing aspects of studying the Regulars, aside from the dearth of information, is the varied backgrounds of the soldiers. A very large proportion of them were foreign born, as many as 40%, possibly more. There is plenty written about the officer class of Regular, but little about the common soldier aside from a few memoirs. I am sure there were Asians and Chinese among them. One of the things that appeals to me about your site is the photos. Civil War era carte de vistie photgraphs provide us with a teasing view of these people, whoever they were, proof that they were there, and a hint of who they were. The unidentified gent in the frock coat could be from just about any U.S. outfit anywhere! It is also interesting to see how yourself and other researchers have developed a profile of sorts regarding the average Chinese CW soldier. The likely chain of events leading him to this country and into military service, how he identified himself (Pierce, Cahota), his service and post war life. Fascinating stories. I wish you luck in finding out more about these American soldiers. Fred Grogan, 4th US Infantry.

Subj: ACCSACW
Date: 3/4/2002 4:05:29 PM Eastern Standard Time
Gordon, This is a great story. Are there any books you would recommend on the subject of Chinese Americans, and or Asian Americans in the ACW and other historic periods? There have been several good but very sketchy magazine articles during the last couple of years. Your web site has got me really interested again. I am a member of a couple of ACW living history organizations in the mid atlantic region. We are interested in the stories of those who served. Thanks, Fred Grogan, 4th U.S. Infantry.

Subj: research
Date: 3/3/2002 8:42:08 AM Eastern Standard Time
To: Gordonkwok, Wow! is all I can say. I do walking history on women during the american civil war. What I find in my research never seizes to amaze me. The more I dig the more I'm wide-eyed. Great page on the Chinese American Civil War Soldier! Very great and interesting information! A wonderful learning lesson! Thanks to all prepared it! Yours truly, Kati Brower

Date: 2/20/2002 12:25:56 PM Eastern Standard Time
Dear Mr. Kwok, I am an archival researcher working on a documentary series about Chinese immigration to America. Thomas Lennon Films, Inc. and Public Affairs Television are producing the series, Becoming American: The Chinese Experience, for PBS. The series will consist of three feature-length films, each focusing on a different historical period. The first episode, 1840-1882 sets a historical background for the unique place the Chinese have in the context of the American power system. The topic of Chinese soldiers fighting in the Civil War will be brought up, and your website has been very helpful to me. Thank you. Warmly, Justine Bertucelli

Subj: Your website
Date: 2/19/2002 5:10:11 PM Eastern Standard Time
I came across your website through a link on the Chinese Historical Society of America website. Thank you for providing such a valuable resource on the internet! I hope your website will always be up and continue to educate others of Chinese contributions during the Civil War. If only they taught stuff like this in our schools......... -TW

Subj: Civil War vets in Louisiana.
Date: 12/10/01 6:44:11 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: Terry Foenander
To: Ruthanne Lum McCunn
CC: Gordon Kwok
Dear Ruthanne, As Gordon knows, there have been several mentions of Chinese serving in units from Louisiana, the main one being in the book by Burke Davis, STRANGE AND FASCINATING FACTS, where the author indicates that he came across the name of a Chinese soldier who had served in the Avegno Zouaves. However, when a later researcher asked him about this, he could not give, or could not remember his source.   I would think that researchers usually save their source information for future reference.   I think several other authors like to repeat this, and in the process the numbers of Asians have increased. For the past month or two (it is a very, very slow and tedious process, so I am a long way from completion, yet), I have been perusing the names of all the men listed in Andrew Booth's compilation of the Louisiana Confederate Soldiers, and have only gotten as far as the names beginning with J.; I am searching mainly for those soldiers who transferred into the Confederate Navy, as well as those who deserted, and then joined the Union Navy.   At the same time I have noted down the names of about a half dozen men with unusual entries (such as one who was actually found to be a woman, and one or two who were found to be negroes, and immediately discharged). I have also found, as I mentioned in a message to a number of my correspondents some weeks back, that Louisiana seemed to have the most multicultural batch of enlistments of all the states, besides New York, as I keep finding men from various nations.   Not all the entries include place of birth, but there are quite a few of them. So far I have not come across a single Asian yet, but I am keeping my fingers crossed. If, as Monty states, there were a large number of Asians, or Chinese who served from that state (in the Confederate Army), then they obviously kept their nativities secret, as I have not yet located a single mention in the Booth rosters. Burke Davis seems to be the only source, so far, of such a mention.
It would be most advisable to have doubts when hearing of large numbers of men from one state (other than New York) who were born in Asia. However, as Gordon states, New Orleans was most certainly a blend of multiculturalism, so there is a possibility that more veterans from that state had indeed served, but, until concrete evidence is found, then we should remain sceptical. Regards, Terry.

Subj: Asian in the US Civil War
Date: 11/2/01 11:13:51 PM Eastern Standard Time
To: gordonkwok@aol.com
Dear Sir: On your WebPages,
http://hometown.aol.com/gordonkwok/cacwpart2.html
a certain R Balboa referenced the early Filipino settlement in New Orleans called Saint Malo. Please note that the URL has moved to
http://members.tripod.com/philipppines/stmalo.html
I am greatly impressed by your overall website that I could relate with. Among my website is about the Filipinos in the US Navy
http://members.tripod.com/philusnavy
Again thank you for your very revealing website.
Nestor Palugod Enriquez

Subj: Civil war photos/memorabilia
Date: 9/28/01 5:11:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Hello Gordon, The CHSA exhibitions committee is working on the permanent exhibition on Chinese American history for the new Chinese American National Museum, opening Nov. 17. We are looking for artifacts and memorabilia from the Chinese serving in the Civil War. After looking at your website, I saw a few photos that would be great additions to our exhibition. Would you please advise on the best way to get these photos reproduced for the exhibition? Also, do you know of anyone with 3D artifacts from that period that w ould be willing to display in the museum? We need these items ASAP, as we are trying to install at the beginning of October.
Thanks for your help. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Melissa
Melissa M. Szeto
Executive Director
Chinese Historical Society of America
965 Clay Street
San Francisco, CA 94108
tel 415.391.1188
fax 415.391.1150
http://www.chsa.org

{Webmaster's reply: Hello Melissa, Thank you for writing. I do not own those pictures. It was through the courtesy of the owners who gave me permission to use them on my website in the net. I guess if you credit the source (each source on each item used), it would be ok for you to use them. I guess you get an OK from the original owner, then, you could use them. You could use your right mouse clicker to download the picture in your computer. You could put it on a web page, enlarge the dimensions, and print it for you exhibit. On the request of 3D artifacts and memorabilia from the Chinese serving in the Civil War, I am afraid I couldn't help you since I have none. I am not a collector. You are also welcome to use any history information from my web site as long as credit is given to the original source(s). Your organization is the 4th one to ask me. Previously, Chinese organizations from Maryland, Vancouver B.C., Atlanta Georgia also asked me for their exhibitions. I wish you best of luck in your venture. P.S. I have visited your old CHSA office on top of a restaurant, very impressive, but I have not visited your new place. Sincerely, Gordon Kwok}

Subj: Looking for Information on Chinese Confederates
Date: 8/25/01 11:46:46 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Hi, I am a member of the 2nd South Carolina, Company H, reinactment group. Since I have family background from China, I have become interested in portraying a Chinese Confederate during the reinactments. Although I am a female, I am taking on a male portrayal on the field. The main reason I want to do the portrayal is to give the Chinese Confederates the proper respect, and to bring about education to others. I have never seen a Chinese Confederate being portrayed, and am not sure where to get more information. The web site has given me a lot of great insight. I am sort of hoping to find more information, a book, or anything along that line. I need to find out things like, uniforms, how the hair was worn, that kind of thing. Do you have suggestions as to where I can find more information on this? Thank you. Julie Gong

{Webmaster's reply: Ms. Gong, There is no such book I know of at this time (that's why I launched my site, and some day, I may publish a book on the subject ). Go to Part 6. Look up Christopher Wren Bunker (from North Carolina) and the links for more documentation source and picture ( Christopher as a boy). Research on 37th Virginia cavalry uniform. Thanks for writing.}

Subj: Hello
Date: 8/5/01 11:52:22 PM Eastern Daylight Time
To: Edward Milligan and Gordonkwok, Sorry for taking so long to write you this "thank you" email. My hard drive crashed on me and I lost most of my saved emails including yours. I want to share with you that I was able to locate the article you mentioned in the New Orleans library and made a copy of the article. It was a recollection of General John McGrath. He commanded several of the companies in the 13th Regiment during the war. Based on the work you and Terry did and published and some of my own digging, I was able to identify at least one Chinese soldier who was on one of the Union gunboat that ran the forts. I did identity two Chinese names from the Avegno Zouaves Regiment and confirmed the companies they were in and their enlisting officer were indeed the Avegno Zouaves companies. Thank you for your great work and generosity in sharing. S-M Temple

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