PC: Foreign volunteers in the US Civil War go on to become leaders of their country?

Nofix

After reading about Gustave Paul Cluseret my first thought was "how cool would it have been if this guy lead France?" And then I got to thinking, what if another foreign volunteer did somehow do that? I'll admit my knowledge of the many Civil War generals is pretty nonexistent, and so I came to you guys for this trivial little idea

Can it be done? Can a foreign volunteer become a President, Prime Minister, or even a King or Emperor of a nation? How would they change their nations foreign policy considering they fought on the Unions side? How would Americans see and receive a former Union soldier as a another countries leader?
 

TFSmith121

Banned
Well, if the House of Orleans were restored, you'd have

Well, if the House of Orleans were restored, you'd have one as head of state, at least.

Best,
 

Nofix

TFSmith121 said:
Well, if the House of Orleans were restored, you'd have one as head of state, at least.
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At first I was wondering what you meant by that, until:

TFSmith121 said:
King Philip of France?
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You posted this. I guess that could happen, his service as King would probably be a departure from how the previous King interacted with the (continents of) America.

King Nazar said:
Maybe if Lincoln takes Garibaldi up on his offer.
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Perhaps. But Garbaldi aimed big, like Commander-in-Chief big. There's also the fact he never actually led Italy, he was only ever a military man and member of her Senate. I guess if he took Seward's offer of a Major General's commission, and was appointed even for a short period as Prime Minister, that would fit the challenge.
 

TFSmith121

Banned
Yep.

Nofix said:
At first I was wondering what you meant by that, until:
You posted this. I guess that could happen, his service as King would probably be a departure from how the previous King interacted with the (continents of) America.
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Well, be interesting to imagine what would have had to happen to get an Orleanist restoration in France in the 1860s or later...

Best,
 

Just a Rube

TFSmith121 said:
Well, be interesting to imagine what would have had to happen to get an Orleanist restoration in France in the 1860s or later...

Best,
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Actually fairly easy: kill off Henry, Count of Chambourd c. 1870, instead of him surviving until 1883. The Third Republic was prepared for a Bourbon Restoration (being controlled by an alliance of monarchists, and the Orleanists and Legitimists having unified to support the childless Henry, with Prince Philippe as heir). But Henry refused to allow the tricolor to remain as a national flag, so it fell through, and eventually the Republic became the status quo.

If Henry dies, then Prince Philippe will certainly allow the tricolor, and he is the heir by both Legitimist and Orleanist reckoning, so he should sweep in fairly easily.
 

ComradeHuxley

Donor
Polecat said:
How do you define foreign volunteers? Because if Weydemeyer is gonna become the leader of Germany, that is gonna be so awesome.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Weydemeyer
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This is just the tip of the German socialist iceberg....
There is for example August Willich formerly known as Johann August Ernst von Willich a military officer in the Prussian Army. In 1847 he discarded his title of nobility. He later immigrated to the United States and became a general in the Union Army. But that is not the craziest thing about him. For example he tried to kill Karl Marx in a duel, for being too conservative of all things.

There are of course plenty more people. It would be really fun to see how they would react to a second German revolution during the time of OTL Prussian-Austrian war.
 
Jonathan

Jonathan

How about this gentleman, Camille Armand Jules Marie, Prince de Polignac (February 16, 1832 – November 15, 1913) was a French nobleman who served with the Confederates in the American Civil War, being well liked by the soldiers serving under him and being known as Polecat due to his men finding it hard to pronounce his name, he would live on inFrance to become the last surviving Confederate major-general.

How would the US react to a former confederate major-general, becoming Prime minister or even president of france?
 
Neoteros

Neoteros

Nofix said:
Perhaps. But Garbaldi aimed big, like Commander-in-Chief big. There's also the fact he never actually led Italy, he was only ever a military man and member of her Senate. I guess if he took Seward's offer of a Major General's commission, and was appointed even for a short period as Prime Minister, that would fit the challenge.
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Giuseppe Garibaldi, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy? That's not going to happen, ever. By the standards of the conservative and moderate bourgeoisie that made up most of the government back then, he was a dangerous revolutionary; he openly supported the Commune of Paris and the First International, and he was left wing enough Mikhail Bakunin spoke fondly of him. He represented almost everything the House of Savoy hated.
 

Tocomocho

Moe Satyr said:
Giuseppe Garibaldi, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy? That's not going to happen, ever. By the standards of the conservative and moderate bourgeoisie that made up most of the government back then, he was a dangerous revolutionary; he openly supported the Commune of Paris and the First International, and he was left wing enough Mikhail Bakunin spoke fondly of him. He represented almost everything the House of Savoy hated.
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Maybe they break up before the unification of Italy is complete and Garibaldi ends being first president of a republic of Naples that he calls "true Italy" or something.
 

Wendell

We should establish just who all of the notable foreign nationals were in the war. Would you accept an American or a group of them becoming power brokers in some far away country?
 
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