WI: Giuseppe Garibaldi, United States Major General

Hi, I'm new to the Alt History forum so forgive me if I commit a faux pas, but I want to jump in and I think I have an interesting POD idea.

According to Wikipedia, one of Garibaldi's friends an American journalist, and an American diplomat schemed to make Garibaldi a major general during the Civil War. How do we get Garibaldi and Lincoln to accept the offer? How would Garibaldi's leadership affect the Union war effort? What would be the long term results (especially in regards to future American-Italian relations and Italian reunification)?

I think that Garibaldi, if decent enough, would possibly butterfly away a Grant presidency, lead to better relations between America and Italy (which might be interesting in Versailles and during Mussolini's regime), and be viewed as a second Lafayette.
 
interesting possibility.. curious what other people think but as I recall the 1860s were the critical time for Italian unification
 
interesting possibility.. curious what other people think but as I recall the 1860s were the critical time for Italian unification


I'm thinking that the POD would have to be something that either pushes Italian unification forward so Garibaldi feels confident enough to leave or pushes it back so Garibaldi has an open schedule. Maybe heavier Austrian or French involvement?
 
IIRC, Garibaldi's demands were that President Lincoln make a statement about ending slavery immediately. Garibaldi wanted his command to be about defeating both the rebellious states as well as simultaneously liberating all of the slaves. Abraham Lincoln could not politically agree to such a notion in either 1861 or 1862.

Joho :).
 
I'm thinking that the POD would have to be something that either pushes Italian unification forward so Garibaldi feels confident enough to leave or pushes it back so Garibaldi has an open schedule. Maybe heavier Austrian or French involvement?


Italy was already largely unified by 1861. Only Venice and Rome remained to do, and there was no immediate prospect of anything much being done about either.
 
After the emancipation proclamation. Head of USCT?

Italy was already largely unified by 1861. Only Venice and Rome remained to do, and there was no immediate prospect of anything much being done about either.

Maybe after the failed attack on Rome Garibaldi decides to fight for the Union while the heat goes away in Europe (funny considering the pope might have been pro-Confederacy) and trains and leads new Afro-American troops.

Who knows maybe the new soldiers of color see the situation going south and follow him back to Italy.
 
Hi, I'm new to the Alt History forum so forgive me if I commit a faux pas, but I want to jump in and I think I have an interesting POD idea.

According to Wikipedia, one of Garibaldi's friends an American journalist, and an American diplomat schemed to make Garibaldi a major general during the Civil War. How do we get Garibaldi and Lincoln to accept the offer? How would Garibaldi's leadership affect the Union war effort? What would be the long term results (especially in regards to future American-Italian relations and Italian reunification)?

I think that Garibaldi, if decent enough, would possibly butterfly away a Grant presidency, lead to better relations between America and Italy (which might be interesting in Versailles and during Mussolini's regime), and be viewed as a second Lafayette.

That would make one hell of a TL!

If Lincoln agrees - maybe it opens the door for other foreigners to serve in the Union army.
If so, judging by their respective competencies - their relative expertise could help fill in the tactical-expertise gaps that existed within Union officer corps from '61 - '63.
 
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Possible (not probable) if he isn't wounded in his latest attempt to conquer Rome with his volunteers; the effort was stopped by the italian goverment for fear of a French retaliation...even if the current PM had given his tacit approval (and was forced to retire for that).
Maybe the american request will be seen by the italian politicians as a mean to get rid in a very gracious way of that political hot potato that's Garibaldi and try to convince the Gerneral to accept the offer.
 
As a shoutout to a TL that has already covered this, @Alt History Buff has already featured said scenario in his timeline "Diary of a Doofus King II". The reason that Garibaldi had fought for the Americans was because of the fact that ITTL the Napoleonic Empire never invaded Russia in the sixth coalition or Spain in the Peninsular War. As such the Napoleonic Empire was able to live longer and Garibaldi was driven out of Italy for his nationalist leanings so as to keep the peace for France. Because of this Garibaldi went to America and when the Civil War began he was offered a post as Major General by Winfield Scott to fight against the south, playing an important role in the Potomac theater.

Northern Maryland

General Giuseppe Garibaldi was getting tired of Americans. The Frenchman (he would always think of himself as an "Italian" despite the fact that no nation named "Italy" existed and, if it did, it would be ruled by the odious Bonapartes) had been run out of his home town of Nice when his ill-fated attempt at revolution failed dismally in the Piedmont region of France (northern "Italy").

General Winfield Scott gave Garibaldi, whom had been in America for years, a Corps command. Due to his morbid obesity, Scott could not ride a horse and had been forced to delegate most battlefield decisions to his corps commanders: Garibaldi, McDowell and Patterson.

The Union Army resembled nothing more than a mob of 60,000 men. More had volunteered but weapons were in short supply and no one knew how to provision an army of this size anyway.

Garibaldi would be the first to engage the enemy just north of Maryland. The Irish-born Patterson had been ordered to advance along the eastern flank while McDowell marched southwest to cut off the enemy reinforcements in Washington.

Nothing could describe the chaos of the army in those vital first few weeks of the war. With the government uprooted from Washington, it took weeks to set up a new Treasury office and War Department. Indeed, Garibaldi was astonished things came together as quickly as they did. It helped that the volunteers weren't actually being paid yet. They signed on for the summer with a discharge bonus promised in August. Even so, simply allocating food and tenths had been a herculean task.

With forty thousand men, Garibaldi and McDowell descended upon the outer ring of Baltimore. While Washington DC's fortifications were reportedly strengthening by the hour, the futility of defending Baltimore by siege resulted in the enemy choosing to fight a battle of maneuver.

The farce that occurred over the next twenty-four hours could hardly be referred to as a "Battle", merely a mob of men running into one another. Artillery was left exposed to enemy infantry (and just as often ignored by enemy infantry). Regiments advanced piecemeal. Less than half the forces gathered were even utilized in the confusion.

Garibaldi's great contribution, he would later recall, was to cut down on the complexity of the battle plan accounting for this amateurish display. In hindsight, it was a wise move.

As "Corps" and "Divisions" wandered aimlessly about, a southern Colonel misunderstood an order and shifted position, leaving a key hill in the center of the Federalist Line exposed to a Union attack. Seeing the danger, Joseph Johnston ordered forward reserves, as did the Union. For hours, the hill was taken and retaken, with the darkness came a Union victory. This sort of confusion permeated the battlefield as entire Regiments were sent scurrying though no individual clash matter more than this central battle.

Both sides had expected an easy victory, perhaps some sort of political compromise reached before the first shot could be fired. Instead, the Federalists spent the next day attempting to regain lost territory. Sometimes they succeeded, other times failed.

On day three, the Union attacked with 10,000 fresh soldiers and broke the Federalist left and flanked their right. Johnston was forced to make a decision. Knowing he could not retreat to Baltimore without being cut off, he ordered his forces back to Washington, leaving the most vital city in Maryland to the Union, dooming the Peninsula as well over the next few months. Infuriated, President Bonham relieved Johnston of command and put Francis Dade (whom commanded the Washington garrison) in command of the Federal "Army of the Potomac", named for their new front line.

Maryland had fallen but the Union would not make swift capital of this victory. The army, even in victory, had descended into confusion it would take weeks to clean up. By the end of July, many of the Union troops were reaching the end of their 3 month enlistments and they were only then seeing the expansive defensive ramparts around Washington DC.

Many proclaimed the war over.

It was not.

As for your possible scenario in relation to OTL history. Lincoln would never in my opinion allow random foreigners the posts of Union Generals as he already had an able enough supply and by allowing an Italian to take command Lincoln is seen as weak in the eyes of the American people as he cant trust his own soldiers to finish the job, bringing up Garibaldi as a huge point for the midterms. Not to mention the multiple problems created for Seward in relation with France. Garibaldi would also most likely not want to go as both Venice and Rome had not been under Italian control, so Garibaldi would've stayed until he saw it done. Then we also got Austria who could just as easily take back Lombardy until the Austro-Prussian War happens. So in the end Garibaldi's nationalism will triumph any feelings of sympathy he has with the Yankees.
 
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