Several years ago while co-leading a WWII tour in Poland I was discussing military history in that part of Europe with my British colleague, Philip Blood. We were considering Polish military successes and setbacks during several periods and at some point I mentioned to him that my real center of historical interest was the American Civil War. As we digressed, I mentioned that I had often wondered about the extent of Polish involvement in that conflict. The later discovery of some written accounts on Poles in America provided impetus. While on a holiday visit to my parents’ home where I grew up, I chanced upon a book entitled, Poles in United States published in Warsaw in 1976. In its chapters devoted to the Civil War period were references to the Louisiana Polish Brigade organized for the Confederate Army as well as the Union’s Polish Legion and many of the characters who took part in the war. As I related this to Dr. Blood, he promptly gestured to me and said, “There’s your book on Poles in the Civil War!” Initially, I planned to do a more encyclopedic work that covered Poles in the war generally. However, as I got further…
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