You heard me. On this Memorial Day, 2010, the Honolulu Advertiser reports that "Henry Ho'olulu Pitman, the son of a Hawaiian high chiefess, was born in Hilo, served as a young man in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and died from the effects of being held in the South's Libby Prison."The article asserts that as many as 40 native Hawaiians served on one side or the other during the war, including 12 on the famed raider CSS Shenandoah (probably pressed into service for their sailing skills).
Mustering best Johnny Carson impression: I did not know that.
2 comments:
Very interesting. On a related note, I was at the opening of the National Archives exhibit "Discovering the Civil War." They had on display a proclamation from the King of Hawaii declaring the kingdom's neutrality in the Civil War. An archivist was on hand, who informed me that he had found this previously unknown document among the records of the U.S. Consulate in Hawaii in the Civil War. Fascinating stuff.
Very interesting!
Thanks for that tidbit, Ron.
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