camp and captured many prisoners, horses and the regimental colors.

In January, 1863, he was given the command of the 11th Army Corps, but soon yielded it to Carl Schurz. In March he was promoted to majorgeneral and, by the express wish of the President, was assigned to the command of a cavalry division in front of Washington. Toward the end of the year he was transferred to the Department of the Susquehanna, where, for the protection of Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, he concentrated and organized the cavalry, which was distributed all over the state.

The following spring he was again transferred to the Department of West Virginia in command of the 1st Cavalry Division, and led the advance column down the Shenandoah Valley. He drove the enemy across the river near Mount Jackson, and took part in the battle of New Market. On June 5, near Staunton, he was ordered by Gen. Hunter to charge the Confederate cavalry and check its advance. On the first charge Gen. Stahel broke the enemy and pursued him as far as Piedmont, where he found the main force of the Confederates in a strong entrenched position, and held them there until the arrival of Gen. Hunter with his army. Hunter soon commenced the attack, and ordered Stahel, whose troops were somewhat exhausted, to form the reserve. The battle raged furiously for some time, when Stahel received orders to dismount three of his cavalry regiments and send them to the support of the infantry. He lead this dismounted force himself into action, was badly wounded, and taken to the rear to have his wound dressed. While he was in the surgeons' hands, Gen. Hunter expressed great regret and disappointment, for he wanted Stahel to charge the enemy's flank, while he would attack the front in full force. Gen. Stahel, seeing the need of a quick, concerted and strong action, told Hunter

that he would lead the charge. So he had his wound dressed to stop the bleeding and, being helped to mount his horse as he had no use of his left arm, he charged with his entire mounted force the enemy's flank, dislodged him from his. entrenched position and created a general stampede. For his heroism at Piedmont he was awarded by Congress a medal of honor, the highest distinction an American soldier can receive. Being invalided for several months, he was ordered to Baltimore, where he did duty as president of a General Court Martial, until he resigned from the army in February, 1865.

He was

In his military career he had risen rapidly, and gained the confidence and respect of his superiors, which they never had cause to regret. now to show his fitness for an entirely different and, to him, new line of work in the public service. There had been many irregularities in the consulate at Yokohama, Japan, and Secretary of State Seward selected him, in 1866, for the task of reorganizing that consulate, bringing it to a satisfactory status, and entering into arrangements with the Japanese authorities for the opening of new ports. Stahel was eminently successful in both directions; he reorganized the consulate on a basis of efficiency, and in 1869 the ports of Osaka and Hiogo were thrown open to American commerce.

He then returned to the States and became interested in some mining concerns in the West. In 1877 he was sent again to Japan as U. S. Consul at Osaka and Hiogo, which post he held until appointed consul-general at Shanghai, China, in 1884. He was twice temporarily detached and entrusted with special duties of a delicate nature in the Far East. He also sent the State Department lengthy reports and recommendations as to the reorganization of the service in the Far East, with particular reference to the judicial system;

they formed the basis of several reforms which were subsequently carried out. Incessant work and an uncongenial climate having impaired his health, Stahel resigned in 1885, and returned to New York, where he became connected with one of the largest financial institutions of the country.

Unlike his friend, Alexander Asbóth, he was blessed with a long life, and thus had more opportunities to bring his abilities into full play. He lived up to his high ideals of honor and duty, he was a cheerful companion and a loyal friend, and, in a delicate and unostentatious manner, did much to help his less fortunate brethren. He visited Hungary during the Millennium in 1896; and among his souvenirs of an eventful life there was none which he valued more highly than a picture of Louis Kossuth with his autograph dedication. He died in New York on December 4, 1912, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.

VIII

The Garibaldi Guard, or 39th New York Infantry Regiment, was the most cosmopolitan organization in the War for the Union. It was composed of Hungarians, Germans, Italians, Frenchmen, Spaniards and men of various other nationalities, but the Hungarians had a plurality over any of them and constituted nearly one-half of the regiment. This gave it something of an Hungarian character, which came to expression also at the presentation of colors. Three flags were presented: An American, an Hungarian, and an historical Garibaldi flag. On one side of the Hungarian, red, white and green standard "was the motto, within a wreath, Vincere aut morire; and on the opposite side, in English, the same motto, Conquer or die. The regimental name appeared on each side, over and underneath the wreath, in English. This

Presentation of Hungarian Colors to the Garibaldi Guard, New York, May 23, 1861

elegant present was from Miss Grinnell. It had four beautiful silk pendants of colors and inscriptions, the latter embroidered as follows: White, Sylvia Grinnell; red, Presented to the

Garibaldi Guard; blue, New York, 23d May, 1861; red, white and blue, Brethren before, brethren again"23.

At the beginning of the war many regiments chose showy or fanciful uniforms, the general favorite being the costume of the Zouaves. Reading the papers of that period, one gets the impression that each state must have furnished at least half a dozen Zouave regiments. The uniform of the Garibaldi Guard was something unique, being modeled after that of the Italian Bersaglieri, and they wore hats with big cock-feathers. They were a soldierly-looking lot, and carried their flags with honor all through the eastern campaigns, their list of battles including: First Bull Run, Cross Keys, Gettysburg, North Anna, Bristow Station, Po River, Mine Run, Spottsylvania, Wilderness, Tolopotomoy, Coal Harbor, Petersburg, Strawbury Plains, Ream's Station, and Deep Bottom.

The first colonel of the regiment was an Hungarian, Frederic George Utassy; among the other Hungarian officers were Major Anthony Vékey, Captains Victor Sándory, Francis Takács and Anthony Utassy, and Lieutenants Louis Tenner, Charles Utassy and Charles Zerdahelyi.

Zerdahelyi came from a noble family, and was a pupil of Liszt and a pianist of some note. He was a captain in the Honvéd Army, and was entrusted by the Hungarian Government with a confidential mission to Germany; but on his way thither he was captured by the Austrian police, and kept in a dungeon at Kufstein in heavy irons for two years. Through his refined manners and accomplishments as a musician he made many friends among cultured Americans, and support

23 Harper's Weekly, June 8, 1861.