During the Battle of Antietam on Sept. 17, 1862, Col. Ernst von Vegesack, the commander of the 20th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, sat prominently on horseback, while the unit’s banner, emblazoned with the words “Bahn Frei,” German for “clear the way,” streamed high over a ridge near the Dunker Church.

For three hours, the 20th New York was reportedly “exposed to the heaviest fire in line, which it bore with unyielding courage.” Colonel Vegesack himself came under fire repeatedly, but “his calm courage gave example” to his men. The next day Gen. Robert E. Lee retreated back across the Potomac; this “strategic Union success” gave political room for Abraham Lincoln to issue the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. The day Vegesack rallied his men was his and their finest hour.

Vegesack is virtually unknown today, and his background — Swedish nobleman, leading mostly German immigrant soldiers — seems out of place in the history of America’s civil war. And yet Vegesack’s and the 20th New York’s story underlines how the war belonged not just to native-born Americans, but to but to European volunteers; hundreds of thousands of men, rich and poor, who were to become Americans through payments in blood.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Swedes were a small immigrant group in the United States, numbering about 16,000, mostly farmers residing in the northern Midwest and scattered around the East. Some 2,200 joined the Union Army and Navy, but could barely be found in Confederate ranks. Coming from a poor country, these immigrants were agape at the land available; thus they strongly supported the Union and antislavery causes. They also personally identified with Lincoln as the son of a working man.

Adding to the ranks of Swedish immigrants already settled in the United States came came unknown others eager to enlist after the war began. The American consul in Stockholm wrote that he could approve passage for 1,000 men a month, if transportation could be paid for. Professional military officers sought commissions as well. Thus, an agreement was reached whereby the Swedish foreign ministry would recommend officers like Vegesack to the State Department and in some cases pay their transportation — an interesting arrangement for an officially neutral nation.

The Swedish officers, and other foreign volunteer officers like them, made contributions out of proportion to their numbers. Given their backgrounds and the fact that many, like Vegesack, had participated in or observed prior European conflicts, they provided impressive skills as trainers, artillery specialists, armament designers and fortification and operations planners.

Count Ernst Mattias Peter von Vegesack was among the most impressive of the lot. Born in 1820 in Gotland, Sweden, he joined the Army at 15 years old and rose through the ranks. He fought with the Danes during the 1848 Schleswig-Holstein War against Prussia and was named captain in the National Guard in 1857.

Vegesack immigrated to the United States shortly after the firing on Fort Sumter and was assigned duties at Fortress Monroe in 1862. He petitioned to be given command of the 20th New York, a unit composed of German immigrants that Vegesack, being fluent in German, thought he was a natural to lead. When his petition was denied, he resigned his commission and fought as a private in the Peninsula campaign, eventually joining Gen. George B. McClellan’s staff as a major.

Vegesack was finally appointed colonel of the 20th New York in July 1862. He commanded a brigade at the Second Battle of Bull Run and attained his due fame at Antietam. As Vegesack’s reputation spread, increasing numbers of Swedes chose to enlist with the Germans.

In a further irony only possible in the crucible of an American war, Vegesack, a member of the Swedish nobility, led a regiment formed by republican ideologues. The United Turner Rifles, the regiment’s nom de guerre, was mustered into service in April 1861, with members hailing from Manhattan, Brooklyn, Albany, Poughkeepsie, Newark and other towns. The men were united in their membership in Turner societies, a widespread movement that melded physical fitness with democratic reform activism. The first Turner Society was founded in 1811 by a teacher in Berlin named Frederick Ludwig Jahn. The physical fitness program, which included women, offered varied training, but gymnastics was the signature sport. Turner leaders like Franz Sigel and Francis Lieber, who would later play important roles in the Civil War, spearheaded the 1848 German revolution.

In America the members promoted an agenda around free speech, workingmen’s and women’s rights and opposition to slavery. As antislavery societies spread nationwide, Turner Clubs were some of the few venues that opened their doors to speakers. Turner men acted as secret bodyguards for Lincoln and the abolitionist Wendell Phillips. By the end of the Civil War, Turners counted among top military leaders and had signed 21 infantry regiments, 2 cavalry regiments and 2 batteries of artillery in the Union Army.

On June 13, 1861, when the 20th New York left for Fortress Monroe, the German community turned out en masse. More Turner Club members; musical, theatrical, and choral groups; and fire companies escorted the newly minted soldiers to New York City Hall where they received their flags. A New York Daily Tribune reporter effused: “The regiment is not only thoroughly equipped and sworn for the war, but every man is perfectly and completely drilled in the manual and maneuvers.” After the Turner Rifles underwent their first formal inspection at the fort, they hosted a festive reception. Besides affording food and music, they treated the amazed Gen. Benjamin F. Butler and guests to a gymnastics demonstration, featuring tumbling and a human pyramid.

Following the Battle of Antietam, Vegesack and his Turners served with further distinction at the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, and in smaller actions. At Gettysburg Vegesack served as adjutant to commanding Gen. George G. Meade.

In May 1863, the 20th New York Infantry Regiment was mustered out of service, although many soldiers intended to re-enlist. The men honored their colonel at a dinner in New York. During the unit’s service, of the original 1,200 men enrolled, 111 enlisted men and 9 officers had died from combat or disease, 201 had been wounded and 174 were missing.

Following Gettysburg, Vegesack failed to gain promotion to brigadier general. Thus, he resigned his commission to resume his old command in Sweden, where he was eventually promoted to major general. In August 1893, though long since returned to Sweden, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his “distinguished gallantry and meritorious service,” in covering Maj. Gen. Fitz-John Porter’s retreat at the 1862 Battle of Gaines Mills in Virginia.

By the end of the war, many other Swedish-Americans had also achieved senior rank, including Brig. Gen. Charles J. Stohlbrand of Chicago, who had attended the Royal Vendes Artillery School in Sweden before immigrating in 1850.

Turner clubs continue to thrive across the country; the New York club eventually moved from Manhattan to the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx, where its Civil War regimental list is still posted at its front door.

Ernest Von Vegesack