Luigi Palma di Cesnola

Luigi Palma di Cesnola (July 29, 1832 – November 20, 1904), an Italian-American soldier, diplomat and amateur archaeologist, was born in Rivarolo Canavese, near Turin. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the American Civil War. He was United States consul at Larnaca in Cyprus (1865–1877) and first Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (1879–1904).

Biography

Luigi Palma di Cesnola was born the second son of a count and military officer at Rivarolo Canavese, Piedmont, in the Kingdom of Sardinia, Italy.Aldo E. Salerno. In ''The Italian American Experience: An Encyclopedia'', ed. Salvatore J. LaGumina (New York: Garland, 2000), p.106 His uncle was Italian patriot Alerino Palma, and his brother was Alessandro Palma di Cesnola.Maria Luisa Moncassoli Tibone. "Dal Piemonte a Cipro, a New York: un’avventura appassionante".

In 1848 Luigi joined the Sardinian army at the age of 15, and served in the First Italian War of Independence. During the Battle of Novara on 23 March 1849, he was decorated for bravery and promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. He graduated from the Royal Military Academy at Cherasco in 1851. In 1854 he was dismissed for unknown reasons, and subsequently served with the British Army in the Crimean War as the aide-de-camp to General Enrico Fardella.

In 1858 he went to New York, where he first taught Italian and French. In February 1861 he married Mary Isabel Reid, the daughter of war hero Commodore Samuel Chester Reid. He then founded a private military school for officers, where in six months he trained over seven hundred students. Beginning in 1862, he took part in the American Civil War as colonel of the 4th New York Cavalry Regiment, serving under the name Louis P. di Cesnola. Accused of sending stolen property North, Cesnola was threatened with dishonorable dismissal from the army. However, at the Battle of Aldie (June 1863), Colonel di Cesnola was wounded and taken prisoner. He received a Medal of Honor for his efforts during the battle. He was released from Libby Prison early in 1864 when the Union Agent for Prisoner Exchange offered a personal friend of Jefferson Davis as barter. He served in the Wilderness and Petersburg campaigns (1864–65) as a commander of a cavalry brigade but was not promoted to brigadier general. Although he was nominated for appointment to the brevet grade of brigadier general to rank from March 13, 1865 after the end of the war, the U.S. Senate never confirmed his appointment (contrary to the inscription on his grave stone).

After the war, he was appointed United States consul at Larnaca in Cyprus (1865–1877). During his stay on Cyprus he carried out excavations (especially around the archaeological site of Kourion), which resulted in the discovery of a large number of antiquities.
The '' Napried'', one of the ships commissioned by di Cesnola to transport approximately 35,000 pieces of antiquities that he had collected from Cyprus, was lost at sea carrying about 5,000 pieces in its cargo.
The collection was purchased by the newly expanded Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1872, and Cesnola became the first director in 1879, until his death in 1904. Doubt having been thrown by the art critic Clarence Cook, and by Gaston L. Feuardent, in an article in the ''New York Herald'' (August 1880), upon the genuineness of his restorations, the matter was referred to a special committee, which pronounced in his favor. In Cyprus however, his actions are still considered to tantamount to looting. Researcher Ahmet Gazioğlu, citing excerpts from di Cesnola's own book, wrote that di Cesnola often excavated illegally using blackmail and that he was "a problem to the Turkish authorities, both because of his contempt for the law and his misbehaviour towards the officials and the people".

Cesnola was the author of ''Cyprus, its ancient Cities, Tombs and Temples'' (1877), a travel book of considerable service to the practical antiquary; and of a ''Descriptive Atlas of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriote Antiquities'' (3 volumes, 1884–1886). He received honorary degrees from Columbia and Princeton universities and a special knightly order from the king of Italy, and was a member of several learned societies in Europe and America.

He died in New York City on November 20, 1904. He was interred at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, NY. His funerals, on 23 November 1904 at St. Patrick's Cathedral (Manhattan), were attended by a crowd of more than 2000 dignitaries and mourners.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Colonel, 4th New York Cavalry. Place and date: At Aldie, Va., June 17, 1863. Entered service at: New York, N.Y. Born: June 29, 1832, Rivarolo Canavese, Turin, Piedmont, Italy. Date of issue: Unknown.

At the start of the battle at Aldie, Cesnola was placed under arrest by his superior officer for protesting the promotion of a less experienced officer to brigadier general. He was stripped of his saber and sidearm. Without Cesnola the Fourth New York Cavalry balked repeatedly when asked to charge a hillside gun battery. The commanding general knew Cesnola was needed to rally the unit. He said, "Colonel, you are a brave man. You are released from arrest. Here is my own sword. Take it and bring it back to me covered in the enemy's blood." When he entered the battle "the regiment arrived on the scene of conflict, and by a gallant charge, turned apparent defeat into a glorious victory for our arms, completely routing the enemy and cutting off nearly 100 men, all of whom were captured." At the close of the battle Cesnola was found in a field lying under his own horse, wounded on the head by a saber and on the arm by a minie ball.

See also

* List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Battle of Gettysburg
* List of Italian American Medal of Honor recipients
* List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: A–F
* Italian Americans in the Civil War

Notes

References

* Giuseppe Giacosa, ''Impressioni d'America'' (Milano: Cogliati, 1898; 2nd ed. 1902)
* Gioachino Toesca di Castellazzo, ''Commemorazione del generale Luigi Palma di Cesnola'' (Torino: Cassone, 1905)
* Hunt, Roger D. and Jack R. Brown, ''Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue.'' Gaithersburg, MD: Olde Soldier Books, Inc., 1990. .
* Mcfadden, Elizabeth. ''The Glitter and the Gold: A Spirited Account of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's First Director, the Audacious and High-Handed Luigi Palma di Cesnola'' New York: Dial Press, 1971.
*
* Robert Cole. "A Cavalryman First." In ''They Made It in America'' (New York: Morrow, 1993) 12–15.
* Aldo E. Salerno. "Luigi Palma di Cesnola." In ''The Italian American Experience: An Encyclopedia'', ed. Salvatore J. LaGumina (New York: Garland, 2000), p. 106
* Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. .
* Maria Luisa Moncassoli Tibone. "Dal Piemonte a Cipro, a New York: un’avventura appassionante". In ''Catalogo della mostra'' "Luigi Palma di Cesnola. Le gesta di un Piemontese dagli scavi di Cipro al Metropolitan Museum." – Palazzo Lascaris, 12 novembre – 11 dicembre 2004'' (Torino, 2004), pp. 9–1
Online edition
*

Further reading

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External links

Digitized Guides to the Cesnola Collection
from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries

Luigi Palma di Cesnola collection, 1861-1950s (bulk, 1861-1904)
in The Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives

The Papers of Luigi Cesnola
at Dartmouth College Library

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palma di Cesnola, Luigi
1832 births
1904 deaths
Italian emigrants to the United States
People of New York (state) in the American Civil War
Union Army colonels
American Civil War prisoners of war
United States Army Medal of Honor recipients
Italian archaeologists
American archaeologists
Directors of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Foreign-born Medal of Honor recipients
American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor
People from Rivarolo Canavese
Burials at Kensico Cemetery