Nicolae Dunca (1837 – June 8, 1862) was a Romanian military officer who served in several conflicts in Europe and in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Life and career

Dunca was born in 1837 in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

.Eugene Pivány
Hungarians in the American Civil War
''Page 46–47'' He served in the Honved Army during the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 or fully Hungarian Civic Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. Although th ...

and later was a lieutenant under Figyelmessy on

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

.Hungarians in America: Contrasting Studies
/ref> Dunca came to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and enlisted in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

in March 1862 and, due to his past military experience, was appointed captain in the

12th New York Infantry Regiment The 12th New York Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service 3 Month Service of the 12th New York State Militia The 12th New York Volunteer Infantry is sometimes confused with the 12th New ...

. He was later assigned as aide-de-camp to Major General

John C. Fremont John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, whose army was operating in the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

. Dunca was shot and killed by a Georgian (Pvt. John Long of Co. B, 21st Georgia Infantry) on picket duty at the

Battle of Cross Keys The Battle of Cross Keys was fought on June 8, 1862, in Rockingham County, Virginia, as part of Confederate Army Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War. Together, the batt ...

on June 8, 1862. When the picket searched Dunca's personal effects, it was discovered that he was carrying a dispatch outlining Gen. Fremont's order of march for the day. He was buried at Perkey’s Farm,

Cross Keys Cross Keys or Crosskeys may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Crosskeys, Wales ** Crosskeys railway station ** Crosskeys College, a campus of Coleg Gwent * Crosskeys Bridge, a swing bridge in Lincolnshire, England * The Cross Keys (disambiguatio ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, and his remains were later transferred to the Staunton National Cemetery (Section B, Grave 292). Dunca was not the only non-Hungarian to serve in the Union army. There were several officers in the Union Army who, although not natives of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, may be classified as Hungarians, for they had been identified with the Hungarians' cause, spoke the Hungarian language and attached themselves in America to the Hungarians. Among them were Constantin Blandovski, a Pole who had served in the Honvéd Army and few others.

Notes

References

* Collins, Darrell L.,'' The Battles of Cross Keys and Port Republic, June 8–9, 1862''. H.E. Howard, Inc., Lynchburg, Virginia, 1993. (see p. 68 for a details surrounding Dunca's death)

External links

Dunca's gravestone in the Staunton National Cemetery
* 1837 births 1862 deaths Military personnel from Iași People of the Principality of Moldavia Romanian emigrants to the United States Union Army officers Union military personnel killed in the American Civil War Burials in Virginia {{AmericanCivilWar-bio-stub

Life and career

Notes

References

Further reading

See also

External links