diCesnola, Louis Palma, b. ca.1842

Papers, 1862 April 2, 1864 June 27, July 7
3 items

Louis Palma Di Cesnola, b. ca.1842
Rank:	Col.
Regiment:	4th New York Cavalry Regiment (1861-1865)
Service:	1861-1865

Biographical information:

Louis Palma Di Cesnola, with prior service in the Italian Army, began an illustrious career in the Union Army with a major's commission in the 11th New York Cavalry, and rose to become Colonel of the 4th New York Cavalry by September, 1862. During his three years' service, di Cesnola was wounded and made a prisoner at Aldie, Va., and was awarded the Medal of Honor. Lt. Oliver S. Wood, a descendant of the Federalist senator from New Jersey, Jonathan Dayton, served under Di Cesnola in the 4th New York Cavalry and was killed in action near Gordonsville, Va., on June 12th, 1864.

Scope and Contents:

The three items in the Spencer/Wood Family series of the Dayton Papers include Wood's Lieutenant's commission, dated April 1862, and two letters from Col. Di Cesnola describing Wood's death during Sheridan's Trevilian Raid. Di Cesnola's letter of July 7th, 1864, is a fine account of the action that occurred between Gordonsville and Trevilian Station on the 12th of June, and is all the more interesting because Di Cesnola explicitly violates the general order forbidding commanding officers from providing information on engagements beyond "mere accidents & casualties nor dates &c.," and because he bluntly accuses Gen. Torbert of giving credit for the victory to Custer, when "the fact is they were thousands of yards far from the Station" and openly accuses other general officers of incompetence that resulted in high casualties. His account of the confusion and terror of the engagement itself is both detailed and interesting.

M-1756
Cat. 6/92 rsc

Link to subject index to the Louis Palma diCesnola Letters from the Jonathan Dayton Papers

Alphabetic index to the Schoff Civil War Collections

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