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KI‘I‘ONI‘ONI FILM
Sons Civil War of the
By Naomi Sodetani
of Hawaiians who fought in the Civil War. Hawai‘i Sons of the Civil War offers a fresh, unexpected twist on Civil War lore. With the role of African and Native Americans fairly well-documented, that of Native Hawaiians who found their way into the war has been, till now, lost in time. The strife was rooted in the divisive issue of slavery, which pitted the Union, or the North, against Southern slave states that had seceded and formed the Confederate States of America. After four years of bloody combat, the Confederacy was defeated and slavery was abolished. In chronicling Todd Ocvirk, left, and Nanette Napoleon, visited the memorial Hawaiians’ role in the at Punchbowl honoring Hawai‘i’s “brave souls” who fought in Civil War, this film the Civil War. The pair is collaborating on a forthcoming film, enlarges the arsenal “Hawai‘i Sons of the Civil War.” - Photo: Naomi Sodetani of wartime stories, overlooked for genof Southern California film school erations, now emerging to show us graduate went to the National that bravery is indeed diverse. Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific While Steven Spielberg’s blockat Punchbowl to pay respects to buster Lincoln portrays the clash of family interred there. At a scenic political titans in the upper echelons overlook lined with monuments of power against the horrific backhonoring veterans of various wars, drop of bloodshed over race, writer/ one small granite memorial was director/producer Ocvirk focuses “dedicated to the brave souls from his lens more closely on a small Hawai‘i who served in the Ameri- group of soldiers from Hawai‘i who dodged crossfire on land and at sea can Civil War from 1861-1865.” “I stopped in my tracks, and had far from their homeland. to pick up my jaw from the ground,” Ocvirk said. “I had never heard Ripples felt in Hawai‘i of Hawaiians or anybody from When the Civil War broke out in Hawai‘i who had fought in the Civil 1861, its ripples of violence were War.” But the horror genre writer/ felt even in the tiny independent director knew a compelling story Hawaiian Kingdom. King Kamewhen he saw it – and instantly felt hameha IV immediately declared compelled to tell it. the nation neutral in the conflict, Ocvirk joined forces with histori- largely to deter Confederate naval cal researcher Nanette Napoleon raiders from attacking and destroyand Civil War expert Dr. Justin ing Hawaiian whaling and merchant Vance to produce a documentary, ships in the Pacific. now in development, that aims to “Hawaiians were great sailors, bring to light the little-known saga and so they served on the whaling
T
odd Ocvirk recalls being “completely blown away” when he first learned that Hawaiians fought in the Civil War. Two years ago, on a visit home from Los Angeles, the Kamehameha Schools and University
Fighting for the Union Army, Pvt. Henry Ho‘olulu Pitman, the son of a chiefess, was captured by the South in 1862 and died at Camp Parole, Maryland, in 1863, when he was 17. - Courtesy image
Get involved The filmmakers are seeking volunteer research assistants/ interns of Pacific Island ancestry to gain production experience while working on an important historical film project with broad national appeal. If interested, contact Nanette Napoleon at (808) 261-0705 or nanetten@hawaii.rr.com. The project is also seeking to gather memorabilia and actual memories connected to ancestors who may have fought in the Civil War. “If anybody knows of any relatives or if Grandma used to tell them any stories about this person who used to fight in the Civil War, we want to hear from you,” says producer Todd Ocvirk. View the Hawai‘i Sons trailer at bit.ly/XlxgNG. ships and lots of merchant ships before the war,” said Vance, an assistant professor of history and assistant dean at Hawai‘i Pacific University’s Military Campus Programs. “When the war started, many of those ships were drafted into service in the Union Navy, and for their livelihood, (those Hawaiians) would end up as sailors in the Union Navy.” Vance, an expert on Hawai‘i’s participation in the Civil War, also presides over the Hawai‘i Civil War Roundtable. The group, along with Napoleon and veterans’ descen-
dants, led the effort to install the Punchbowl memorial in 2010 – the first memorial of its kind to honor Civil War veterans from Hawai‘i. The film follows the wartime journeys of several Hawaiians as well as missionary sons who served in the war – and who fought on both sides of the fray. More than 100 young men from Hawai‘i joined up, most enlisting in Union forces. At least 34 Native Hawaiians served in the Army and the Navy. Most of those who served in the Army were assigned to U.S. Colored Troops. Henry Ho‘olulu Pitman, who was born in Hilo and fought for the Union Army, was the son of Benjamin Pitman of Boston and Kino‘ole O Liliha, the last Hawaiian high chiefess of Hilo. Soon after enlisting, Pitman was captured by the South in Fredericksburg in 1862. The youth was sent to Libby Prison then Camp Parole, Maryland, where he died of “lung fever” in 1863 at the age of 17. Native Hawaiian seaman James Bush served in the Union Navy, and later settled back in Hawai‘i, drew a veteran’s pension. But a dozen other Hawaiian sailors served on the Confederate’s CSS Shenandoah. The rebel ship ambushed many ships in the Pacific, resulting in the sinking or capture of 38 vessels, most of which were Unionregistered ships; one of which was a Hawai‘i-registered ship. Another Hawaiian soldier, James Marshall of Kaua‘i, “had married a Southern belle, so his allegiance was to the South – and he fought for the South,” Napoleon notes. The film portrays several nonHawaiians who served. Most were the sons of missionaries who numbered about 5,000 living in the islands at the time. A few dozen Punahou School students signed up for the Union Army, and five were killed in the war. In 1862, Punahou graduate Samuel Chapman Armstrong, the son of the missionaries Rev. Richard and Clarissa Armstrong, enlisted in the U.S. Army and later served as a captain of both white and U.S. Colored Troops. After the war he went on to found what is now Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia.
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Detective work
Napoleon says that the painstaking labor pays off with the thrill of discovery when an illuminating detail, date or document falls, like lost treasure or missing puzzle piece, into her hands. She got “chicken skin” when she dug up a trove of letters written by Armstrong to his schoolmates and family. Armstrong’s own words describing his wartime experiences serve as the backbone of the film. Last summer, while visiting the African American Civil War Memorial and Museum in Washington, D.C., Napoleon obtained official certificates of honor for 11 Native Hawaiian soldiers, and she said she found their names etched on the African American War Memorial in a public plaza outside the museum. One of the Hawaiian soldiers who had served in the 31st Regiment, U.S. Colored Infantry was named “Friday Kanaka.” Napoleon guesses that his name “was probably assigned to him when he enlisted in the army, since Hawaiian names were too difficult for the Americans to pronounce. This was a common occurrence. ‘Kanaka’ was often given as their name.” “I’ve been doing historical research for more than 25 years, and for me this was one of the most gratifying finds that I have ever experienced. To see their names on the plaques on the war memorial was truly moving,” said Napoleon, who is considered Hawai‘i’s leading expert on graveyards. Napoleon has also worked on several film projects, including The Massie Affair, The Real Charlie Chan and State of Aloha. The Hawai‘i Sons project aims for completion during the 150th anniversary of the war. The producers are fundraising to wrap up filming and editing in time to premiere Hawai‘i Sons as part of sesquicentennial commemoration observances being held across the U.S. through 2015. Funders include the Hawai‘i Committee for the Humanities and Pacific Islanders in Communications. ¢ Naomi Sodetani is a freelance writer, documentary producer and former Publications Editor of Ka Wai Ola o OHA.