In 1863, in the small town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, an emergency militia was being formed to meet the advance of General Robert E. Lee and his Confederate Army.
A young Chinese volunteer by the name of Hong Neok Woo, one of the very few early Chinese individuals to obtain citizenship, was criticized by friends. They asked why he wanted to fight when this was not his country. Woo, who took his citizenship very seriously, replied: “This is my country. I am an American.”

Over 50 men of Chinese descent fought in the Civil War as soldiers and sailors. Stephen and Christopher Bunker, the sons of the famous Siamese Twins, Chang and Eng, fought for the South. Men like Edward Day Cohota, a Union Army soldier, served until the end of the war and re-enlisted 15 times.