Native name Nicolae Dunca Rank Captain Name Nicolae Dunca Allegiance Union Army | Birth name Nicolae Dunca Battles/wars Battle of Cross Keys Battles and wars Battle of Cross Keys Unit 12th Infantry Regiment | |
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Buried at Staunton National Cemetery Died June 8, 1862, Rockingham County, Virginia, United States Place of burial Staunton National Cemetery, Staunton, Virginia, Virginia, United States | ||
Nicolae Dunca (born in 1837, in Jassy, Moldavia) was an ethnic Romanian officer, who had been Figyelmessy's lieutenant in Sicily. Dunca came to the United States and enlisted in the Union Army in March 1862 and, due to his past military experience, was appointed captain of the 12th Infantry Regiment, U.S. Volunteers from New York. He was later assigned as aide-de-camp to Major General John C. Fremont, whose army was operating in the Shenandoah Valley. 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 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. Dunca was still a Hungarian citizen at the time of his death. He was buried at Perkey’s Farm, Cross Keys, Virginia, and his remains were later transferred to the Staunton National Cemetery (Section B, Grave 292).
Dunca was not the only who served in the Hungarian army. There were several officers in the Union Army who, although not natives of Hungary, 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 Honved Army and few others.