Serbian Americans
|
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| ( 199,080 (2012) ) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Languages | |
| American English and Serbian | |
| Religion | |
| Serbian Orthodox | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| European Americans, Serbian Canadians, Montenegrin Americans |
Serbian Americans (Serbian: Амерички Срби/Američki Srbi) are United States citizens of Serb ethnic ancestry. As of 2012, there are 199,080 American citizens of "Serbian ancestry" who identify as having Serb ancestry. However, the number may be higher, as some 328,547 people who identify as Yugoslavs living in the United States, and many Yugoslav immigrants were of Serb ethncity.
The group includes Serbian Americans living in the United States for one or several generations, dual Serbian–American citizens, or any other Serbian Americans who consider themselves to be affiliated to both cultures or countries.
One of the first Serb immigrants to the United States was the settler George Fisher, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1815, moved to Mexico, fought in the Texan Revolution, and became a judge in California. Another notable early Serb in America was Basil Rosevic, who founded a shipping company, the Trans-Oceanic Ship Lines, around the year 1800. In the early 1800s, many Serb sailors and fishermen from Montenegro and Herzegovina immigrated to New Orleans seeking employment. In 1841, Serbs founded the Greek Orthodox Parish with Greek immigrants in New Orleans, further solidifying their presence in the region.
Serbian Americans fought in the American Civil War, primarily on the side of the Confederacy, as most Serbs living in America were in Louisiana and Mississippi. Several Confederate military units were formed by Serbs in Louisiana, such as the Cognevich Company (named for Stjepan Kojnevic, who immigrated to Louisiana in the 1830s), and the First and Second Slavonian Rifles. At least 400 Serbs and Montenegrins fought in these three units during the Civil War. Several other known Serbian soldiers in the Civil War came from Alabama and Florida, specifically from Pensacola.
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