Colonel Augustus Carl Buchel

AUG

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Retired Moderator
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Was reading a bit about this man, Augustus Carl Buchel, recently. He's one of those CW officers who you never hear anything about, though he seems to have been quite an interesting character - and an exceptional soldier wherever he went.

BUCHEL, AUGUSTUS CARL (1813–1864). Carl Buchel, soldier, was born at Guntersblum, Hesse, on October 8, 1813. He dropped the umlaut from his original surname, Büchel, when he moved to Texas. He entered the military academy at Darmstadt at the age of fourteen and at eighteen was commissioned a second lieutenant of volunteers in the First Infantry Regiment of Hesse-Darmstadt. His next military training was at L'École Militaire in Paris, following which he served as a lieutenant in the Foreign Legion of France and participated in the Carlist War in Spain. He was decorated and knighted by Queen Maria Christina in 1838 for his bravery at the battle of Huesca the year before. Subsequently, he was for several years an instructor in the Turkish army and attained the rank of colonel, the highest allowed a Christian. He was offered the rank of general on the condition that he become a Moslem, but he refused and subsequently resigned. There is some indication that he was designated a pasha, a title of respect given officers of high rank.

Buchel had a reputation for dueling and, according to family tradition, is said to have gone to Texas because he killed a man in a duel after his return to Germany. He sailed with the Adelsverein in 1845 and arrived late that year at Carlshafen, later known as Indianola, where he established residence. In 1846, during the Mexican War, he raised a company in the First Regiment of Texas Foot Rifles and served as its captain. He was present at the battle of Buena Vista, where he served as aide-de-camp on the staff of Gen. Zachary Taylor. After the war President Franklin Pierce appointed him collector of customs at Port Lavaca, a position he held for many years. He also sold lumber and building materials in Corpus Christi in partnership with M. T. Huck. In 1859, during the Cortina Wars, he organized the Indianola Volunteers to combat the depredations of Mexican bandits under Juan N. Cortina. Buchel served until 1860, but the volunteers never actually fought Cortina.

At the outbreak of the Civil War Buchel joined the Texas militia; late in 1861 he was made lieutenant colonel of the Third Texas Infantry and served in South Texas. He became colonel of the First Texas Cavalry in 1863 and saw extensive service on the Texas Gulf Coast but was transferred to Louisiana when the threat of an invasion of Texas by Union troops became imminent. He was mortally wounded while leading his troops in a dismounted charge at Pleasant Hill, Louisiana, on April 9, 1864. He was taken to Mansfield, where he died and was buried. The generally accepted date of his death is April 15, but Gen. Hamilton P. Bee, Buchel's commander, related in his official report of the battle that he died two days following the battle, on April 11.

Earlier that year Buchel had been appointed a brigadier general, but the appointment was never confirmed. Later, his body was taken by a detachment of his cavalry to Austin, and he was reinterred in the State Cemetery, where a eulogy was delivered by Lieutenant Governor Fletcher S. Stockdale. The state of Texas erected an impressive stone at his grave. Buchel, who never married, was described by his contemporaries as a small, quiet man and is said to have been unassuming, courteous, and gentlemanly in manner. He spoke seven languages. In his honor the state legislature designated an area as Buchel County in 1887, but the county was never organized and eventually became part of Brewster County.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Louis Lenz Collection, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin. Robert W. Stephens,August Buchel (Dallas, 1970). Fletcher S. Stockdale, Eulogy Delivered by Lieut. Gov. F. S. Stockdale . . . at the Obsequies of the Late Col. August Buchel (Austin: Brown and Foster, 1865). Vertical Files, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies.

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fbu03

11521Buchel,%20Agustus%20C%2066.1.jpg

http://www.cemetery.state.tx.us/pub/user_form.asp?step=1&pers_id=66
 
Here is his grave and a bio he fought in three wars...

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18042/august-carl-buchel

Civil War Confederate Army Officer. This native of Guntersblum, Hesse, Germany fought under six flags during his military career. At the age of eighteen he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in Germany, before joining the French Foreign Legion where he fought in the Carlist War in Spain. In 1838 Spain's Queen Maria Christina decorated and knighted the young soldier for his bravery during the war. From there, he moved east to become an instructor for the Turkish army. While there he achieved the rank of Colonel, the highest ranking given to a non-Moslem. In the mid 1840s he arrived in North America, reportedly fleeing Germany because he had killed a man in a duel. Once again he became active in the military. He fought alongside General Zachary Taylor during the Mexican War. his service to his new country was awarded when, after the war, President Franklin Pierce appointed him collector of customs at Port Lavaca, Texas. In 1859 he organized a group of volunteers to fight in the Cortina Wars before joining the Texas Militia at the beginning of the Civil War. In 1863 he was made a Colonel just before being sent to Louisiana to lead Confederate troops in an attempt to block a Union invasion of Texas. In April of 1864 he was killed leading a dismounted charge at the Battle of Pleasant Hill.
 
He almost had a county named after him...

TIMELINE:

According to TxGenWeb, Buchel county was part of Texas. It was named for A Carl Buchel.[1]

  • On March 15, 1887 three counties were formed from a division of Presidio county. [2]Those counties were Buchel, Foley, and Jeff Davis counties.
  • In 1887 Buchel county was attached to Brewster County along with Foley county, by legislature. This was for aid in surveying. Buchel County only had 298 people living there. [2]
  • Marathon, Texas was to have been the county seat for Buchel County, however, the governor did not sign this into law and in 1897 Buchel County was abolished.[2]When Governor Charles Culbertson did not sign, nor reject, the law went into effect without signature.[3]
170px-Buchel_County_Texas.png

Buchel Co..
320px-Foley_County_Texas.jpg

Buchel and Foley county.

Population
1887- population of 298
Namesake The namesake of the proposed Buchel County was Augustus Carl Buchel – a soldier born in Hesse (Germany). Augustus Buchel served in the French Foreign Legion, then he was a Colonel in the Turkish Army. [4]
Augustus Buchel immigrated to Texas, landing at Indianola. Buckle served on Taylor's staff in the Mexican-American war, 1846-48. [4]

He also was in the Civil War Lt. Colonel of Texas Infantry. He later was promoted to full Colonel commanding 1st Texas Cavalry. Buchel was killed at the battle of Pleasant Hill, Louisiana in 1864.
Buchel was buried at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.[4]



From Wiki...


On March 15, 1887 the Texas legislature passed legislation that divided Presidio County into four counties: Presidio, Jeff Davis, Foley and Buchel.[1]:824-825 Named after German soldier and war hero Augustus Buchel, the county occupied the northeast corner of what is now Brewster County including the town of Marathon which was to serve as the county seat. The 1890 Census reported 298 residents in Buchel County, the majority of whom lived in Marathon. In 1889, it and neighboring Foley County were attached to the original Brewster County for surveying purposes,[2] and in 1897 both counties were abolished and absorbed by Brewster County.[3]

During the first decades of the twentieth century, some Texans tried to reorganize the county. As early as 1909, one newspaper reported that "A movement is on foot to re-establish Buchel county and make Marathon the county seat."[4] In 1915, a bill submitted to the 34th Texas Legislature (SB 187) sought to establish Buchel County from territory in Brewster County.[5] Reports suggested that the bill was supported by representatives and there was little expected opposition,[6] however no final version of the text was published as law, suggesting that the bill was never passed.


Buchel County was a former Texas county. Its area is now completely contained in the present Brewster County.
 
Notice my avatar. My great-great-grandfather was in the 3rd Texas Infantry. Buchel was the lt. Col. of this regiment.According to the Texas State Historical Assoc. Handbook there are granite monuments to him in Cuero and Goliad. The picture in the handbook of the Goliad marker has since been taken down. Probably was a misprint, as he had no associatin with this town or county.
 
My avatar is the un-edited picture of Buchel.He is referred to as "General" Buchel. He was appointed to this rank but was killed before his commission was voted on by the senate
 
He's not is " Generals in Gray" or "Who Was Who in the Civil War". Yet he is referred to as "General".
Many officers postwar would entitle themselves higher in rank than they actually were. Majors and Lt. Colonels would style themselves Colonel, Colonels who commanded brigades at some point would style themselves General.
 
That's certainly true. But this gentleman didn't do it to himself. He was killed in action as a colonel. Someone besides himself started that General thing. I'm guessing it came from his eulogy given by the Lt. Govenor. Or he was a "battlefield general"appointed by Kirby Smith but not by Richmond.
 
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