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- Jan 16, 2015
Bavaria's "modern" roots date back at least 1,500 years to the Holy Roman Empire, but more than five centuries earlier the area was inhabited by the Celts, before the Romans of antiquity conquered the territory and incorporated it into their provinces of Raetia and Noricum about 2,000 years ago.
In the two decades preceding the American Civil War, Bavaria was a large independent German kingdom, ruled by Ludwig I, along with his Irish mistress Lola Montez, until the social upheavals of 1848, then by his son and successor Maximilian II until 1864. It was a time of ongoing friction between Bavaria and Prussia, another powerful German state, when the notion of a unified Germany seemed ludicrous.
During the same period emigration from multiple German states and free cities to the United States was underway, and a sizable percentage of these German immigrants were Bavarians. This large pool of foreign-born manpower would be fully tapped in 1861. The following list of identified native Bavarians, most of whom served at Gettysburg (including three regimental commanders), reminds us of the sacrifices they made for their newly adopted land.
CSA:
Private Alexander Weil, Company I, 2nd Louisiana, wounded severely in the upper jaw by a minie ball on July 2 at Culp's Hill, and captured. He was previously wounded at Sharpsburg. Weil was born November 30, 1830 in the town of Albersweiler, Rhenish Bavaria (a separate district of Bavaria also known as the Rheinland Pfalz or Palatinate). Albersweiler had a divided past that once pitted Catholics against Protestants. Later it had a growing Jewish community, which included Weil's family. The town saw its first synagogue built in 1865, which stood until its intentional destruction in 1938.
Private George T. Tiefenbach, Company B, 14th Louisiana, captured July 5. He was married and a barber in New Orleans at the time of his enlistment in 1861, at age 26.
Private Andrew Sellinger, Company D, 7th Louisiana, present.
Company A of the 18th North Carolina, known as the "German Volunteers" of Wilmington, was composed mainly of immigrants, including Corporal August Charles Bachman, who enlisted in 1861 at the age of 31. He had been a "candy maker" (confectioner), but became a drillmaster well versed in Hardee's training manuals. Records indicate he was not present at Gettysburg.
USA:
4th Corporal John C. Lang, Company K, 82nd New York, wounded in the arm on July 3. He was a gas fitter before the war.
Corporal Jacob Pfieffer, Company B, 20th Massachusetts, wounded in the left ankle. He was born in Pirmasens (or Pirmasans), Rhenish Bavaria, less than 20 miles west of Albersweil, the former home of Confederate Alexander Weil (see above).
Corporal Jacob Schlicher, Company C, 20th Massachusetts, mortally wounded in the upper jaw, died August 26 at Satterlee Hospital in West Philadelphia. He was born in Fischbach [possibly Fischbach bei Dahn as it is now called, in Rhenish Bavaria, only a few miles from Pirmasens].
Corporal S. Henry Rice, Company G, 108th New York, wounded. He was born July 15, 1842.
Private Jacob Pfeifer (Pheiffer or Fifer), Company E, 40th New York, mortally wounded, died August 11 at Camp Letterman. He was a barber in Manhattan as of 1860. He may have been buried as James Pfeiffer, Company E, 145th Pennsylvania in Gettysburg's National Cemetery, and there is a competing claim he might be the Jacob Fifer listed as Company I, 40th North Carolina at the Confederate Cemetery in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Private Philip Deitsch, Jr., 4th U.S. Infantry, wounded. Deitsch was born October 7, 1840 at Edenkoben, Rhenish Bavaria.
Captain John M. Lutz, commanding 107th Ohio. He was working as a shoemaker in Cleveland when the war broke out. When Adjutant Peter F. Young was shot on Cemetery Hill on the night of July 2, Lutz took charge of the regiment, and he wrote its Official Report on the battle.
Private Charles Horn, Company B, 45th New York, wounded. He was born in Germersheim, Rhenish Bavaria, on the west bank of the Rhine River. He became a stonemason after arriving in the U.S.
Corporal John C. Weisensel, Company E, 45th New York, mortally wounded by a shell fragment on July 2, died on July 31. Born in Unterszinssheim [?].
Captain Henry Krauseneck, 74th Pennsylvania, born in 1828. Krauseneck took command of his regiment at the end of the day on July 1, but was later brought up on charges of cowardice and permitted to resign. Incidentally, Company G of the 74th originally included one Irishman, one Austrian, four Swiss, eight Alsatians, 10 Bavarians, 14 Badeners (another German state) and 15 Wurttembergers (another German state). See also: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/ge...epresented-at-gettysburg.166847/#post-2174524
Corporal Charles Sauer, Company A, 82nd Illinois, captured and died the following year at the prison camp in Andersonville, Georgia. He was born in Mannheim [Mannheim was part of the Grand Duchy of Baden, not the Kingdom of Bavaria, but Sauer may have been born close by in Rhenish Bavaria].
Private (Musician) Michael Hellenthal, Company C, 82nd Illinois, captured July 1. A carriage trimmer before the war, he survived the conflict. He was born in "Ashaffenberry" [probably Aschaffenburg].
Private John Schafer, Company D, 82nd Illinois, missing July 1, presumed killed. Enlisted in July 1862 at age 40.
Sergeant Simon Rewz, Company E, 82nd Illinois, captured July 1. Born in Rettfeer [?].
Private John Morisberger, Company E, 82nd Illinois, captured July 1. Born in Eldendorf [?], he was a butcher in Peoria before he enlisted on August 14, 1862.
Private George Seidel, Company E, 82nd Illinois, captured July 1.
Private John Platzer, Company G, 82nd Illinois, missing July 1, presumed killed. Born in Tarmhanson [possibly Thannhausen].
Private Joseph A. Beck, Company G, 82nd Illinois, captured July 1. Born in Salzberg [?].
Private Henry Koenemann, Company G, 82nd Illinois, captured July 1. Born in Nurnberg [Nuremberg].
Private John Viehauser, Company G, 82nd Illinois, captured July 1. Born in Vechinger [?].
Private Johann Haller, Company H, 82nd Illinois, captured July 1. Born in Laudhart [?].
Private John Miltenberger, Company K, 82nd Illinois, captured July 1. Born in Steinmanden [possibly Steinwenden, Rhenish Bavaria].
Lieutenant Colonel Hans Boebel, commanding 26th Wisconsin, wounded severely July 1 in the leg (amputated). Born March 10, 1839, he emigrated to the U.S. in 1852. He died in Milwaukee on August 24, 1902. See also https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/112274901/hans-boebel
Private John Marklein, Battery H, 1st U.S. Artillery, killed on July 3.
In the two decades preceding the American Civil War, Bavaria was a large independent German kingdom, ruled by Ludwig I, along with his Irish mistress Lola Montez, until the social upheavals of 1848, then by his son and successor Maximilian II until 1864. It was a time of ongoing friction between Bavaria and Prussia, another powerful German state, when the notion of a unified Germany seemed ludicrous.
During the same period emigration from multiple German states and free cities to the United States was underway, and a sizable percentage of these German immigrants were Bavarians. This large pool of foreign-born manpower would be fully tapped in 1861. The following list of identified native Bavarians, most of whom served at Gettysburg (including three regimental commanders), reminds us of the sacrifices they made for their newly adopted land.
CSA:
Private Alexander Weil, Company I, 2nd Louisiana, wounded severely in the upper jaw by a minie ball on July 2 at Culp's Hill, and captured. He was previously wounded at Sharpsburg. Weil was born November 30, 1830 in the town of Albersweiler, Rhenish Bavaria (a separate district of Bavaria also known as the Rheinland Pfalz or Palatinate). Albersweiler had a divided past that once pitted Catholics against Protestants. Later it had a growing Jewish community, which included Weil's family. The town saw its first synagogue built in 1865, which stood until its intentional destruction in 1938.
Private George T. Tiefenbach, Company B, 14th Louisiana, captured July 5. He was married and a barber in New Orleans at the time of his enlistment in 1861, at age 26.
Private Andrew Sellinger, Company D, 7th Louisiana, present.
Company A of the 18th North Carolina, known as the "German Volunteers" of Wilmington, was composed mainly of immigrants, including Corporal August Charles Bachman, who enlisted in 1861 at the age of 31. He had been a "candy maker" (confectioner), but became a drillmaster well versed in Hardee's training manuals. Records indicate he was not present at Gettysburg.
USA:
4th Corporal John C. Lang, Company K, 82nd New York, wounded in the arm on July 3. He was a gas fitter before the war.
Corporal Jacob Pfieffer, Company B, 20th Massachusetts, wounded in the left ankle. He was born in Pirmasens (or Pirmasans), Rhenish Bavaria, less than 20 miles west of Albersweil, the former home of Confederate Alexander Weil (see above).
Corporal Jacob Schlicher, Company C, 20th Massachusetts, mortally wounded in the upper jaw, died August 26 at Satterlee Hospital in West Philadelphia. He was born in Fischbach [possibly Fischbach bei Dahn as it is now called, in Rhenish Bavaria, only a few miles from Pirmasens].
Corporal S. Henry Rice, Company G, 108th New York, wounded. He was born July 15, 1842.
Private Jacob Pfeifer (Pheiffer or Fifer), Company E, 40th New York, mortally wounded, died August 11 at Camp Letterman. He was a barber in Manhattan as of 1860. He may have been buried as James Pfeiffer, Company E, 145th Pennsylvania in Gettysburg's National Cemetery, and there is a competing claim he might be the Jacob Fifer listed as Company I, 40th North Carolina at the Confederate Cemetery in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Private Philip Deitsch, Jr., 4th U.S. Infantry, wounded. Deitsch was born October 7, 1840 at Edenkoben, Rhenish Bavaria.
Captain John M. Lutz, commanding 107th Ohio. He was working as a shoemaker in Cleveland when the war broke out. When Adjutant Peter F. Young was shot on Cemetery Hill on the night of July 2, Lutz took charge of the regiment, and he wrote its Official Report on the battle.
Private Charles Horn, Company B, 45th New York, wounded. He was born in Germersheim, Rhenish Bavaria, on the west bank of the Rhine River. He became a stonemason after arriving in the U.S.
Corporal John C. Weisensel, Company E, 45th New York, mortally wounded by a shell fragment on July 2, died on July 31. Born in Unterszinssheim [?].
Captain Henry Krauseneck, 74th Pennsylvania, born in 1828. Krauseneck took command of his regiment at the end of the day on July 1, but was later brought up on charges of cowardice and permitted to resign. Incidentally, Company G of the 74th originally included one Irishman, one Austrian, four Swiss, eight Alsatians, 10 Bavarians, 14 Badeners (another German state) and 15 Wurttembergers (another German state). See also: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/ge...epresented-at-gettysburg.166847/#post-2174524
Corporal Charles Sauer, Company A, 82nd Illinois, captured and died the following year at the prison camp in Andersonville, Georgia. He was born in Mannheim [Mannheim was part of the Grand Duchy of Baden, not the Kingdom of Bavaria, but Sauer may have been born close by in Rhenish Bavaria].
Private (Musician) Michael Hellenthal, Company C, 82nd Illinois, captured July 1. A carriage trimmer before the war, he survived the conflict. He was born in "Ashaffenberry" [probably Aschaffenburg].
Private John Schafer, Company D, 82nd Illinois, missing July 1, presumed killed. Enlisted in July 1862 at age 40.
Sergeant Simon Rewz, Company E, 82nd Illinois, captured July 1. Born in Rettfeer [?].
Private John Morisberger, Company E, 82nd Illinois, captured July 1. Born in Eldendorf [?], he was a butcher in Peoria before he enlisted on August 14, 1862.
Private George Seidel, Company E, 82nd Illinois, captured July 1.
Private John Platzer, Company G, 82nd Illinois, missing July 1, presumed killed. Born in Tarmhanson [possibly Thannhausen].
Private Joseph A. Beck, Company G, 82nd Illinois, captured July 1. Born in Salzberg [?].
Private Henry Koenemann, Company G, 82nd Illinois, captured July 1. Born in Nurnberg [Nuremberg].
Private John Viehauser, Company G, 82nd Illinois, captured July 1. Born in Vechinger [?].
Private Johann Haller, Company H, 82nd Illinois, captured July 1. Born in Laudhart [?].
Private John Miltenberger, Company K, 82nd Illinois, captured July 1. Born in Steinmanden [possibly Steinwenden, Rhenish Bavaria].
Lieutenant Colonel Hans Boebel, commanding 26th Wisconsin, wounded severely July 1 in the leg (amputated). Born March 10, 1839, he emigrated to the U.S. in 1852. He died in Milwaukee on August 24, 1902. See also https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/112274901/hans-boebel
Private John Marklein, Battery H, 1st U.S. Artillery, killed on July 3.
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