I failed to mention that the information on the Civil War battle at Cole Camp, was taken from the book, "Here We Speak Low German," written by Robert Owens.
Neil Heimsoth
I have been reading with interest the discussion about Germans in the US
Civil War. Now having a few minutes I thought I would chime in on the
subject. The material below is from an article that I have added to over
the years. I also maintain a website for the descendants of the 74th PA
First German Regiment
74th Pennsylvania Infantry This
German regiment was recruited from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It does
mimic the social tensions noted below while generalizations and there is
danger in making such things there is a lot of examples of these
generalizations being truisms. One reason could be that the ascendancy of
the new Republican party was something that created new political
opportunity and mobility for new immigrants. Many 48ers were well educated
they having fled the student driven revolutions. In the case of the 74th,
for example, 48ers can to the USA and found positions in the Topographical
Office, Patent Office, etc., because of their technical skills and
expertise. When the war broke out, these men became officers in the 74th.
I note that a must read book if you are interested in ethnic regiments in
the Civil War is Melting Pot Soldier
its a very good read and extremely
interesting.
Rod Fleck
Forks, WA
Germans in the American Civil War - I vant to fight mit Sigel...
When the American Civil War broke out, the German immigrants and those first
generation German-Americans were some of the first to volunteer to preserve
the Union. In their rush to serve, Germans surpassed the established quota
for German recruits by nearly 50 percent.[1] To some, the Presidential call
for volunteers was akin to a biblical experience. Col. Alexander v.
Hartung, at the dedication of the 74th PA Vol. Inf.s monument at
Gettysburg, recalled:
...Father Abraham called for three hundred thousand men, saying the Union
must and shall be preserved....His call resounded like the sound of
thunder; like the clash of swords and the roaring of the waves...and so we
came too...to preserve the Union and to protect the starry banner.
Over 175,000 German-born men answered the call, and many more first
generation German-Americans joined their newly arrived cousins in the
Union ranks. By the middle of the war, over 48% of the soldiers in the 11th
Corps were of German heritage.[2] Many of the regiments in this Corps were
entirely German in composition.
While it is always dangerous to make broad generalizations, and thus I tread
very lightly in doing so, there were two distinct social-political groups
within Americans pre-Civil War German communities. The first group,
consisting of earlier immigrants or their descendants, were rather
conservative in their politics and favored the Democratic Party. To these
members, religion and social placement were important aspects of their daily
lives. Many were of the Catholic faith, and had earned positions within
society after many years of effort. The second group are usually referred
to as 48ers, due to their arrival after the revolutions of 1848. Many
were active participants in the failed attempts to liberalize the Germanic
states, others left their homes as rulers reverted to political
neo-conservatism. The student leaders and political intelligentsia who
immigrated to the USA became very active in the fledgling Republican Party.
Men such as Schurz, Sigel, Schimmelpfennig, Blenker, and Willich would rise
during the early portion of the war, be it for political or military
reasons, to command positions. Yet, to the older immigrants, the 48ers were
seen as radical upstarts who were given positions and opportunities as a
result of their education rather than their ties to their communities.
Regardless of the group, most German immigrants and German-Americans were
fiercely loyal to the Union cause.
Recruitment for regiments in the Civil War was done very differently from
todays military recruiting. Local leaders, businessmen, teachers, and
others received permission from the Federal or State governments to raise a
regiment. Recruiters, usually those wanting to command the regiment, staged
events to sign up volunteers. Many social organizations became sources for
entire companies, if not numerous companies, in larger cities. Such
organizations would include the Turnerverein, an acrobatic/social
organization for men; Schutzenverein, local rifle clubs that had a tendency
to practice drill; and in some states the local Militias, which immigrant
communities formed in response to the Know-nothings - an anti-immigrant
group.
Because of the local nature of a regiment, it is important to give some
thought as to the designation of any given regiment as being an ethnic
regiment. In all most all cases, the regiment was made up of immigrants
and sons of immigrants from a specific ethnic group. In addition, the
regiment saw itself as being an ethnic regiment, and the Army also
considered the regiment ethnic. In some cases, where an entire regiment
was not possible to raise, ethnic companies were created. Appendix B is a
listing of the German Regiments as noted in the Official Record or other
sources, such as Melting Pot Soldier, a must read book for Civil War
ethnic regimental histories.
Appendix B
A listing, by state, of German Civil War Regiments
Illinois
24th Ill. Inf.
43rd Ill. Inf.
82nd Ill. Inf.
Indiana
32nd Ind. Inf.
New York
5th NY Militia
7th NY Inf. (Steuben Rangers)
8th NY Inf. (First German Rifles)
20th NY Inf. (United Turner Rifles)
29th NY Inf. (Astor Rifles)
41st NY Inf. (DeKalb Guards)
45th NY Inf. (Deutsch Regiment)
46th NY Inf. (Fremont Regiment)
52nd NY Inf. (Sigel Rifles)
54th NY Inf. (Schwarze Jaegers)
58th NY Inf.
68th NY Inf.
119th NY Inf.
4th NY Cav. (Dickels Mounted Rifles)
Ohio
9th OH Inf.
28th OH Inf.
37th OH Inf.
106th OH Inf.
107th OH Inf.
108th OH Inf.
Pennsylvania
27th PA Inf.
53rd PA Inf. (mixed)
73rd PA Inf.
74th PA Inf. (First German)
75th PA Inf.
98th PA Inf.
153rd PA Inf.
Missouri
3rd MO Inf.
12th MO Inf.
15th MO Inf. (Swiss Rifles)
4th MO Cav.
Wisconsin
5th WI Militia
7th WI Militia
9th WI Militia
26th WI Inf.
27th WI Inf.
34th WI Inf.
(Possibably others)
As noted in the text, the 11th U.S. Corps, under the command of O.O. Howard
was predominately German. 15 regiments within its three divisions were
German regiments totalling 6,100 men. The listing of those regiments is as
follows (c. May 1863)
First Division
41st NY Inf.
54th NY Inf.
68th NY Inf.
153rd PA Inf.
107th OH Inf.
Second Division
27th PA Inf.
73rd PA Inf.
29th NY Inf.
Third Division
74th PA Inf.
75th PA Inf.
45th NY Inf.
119th NY Inf.
82nd Ill Inf.
58th NY Inf.
26th WI Inf.
Bibliography
W. Burton, Melting Pot Soldier: The Unions Ethnic Regiments, Iowa State
University Press; Ames, Iowa, 1988.
W.D. Kamphoefner, German-Americans and Civil War Politics: A
Reconsideration of the Ethnocultural Thesis, Civil War History, Vol. 37,
No. 3, 232-246.
M. Kitchen, A Military History of Germany, from the 18th Century to the
Present Day, Indiana University Press; London, 1975.
G.W. Pedlow, The Survival of the Hessian Nobility 1770-1870, Princeton
University Press; Princeton, N.J., 1988.
J. Taylor, Pennsylvania at Gettysburg, vol. 1, 1904.
P.K. Taylor, Indentured to Liberty: Peasant Life and the Hessian Military
State, 1688-1815, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1994.
K. Ulrich, Schwarzenfels - Die Alten Häuser und Ihre Bewohner,
Geiger-Verlag; Horb am Neckar, 1990.
United States War Department, War of the Rebellion, A compilation of the
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Washington D.C., 128
volumes, 1881-1902; particularly, Vol. 25, Part 1, pg. 658-61.
E. Thode, Address Book for Germanic Genealogy, 5th Ed., Genealogical
Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1995.
H.A. Reschke, German Military Records as Genealogical Sources, P.O. Box
27161, Salt Lake City, UT 84127, 1990.
W.R. Fleck, German Documents Hold Good Information, Seattle Genealogical
Society Bulletin, Vol. 44, No. 3, pgs.123-29.
Dear List,
You can search the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System by surname. (Free)
http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/soldiers.htm
Gives Regiment Name, Soldiers Rank, Side, A.K.A., Film # of service card.
By selecting Regiment Name..history of regiment is noted if available.
Barbie Lew
-l
Excellent account Rod. Your website shows a lot of dedication and devotion to this subject.
I like the citation from Lowry's book on your web when he describes the only member of the 74th Regiment to grace his pages:
"David Ritter, whom the court described as a "good man when sober," was a private with Company B of the 74th Pennsylvania. While not sober, he called his lieutenant "a loafer, a rowdy and a son of bitch," thus earning fifteen days at hard labor."
You know when you're described in court as "a good man when sober", you're about to face the music. Now or then!
LOL. Jb
From: "Rod Fleck" <rodfleck@olypen.com>
Reply-To: Hannover-L <hannover-l@genealogy.net>
To: "'Hannover-L'" <hannover-l@genealogy.net>
Subject: [HN] Germans in the US Civil War
Date: Tue, 27 Dec 2005 11:09:12 -0800I have been reading with interest the discussion about Germans in the US
Civil War. Now having a few minutes I thought I would chime in on the
subject. The material below is from an article that I have added to over
the years. I also maintain a website for the descendants of the 74th PA
First German Regiment
74th Pennsylvania Infantry This German regiment was recruited from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It does
mimic the social tensions noted below � while generalizations and there is
danger in making such things � there is a lot of examples of these
generalizations being truisms. One reason could be that the ascendancy of
the new Republican party was something that created new political
opportunity and mobility for new immigrants. Many 48ers were well educated
� they having fled the student driven revolutions. In the case of the 74th,
for example, 48ers can to the USA and found positions in the Topographical
Office, Patent Office, etc., because of their technical skills and
expertise. When the war broke out, these men became officers in the 74th.
I note that a must read book if you are interested in ethnic regiments in
the Civil War is Melting Pot Soldier�it�s a very good read and extremely
interesting.Rod Fleck
Forks, WA
<snip>
Great website, thank you Barbie!
Werner Honkomp
Thanks for the kind words Jb...
My buddy who helps with this site, now refuses to share information like
this with individuals inquiring of us about their ancestor. He had one lady
contact him about her 74ther. Well, her ancestor was court martialed for
being drunk on watch duty - busted in rank and then later regained it. He
served with distinction at Gettysburg, I believe, was the information.
When he shared this with the lady, she came literally unglued via e-mail on
him. How dare he, her ancestor was a great individual and none of this ever
happened, etc., etc. My friend has the documents from the regiment, in
German in parts, copied from NARA - I helped in that. So, she was a bit off
base about making these things up.
The 74th also had problems with its chaplains - one was prone to drink and
then cuss at the men. Another was totally against alcohol and all of his
sermons talked about the sins associated with drink...he didn't last long,
since the regiment had originally been in part sponsored by Pittsburgh's
IRON CITY BREWERY! After a hiatus in the position, they eventually got one
more to their liking.
Regarding Private Ritter - now you just got to love that one don't you. No
matter how much things change, there are a few things that stay relatively
the same! 
Take care, the very best wishes for the New Year.
Rod Fleck
Forks, WA
Dear Werner,
Your welcome! 
For those with ties to Missourians..
A great site is:
http://www.sos.mo.gov/records/
Proceed to:
Research Room.
Then procced to:
Online databases.
The civil war provost Marshalls database is interesting to peruse and can be searched by county as well as surname/part of a surname. This data is interesting period...even if doesn't concern an ancestor.
There is also the soldiers database dating from the War of 1812 thru WWI. There are digitized service records that can be viewed online in PDF format.
There are birth and death records digitized as well as probate files.
Check it out!!!
Barbie-Lew
Someone on another listserver sent me the above link that bounces you to the
Chicago Tribune's search engine site. Very easy to use and if you have
ancestors or family in the Chicago area, it is worth playing around with the
search. Some of the obits go back to 1915, but most appear to be post 1940.
Worth the go of it though.
Also, the www.tinyurl.com is an interesting site - ever get one of the long
website addresses you just couldn't get to work when you forward it???
Well, you can ask tinyurl to compact it and then use that. Pretty nifty
service.
Best wishes for the New Year,
Rod Fleck
Forks, WA
Oh, I should have passed this one on and Barbie-Lew's e-mail reminded me of
it.
The link above is for PA's Adjutant General's card system. A great resource
for PA civil war ancestors.
Rod
Dear Rod,
I suppose some become unglued over tidbits they concider unseemly...
To me little "tidbits" .....
Even those "tidbits" that don't paint the perfect picture .....
A perfect picture is a false picture...
We aren't perfect and our ancestors were not perfect either...
They were human.
Little "tidbits" are the bones for a good story...
And besides if I were Gettysburg I might be tempted to have a drink or two...
Barbie-Lew
Hi
Surely many of you know of Gatzemeyer's book, Ahnentafeln um 1800,
Sippschaften aus Stadt und Stift Hildesheim. Do you know that it is
available on LDS microfilm 1181586?
Bob Doerr in the beautiful Missouri Ozarks
Why tease Bob, tell us more. I have family from Hildesheim. What is to be found in these gen tables?
Barbie
Again, thanks! This is a wake up fall for me. I used to search these out fairly religiously but haven;t in the last few years
Gary
Thank you Barbie,
but I could not found any Honkomp records.
Happy New Year,
Werner
Dear Werner,
There are the following in the Missouri State Archives Naturalization indiex:
Honkomp, Henry Germany 1876
Record Group C. C. C.
Series Naturalization Records
Sub Series Naturalization Cards
County St. Louis City
Reel Number
Volume 12
Page 26
Name Honkomp, Henry
Current Residence XXXX
Record Date 10/16/1876
Native Country Germany
Age XXXXXXX
Witness 1 XXXXXX
Witness 2 XXXXXX
Note XXXXXXX
Honnekamp, Joseph Germany 1857
Record Group Common Pleas Ct.
Series Naturalization Records
Sub Series Naturalization Cards
County St. Louis City
Reel Number
Volume F
Page 433
Name Honnekamp, Joseph
Current Residence XXXXX
Record Date 4/6/1857
Native Country Germany
Age XXXX
Witness 1 XXXX
Witness 2 XXXX
Note XXXX
Barbie-Lew
Dear Barbie,
thank you for the records - this is new for me.
Till next year,
Werner
Hi Barbie:
Maybe I am missing something here, but it appears that additional information is needed to make sure you have the right person, i.e. rank or unit.
I have Pruett, Hiram - Pruett, John - Lee, James H. and I get two or three for each. How do I know which one or any are the right ones?
Gale
Dear Gale,
Yes. Especially if your ancestor has a popular name.
I think it's possible that your HIiram Pruett may have served in both MIssouri regiments. Look at the service dates. I don't believe it was uncommon for men to re-enlist. Likely that your ancestor belonged to a regiment established in the state he lived in. If you are uncertain which regiment your ancestor served in and want to be absolutely positively certain that the record/records are indeed those of your ancestor you could persue muster rolls and pension files.
Please remember that I am an amature:) So please take my advice with a grain of salt
The Missouri Archive digital service cards and the Civil War and Sailor System are tools to help.
Barbie-Lew
Hi Barbie:
Thanks for the info.
Hiram Pruett was my GGF. I have his line back to England in the late 1600's. I was just trying to get more information on him.
I believe that James H. Lee was my other GGF, but I have no confirmation on him, just his wife Sarah Ferguson Lee. No leads. My GF Lee grew up in and around Greene and Christian Counties in Mo. He was born at the end of the (Un)Civil War. Since he was a Lee, he was given a disclaimer for middle names: Joseph Ulysses Grant Lee.
My father's side my GP came from Anderten Hoya KOH and my GM from Zeitlow Kreis Demmin.
Gale
Formerly Manilla Iowa
Now Walnut Creek, CA
Dear Gale,
Don't take this as gospel.
Hiram"s first tour of duty was with the 6th Regiment provisional E.M.M. He was relieved of duty on Oct. 31st, 1863. This card notes that he continued in service.
His next tour of duty was with the 4the Regiment, Missouri State Militia Cavalry which was organized at St. Joseph, Missouri. He was enlisted Nov. 17th, 1863 in Marshall, MIssouri. He mustered in May 27th, 1864 at Jeff City, Mo. He musterd out May 19th, 1863 at St. Louis.
(1st Tour)
Prvt.Hiram Pruett
6th Regiment Provisional E.M.M Co. H.
(Enroled Missouri Militia)
Enrolled and Organized April 1st, 1863
Springfield, Missouri
Ordered into active service April 1st, 1863
Relieved From duty Oct. 31st, 1863
Mustered into U.S. service Nov. 1. 1863
Remarks
M.R. Oct. 31st, 1863 "Continued in Service"
(2nd Tour) **
Pvt. Hiram Pruett
4th Regiment, Missouri State Militia Cavalry Co. A
Organized at St. Joseph, Missouri.
Enlisted Nov. 17th, 1863 Marshall, Missouri
Musterd in May 27th, 1864 Jeff City, Missouri
Mustered out May 19th, 1865 St. Louis
** Soldiers and Sailor System website includes short history of the 4th MSM Cavalry.
Regards,
Barbie-Lew
A.K.A.
Armchair Genealogist