Albert Sieber
Encyclopedia
Albert Sieber was a German-American military figure, prospector
, and Chief of Scouts during the Apache Wars
.
, Baden
as the 13th of 14 children. He was baptized on March 1, 1843 in St. Lambertus Church, Mingolsheim. His father Johannes died on September 16, 1845. Between 1848 and 1849, shortly after the "Badian Revolution
", his mother Eva Katharina née Fischer, emigrated with her still living 8 children (6 had already died) to the United States
.
Sieber grew up in Pennsylvania
and Minnesota
. He enlisted on March 4, 1862, in the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry
during the American Civil War
. Sieber was severely wounded on July 2, 1863 in the Battle of Gettysburg
, specifically the Cemetery Ridge
engagement. After the war, he was a prospector
in California
, Nevada
, and then ended up in Arizona Territory
, where he managed a ranch from 1868 to 1871.
General George Crook
hired him to be Chief of Scouts in 1871 for much of the Apache Wars
. He participated in Crook's Tonto (Apache) campaign (1871–1873). When the Camp Verde
reservation was closed, Sieber was told to move Yavapais and Tonto Apache
s to the San Carlos Reservation in the middle of winter. He remained employed there and participated in several engagements with Apache groups that had left the reservation.
In 1883 Crook went into the Sierra Madre of Mexico
following Geronimo
. Sieber was Crook's lead civilian scout and mentor to Tom Horn
, whom he taught to speak German. Sieber was in the field but not present when Geronimo surrendered to Lt Charles B. Gatewood
and General Nelson Miles in 1886. Sieber was shot and wounded while on the job in 1887 trying to prevent an outbreak from the reservation. However, he was dissatisfied with the treatment of the Apaches at San Carlos and resumed prospecting in 1891.
Sieber was killed during a construction accident on February 19, 1907 at the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation
, then under the supervision of another famous frontier scout, "Yellowstone" Luther Kelly
at Apache Trail, Gila County, Arizona. Sieber was leading an Apache work crew that was building the Tonto road to the new Roosevelt Dam site when a boulder rolled on top of him. A local legend states that the Apache workers intentionally rolled the rock onto Sieber.
Sieber was buried with military honors at the cemetery in Globe, Arizona
.
Prospecting
Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, precious metals or mineral specimens, and is also known as fossicking.Prospecting is a small-scale form of mineral exploration which is an organised, large scale effort undertaken by mineral resource companies to find commercially viable ore...
, and Chief of Scouts during the Apache Wars
Apache Wars
The Apache Wars were a series of armed conflicts between the United States and Apaches fought in the Southwest from 1849 to 1886, though other minor hostilities continued until as late as 1924. The Confederate Army participated in the wars during the early 1860s, for instance in Texas, before being...
.
Biography
Sieber was born in MingolsheimBad Schönborn
Bad Schönborn is a municipality in northern Karlsruhe district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the Bertha Benz Memorial Route....
, Baden
Baden
Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
as the 13th of 14 children. He was baptized on March 1, 1843 in St. Lambertus Church, Mingolsheim. His father Johannes died on September 16, 1845. Between 1848 and 1849, shortly after the "Badian Revolution
Revolutions of 1848
The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary...
", his mother Eva Katharina née Fischer, emigrated with her still living 8 children (6 had already died) to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Sieber grew up in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. He enlisted on March 4, 1862, in the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry
1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry
The 1st Regiment, Minnesota Volunteer Infantry was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was noted in particular for its gallant service and heavy casualties at the Battle of Gettysburg....
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Sieber was severely wounded on July 2, 1863 in the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
, specifically the Cemetery Ridge
Cemetery Ridge
Cemetery Ridge is a geographic feature in Gettysburg National Military Park south of the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, that figured prominently in the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1 to July 3, 1863. It formed a primary defensive position for the Union Army during the battle, roughly the center of...
engagement. After the war, he was a prospector
Prospector
Prospector may mean:*Prospecting, exploring an area for natural resources such as minerals, oil, flora or fauna*Prospector , a unified catalog for Colorado and Wyoming...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, and then ended up in Arizona Territory
Arizona Territory
The Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....
, where he managed a ranch from 1868 to 1871.
General George Crook
George Crook
George R. Crook was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.-Early life:...
hired him to be Chief of Scouts in 1871 for much of the Apache Wars
Apache Wars
The Apache Wars were a series of armed conflicts between the United States and Apaches fought in the Southwest from 1849 to 1886, though other minor hostilities continued until as late as 1924. The Confederate Army participated in the wars during the early 1860s, for instance in Texas, before being...
. He participated in Crook's Tonto (Apache) campaign (1871–1873). When the Camp Verde
Camp Verde, Arizona
Camp Verde is a town in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 10,610....
reservation was closed, Sieber was told to move Yavapais and Tonto Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
s to the San Carlos Reservation in the middle of winter. He remained employed there and participated in several engagements with Apache groups that had left the reservation.
In 1883 Crook went into the Sierra Madre of Mexico
Sierra Madre Occidental
The Sierra Madre Occidental is a mountain range in western Mexico.-Setting:The range runs north to south, from just south of the Sonora–Arizona border southeast through eastern Sonora, western Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas, Nayarit, Jalisco, Aguascalientes to Guanajuato, where it joins...
following Geronimo
Geronimo
Geronimo was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. Allegedly, "Geronimo" was the name given to him during a Mexican incident...
. Sieber was Crook's lead civilian scout and mentor to Tom Horn
Tom Horn
Thomas "Tom" Horn, Jr. was an American Old West lawman, scout, soldier, hired gunman, detective, outlaw and assassin. On the day before his 43rd birthday, he was hanged in Cheyenne, Wyoming, for the murder of Willie Nickell.-Early life:Born to Thomas S. Horn, Sr...
, whom he taught to speak German. Sieber was in the field but not present when Geronimo surrendered to Lt Charles B. Gatewood
Charles B. Gatewood
First Lieutenant Charles Bare Gatewood was an American soldier born in Woodstock, Virginia. He served in the United States Army in the 6th Cavalry after graduating from West Point. Upon assignment to the American Southwest, Gatewood led platoons of Apache and Navajo scouts against renegades during...
and General Nelson Miles in 1886. Sieber was shot and wounded while on the job in 1887 trying to prevent an outbreak from the reservation. However, he was dissatisfied with the treatment of the Apaches at San Carlos and resumed prospecting in 1891.
Sieber was killed during a construction accident on February 19, 1907 at the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation
San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation
The San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, in southeastern Arizona, United States, was established in 1871 as a reservation for the Chiricahua Apache tribe. It was referred to by some as "Hell's Forty Acres," due to a myriad of dismal health and environmental conditions.-Formation:President U.S....
, then under the supervision of another famous frontier scout, "Yellowstone" Luther Kelly
Luther Kelly
Luther Sage "Yellowstone" Kelly was an American soldier, hunter, scout, adventurer and administrator. He served briefly in the American Civil War and then in an 1898 expedition to Alaska. He commanded a U.S...
at Apache Trail, Gila County, Arizona. Sieber was leading an Apache work crew that was building the Tonto road to the new Roosevelt Dam site when a boulder rolled on top of him. A local legend states that the Apache workers intentionally rolled the rock onto Sieber.
Sieber was buried with military honors at the cemetery in Globe, Arizona
Globe, Arizona
Globe has an arid climate, characterized by hot summers and moderate to warm winters. Globe's arid climate is somewhat tempered by its elevation, however, leading to slightly cooler temperatures and slightly more precipitation than Phoenix or Yuma....
.
Portrayals
Sieber has been portrayed in a handful of films:- 1953: The character "Ed Bannon" portrayed by Charlton HestonCharlton HestonCharlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
in the film ArrowheadArrowhead (film)Arrowhead is a 1953 western film directed by Charles Marquis Warren and starring Charlton Heston and Jack Palance. The film is based on the novel Adobe Walls by W.R.Burnett. The screenplay was also by Charles Marquis Warren.-Plot synopsis:...
was based on Sieber- - 1954: John McIntireJohn McIntireJohn McIntire was an American character actor.-Career:The craggy-faced film actor was born in Spokane in eastern Washington State but reared in Montana, growing up around ranchers and cowboys, an experience that would later inspire his performances in dozens of westerns.A graduate of USC, McIntire...
in the film ApacheApache (film)-Plot:Following the surrender of Geronimo, Massai, the last Apache warrior is captured and scheduled for transportation to a Florida reservation. On the way he manages to escape and heads for his homeland to win back his girl and settle down to grow crops... - 1955: Kenneth MacDonaldKenneth MacDonaldKenneth MacDonald was an English actor who was best known for the parts of Gunner Nobby Clark in It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Mike Fisher in Only Fools and Horses.-Personal life:...
in the episode "Apache Kid" from the television series Stories of the CenturyStories of the CenturyStories of the Century is a Western television series that ran in syndication through Republic Pictures between January 23, 1954, and March 11, 1955.-Synopsis:... - 1979: Richard WidmarkRichard WidmarkRichard Weedt Widmark was an American film, stage and television actor.He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, Kiss of Death...
in the film Mr. HornMr. HornMr. Horn is a 1979 made for TV movie chronicling the life of Tom Horn. It was directed byJack Starrett from a screenplay by William Goldman.-Starring:*David Carradine as Tom Horn*Richard Widmark as Albert Sieber*Karen Black as Ernestina Crawford... - 1993: Robert DuvallRobert DuvallRobert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
in the film Geronimo: An American LegendGeronimo: An American LegendGeronimo: An American Legend is a 1993 film, starring Wes Studi as Geronimo, Jason Patric as 1st Lt. Charles B. Gatewood, Gene Hackman as Brig. Gen. George Crook, Robert Duvall as Chief of Scouts Al Sieber, and Matt Damon as 2nd Lt. Britton Davis. The film was directed by Walter Hill from a...