Franz Sigel

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Franz Sigel

Franz Sigel (November 18, 1824 – August 21, 1902) was a German military officer and immigrant to the United States

United States

Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
major general

Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a 2 star rank general officer rank, with the U.S....
in the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
.

l was born in Sinsheim

Sinsheim

Sinsheim is a town in southwestern Germany, in the Rhine Neckar Area of the state Baden-W?rttemberg between Heidelberg and Heilbronn in the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis....
, Baden

Grand Duchy of Baden

The Grand Duchy of Baden was a historical state in the southwest of Germany, on the right bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918....
(Germany). He graduated from Karlsruhe

Karlsruhe

Karlsruhe is a city in the south west of Germany, in the States of Germany Baden-W?rttemberg, located near the France-German border.Founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, the surrounding town became the seat of two of the highest courts in Germany, the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany whose decisions have the force of a law, and the...
Military Academy, in 1843, and was commissioned a lieutenant

Lieutenant

Lieutenant is a military, naval, paramilitary, fire service, emergency medical services or police commissioned officer military rank.Lieutenant may also appear as part of a title used in various other organisations with a codified command structure....
in the Baden

Baden

Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine River in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-W?rttemberg of Germany....
Army. He got to know the revolutionaries Friedrich Hecker and Gustav von Struve and became associated with the revolutionary movement.

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Franz Sigel (November 18, 1824 – August 21, 1902) was a German military officer and immigrant to the United States

United States

Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
major general

Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a 2 star rank general officer rank, with the U.S....
in the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
.

Early life

Sigel was born in Sinsheim

Sinsheim

Sinsheim is a town in southwestern Germany, in the Rhine Neckar Area of the state Baden-W?rttemberg between Heidelberg and Heilbronn in the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis....
, Baden

Grand Duchy of Baden

The Grand Duchy of Baden was a historical state in the southwest of Germany, on the right bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918....
(Germany). He graduated from Karlsruhe

Karlsruhe

Lieutenant

Baden

Law school

A law school is an institution specializing in legal education....
studies in Heidelberg

Heidelberg

Heidelberg is a city in Baden-W?rttemberg, Germany. As of 2006, over 140,000 people live within the city's area. The town of Heidelberg is an administrative district of its own....
. After organizing a revolutionary free corps in Mannheim

Mannheim

Mannheim is a city in Germany. With 327,318 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in the state of Baden-W?rttemberg after the capital Stuttgart....
and later in the Seekreis county, he soon became a leader of the Baden revolutionary forces (with the rank of colonel

Colonel (United States)

Revolutions of 1848 in the German states

"Germany" at the time of the Revolutions of 1848 had been a collection of 39 states loosely bound together in the German Confederation. As nationalist sentiment crystallized into resistance to the traditional political structure, repeated calls for freedom, democracy and national unity came to threaten the status quo....
, being one of the few revolutionaries with military command experience. In April 1848, he led the "Sigel-Zug", recruiting a militia of more than 4,000 volunteers to lead a siege against the city of Freiburg

Freiburg

Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-W?rttemberg, Germany, in the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest. It straddles the Dreisam river, on the foothills of the Schlossberg....
. His army was annihilated on April 23, 1848 by the better-equipped and more experienced Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was, most recently, a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. This state had for centuries substantial influence on Germany and European history....
n and Württemberg

Württemberg

W?rttemberg [], formerly known as Wirtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
troops. In 1849, he became Secretary of War and commander-in-chief of the revolutionary republican government of Baden. Wounded in a skirmish, Sigel had to resign his command but continued to support the revolutionary war effort by aiding his successor Ludwik Mieroslawski

Ludwik Mieroslawski

Ludwik Adam Mieroslawski was a Poland general, writer, poet, historian and political activist. Took part in the November Uprising of 1830s, after its fall he emigrated to France, where he taught Slavic history and military theory....
. After Prussia

Prussia

Switzerland

Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....
and then to England

England

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
in 1852, as did many other German Forty-Eighters
Forty-Eighters

The Forty-Eighters were European ethnic groups who participated in or supported the revolutions of 1848 that swept Europe. In Germany, the Forty-Eighters favored unification of the country, a more democratic government, and guarantees of human rights....
.

Sigel taught in the New York City

New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
public schools and served in the state militia. In 1857, he became a professor at the German-American Institute in St. Louis

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri, located near the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Missouri River. St....
. He was elected director of the St. Louis public schools in 1860. He was influential in the Missouri immigrant community. He attracted Germans to the Union

Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the Federal government of the United States of the United States, which was supported by the twenty-three states which were not part of the secession attempt by the 11 states that formed the Confederate States of America....
and anti-slavery causes when he openly supported them in 1861.

Civil War

Shortly after the start of the war, Sigel was commissioned colonel

Colonel (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, Colonel is a senior field officer United States Military Officer military rank just above the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and just below the rank of Brigadier General ....
of the 3rd Missouri Infantry, a commission dating from May 4, 1861. He recruited and organized an expedition to southwest Missouri, and subsequently fought the Battle of Carthage

Battle of Carthage (1861)

The Battle of Carthage, also known as the Battle of Dry Fork, took place at the beginning of the American Civil War on July 5, 1861, in Jasper County, Missouri....
, where a force of pro-Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America formed as the government set up from 1861 to 1865 by eleven Southern United States U.S. state of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S....
Missouri militia handed him a setback in a relatively meaningless fight. However, Sigel's defeat did help spark recruitment for the Missouri State Guard

Missouri State Guard

The Missouri State Guard was a state militia organized in the state of Missouri during the early days of the American Civil War. While not initially a formal part of the Confederate States Army, the State Guard fought alongside Confederate troops and, at times, under regular Confederate officers....
and local Confederate forces.

Throughout the summer, President

President of the United States

The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition....
Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery....
was actively seeking the support of anti-slavery, pro-Unionist immigrants. Sigel, always popular with the German immigrants, was a good candidate to advance this plan. He was promoted to brigadier general

Brigadier general (United States)

A brigadier general in the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, is a 1 star rank general officer, with the U.S....
on August 7, 1861, to rank from May 17, one of a number of early political general

Political general

A political general is a general without significant military experience who is given a high position in command due to political connections or to appease certain political blocs....
s endorsed by Lincoln.

Sigel served under Brig. Gen.

Brigadier General

Brigadier General is the lowest ranking General Officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of Colonel and Major General.The rank can be traced back to the militaries of Europe where a brigadier general, or simply a brigadier, would command a brigade in the field....
Nathaniel Lyon

Nathaniel Lyon

Nathaniel Lyon was the first Union Army General officer to be killed in the American Civil War and is noted for his actions in the state of Missouri at the beginning of the conflict....
in the capture of the Confederate Camp Jackson in St. Louis and at the Battle of Wilson's Creek

Battle of Wilson's Creek

The Battle of Wilson's Creek, also known as the Battle of Oak Hills, was fought on August 10, 1861, near Springfield, Missouri, Missouri, between Union Army forces and the Missouri State Guard, early in the American Civil War....
, where his command was routed after making a march around the Confederate camp and attacking from the rear. His finest performance came on March 8, 1862, at the Battle of Pea Ridge

Battle of Pea Ridge

The Battle of Pea Ridge was a land battle of the American Civil War, fought on March 7 and March 8, 1862, at Pea Ridge, Arkansas in northwest Arkansas, near Bentonville, Arkansas....
, where he commanded two divisions

Division (military)

A division is a large military unit or Formation usually consisting of between ten to thirty thousand soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions make up a corps....
and personally directed the Union artillery in the defeat of Maj. Gen.

Major General

Major General or Major-General is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of Sergeant Major General. A Major General is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of Lieutenant General and senior to the ranks of Brigadier and Brigadier General....
Earl Van Dorn

Earl Van Dorn

Earl Van Dorn was a career United States Army officer, fighting with distinction during the Mexican-American War and against several tribes of Native Americans in the United States....
on the second day of the battle.

Sigel was promoted to major general on March 21, 1862. He served as a division commander in the Shenandoah Valley

Shenandoah Valley

The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bound to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River and to the south by the James River ....
and fought unsuccessfully against Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson

Stonewall Jackson

Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson was a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War, and probably the most well-known Confederate commander after General Robert E....
, who managed to outwit and defeat the larger Union force in a number of small engagements. He commanded the I Corps

I Corps (ACW)

I Corps was the designation of three different corps-sized units in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The units served in the following armies:...
in Maj. Gen. John Pope

John Pope (military officer)

John Pope was a career United States Army officer and Union Army general in the American Civil War. He had a brief but successful career in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, but he is best known for his defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War....
's Army of Virginia

Army of Virginia

The Army of Virginia was organized as a major unit of the Union Army and operated briefly and unsuccessfully in 1862 in the American Civil War. It should not be confused with its principal opponent, the Confederate States Army Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by Robert E....
at the Second Battle of Bull Run

Second Battle of Bull Run

The Second Battle of Bull Run, or, as it was called by the Confederate States of America, the Battle of Second Manassas, was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War....
, another Union defeat, where he was wounded in the hand.

Over the winter of 1862–63, Sigel commanded the XI Corps

XI Corps (ACW)

The XI Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War, best remembered for its humiliating defeats at the battles of Battle of Chancellorsville and Battle of Gettysburg in 1863....
, consisting primarily of German immigrant soldiers, in the Army of the Potomac

Army of the Potomac

The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
. During this period, the corps saw no action; it stayed in reserve during the Battle of Fredericksburg

Battle of Fredericksburg

The Battle of Fredericksburg, fought in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, from December 11 to December 15, 1862, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate States Army Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major general Ambrose E....
. Sigel had developed a reputation as an inept general, but his ability to recruit and motivate German immigrants kept him alive in a politically sensitive position. Many of these soldiers could speak little English beyond , which was their proud slogan and which became one of the favorite songs of the war. They were quite disgruntled when Sigel left the corps in February 1863 and was replaced by Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard

Oliver O. Howard

Oliver Otis Howard was a career United States Army officer and a Union Army General officer in the American Civil War. He was a corps commander noted for suffering two humiliating defeats, at Battle of Chancellorsville and Battle of Gettysburg, but he recovered from the setbacks while posted in the Western Theater of the American Civil War,...
, who had no immigrant affinities. Fortunately for Sigel, the two black marks in the XI Corps' reputation—Chancellorsville

Battle of Chancellorsville

The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, fought near the village of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia, from April 30 to May 6, 1863....
and Gettysburg

Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg , fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign, was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and is frequently cited as the war's Turning point of the American Civil War....
—would occur after he was relieved.

The reason for Sigel's relief is unclear. Some accounts cite failing health; others that he expressed his displeasure at the small size of his corps and asked to be relieved. General-in-chief Henry W. Halleck detested Sigel and managed to keep him relegated to light duty in eastern Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a U.S. state located in the Northeastern United States and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States....
until March 1864. President Lincoln, needing political assistance in his quest for renomination, directed Secretary of War

United States Secretary of War

File:Swearing in of Secretary Dwight Davis.jpgThe Secretary of War was a member of the United States President of the United States United States Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration....
Edwin M. Stanton

Edwin M. Stanton

Edwin McMasters Stanton was an American lawyer, politician, United States Attorney General in 1860-61 and United States Secretary of War through most of the American Civil War and Reconstruction era of the United States era....
to place Sigel in command of the new Department of West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a U.S. state in the Appalachian, Upland South, and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia on the southeast, Kentucky on the southwest, Ohio on the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland on the northeast....
.

In his new command, Sigel opened the Valley Campaigns of 1864

Valley Campaigns of 1864

The Valley Campaigns of 1864 were American Civil War operations and battles that took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia from May to October 1864....
, launching an invasion of the Shenandoah Valley

Shenandoah Valley

The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bound to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River and to the south by the James River ....
. He was soundly defeated by Maj. Gen. John C. Breckenridge at the Battle of New Market

Battle of New Market

The Battle of New Market was a battle fought on May 15, 1864, in Virginia during Valley Campaigns of 1864 in the American Civil War. Cadets from the Virginia Military Institute fought alongside the Confederate Army and forced Union army General Franz Sigel and his army out of the Shenandoah Valley....
, on May 15, 1864, which was particularly embarrassing due to the prominent role young cadets from the Virginia Military Institute

Virginia Military Institute

The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest State university system military academy and one of six Senior Military College in the United States....
played in his defeat. In July, he fought Lt. Gen.

Lieutenant General (United States)

In the United States Army, the United States Marine Corps and the United States Air Force, lieutenant general is a 3 star rank general officer rank, with the U.S....
Jubal A. Early at Harpers Ferry

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, West Virginia. It is situated at the confluence of the Potomac River and Shenandoah Rivers where the U.S....
, but soon afterwards was relieved of his command for "lack of aggression" and replaced by Maj. Gen. David Hunter

David Hunter

David Hunter was a Union Army general in the American Civil War. He achieved fame by his unauthorized 1862 order emancipating slaves in three Southern states and as the president of the military commission trying the conspirators involved with the assassination of President of the United States Abraham Lincoln....
. Sigel spent the rest of the war without an active command.

Postbellum

Sigel resigned his commission on May 4, 1865, and worked as a journalist in Baltimore, and as a newspaper editor in New York City

New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
. He filled a variety of political positions there, both as a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major party contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party . It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world....
and a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major party contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party . It is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP....
. In 1887, President Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland

Stephen Grover Cleveland was both the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States. Cleveland is the only President to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents....
appointed him pension agent for the city of New York. Franz Sigel died in New York in 1902 and is buried there in Woodlawn Cemetery

Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx

Located in The Bronx, Woodlawn Cemetery is one of the largest cemetery in New York City. It opened as a rural cemetery in 1863, out in "the country," in what was then southern Westchester County, New York, which was annexed to New York City in 1874....
in the Bronx

The Bronx

The Bronx is the northernmost of the Five Boroughs of New York City and the newest of the 62 Administrative divisions of New York#county of New York State....
.

Honors

Statues of him stand in Riverside Park

Riverside Park (Manhattan)

Riverside Park is a scenic waterfront public park on the Upper West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, operated and maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation....
in Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is one of the five borough of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.With a United States Census of 1,620,867 living in a land area of 22.96 square miles , Manhattan, coextensive with New York County, is the most population density county in the United States, w...
and in Forest Park

Forest Park (St. Louis)

Forest Park in St. Louis, Missouri, opened in 1876 and the former site of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904, is one of the large urban landscape parks created during the later 19th century, following the example of Central Park in New York City....
in St. Louis

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri, located near the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Missouri River. St....
. There is also a park named for him in the Bronx

The Bronx

The Bronx is the northernmost of the Five Boroughs of New York City and the newest of the 62 Administrative divisions of New York#county of New York State....
, just south of the Courthouse near Yankee Stadium

Yankee Stadium

The original Yankee Stadium is a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It served as the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1923 in baseball to 1973 in baseball and after extensive renovations, from 1976 in baseball to 2008 in baseball....
. Seigel Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and Bushwick, Brooklyn....
was named after him, as well as the village of Sigel, Pennsylvania, founded in 1865.

Franz Sigel

Early life

Civil War

Postbellum

Honors

See also

External links