Leopold von Gilsa
Encyclopedia
Leopold von Gilsa was a career soldier who served as an officer in the armies of Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

 and later the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. He is best known for his role in the misfortunes of the XI Corps 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.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...

 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...

, particularly at the battles of Chancellorsville
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...

 and 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...

, where many of his men were unjustly accused of cowardice.

Early life

Von Gilsa was born in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, and served as an officer in the Prussian Army
Prussian Army
The Royal Prussian Army was the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.The Prussian Army had its roots in the meager mercenary forces of Brandenburg during the Thirty Years' War...

 in the First Schleswig War of 1848-51. He moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and settled in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, where he taught and played the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 and sang in the music halls along the Bowery
Bowery
Bowery may refer to:Streets:* The Bowery, a thoroughfare in Manhattan, New York City* Bowery Street is a street on Coney Island in Brooklyn, N.Y.In popular culture:* Bowery Amphitheatre, a building on the Bowery in New York City...

.

Civil War

When the Civil War erupted, von Gilsa organized the De Kalb Regiment, an all-German unit
German-Americans in the Civil War
German-Americans in the American Civil War were the largest ethnic contingent to fight for the Union. More than 200,000 native Germans served in the Union Army, with New York and Ohio each providing ten divisions dominated by German-born men....

, which became the 41st New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
41st New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The 41st New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the American Civil War. They were nicknamed Dekalbs Zouaves for their gaudy French/American zouave style...

. It was named for a hero of the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

, Baron de Kalb. The regiment's development, which occurred in the Yorkville
Yorkville
- Locations :In Canada:* Yorkville, Toronto, Ontario, a neighbourhoodIn the United States:*Yorkville, California, in Mendocino County**Yorkville Highlands AVA, California wine region in Mendocino County**Yorkville, Placer County, California*Yorkville, Georgia...

 section of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

, was reported in the New York Times during the spring of 1861. Some of the expenses were paid by the Union Defense Committee of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

.

The regiment left for Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, by water for Elizabethport, New Jersey
Elizabethport, New Jersey
A neighborhood in the City of Elizabeth, New Jersey. Formerly home of the Singer Manufacturing Company, makers of Singer Sewing Machines....

, on July 8, 1861, followed by a trip via railroad. The regiment served under von Gilsa in the campaign leading up to the First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...

. It was in reserve with the rest of Theodore Runyon
Theodore Runyon
Theodore Runyon was a United States politician, diplomat, and Civil War brigadier general in the Union army.-Biography:...

's Fourth Division, Army of the Potomac. The regiment then participated in the campaigns of John C. Frémont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...

 in western Virginia. Von Gilsa was severely wounded leading the regiment in the Battle of Cross Keys
Battle of Cross Keys
The Battle of Cross Keys was fought on June 8, 1862, in Rockingham County, Virginia, as part of Confederate Army Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War...

.

Minus its leader, von Gilsa's regiment served in the brigade of Julius Stahel
Julius Stahel
Julius H. Stahel-Számwald was a Hungarian soldier who emigrated to the United States and became a Union general in the American Civil War. After the war, he served as a U.S. diplomat, a mining engineer, and a life insurance company executive...

 under Maj. Gen. Franz Sigel
Franz Sigel
Franz Sigel was a German military officer, revolutionist and immigrant to the United States who was a teacher, newspaperman, politician, and served as a Union major general in the American Civil War.-Early life:...

 in the Second Battle of Bull Run
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen...

. When Sigel's command became XI Corps, 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.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...

 in late 1862, the De Kalbs were in First Brigade of Stahel's First Division. Von Gilsa, after recuperating, became brigade commander in this period. Following the Battle of Antietam
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...

, he assigned the De Kalb Regiment to take part in a reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....

 led by Sigel into Virginia.

Chancellorsville

In the Battle of Chancellorsville, Von Gilsa's brigade was on the right flank of the army on May 2, 1863, when Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson
ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...

 made his march to outflank the Union army. Von Gilsa warned the division commander, Charles Devens
Charles Devens
Charles Devens was an American lawyer, jurist and statesman. He also served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...

, that Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 troops had been detected in the woods near his line. Devens and Oliver Otis Howard, the corps commander, ignored his warnings. The Confederate attack that followed swept von Gilsa's brigade away and routed his terror-stricken soldiers. Von Gilsa and other Germans were blamed by Howard and other Yankees for the misfortunes of XI Corps, a display of xenophobia
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...

 that was protested by German Americans at the time. Von Gilsa was noted for the use of profanity in his native German. During the retreat from Chancellorsville, Von Gilsa and Howard crossed paths and Von Gilsa poured out a stream oath
Oath
An oath is either a statement of fact or a promise calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually God, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. To swear is to take an oath, to make a solemn vow...

s in German with such vehemence and in such profusion that Howard thought he had gone insane.

Gettysburg

In June 1863, Von Gilsa initially had bad relations with the new division commander, Francis Barlow
Francis Barlow
Francis Barlow may refer to:*Francis Barlow , British painter, etcher, and illustrator*Francis C. Barlow , US lawyer, politician, and general-See also:*Frank Barlow...

, who put him under arrest for allowing more than one man at a time to leave the column to get water. (The Germans thought Barlow a petty tyrant.) Von Gilsa was back in command of his brigade at the Battle of Gettysburg. On the first day, Barlow advanced his division to a knoll in advance of his assigned position, today known as Barlow Knoll
Barlow Knoll
Barlow Knoll is a hill on the Gettysburg Battlefield that was the location of the Battle of Gettysburg, First Day charge of Gordon's Brigade that succeeded in breaking the Union line. The "Old Alms House Cemetery" is located on the side of the hill, and the hill named after Francis C...

. Von Gilsa's command was on the right flank of the line, and it was ousted from its position by the Confederate division of Jubal Early, which outflanked Barlow's line.

On the second day, the remainder of von Gilsa's brigade was positioned in a lane at the foot of Cemetery Hill
Cemetery Hill
Cemetery Hill is a Gettysburg Battlefield landform which had 1863 military engagements each day of the July 1–3 Battle of Gettysburg. The northernmost part of the Army of the Potomac defensive "fish-hook" line, the hill is gently sloped and provided a site for American Civil War artillery...

. The line, as established by acting division commander Adelbert Ames
Adelbert Ames
Adelbert Ames was an American sailor, soldier, and politician. He served with distinction as a Union Army general during the American Civil War. As a Radical Republican and a Carpetbagger, he was military governor, Senator and civilian governor in Reconstruction-era Mississippi...

 was too thin, and an attack by Early's division broke through. Troops of the Eleventh Corps, assisted by the brigade of Samuel Carroll from II Corps, expelled the Confederate attackers. Carroll's brigade joined the XI Corps soldiers in holding the lane against any potential Confederate attack on the third day of the battle.

Later campaigns

After Gettysburg, Alexander Schimmelfennig
Alexander Schimmelfennig
Alexander Schimmelfennig was a German soldier and political revolutionary, and then an American Civil War general in the Union Army.-Early life and career:...

 took command of the brigade. Von Gilsa returned to command of his regiment. The division passed to George Henry Gordon
George Henry Gordon
George Henry Gordon was an American lawyer and a Union general in the American Civil War.-Early life:...

, and was transferred to the Department of the South. Von Gilsa commanded the First Brigade, Gordon's Division, X Corps on Folly Island
Folly Island
Folly Island is a barrier island in the Atlantic Ocean near Charleston, South Carolina. It is one of the Sea Islands and is within the boundaries of Charleston County, South Carolina. During the American Civil War, the island served as a major staging area for troops of the Union Army that were...

, one of the Sea Islands
Sea Islands
The Sea Islands are a chain of tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the United States. They number over 100, and are located between the mouths of the Santee and St. Johns Rivers along the coast of the U.S...

 of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

 from August 1863 to June 1864. He also commanded the garrison of Folly Island, including conducting reconnaissances and small raids in that vicinity.

The veterans of the De Kalb Regiment returned to New York City in June 1864, with von Gilsa still in command. It had left with nearly 1,500 men and returned with 327. (Recent recruits were retained in service until December 9, 1865.) Von Gilsa remained on the ranks of active officers without a formal command until he mustered out in December 1865.

Death

Colonel von Gilsa died in New York City. He was buried on March 3, 1870, at Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery was founded in 1838 as a rural cemetery in Brooklyn, Kings County , New York. It was granted National Historic Landmark status in 2006 by the U.S. Department of the Interior.-History:...

 in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

. Franz Sigel delivered a few brief remarks as a eulogy
Eulogy
A eulogy is a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, especially one recently deceased or retired. Eulogies may be given as part of funeral services. However, some denominations either discourage or do not permit eulogies at services to maintain respect for traditions...

. Barlow and Carl Schurz
Carl Schurz
Carl Christian Schurz was a German revolutionary, American statesman and reformer, and Union Army General in the American Civil War. He was also an accomplished journalist, newspaper editor and orator, who in 1869 became the first German-born American elected to the United States Senate.His wife,...

 praised von Gilsa's courage, and his soldiers liked him.

External links

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