Alexander Schimmelfennig | |
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| Birth name | Alexander Ferdinand Schimmelpfennig von der Oye |
| Born | (1824-07-20)July 20, 1824 Bromberg,Prussia (nowBydgoszcz, Poland) |
| Died | September 5, 1865(1865-09-05) (aged 41) Wernersville, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Place of burial | |
| Allegiance | Kingdom of Prussia United States (Union) |
| Service | Prussian Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1848–1849 1861–1865 |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Battles / wars | |
Alexander Schimmelfennig (July 20, 1824 – September 5, 1865) was aPrussian soldier andpolitical revolutionary. After theGerman revolutions of 1848–1849, he immigrated to theUnited States, where he served as aUnion Army general in theAmerican Civil War.
Schimmelfennig was born inBromberg in theGrand Duchy of Posen,Prussia (now Bydgoszcz inPoland). He joined the Prussian army and served in both the 29th Infantry Regiment "von Horn" (3rd Rhenish) and the 16th Infantry Regiment"Freiherr von Sparr" (3rd Westphalian), the latter of which was garrisoned inCologne. In Cologne he became acquainted with some of the more radical German political groups and was an active participant in the1848 revolution, but was disillusioned by the outcome of the peace treaty that ended theFirst Schleswig War.[citation needed]
He supported theMarch Revolution and was a member of thePalatine military commission that led thePalatine uprising.[1] He was twice wounded in theBattle of Rinnthal, rescued, following which he fled toSwitzerland.[2] For his involvement in the revolutionary movement, he wastried in absentia and sentenced to death by the Palatine government.[3] He remained in exile in Switzerland, where he met fellow expatriateCarl Schurz, and ultimately they fled together toLondon viaParis. While in London, Schimmelfenning became a part of the German democratic movement, a sectarian group within theCommunist League led byKarl Schapper andAugust Willich that was in opposition to the main body of the Communist League led byKarl Marx andFriedrich Engels.[4]
In 1854, Schimmelfennig emigrated to theUnited States and afterwards gained employment with theWar Department.[5] Here he maintained his association with theForty-Eighters, a group of military officers in the failed revolutions of 1848 who had fled to the United States; many ended up serving in theUnion Army. He was the author of a book on theCrimean War titledThe War between Russia and Turkey (Philadelphia, 1854).
After his efforts withCarl Schurz to raise an all-Germancavalryregiment failed (due to Schurz's appointment by PresidentAbraham Lincoln to be his Minister toSpain), Schimmelfennig attempted to raise anall-German regiment inPhiladelphia. When he fell ill, others strove to take over control of this new regiment but they failed, thanks to the efforts of Schimmelfennig's friends. The regiment, consisting of Philadelphia andPittsburgh Germans, was called the 1st German Regiment (of Pennsylvania) and would later be designated the74th Pennsylvania Infantry[6]
At the time of the Civil War, there was strongnativist sentiment in theUnion. This prejudice was directed toward the German troops of theXI Corps, who retreateden masse after they were flanked byStonewall Jackson atChancellorsville. The mostly German corps took the brunt of the scorn that poured forth fromthe press. Among the critics was the corps commanderOliver Otis Howard, who sought a scapegoat for his own mistakes. During the battle, Schimmelfennig commanded a brigade in the 3rd Division of the XI Corps.
At the subsequentBattle of Gettysburg, Schimmelfennig commanded abrigade in fellow Forty-Eighter-turned-major general Carl Schurz's 3rd Division of the XI Corps. For a short time, Schimmelfennig took command of the 3rd Division when Schurz briefly commanded thecorps. His brigade suffered greatly, mostly due to a highprisoner rate as hundreds of men became confused in the narrow streets ofGettysburg and ended up being captured by oncomingConfederates. It and ColonelCharles Coster's brigade did their best to cover the retreat of the rest of the XI Corps, but they soon became disorganized and fled too. During the retreat through the town, Schimmelfennig briefly hid in a culvert on Baltimore Street, and then stayed for several days in a shed on the Henry and Catherine Garlach property,[7] avoiding capture. (There is amarker outside the Garlach house commemorating this event.) After the battle, he rejoined the corps, much to the joy of the troops who thought he was dead. However, Schimmelfennig's story was seized upon by news writers and presented as another example of German cowardice.
After the Battle of Gettysburg, from mid-July until early August 1863, Schimmelfennig was moved to command a brigade in 1st Division, XI Corps. He and his brigade were reassigned to the Southern District of the Department of the South, inthe Carolinas, serving onFolly Island.[8] He commanded the District of Charleston, then part of theX Corps duringSherman's March to the Sea. After being sidelined for some time by a bout withmalaria, Schimmelfennig had the honor of acceptingCharleston's surrender on February 18, 1865. His headquarters was theMiles Brewton House. During his time of service in the swamps about Charleston, he contracted a virulent form oftuberculosis[9] which ultimately led to his death inWernersville, Pennsylvania, where he visited a mineral springssanatorium in an effort to find a cure.
Reminiscences (3 volumes). New York: The McClure Company. 1907. Schurz knew Schimmelfennig (or Schimmelpfennig — it is spelled both ways in hisReminiscences) in Germany and in the United States and places in between. InChapter VIII of Volume One, Schurz reflects on the irony of commanding Schimmelfennig in the United States who was Schurz's military instructor in Germany. They were also both members of the Brüning Salon in England (seeChapter XIV of Volume One)."Young Germany in the Storm and Stress Period". (Banquet to the Honorable Carl Schurz. March 2, 1899)| International | |
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