Hubert Dilger
Encyclopedia
Hubert Anton Casimir Dilger (March 5, 1836 – May 4, 1911) was a German
immigrant to the United States
who became a decorated artillerist
in the Union Army
during the American Civil War
. He was noted as one of the finest artillerists in the Army of the Potomac
, winning the Medal of Honor
for his valiant work at the 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville
.
region in Germany and educated in the Karlsruhe
Military Academy. He served as a lieutenant
in the Grand Duke's Horse Artillery
at military posts in Gottesau, Karlsruhe, and Rastatt
. He developed several innovative theories on artillery tactics and drill. When news came of the outbreak of the American Civil War, Dilger received a leave of absence and sailed to the United States
".
After relocating to Cincinnati
, Ohio, he became the captain of Battery I, 1st Ohio Light Artillery
and fought at several battles of the Army of the Potomac, including under fellow German native Maj. Gen.
Carl Schurz
at the Second Battle of Bull Run.
On May 2, 1863, Dilger fought in the rearguard of the retreating Union XI Corps during the disastrous Battle of Chancellorsville, for which he eventually was awarded the nation's highest decoration in 1893. He unlimbered his battery
of six 12-pounder Napoleon smoothbore cannon as a last-ditch defense against a large portion of Stonewall Jackson
's entire corps
, which had pushed back XI Corps and was threatening to roll up the Union line.
Dilger also received high praise in the Official Records of the Battle of Gettysburg
and for his work in the 1864 Atlanta Campaign
. Late in the war, he was on garrison duty.
From 1869 to 1873 he was Adjutant-General for the State of Illinois.
After the war, Dilger prospered in Ohio and eventually purchased a sprawling horse farm in the Shenandoah Valley
near Front Royal
, Virginia, where he raised his family. His son Anton Dilger
waged biological warfare
for Germany against a still-neutral United States in World War I
, infecting horses with anthrax
and glanders
.
Dilger is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery
in Washington, D.C.
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...
immigrant to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
who became a decorated artillerist
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
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...
. He was noted as one of the finest artillerists 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...
, winning the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
for his valiant work at the 1863 Battle 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...
.
Early life and army career
Dilger was born in Sulgen in the Black ForestBlack Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
region in Germany and educated in the Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
Military Academy. He served as a lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in the Grand Duke's Horse Artillery
Horse artillery
Horse artillery was a type of light, fast-moving and fast-firing artillery which provided highly mobile fire support to European and American armies from the 17th to the early 20th century...
at military posts in Gottesau, Karlsruhe, and Rastatt
Rastatt
Rastatt is a city and baroque residence in the District of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the Murg river, above its junction with the Rhine and has a population of around 50'000...
. He developed several innovative theories on artillery tactics and drill. When news came of the outbreak of the American Civil War, Dilger received a leave of absence and sailed to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
".
After relocating to Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, Ohio, he became the captain of Battery I, 1st Ohio Light Artillery
Battery I, 1st Ohio Light Artillery
Battery I, 1st Ohio Light Artillery was an artillery battery that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was also known as Dilger's Battery.-Service:...
and fought at several battles of the Army of the Potomac, including under fellow German native Maj. Gen.
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
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,...
at the Second Battle of Bull Run.
On May 2, 1863, Dilger fought in the rearguard of the retreating Union XI Corps during the disastrous Battle of Chancellorsville, for which he eventually was awarded the nation's highest decoration in 1893. He unlimbered his battery
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
of six 12-pounder Napoleon smoothbore cannon as a last-ditch defense against a large portion of 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=...
's entire corps
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
, which had pushed back XI Corps and was threatening to roll up the Union line.
Dilger also received high praise in the Official Records of 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...
and for his work in the 1864 Atlanta Campaign
Atlanta Campaign
The Atlanta Campaign was a series of battles fought in the Western Theater of the American Civil War throughout northwest Georgia and the area around Atlanta during the summer of 1864. Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman invaded Georgia from the vicinity of Chattanooga, Tennessee, beginning in May...
. Late in the war, he was on garrison duty.
From 1869 to 1873 he was Adjutant-General for the State of Illinois.
After the war, Dilger prospered in Ohio and eventually purchased a sprawling horse farm 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 bounded 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...
near Front Royal
Front Royal, Virginia
Front Royal is a town in Warren County, Virginia, United States. The population was 13,589 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Warren County.-Geography:Front Royal is roughly west of Washington, D.C....
, Virginia, where he raised his family. His son Anton Dilger
Anton Dilger
Anton Casimir Dilger was a German-American physician and the main proponent of the German biological warfare sabotage program during World War I...
waged biological warfare
Biological warfare
Biological warfare is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi with intent to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war...
for Germany against a still-neutral United States in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, infecting horses with anthrax
Anthrax
Anthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals...
and glanders
Glanders
Glanders is an infectious disease that occurs primarily in horses, mules, and donkeys. It can be contracted by other animals such as dogs, cats and goats...
.
Dilger is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery
Rock Creek Cemetery
Rock Creek Cemetery — also Rock Creek Church Yard and Cemetery — is an cemetery with a natural rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, off Hawaii Avenue, NE in Washington, D.C.'s Michigan Park neighborhood, near Washington's Petworth neighborhood...
in 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....
Medal of Honor citation
The following citation was issued on August 17, 1893:
Fought his guns until the enemy were upon him, then with one gun hauled in the road by hand he formed the rear guard and kept the enemy at bay by the rapidity of his fire and was the last man in the retreat.
See also
- List of Medal of Honor recipients
- List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: A–F
- German Americans in the Civil War