Prussia in the American Civil War
Encyclopedia
While trying to unify the various German states under its banner, Prussia
was involved in the American Civil War
. There were several members of the military elite of Prussia that served as both officers and enlisted men in both armies. There were also official military observers sent to the North America
n continent to observe the tactics of both armies, which were later studied by future military leaders of Prussia and unified Germany.
Among the effects Prussia had on the war was the new saddle
used by the Union cavalry: Union General George McClellan
had studied Prussian saddles and used them as a basis for his McClellan saddle
.
was a Prussian military observer who for seven months followed Robert E. Lee
's actions at several battles, including the Battle of Chancellorsville
and the Battle of Gettysburg
in 1863. Upon returning to Prussia in 1864, Scheibert wrote down his observations and placed them in several of Prussia's best libraries. From there what Scheibert learned helped Prussia and later unified Germany in five different wars.
Six generals who fought for the Union were Prussian-born. Karl Leopold Matthies was involved in charging Missionary Ridge
in Chattanooga, Tennessee
, only to be wounded. Alexander Schimmelfennig
avoided capture for two days at the Battle of Gettysburg
by hiding in a pigsty. Among those that assisted Union General William Tecumseh Sherman
in his March to the Sea
in Georgia
was the Prussian Peter J. Osterhaus
. August Willich
was captured at the Battle of Stones River
, and was wounded at the Battle of Resaca
. The others were abolitionist Carl Schurz
and Frederick Salomon, brother of the wartime governor of Wisconsin
Edward Salomon
.
In the south, a future military leader of Prussia was gaining first hand experience. The son of the King of Prussia
's chamberlain, Baron Robert von Massow served under John S. Mosby
in Mosby's 43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry, known as Mosby's Raiders. Massow would later serve as commander of the German IX Corps just prior to World War I
.
, were more interested, but on the whole they were still less involved in the war than Great Britain
and France
. In regard to Sherman's actions in Georgia, Prussian general Helmuth von Moltke
said that "an armed mob" had nothing of value to be learned from. In response, Sherman compared Moltke to an "ass".
In 1862 the British foreign secretary Lord John Russell
tried to have Prussia take part along with France and Russia to seek an armistice to end the war, but for naught.
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...
was involved in 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...
. There were several members of the military elite of Prussia that served as both officers and enlisted men in both armies. There were also official military observers sent to the North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n continent to observe the tactics of both armies, which were later studied by future military leaders of Prussia and unified Germany.
Among the effects Prussia had on the war was the new saddle
Saddle
A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider or other load, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is the equestrian saddle designed for a horse, but specialized saddles have been created for camels and other creatures...
used by the Union cavalry: Union General George McClellan
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union...
had studied Prussian saddles and used them as a basis for his McClellan saddle
McClellan saddle
The McClellan saddle was a riding saddle designed by George B. McClellan, a career Army officer in the U.S. Army, after his tour of Europe as the member of a military commission charged with studying the latest developments in engineer and cavalry forces including field equipment. Based on his...
.
Individuals
Justus ScheibertJustus Scheibert
Justus Scheibert was an army captain, sent by Prussia to America to observe the American Civil War in order to learn the lessons to be learned and return to Prussia to teach these lessons to the Prussian troops. His writings became a source of Prussian, and later German, military strategy through...
was a Prussian military observer who for seven months followed Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
's actions at several battles, including the 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...
and 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...
in 1863. Upon returning to Prussia in 1864, Scheibert wrote down his observations and placed them in several of Prussia's best libraries. From there what Scheibert learned helped Prussia and later unified Germany in five different wars.
Six generals who fought for the Union were Prussian-born. Karl Leopold Matthies was involved in charging Missionary Ridge
Battle of Missionary Ridge
The Battle of Missionary Ridge was fought November 25, 1863, as part of the Chattanooga Campaign of the American Civil War. Following the Union victory in the Battle of Lookout Mountain on November 24, Union forces under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant assaulted Missionary Ridge and defeated the...
in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
, only to be wounded. 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:...
avoided capture for two days at 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...
by hiding in a pigsty. Among those that assisted Union General William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...
in his March to the Sea
Sherman's March to the Sea
Sherman's March to the Sea is the name commonly given to the Savannah Campaign conducted around Georgia from November 15, 1864 to December 21, 1864 by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army in the American Civil War...
in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
was the Prussian Peter J. Osterhaus
Peter J. Osterhaus
Peter Joseph Osterhaus was Union Army General in the American Civil War and later served as a diplomat.-Early life:Osterhaus was born in Koblenz, Rhenish Prussia. He attended the Berlin Military Academy and after serving for some time as a Prussian Army officer, he emigrated to the United States...
. August Willich
August Willich
August Willich , born Johann August Ernst von Willich, was a military officer in the Prussian Army and a leading early proponent of Communism in Germany. In 1847 he discarded his title of nobility...
was captured at the Battle of Stones River
Battle of Stones River
The Battle of Stones River or Second Battle of Murfreesboro , was fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the American Civil War...
, and was wounded at the Battle of Resaca
Battle of Resaca
The Battle of Resaca was part of the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. The battle was waged in both Gordon and Whitfield counties, Georgia, from May 13 - 15, 1864. It ended inconclusively with the Confederate Army retreating. The engagement was fought between the Military Division of the...
. The others were abolitionist 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,...
and Frederick Salomon, brother of the wartime governor of Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
Edward Salomon
Edward Salomon
Edward Salomon was the eighth Governor of Wisconsin during the Civil War after the accidental drowning of his predecessor, Louis P. Harvey.Salomon was born in Ströbeck, Prussian Saxony...
.
In the south, a future military leader of Prussia was gaining first hand experience. The son of the King of Prussia
King of Prussia
King of Prussia may refer to:* A ruler of the former German state of Prussia**List of rulers of Prussia* Place names** King of Prussia, Pennsylvania* Shopping Centers** King of Prussia Mall...
's chamberlain, Baron Robert von Massow served under John S. Mosby
John S. Mosby
John Singleton Mosby , nicknamed the "Gray Ghost", was a Confederate cavalry battalion commander in the American Civil War...
in Mosby's 43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry, known as Mosby's Raiders. Massow would later serve as commander of the German IX Corps just prior to 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...
.
Official action
Most of the small German states were too interested in the current events of Europe to concern themselves with the American war, although they did tend to sympathize more with the Union's attempt to defeat the Confederacy. As major powers, Prussia and its rival Germanic state, the Austrian EmpireAustrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
, were more interested, but on the whole they were still less involved in the war than Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In regard to Sherman's actions in Georgia, Prussian general Helmuth von Moltke
Helmuth von Moltke the Elder
Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke was a German Field Marshal. The chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years, he is regarded as one of the great strategists of the latter 19th century, and the creator of a new, more modern method of directing armies in the field...
said that "an armed mob" had nothing of value to be learned from. In response, Sherman compared Moltke to an "ass".
In 1862 the British foreign secretary Lord John Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC , known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century....
tried to have Prussia take part along with France and Russia to seek an armistice to end the war, but for naught.