Long Road to Liberty: The Odyssey of a German Regiment in the Yankee Army. The 15th Missouri Volunteer Infantry (review)

Long Road to Liberty tells the story of the 15th Missouri Volunteer Infantry during the American Civil War. The 15th Missouri was a German-American Regiment mustered into service at St. Louis, Missouri, in September 1861 and mustered out in Texas in December 1865. The 15th Missouri is included in the list of the 300 fightingest Union Regiments during the Civil War. This book, in turn, must be included within the list of the top notch Civil War regimental histories. The author not only tells the story of the 15th Missouri from company to regimental level, but places the story within the big picture of the Civil War. The typical member of the 15th Missouri had been born in Germany, was twenty-six years old when he enlisted, stood 5 feet 5 inches tall, was a laborer or tradesmen, and came from an urban environment.

The 15th Missouri saw action throughout the Western Theater of the War, participating in almost every major battle within that theater. They saw the elephant at Pea Ridge, Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Resaca, New Hope Church, Kennesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, Spring Hill, Franklin, and Nashville. The regiment lost 115 officers and men dead in action and another 107 from disease and wounds.

It is amazing that ten percent of the Union regiments organized during the Civil War were predominately German, yet the Civil War story of this ethnic group is largely untold. This is totally unlike the story of the Union Irish regiments during the Civil War. If it was not for derogatory remarks about the German Regiments contained in non-German regimental histories, one would have little knowledge of the German military support of the Union war effort.

The author notes that in his research he found little documentation by those of German ancestry on their service during the Civil War. German Civil War regimental histories, letters home, diaries, and newspaper accounts are rare and a goodly portion of them are written in German. This lack of documentation is strange in that almost all of the Germans who fought in the war were literate. In fact, the Germans overall had one of the highest education levels of the various ethnic groups who fought in the war. The author, in telling the story of the 15th Missouri, uses as his primary source a small unit history of the 15th Missouri published by its members, documents in the Official Records, and unit files and pension records at the National Archives.

The demobilization story of the 15th Missouri is a lesson in how not to treat veteran troops who had done their duty on a dozen battlefields. The enlistment of the 15th Missouri had run out in 1864, however, almost to a man, they had re-enlisted for the war. There would, however, be no victory parade for the 15th Missouri as they were ordered to Texas when the war ended to rebuild railroads. To add insult to injury, they were denied leave on their way to Texas. This led to a mutiny by the men and a number of desertions. Interestingly, many who deserted after visiting home re-joined the regiment in Texas.

This is an excellent book on a German-American regiment in the American Civil War and it should be read by all interested in that war.