In this Book
- Germans in the Civil War: The Letters They Wrote Home
- Book
- 2009
- Published by: The University of North Carolina Press
- Series: Civil War America
summary
German Americans were one of the largest immigrant groups in the Civil War era, and they comprised nearly 10 percent of all Union troops. Yet little attention has been paid to their daily lives--both on the battlefield and on the home front--during the war. This collection of letters, written by German immigrants to friends and family back home, provides a new angle to our understanding of the Civil War experience and challenges some long-held assumptions about the immigrant experience at this time.
Originally published in Germany in 2002, this collection contains more than three hundred letters written by seventy-eight German immigrants--men and women, soldiers and civilians, from the North and South. Their missives tell of battles and boredom, privation and profiteering, motives for enlistment and desertion and for avoiding involvement altogether. Although written by people with a variety of backgrounds, these letters describe the conflict from a distinctly German standpoint, the editors argue, casting doubt on the claim that the Civil War was the great melting pot that eradicated ethnic antagonisms.
Originally published in Germany in 2002, this collection contains more than three hundred letters written by seventy-eight German immigrants--men and women, soldiers and civilians, from the North and South. Their missives tell of battles and boredom, privation and profiteering, motives for enlistment and desertion and for avoiding involvement altogether. Although written by people with a variety of backgrounds, these letters describe the conflict from a distinctly German standpoint, the editors argue, casting doubt on the claim that the Civil War was the great melting pot that eradicated ethnic antagonisms.
Table of Contents
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- Map, Table, and Illustrations
- pp. ix-x
- Acknowledgments
- pp. xv-xvi
- Abbreviations
- pp. xvii-xviii
- Editorial Approach
- pp. xix-xxxiv
- Introduction
- pp. 1-34
- Eastern Theater
- 1. Otto Albrecht
- pp. 37-38
- 3. Wesslau Family
- pp. 59-72
- 5. Augustin Family
- pp. 76-79
- 6. Corporal Robert Rossi
- pp. 79-84
- 7. Private Friedrich Schmalzried
- pp. 84-95
- 8. First Lieutenant Alphons Richter
- pp. 95-103
- 9. Corporal Wilhelm Albrecht
- pp. 103-113
- 10. Carl Hermanns
- pp. 113-116
- 11. Caroline Eversmeier
- pp. 116-117
- 12. Dünnebacke Family
- pp. 117-120
- 13. Captain August Horstmann
- pp. 120-130
- 14. Private Wilhelm Hoffmann
- pp. 131-132
- 15. First Lieutenant Peter Boffinger
- pp. 133-135
- 16. Sergeant Wilhelm Francksen
- pp. 136-145
- 17. First Lieutenant Emil Cornelius Knoebel
- pp. 146-151
- 18. Surgeon Carl Uterhard
- pp. 151-176
- 19. Johann Philipp Heubach
- pp. 176-179
- 20. Corporal Jakob Heinzelmann
- pp. 179-183
- 21. Private Gustav Keppler
- pp. 184-195
- 22. Sergeant Albert Krause
- pp. 195-219
- 23. Christian Härring
- pp. 219-221
- 24. Barbara Pack and Nikolaus Pack
- pp. 221-224
- 25. Matthias Leclerc
- pp. 225-227
- 28. Jakob Kessler
- pp. 237-238
- 29. Victor Klausmeyer
- pp. 238-245
- 30. Kaspar Herbst and Agatha Herbst
- pp. 245-248
- 31. Müller Family
- pp. 249-250
- Western Theater
- 32. Surgeon Magnus Brucker
- pp. 251-272
- 33. Monn Family
- pp. 272-275
- 34. Private Dietrich Gerstein
- pp. 275-291
- 36. Johann (John) Dieden
- pp. 297-307
- 37. Private Paul Petasch
- pp. 307-314
- 38. Second Lieutenant Friedrich Martens
- pp. 314-324
- 39. Private David Böpple and Family
- pp. 324-327
- 40. Christian Bönsel
- pp. 327-331
- 41. Sergeant Ferdinand Krieger
- pp. 331-334
- 42. Private Franz Schorse
- pp. 334-339
- 43. Bernhard Buschmann
- pp. 339-342
- 44. Lieutenant Colonel Conrad Weinrich
- pp. 342-347
- 46. Private Georg Bauer
- pp. 360-363
- 47. Private Ludwig Müller (Louis W. Miller)
- pp. 363-366
- 48. Private Carl Anton (Charles) Ruff
- pp. 366-370
- 49. Private Johann Christoph Penzler
- pp. 370-372
- 50. Private Anton Herman Bullenhaar
- pp. 372-374
- 51. Heinrich Stähler
- pp. 374-386
- 52. Kessel and Rückels Families
- pp. 387-394
- 53. Dr. Hermann Nagel
- pp. 394-403
- 54. Captain Robert Voigt, CSA
- pp. 403-426
- 55. Captain Ernst Cramer and Ferdinand Simon
- pp. 426-439
- 56. Private Georg Wilhelm Schwarting
- pp. 439-448
- Epilogue: Reconstruction
- pp. 477-480
- Bibliography
- pp. 489-504
- Donors of Letters and Materials
- pp. 505-506
Additional Information
ISBN
9781469605418
Related ISBN(s)
9780807830444, 9780807876596, 9781469642529
MARC Record
OCLC
704594602
Pages
560
Launched on MUSE
2013-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No