August Valentine Kautz (January 5, 1828 – September 4, 1895) was a

German-American German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...

officer. He served in the

Rogue River Wars The Rogue River Wars were an armed conflict in 1855–1856 between the U.S. Army, local militias and volunteers, and the Native American tribes commonly grouped under the designation of Rogue River Indians, in the Rogue Valley area of wha ...

and

Puget Sound War The Puget Sound War was an armed conflict that took place in the Puget Sound area of the state of Washington in 1855–56, between the United States military, local militias and members of the Native American tribes of the Nisqually, Muck ...

. He served as a general in the Union

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. He was the author of several army manuals on duties and customs eventually adopted by the U.S. military.

Early life and career

Born in

Ispringen Ispringen is a municipality in the district of Enz in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. The name of the town was first recorded in the early Middle Ages as 'Urspringen'. It refers to a natural spring which is the source of the Kämpfelbach, a sm ...

, Baden, Germany, Kautz immigrated with his parents to

Brown County, Ohio Brown County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 43,676. The county seat is Georgetown. The county was created in 1818 and is named for Major General Jacob Brown, an officer in th ...

in 1832. He later enlisted as a

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

in the

1st Ohio Infantry The 1st Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the Western Theater in a number of campaigns and battles. Three-months regiment With the outbreak of the Civil War in the spr ...

, serving in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

from 1846 to 1847. Entering the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

following the war, Kautz graduated in the class of 1852. He primarily served at

Fort Steilacoom Fort Steilacoom was founded by the U.S. Army in 1849 near Lake Steilacoom. It was among the first military fortifications built by the U.S. north of the Columbia River in what was to become the State of Washington. The fort was constructed due ...

in the Pacific Northwest, where he was wounded twice with the 4th U.S. Infantry during

with Indians along the Rogue River in 1855, and also served in the

in 1856. He was rewarded with a commission as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the

regular army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a ...

. In the 1850s he married a Nisqually woman named Tenas Puss (Little Kitten) called Etta or Kitty in English. Son, Nugen, was born in 1857 and son, Doctin (later changed to Augustus) was born 1859. Both sons attended the Forest Grove Indian Training School (later called the

Chemawa Indian School Chemawa Indian School (''pronounced:'' "Chih-MAY-way", ) is a Native Americans in the United States, Native American boarding school in Salem, Oregon, United States. Named after the Chemawa band of the Kalapuya people of the Willamette Valley, ...

.) On July 16, 1857, Kautz made what is sometimes credited as the first ascent of

Mount Rainier Mount Rainier ( ), also known as Tahoma, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest in the United States. The mountain is located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With an off ...

. Kautz is reported as having climbed to the edge of Rainier's crater rim, but as he did not make the final walk to Rainier's Columbia Crest, his ascent has often been described as incomplete. During his time in the Pacific Northwest, Kautz became a supporter of

Chief Leschi Chief Leschi (; ; c. 1808 – February 19, 1858) was a chief of the Nisqually Indian Tribe of southern Puget Sound, Washington, primarily in the area of the Nisqually River. Following outbreaks of violence and the Yakima Wars (1855–1858), ...

, who was executed in 1858. Kautz believed the execution was illegal and that Leschi should have been considered a prisoner of war. Shortly before Leschi's execution, Kautz published two issues of a newspaper defending him. The newspaper was called the ''Truth Teller'', and its masthead stated: "Devoted to the Dissemination of Truth and the Suppression of Humbug." From 1859 to 1860, he traveled in Europe. In August 1860, under Major George A. H. Blake's command, he traveled with recruits on a march from Fort Benton to

Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th-century fur trading post built in the winter of 1824–1825. It was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was ...

, commanding a detachment of 150 recruits, which broke off from the main group at

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Coeur d'Alene ( ; ) is a city and the county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the most populous city in North Idaho and the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 54,628 at th ...

to begin service at Colville Depot, Washington Territory. He returned to the Eastern United States in April 1861, shortly after the outbreak of hostilities between the Union and Confederacy.

Civil War

Kautz was a captain with the 6th U.S. Cavalry during the

Peninsula Campaign The Peninsula campaign (also known as the Peninsular campaign) of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March to July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The oper ...

from April to July 1862. Transferred to the Western Theater, Kautz later assisted in operations as a colonel with the 2nd Ohio Cavalry against Confederate General

John Hunt Morgan John Hunt Morgan (June 1, 1825September 4, 1864) was a Confederate general in the American Civil War. In April 1862, he raised the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry Regiment, fought at Shiloh, and then launched a costly raid in Kentucky, which encouraged Br ...

raid RAID (; redundant array of inexpensive disks or redundant array of independent disks) is a data storage virtualization technology that combines multiple physical Computer data storage, data storage components into one or more logical units for th ...

behind Union lines in

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

during June–July 1863 and under the command of Maj. Gen.

Ambrose Burnside Ambrose Everts Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American army officer and politician who became a senior Union general in the American Civil War and a three-time Governor of Rhode Island, as well as being a successfu ...

at the Battle of Knoxville from September to December 1863. Promoted to brigadier general of volunteers on April 16, 1864, Kautz led cavalry operations under the command of Maj. Gen.

Benjamin Butler Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American major general (United States), major general of the Union Army, politician, lawyer, and businessman from Massachusetts. Born in New Hampshire and raised in Lowell, ...

during Ulysses S. Grant's campaigns against Richmond and Petersburg between April and June 1864. His cavalry division was a part of the

Army of the James The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia. History The Union Department ...

and was forced to withdraw from its position at White's Tavern following an attack by parts of Confederate Lt. Gen. Richard H. Anderson's Corps. On December 12, 1864,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

nominated Kautz for appointment to the brevet grade of major general of volunteers, to rank from October 28, 1864, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on February 14, 1865. He was mustered out of the volunteers on January 15, 1866. On July 17, 1866, President

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...

nominated Kautz for appointment to the brevet grade of major general, U.S. Army, to rank from March 13, 1865, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on July 23, 1866.Eicher, 2001, p. 708 In early April 1865, Kautz marched into

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

in command of a division of colored troops which belonged to

Godfrey Weitzel Godfrey (Gottfried) Weitzel (November 1, 1835 – March 19, 1884) was a German-American major general in the Union army during the American Civil War. He was the acting Mayor of New Orleans during the Union occupation of the city and also captur ...

's XXV Corps. He was active during the Union pursuit of

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

from April 2 to April 9, 1865, until Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House.

After the Civil War

After the war, Kautz served (from May to June 1865) on the trial board investigating the conspirators involved in the assassination of

, before performing extensive service in the southwest frontier. He was the commander of the Department of Arizona from March 1875 to March 1878, and commanding officer of Fort McDowell. He was appointed commander of the Department of the Columbia in July 1891 with the rank of brigadier general. After leaving military service in 1892, he lived in retirement until his death at

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. He is buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

Bibliography

* ''The Company Clerk'' (1863) * ''Customs of Service for Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers'' (1864) * ''Customs of Service for Officers'' (1866)

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H., and

David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...

, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * Warner, Ezra J., ''Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders'', Louisiana State University Press, 1964, . * Ezra Meeker, ''Pioneer Reminiscences of Puget Sound: The Tragedy of Leschi'' (Seattle, 1905). * Martin Öfele, ''General August V. Kautz'', Erinnerungen an den Bürgerkrieg, Verlag für Amerikanistik, (Germany) * Donald E. Worcester: ''The Apaches'' - ‚Eagles of the Southwest', University of Oklahoma Press, 1992, (Pg. 186–206) * Dan L. Thrapp:''Al Sieber: Chief of Scouts''. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman 1964, (Pg. 48–49) * * Forest Grove Indian School Roster (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qdgohxdBDCGO9YzKRBpDvAEG0LEkHtnMlzkoNKWp9cY/edit#gid=0) Attribution *

External links

Spartacus Educational - August Kautz

Sharlot Hall Museum: ''The days of empire at Fort Whipple''; incl. August Kautz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kautz, August 1828 births 1895 deaths People from Enzkreis Emigrants from the Grand Duchy of Baden Immigrants to the United States Union army generals People of Ohio in the American Civil War Burials at Arlington National Cemetery American military personnel of the Mexican–American War People associated with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln People from Brown County, Ohio United States Military Academy alumni Rogue River Wars American military writers American people of German descent