Gustav Tafel (October 13, 1830 – November 12, 1908) was a German-born colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and the mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio, from 1897 to 1900.

Biography

Tafel was born in Munich, Germany (München). He was one of the Forty-Eighters, meaning he fled Germany after the Revolution of 1848. He started in Cincinnati as a printer, and later became a newspaper editor.University of Cincinnati website
/ref> He resided in a house at the northeastern corner of 14th and Walnut streets from 1848 to 1870. At the time, Cincinnati had a large German population and a number of German language newspapers, and Tafel quickly became a leader in that community. When war erupted and Governor William Dennison called for volunteers to join the army, Tafel enlisted with the Cincinnati " Turnverein" and served as a lieutenant in Company A, 9th Ohio Infantry, a mostly German regiment. In June 1862 he was assigned to command the

106th Ohio Infantry The 106th Ohio Infantry Regiment, sometimes 106th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (or 106th OVI) was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was also known as the 4th German Regiment. Service The 106th Ohio Infantry was ...

(aka, "The 4th German Regiment"), one of the last German regiments raised in the state. However, because the organization was forced to take the field in September with only eight of its companies filled, Tafel's commission was modified to that of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

on November 11, 1862. After the Perryville Campaign, Tafel's battalion was merged into the hard-luck Thirty-ninth Brigade, which was captured intact by Confederate General John Hunt Morgan at the Battle of Hartsville on December 7, 1862. The 106th was thereafter paroled and sent to

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, being formally exchanged on January 12, 1863. Tafel superintended the unit's re-organization at

Camp Dennison Camp Dennison was a military recruiting, training, and medical post for the United States Army during the American Civil War. It was located near Cincinnati, Ohio, not far from the Ohio River. The camp was named for Cincinnati native William De ...

. On March 24 the unit left for

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

, to relieve the 103rd Ohio Infantry in suppressing guerrilla activity in Owen County. Tafel effectively brought an end to the depredations, earning "praise from the citizens and State authorities, for the good conduct and soldierly bearing of both officers and men." The regiment arrived in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

on May 4, and four weeks later took up guard duty along the

Louisville & Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of ...

, from Nashville north to the Kentucky border, operating out of Gallatin, Tennessee. At this time the unit had been formally assigned to the Third Brigade, Second Division, Reserve Corps, Army of the Cumberland. The guerrillas of the area suffered so consistently from the ambuscade tactics of the 106th that their leader, Captain Ellis Harper, offered a reward for Tafel's head. Harper's band was badly mauled on December 4, 1863, at Dry Fork in Sumner County, Tennessee, Harper himself escaping. The growing skill and hardened reputation of the 106th Ohio under Tafel's leadership caused it to be reassigned to the garrison of Bridgeport, Alabama, on May 4, 1864, where it quickly displayed its refined "scouting" abilities in hounding the local guerrilla band of Rebel Captain Caperton throughout the Racoon Mountains. Caperton was killed by mounted scouts of the 106th on June 10. In October 1864, the 106th was finally recruited up to its full strength, officially attaining the status of a full, volunteer regiment. Tafel and the 106th Ohio became cut off from all communication for a four weeks with Thomas's main army at Nashville when Confederate

Lt. Gen. Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star rank, three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in ...

John B. Hood John Bell Hood (June 1 or June 29, 1831 – August 30, 1879) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Although brave, Hood's impetuosity led to high losses among his troops as he moved up in rank. Bruce Catton wrote that "the dec ...

brought what was left of the Army of Tennessee back into Tennessee that same winter. In January 1865 the 106th fought one of its last actions of the war at Mud Creek, Tennessee, encountering a portion of the Rebel cavalry forces under Brig. Gen.

Hylan B. Lyon Hylan Benton Lyon (February 22, 1836 – April 25, 1907) was a career officer in the United States Army until the start of the American Civil War, when he resigned rather than fight against the South. As a Confederate brigadier general, he le ...

. In June, the regiment was ordered back to Nashville for muster out, which occurred on June 29, 1865. Tafel's commission was never upgraded to that of a full colonel. Tafel was a Democrat in his political views, and served three years as mayor of Cincinnati around the start of the 20th century. He died in Cincinnati and is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery.

References

* Reid, Whitelaw. Ohio in the War: Her Statesmen, Generals and Soldiers, 2V, Cincinnati, The Robert Clarke Company, 1895, Vol. 2, pp. 572–575. * Tafel, Gustav. "The Cincinnati Germans in the Civil War." Translated and edited with Supplements on Germans from Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana in the Civil War by Don Heinrich Tolzmann. (Milford, Ohio: Little Miami Publishing Co., 2010).

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tafel, Gustav 1830 births 1908 deaths Mayors of Cincinnati People of Ohio in the American Civil War Union Army officers German emigrants to the United States Burials at Spring Grove Cemetery

Biography

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