Leopold von Gilsa (died March 1, 1870) was a career soldier who served as an officer in the armies of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

and later the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He is best known for his role in the misfortunes of the

XI Corps 11 Corps, 11th Corps, Eleventh Corps, or XI Corps may refer to: * 11th Army Corps (France) * XI Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XI Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...

in the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...

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 ...

, particularly at the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, where many of his men were unjustly accused of cowardice.Keller, ''Chancellorsville and the Germans: Nativism, Ethnicity, and Civil War Memory''.

Early life

Von Gilsa was born in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and served as an officer in the Prussian Army in the

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (), also known as the Schleswig-Holstein uprising () and the Three Years' War (), was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig–Holstein question: who should control the Du ...

of 1848–51. He moved to the

and settled in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he taught and played the

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

and sang in the music halls along the

Bowery The Bowery () is a street and neighbourhood, neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row (Manhattan), Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th ...

Civil War

When the Civil War erupted, von Gilsa organized the De Kalb Regiment, an all-German unit, which became the 41st New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment. It was named for a hero of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, Baron de Kalb. The regiment's development, which occurred in the Yorkville section of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, was reported in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' during the spring of 1861. Some of the expenses were paid by the Union Defense Committee of

. The regiment left for

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, by water from Elizabethport, New Jersey, on July 8, 1861, followed by a trip via railroad. The regiment served under von Gilsa in the campaign leading up to the

First Battle of Bull Run The First Battle of Bull Run, called the Battle of First Manassas
. by Confederate States ...

. It was in reserve with the rest of Theodore Runyon's Fourth Division,

. The regiment then participated in the campaigns of

John C. Frémont Major general (United States), Major-General John Charles Frémont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was a United States Army officer, explorer, and politician. He was a United States senator from California and was the first History of the Repub ...

western Virginia Western Virginia is a geographic region in Virginia comprising the Shenandoah Valley and Southwest Virginia. Generally, areas in Virginia located west of, or (in many cases) within, the piedmont region are considered part of western Virginia. T ...

. Von Gilsa was severely wounded leading the regiment in the

Battle of Cross Keys The Battle of Cross Keys was fought on June 8, 1862, in Rockingham County, Virginia, as part of Confederate Army Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War. Together, the batt ...

in June 1862."41st Infantry Regiment, Civil War, De Kalb Regiment; Second Yager Regiment"
/ref> Minus its leader, von Gilsa's regiment served in the brigade of Julius Stahel under Maj. Gen.

Franz Sigel Franz Sigel (November 18, 1824 – August 21, 1902) was a German American military officer, revolutionary and immigrant to the United States who was a teacher, newspaperman, politician, and served as a Union major general in the American Civil ...

in the

Second Battle of Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

. When Sigel's command became

in late 1862, the De Kalbs were in First Brigade of Stahel's First Division. Von Gilsa, after recuperating, became brigade commander in this period. Following the

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam ( ), also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern United States, took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virgi ...

, he assigned the De Kalb Regiment to take part in a

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

led by Sigel into Virginia.

Chancellorsville

In the

Battle of Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Confederate General Robert E. Lee's risky decision to divide h ...

, Von Gilsa's brigade was on the right flank of the army on May 2, 1863, when

Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general and military officer who served during the American Civil War. He played a prominent role in nearly all military engagements in the eastern the ...

made his march to outflank the Union Army. Von Gilsa warned the division commander, Charles Devens, that

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

troops had been detected in the woods near his line. Devens and

Oliver Otis Howard Oliver Otis Howard (November 8, 1830 – October 26, 1909) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the Civil War. As a brigade commander in the Army of the Potomac, Howard lost his right arm while leading his men again ...

, the corps commander, ignored his warnings. The Confederate attack that followed swept von Gilsa's brigade away and routed his terror-stricken soldiers. Von Gilsa and other Germans were blamed by Howard and others for the misfortunes of the XI Corps, a display of

xenophobia Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...

that was protested by

German Americans 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 ...

at the time. Von Gilsa was noted for the use of profanity in his native German. During the retreat from Chancellorsville, Von Gilsa and Howard crossed paths and Von Gilsa poured out a stream of

oath Traditionally, an oath (from Old English, Anglo-Saxon ', also a plight) is a utterance, statement of fact or a promise taken by a Sacred, sacrality as a sign of Truth, verity. A common legal substitute for those who object to making sacred oaths ...

s in German with such vehemence and in such profusion that Howard thought he had gone insane.

Gettysburg

In June 1863, Von Gilsa initially had bad relations with the new division commander, Francis C. Barlow, who put him under arrest for allowing more than one man at a time to leave the column to get water. (The Germans thought Barlow a petty tyrant.) Von Gilsa was back in command of his brigade at the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

. On the first day, Barlow advanced his division to a knoll in advance of his assigned position, today known as Barlow Knoll. Von Gilsa's command was on the right flank of the line, and it was ousted from its position by the Confederate division of

Jubal Early Jubal Anderson Early (November 3, 1816 – March 2, 1894) was an American lawyer, politician and military officer who served in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. Trained at the United States Military Academy, Early resigned his ...

, which outflanked Barlow's line. On the second day, the remainder of von Gilsa's brigade was positioned in a lane at the foot of

Cemetery Hill Cemetery Hill is a landform on the Gettysburg Battlefield that was the scene of fighting each day of the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863). The northernmost part of the Army of the Potomac defensive " fish-hook" line, the hill is gent ...

. The line, as established by acting division commander Adelbert Ames was too thin, and an attack by Early's division broke through. Troops of the XI Corps, assisted by the brigade of Samuel Carroll from II Corps, expelled the Confederate attackers. Carroll's brigade joined the XI Corps soldiers in holding the line against any potential Confederate attack on the third day of the battle.

Later campaigns

After Gettysburg, Alexander Schimmelfennig took command of the brigade. Von Gilsa returned to command of his regiment. The division passed to

George Henry Gordon George Henry Gordon (July 19, 1823 – August 30, 1886) was an American lawyer and a Union Army, Union general in the American Civil War. Early life Gordon was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts. He moved to Framingham, Massachusetts, at the ...

, and was transferred to the Department of the South. Von Gilsa commanded the First Brigade, Gordon's Division,

X Corps 10th Corps, Tenth Corps, or X Corps may refer to: France * 10th Army Corps (France) * X Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * X Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...

Folly Island Folly Island is a barrier island in the Atlantic Ocean near Charleston, South Carolina. It is one of the Sea Islands and is within the boundaries of Charleston County, South Carolina. During the American Civil War, the island served as a major ...

, one of the

Sea Islands The Sea Islands are a chain of over a hundred tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the Southeastern United States, between the mouths of the Santee and St. Johns rivers along South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. The la ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

from August 1863 to June 1864. He also commanded the garrison of Folly Island, including conducting reconnaissances and small raids in that vicinity. The veterans of the De Kalb Regiment returned to New York City in June 1864, with von Gilsa still in command. It had left with nearly 1,500 men and returned with 327. (Recent recruits were retained in service until December 9, 1865.) Von Gilsa remained on the ranks of active officers without a formal command until he mustered out in December 1865.

Death

Colonel von Gilsa died in New York City. He was buried on March 3, 1870, at

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope, Brooklyn, South Slope/Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, Win ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. Franz Sigel delivered a few brief remarks as a

eulogy A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person, especially one who recently died or retired, or as a term o ...

. Barlow and

Carl Schurz Carl Christian Schurz (; March 2, 1829 – May 14, 1906) was a German-American revolutionary and an American statesman, journalist, and reformer. He migrated to the United States after the German revolutions of 1848–1849 and became a prominent ...

praised von Gilsa's courage, and his soldiers liked him.''New York Times'', March 4, 1870.

Notes

References

* "De Kalb Regiment." ''New York Times'', May 26, 1861. * "Funeral of Colonel von Gilsa." ''New York Times'', March 4, 1870.
"41st Infantry Regiment, Civil War, De Kalb Regiment; Second Yager Regiment."
New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center, Unit History Project. * Keller, Christian B. ''Chancellorsville and the Germans: Nativism, Ethnicity, and Civil War Memory''. New York: Fordham University Press, 2007. . * Pfanz, Harry W. ''Gettysburg – The First Day''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001. . * Pfanz, Harry W. ''Gettysburg: Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1993. . * Tagg, Larry
''The Generals of Gettysburg''
Campbell, CA: Savas Publishing, 1998. . * U.S. War Department
''The War of the Rebellion''
''a Compilation of the

Official Records The ''Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies in the War of the Rebellion'', commonly known as the ''Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies'' or Official Records (OR or ORs), is the most extensive collection of Americ ...

of the Union and Confederate Armies''. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilsa, Leopold Von 1870 deaths Union army colonels People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Prussian emigrants to the United States Prussian Army personnel Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery 1824 births