Editing Franz Sigel

{{Short description|German-born American Civil War general (1824–1902)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
| name          = Franz Sigel
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1824|11|18}}
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1902|8|21|1824|11|18}}
| birth_place   = [[Sinsheim]], [[Grand Duchy of Baden|Baden]], [[German Confederation]]
| death_place   = [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]], U.S.
| placeofburial = [[Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx|Woodlawn Cemetery]], [[The Bronx]], New York
| placeofburial_label = Place of burial
| image         = Franz Sigel.jpg
| signature     = Appleton's Sigel Franz signature.jpg
| caption       = Franz Sigel
| allegiance    = {{flagdeco|Baden|1806}} [[Grand Duchy of Baden]] <br>[[Baden Revolution]]aries<br />{{flag|United States of America|1865}}
| branch        = [[Baden Army]]<br>Baden Revolutionary Forces<br />[[United States Army]]
*[[Union Army]]
| serviceyears  = 1843–1847 (Baden)<br>1848 (Revolutionaries)<br>1861–1865 (USA)
| rank          = [[Lieutenant]] (Baden)<br>Colonel (Baden Revolutionaries)<br>[[File:Union Army major general rank insignia.svg|35px]] [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] (USA)
| commands      = [[XI Corps (Union Army)|XI Corps]]
| unit          = 
| battles       = {{Tree list}}
* [[Baden Revolution]]
* [[American Civil War]]
** [[Battle of Carthage (1861)|Battle of Carthage]]
** [[Battle of Wilson's Creek]]
** [[Battle of Pea Ridge]]
** [[Second Battle of Bull Run]]
** [[Battle of New Market]]
{{Tree list/end}}
| awards        = 
| laterwork     = 
}}
'''Franz Sigel''' (November 18, 1824 – August 21, 1902) was a [[German Americans|German American]] military officer, revolutionary and immigrant to the [[United States]] who was a teacher, newspaperman, politician, and served as a [[Union Army|Union]] [[Major general (United States)|major general]] in the [[American Civil War]]. His ability to recruit German-speaking immigrants to the Union armies received the approval of [[President of the United States|President]] [[Abraham Lincoln]], but he was strongly disliked by General-in-Chief [[Henry Halleck]].

==Early life==
Sigel was born in [[Sinsheim]], [[Grand Duchy of Baden|Baden]] (Germany), and attended the [[gymnasium (school)|gymnasium]] in [[Bruchsal]].{{sfn|Wittke|1952|p=237}} He graduated from [[Karlsruhe]] Military Academy in 1843, and was commissioned as a [[lieutenant]] in the army of the [[Grand Duchy of Baden]]. He met the revolutionaries [[Friedrich Hecker]] and [[Gustav von Struve]] and became associated with the revolutionary movement. He was wounded in a duel in 1847. The same year, he retired from the army to begin [[law school]] studies in [[University of Heidelberg|Heidelberg]].

After organizing a revolutionary free corps in [[Mannheim]] and later in the Seekreis county, he soon became a leader of the [[Baden Revolution|Baden revolutionary]] forces (with the rank of [[Colonel (United States)|colonel]]) in the [[German_revolutions_of_1848–1849|1848 revolution]], being one of the few revolutionaries with military command experience. In April 1848, he led the "Sigel-Zug", recruiting a militia of more than 4,000 volunteers to lead a siege against the city of [[Freiburg]]. His militia was defeated on April 23, 1848 by the numerically inferior but better led troops of the [[Grand Duchy of Baden]].

In 1849, he became Secretary of War and commander-in-chief of the revolutionary republican government of Baden. Wounded in a skirmish, Sigel had to resign his command but continued to support the revolutionary war effort as [[adjutant general]] to his successor [[Ludwik Mieroslawski]]. In July, after the defeat of the revolutionaries by Prussian troops and Mieroslawski's departure, Sigel led the retreat of the remaining troops in their flight to Switzerland.<ref name="NIE">{{harvnb|Gilman|Peck|Colby|1905}}</ref> Sigel later went on to England. Sigel immigrated to the United States in 1852, as did many other German ''[[Forty-Eighters]]''.

Sigel taught in the [[New York City]] public schools and served in the state militia. He married a daughter of [[Rudolf Dulon]] and taught in Dulon's school.{{sfn|Wilson|Fiske|1900}} In 1857, he became a professor at the German-American Institute in [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]]. He was elected director of the St. Louis public schools in 1860. He was influential in the Missouri immigrant community. He attracted Germans to the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] side and antislavery causes when he openly supported them in 1861.

==American Civil War==
Shortly after the start of the war, Sigel was commissioned [[Colonel (United States)|colonel]] of the 3rd Missouri Infantry, a commission dating from 4 May 1861. He took part in [[Camp Jackson affair|the capture of Camp Jackson]] in St. Louis by Brig. Gen [[Nathaniel Lyon]] on 10 May.

In the summer of 1861, President Lincoln actively sought the support of antislavery, pro-Unionist immigrants. Sigel, always popular with the German immigrants, was a good candidate to advance this plan. He was promoted to [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]] on 7 August, to rank from 17 May, one of a number of early politician-generals elevated by Lincoln.

In June, Sigel led a Federal column to [[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield]] in southwest Missouri. He then moved to [[Carthage, Missouri|Carthage]], to cut off the retreat of pro-[[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] [[Missouri State Guard]] troops previously [[Battle of Boonville|defeated by Lyon at Boonville]].

In the subsequent [[Engagement near Carthage|Battle of Carthage]] on 5 July, Sigel's outnumbered force was driven back by the State Guard. The action was strategically insignificant, but did encourage pro-Confederate recruitment.<ref name="NIE"/>

Sigel then joined his troops with the army under Lyon, which marched to Springfield in pursuit of the State Guard. In the [[Battle of Wilson's Creek]], on 10 August, he led a flanking column which attacked the rear of the rebel force, but was routed. After General Lyon was killed, Sigel assumed command of the army, and conducted the retreat to [[Rolla, Missouri|Rolla]].<ref name="NIE"/>

[[File:Franz Sigel 106 RSD jeh.JPG|thumb|left|Riverside Drive, New York City]]
In early 1862, Sigel was given command of two [[division (military)|divisions]] of the Army of the Southwest under [[Samuel R. Curtis]]. The army moved through Springfield into [[Arkansas]], and met Confederate troops under [[Major General (CSA)|Maj. Gen.]] [[Earl Van Dorn]] in the [[Battle of Pea Ridge]] on 8-9 March. Sigel's finest performance was in this battle. His troops fought well, and on 9 March he personally directed the Union artillery in the attack which routed the Confederates.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

Sigel was promoted to major general on 21 March 1862. He served as a division commander in the [[Shenandoah Valley]] and fought unsuccessfully against Maj. Gen. [[Stonewall Jackson|Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson]], who outwitted and defeated the larger Union force in a number of small engagements. He commanded the [[I Corps (Union Army)|I Corps]] in Maj. Gen. [[John Pope (general)|John Pope]]'s [[Army of Virginia]] at the [[Second Battle of Bull Run]], another Union defeat, where he was wounded in the hand.

Over the winter of 1862–63, Sigel commanded the [[XI Corps (Union Army)|XI Corps]], consisting primarily of German immigrant soldiers, in the [[Army of the Potomac]]. When [[Ambrose Burnside]] assumed command of the Army of the Potomac, he instituted 'grand divisions', consisting of two corps each; Sigel assumed command of the Reserve Grand Division, consisting of the XI and XII Corps. The Reserve Grand Division saw no action; it stayed in reserve during the [[Battle of Fredericksburg]]. After the battle, and the dissolution of the grand divisions, Sigel returned to command of the XI Corps. He had developed a reputation as an inept general, but his ability to recruit and motivate German immigrants kept him employed in a politically sensitive position. Many of these soldiers could speak little English beyond "I'm going to fight mit Sigel",{{sfn|Poole|2014}} which was their proud slogan and which became one of the favorite songs of the war.
[[File:General Sigels grand march (IA b10005043).pdf|thumb|General Sigels Grand March [[sheet music]] cover in 1861]]
They were quite disgruntled when Sigel left the XI Corps in February 1863, and was replaced by Major-General [[Oliver O. Howard]], who had no immigrant affinities. Fortunately for Sigel, the two black marks in the XI Corps' reputation—[[Battle of Chancellorsville|Chancellorsville]] and [[Battle of Gettysburg|Gettysburg]]—occurred after he was relieved.

The reason for Sigel's relief is unclear. Some accounts cite failing health<!-- What "accounts"? -->; others that he expressed his displeasure at the small size of his corps and asked to be relieved. Many historians also cite the lack of military prowess and skill {{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}. On multiple occasions, he made terrible military decisions{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}, resulting in deaths of his soldiers. General-in-chief [[Henry W. Halleck]] detested Sigel, and managed to keep him relegated to light duty in eastern [[Pennsylvania]] until March 1864. President Lincoln, for political reasons, directed [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] [[Edwin M. Stanton]] to place Sigel in command of the new Department of [[West Virginia]].

In his new command, Sigel opened the [[Valley Campaigns of 1864]], launching an invasion of the [[Shenandoah Valley]]. He was soundly defeated by Maj. Gen. [[John C. Breckinridge]] at the [[Battle of New Market]], on May 15, 1864, which was particularly embarrassing due to the prominent role played by young cadets from the [[Virginia Military Institute]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} After the battle, Sigel was replaced by Maj. Gen. [[David Hunter]]. In July, Sigel fought [[Lieutenant General (CSA)|Lt. Gen.]] [[Jubal A. Early]] at [[Harpers Ferry, West Virginia|Harpers Ferry]],{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} but soon afterward was replaced by [[Albion P. Howe]].

Sigel spent the rest of the war without an active command.

==Postbellum career==
[[File:Appleton's Sigel Franz.jpg|thumb|Portrait from [[Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography|Appleton's Cyclopedia]]]]
Sigel resigned his commission on May 4, 1865. He worked as editor of the ''[[Baltimore Wecker]]'' for a short time,<ref name="NIE"/> and then as a newspaper editor in [[New York City]]. He filled a variety of political positions there, both as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] and a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]. In [[New York state election, 1869|1869]], he ran on the Republican ticket for [[Secretary of State of New York]], losing to the incumbent Democrat [[Homer Augustus Nelson]]. In May 1871 he became collector of internal revenue, and then in October 1871 register of the city.{{sfn|Reynolds|1921}} In 1887, President [[Grover Cleveland]] appointed him pension agent for the city of New York. He also lectured, worked in advertising and published the ''New York Monthly'', a German-American periodical, for some years.<ref name="NIE"/>

Franz Sigel died in New York in 1902 and is buried in [[Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)|Woodlawn Cemetery]] in [[The Bronx]], [[New York City]]. His granddaughter, [[Elsie Sigel]], was the victim of a notorious murder.

==Honors==
Statues of him stand in [[Riverside Park (Manhattan)|Riverside Park]], corner 106th Street in [[Manhattan]] and in [[Forest Park (St. Louis)|Forest Park]] in [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]]. There is also a park named for him in [[the Bronx]], just south of the Courthouse near [[Yankee Stadium]].{{sfn|''New York City Department of Parks & Recreation''}} Seigel Street in [[Williamsburg, Brooklyn]] was named after him,{{sfn|Benardo|Weiss|2006|pp=28–29}} Sigel Street in [[Worcester, Massachusetts]] was also named after him, as well as the village of [[Sigel, Pennsylvania]], founded in 1865, in addition to [[Sigel, Illinois]], which was settled in 1863. [[Sigel Township, Minnesota]], settled in 1856 and organized in April 1862, was also named for Sigel.  There is a street named after him on the western campus of the [[National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency]] in St. Louis (which is located on the grounds of the former St. Louis Arsenal). In about 1873 Sigel himself visited Sigel Township and [[New Ulm, Minnesota|New Ulm]], [[Minnesota]].{{sfn|Upham|2001|p=75}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|American Civil War}}
*[[List of American Civil War generals (Union)]]
*[[German Americans in the Civil War]]
{{clear}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==References==
*{{Cite book |last1=Benardo |first1=Leonard  |last2=Weiss |first2=Jennifer |year=2006 |title=Brooklyn by Name: How the Neighborhoods, Streets, Parks, Bridges and More Got Their Names |publisher=New York University Press |isbn=0-8147-9946-9 |pages=28–29 }}
*{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Sigel, Franz |volume=25 |page=60 }}
*{{Cite NIE|wstitle=Sigel, Franz|year=1905}}
*{{cite web |title=Franz Sigel Park Highlights : NYC Parks |website=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation |url=http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/franz-sigel-park/history |ref={{sfnref | New York City Department of Parks & Recreation}}| access-date=10 April 2016}}
* {{cite web |last=Poole |first=John F. |title=I'm Going to Fight Mit Sigel |website=Duke Digital Collections |date=1 July 2014 |url=http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/songsheets_bsvg100370/ |access-date=10 April 2016}} copied from: {{cite book |last=Poole |first=John F. |title=I'm Going to Fight Mit Sigel |publisher=H. de Marsan (Publisher of Songs, ballads, toy books, etc.) |location=New York}}
*{{Cite Collier's|wstitle=Sigel, Franz }}
*{{cite book |last=Upham |first=Warren |year=2001 |title=Minnesota Place Names: A Geographical Encyclopedia |publisher=MHS Press|page=75 }}
*{{Cite Appletons' |wstitle=Sigel, Franz |volume=5 }}
*{{cite book |last=Wittke |first=Carl |year=1952 |title=Refugees of Revolution: The German Forty-Eighters in America |url=https://archive.org/details/refugeesofrevolu0000witt |url-access=registration |location=Philadelphia |publisher=University of Penn. Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/refugeesofrevolu0000witt/page/237 237] }}

==Further reading==
* Eicher, John H., and [[David J. Eicher]]. ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. {{ISBN|0-8047-3641-3}}.
* Engle, Stephen D. ''The Yankee Dutchman: The Life of Franz Sigel''. University of Arkansas Press, 1993. {{ISBN|978-1-55728-273-6}}.
* [[Ezra J. Warner (historian)|Warner, Ezra J.]] ''Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders''. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1964. {{ISBN|0-8071-0822-7}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://encyclopediavirginia.org/Sigel_Franz_1824-1902 Franz Sigel in ''Encyclopedia Virginia'']
*[https://archive.today/20070717204140/http://www.sigellife.com/history.html Sigel, Pennsylvania, website]
*{{Ws|''[[s:Franz Sigel|Franz Sigel]]''.  Eulogy by [[Carl Schurz]]}}
*{{findagrave|4871}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{Succession box| title= Commander of the [[XI Corps (Union Army)|XI Corps]]| before=none| after=[[Julius Stahel|Julius H. Stahel]]| years=September 12, 1862 – January 10, 1863}}
{{Succession box| title= Commander of the [[XI Corps (Union Army)|XI Corps]]| before=[[Carl Schurz]]| after=[[Adolph von Steinwehr]]| years=February 5, 1863 – February 22, 1863}}
{{S-end}}

{{Authority control}}

* [http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/nyhs/sigel/ Guide to the Franz Sigel Papers, 1806-1930]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sigel, Franz}}
[[Category:1824 births]]
[[Category:1902 deaths]]
[[Category:Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)]]
[[Category:German-American Forty-Eighters]]
[[Category:German revolutionaries]]
[[Category:American educators]]
[[Category:Military personnel of the Grand Duchy of Baden]]
[[Category:New York (state) Democrats]]
[[Category:New York (state) Republicans]]
[[Category:People from Sinsheim]]
[[Category:People from the Grand Duchy of Baden]]
[[Category:People of Missouri in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Union army generals]]