Max Weber (General)

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Maximilian "Max" Emil Weber (born August 27, 1824 in Achern ; † June 15, 1901 in Brooklyn ) was a Baden - American officer and civil servant as well as a general of the Northern States during the Civil War .

Life

In the Grand Duchy of Baden

Weber was born on August 27, 1824 in Achern in the Grand Duchy of Baden. He attended the Karlsruhe Military Academy , graduated in 1843 and then became a lieutenant in the Grand Ducal Baden Army . In the course of the Baden Revolution in 1849, he joined the rebels and served in the Baden Revolutionary Army led by Franz Sigel . After the revolution was suppressed by troops of the German Confederation , Weber emigrated to the United States.

The Civil War

Weber settled in New York , where he ran the Hotel Konstanz . At the beginning of the Civil War in 1861 he set up a volunteer regiment, which was initially referred to as the Turner Rifles , but was then accepted into the service of New York State as the 20th New York Infantry Regiment in May 1861 . As a colonel, Weber became the first regimental commander. In August 1861, the regiment took part in an amphibious expedition that led to the capture of Fort Hatteras , North Carolina . On April 28, 1862 he was promoted to brigadier general and led a brigade in the Virginia Defense Area and VII Corps , which was stationed in southern Virginia. In September 1862 Weber took over a brigade in the II Corps of the Potomac Army and led it in the Battle of Antietam . Weber was able to stand out in the eyes of his superior William H. French , who highlighted and praised him in his official report on the battle. Weber was seriously wounded in the process, however, and his arm remained paralyzed as a result. He was only able to do limited service again from the end of 1863 and initially stayed in Washington, DC

In April 1864 he was given command of the West Virginia Reserve Division , stationed in Harpers Ferry , West Virginia. The commander of the West Virginia military area was Major General Franz Sigel , who, like Weber, had emigrated due to the Baden Revolution. Sigel was defeated on May 15, 1864 in the Battle of New Market and subsequently replaced as commander of the defense area by David Hunter . Sigel took over command of the reserve division, Weber was responsible for all troops of the division that were deployed between the Monocacy and Sleepy Creek . During General Jubal Early's offensive in July 1864, Weber was given command of the defense forces at Harpers Ferry. Weber was forced to evacuate the city, but was able to build a new line on Maryland Heights east of the city with the help of Sigel , thereby blocking the direct route to Washington.

Weber led the US troops in Maryland until October 1864. On 13 March 1865 he left the service and became the same day Brevet appointed -Generalmajor. This appointment was apparently not confirmed by the Senate .

After the war

Weber remained in the service of the United States even after his career in the US Army had ended: he initially became the American consul in Nantes . He then worked as a tax assessor in New York from 1870 to 1872, when President Ulysses S. Grant appointed him tax collector for New York. Weber held this position until he retired in 1883. He died in Brooklyn on June 15, 1901 and was buried in The Evergreens Cemetery .

literature

  • Weber, Max . In: James Grant Wilson, John Fiske (Eds.): Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography . tape 6 : Sunderland - Zurita . D. Appleton and Company, New York 1889, p. 405 (English, full text [ Wikisource ]).
  • John H. Eicher, David J. Eicher: Civil War High Commands . Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3 .
  • United States. War Dept .: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies , Govt. Print. Off., Washington 1880–1901, 128 volumes ( cornell.edu )
  • Ezra J. Warner: Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders . Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge 1964, ISBN 0-8071-0822-7 .

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ "Family Search, Germany Births and Baptisms, 1588-1898" familysearch.org
  2. ↑ a b c d Warner, Generals in Blue , pp. 546f.
  3. ^ A b Entry on Weber in Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biography
  4. ↑ a b c Eicher and Eicher: Civil War High Commands , p. 558
  5. ↑ Weber's brigade consisted of three infantry regiments, 1st Delaware, 5th Maryland and 4th New York, see the order of battle of the Potomac Army at Antietam
  6. ↑ Official Records, Series 1, Volume 19, Part 1, p. 324
  7. ↑ Official Records, Series 1, Volume 37, Part 1, p. 572
  8. ↑ Official Records, Series 1, Volume 37, Part 2, p. 547
  9. ^ Benjamin Franklin Coolidge: Jubal Early's Raid on Washington , paperback edition, University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa 2007, pp. 26 and 37
personal data
SURNAME Weber, Max
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Weber, Maximilian Emil (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-American officer and civil servant, General of the Northern States
DATE OF BIRTH August 27, 1824
PLACE OF BIRTH Achern
DATE OF DEATH June 15, 1901
Place of death Brooklyn