Yankee Dutchman
Yankee Dutchman

Author: Stephen D. Engle

Publisher: LSU Press

Published: 2015-12-03

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 0807164895

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Lauded as a hero in his native land for his sensational but ultimately unsuccessful exploits during the 1848 German Revolution, Franz Sigel—who immigrated to the United States in 1852—is among the most misunderstood figures of the American Civil War. He was appointed by Abraham Lincoln as a political general in the Union army, a move that successfully galvanized northern support and provided a huge influx of German recruits who were eager to “fight mit Sigel.” But Sigel proved an inept and ineffectual leader and, unfortunately, is most often remembered for his disappointing failure at the Battle of New Market and his subsequent loss of command. In his insightful biography, Stephen D. Engle provides the first complete portrait of this enigmatic leader and German standard-bearer, showing Sigel to be a disciplined, self-sacrificing idealist who sparked more pride among his fellow èmigrés, aroused more controversy among Americans, and perhaps enjoyed more admiration—despite his military shortcomings—than any other Civil War figure.

Trace Your German Roots Online
Trace Your German Roots Online

Author: James M. Beidler

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2016-04-29

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 144034518X

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Click your way to German ancestors! Explore your Germanic heritage from the comfort of your own computer! Trace Your German Roots Online highlights important German resources on popular genealogy websites including Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org, as well as lesser-known resources such as Archion.de. With helpful illustrated step-by-step instructions, you'll learn how to use each site to its fullest potential for German genealogy, including how to get around language barriers and navigate the various German states that have existed throughout the centuries. In addition, this book contains links to the best websites to consult when answering key German genealogy questions, from unpuzzling place names to locating living relatives in the old country. Trace Your German Roots Online features: • Tips to find and use German databases, records, and research tools on Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and other popular genealogy websites • Guidance for helpful German-focused research websites, including help translating foreign-language sites • Recommended websites for accomplishing key German research tasks • Worksheets to log research progress and at-a-glance guides to help you identify important terms and resources An ideal companion to author James M. Beidler's The Family Tree German Genealogy Guide, this book has the tools you need to take your German genealogy research to the next level. Whether your ancestors came from Bavaria, Baden, Berlin, or Bremen, this comprehensive guide will help you find your German ancestors on the Internet.

True Sons of the Republic
True Sons of the Republic

Author: Martin W. Öfele

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2008-02-28

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 0313027684

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Up to 500,000 Union soldiers, or one fourth of the Union army, had been born in Europe. These immigrants had left their home countries for a multitude of reasons, mostly economic and political. In the United States, they envisioned a country of freedom that would allow them to pursue their goals of acquiring wealth and participating in politics. Soon immersed in the great debate over the expansion of slavery, many immigrants found themselves forced to take sides and eventually rallied around the Union flag. Ethnic Americans joined the northern army out of the same motivations as their native-born comrades, with one notable difference. By defending the Union, immigrant volunteers hoped to tear down nativist obstruction against their assimilation into society and prove their worth as full citizens. Declaring their unconditional loyalty, several groups entered into veritable competitions to raise separate regiments that would defend not only the Union but ethnic and national pride. Through their high visibility within the army, those units became synonymous with the ethnic war effort. The conduct of noticeable organizations such as the Irish Brigade or the partly German Eleventh Army Corps shaped public notions of immigrant participation in the war for decades to come, notwithstanding the fact that the large majority of foreign-born soldiers served in mixed and predominantly native American regiments. These new Americans contributed substantially to Union victory.