General August Willich

August Willich in the Civil War:
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August Willich considered himself a militant proletarian communist but expressed his reservations about the doctrine of relentless class struggle.
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August Willich had an unlikely background as a communist.His last real name was von Willich.His father was an officer in the Prussian army.He was born in Braunsberg, Prussia in 1810.Young August as part of the elite Junker class entered the prestigious military academy of Potsdam at the age of 12 and by 15 was an ensign in the Prussian army.By 21, he was captain in the artillery with a promising career in what many military historians consider the finest army in the 19th century.While in the Prussian army, however, Willich took the lead of a group of officers interested in reading and discussing forbidden books.His republican political ideas caught the eyes of his superior officers, and he faced court martial.He thus resigned his commission and took up the trade of a carpenter (to demonstrate his commitment to the proletariat).In the revolution of 1848/49, he led a scratch force composed of armed workers from the Baden provisional republican government called "Willich's Free Corps" which temporarily checked the advance of the elite Prussian army.They flew a "Red" flag of the workers revolution, the first time in history.Still defeat was inevitable and like Hecker and Schurz, he sought exile first in Switzerland and eventually to America.He settled in Cincinnati with its large German population (often referred to as "the City over the Rhine") and became editor of the Republikaner, a German-language newspaper.Undaunted by the middle-class respectability of the German community, he used his newspaper editorials to promote socialism, denounce Catholicism, and criticize all organized religions.In its general political stance, however, the Republikaner backed Republican candidates and policies in Ohio, first Fremont and then Lincoln.

With the firing on Fort Sumter, over a thousand German volunteers joined in 24 hours.August Willich may have said it best when he replied, "We will show them what patriotic German can do.".The regiment would be later designated the 9th Ohio or nicknamed "Die Nuner".Due to political considerations August Willich was not made the colonel of the regiment but rather a prominent lawyer in Cincinnati named Robert L. McCook was given the commission.
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Though August Willich may have been a "Communist with a Heart"; he had the mind of a Prussian officer and trained them in Prussian tactics of three rank advancing fire lines.His unique concern for his men earned the nickname "Papa".Governor Oliver P. Morton of Indiana had great admiration for Willich.
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For a week, northern newspapers wrote glowing accounts of the battle, and August Willich and the 32nd Indiana for a moment became national heroes.

During the winter of 61/62, Willich had brick ovens built and his men had freshly baked bread every day.This kept up the morale of the 32nd Indiana.It would be more than a year before other Union commanders would discover this morale building value of daily fresh bread.August Willich also kept the 32nd Ind busy by building special wagons for the regiment.The wagons carried planking, and when a river needed crossing, they removed the wheels and the wagon beds became boats over which the planking was laid to form a pontoon bridge.After the river was crossed, the planking was taken up and put back on the wagon beds ready to be used for the next crossing.Because of jurisdictional jealousy on part of a Michigan engineering unit, Willich was ordered to discontinue his pioneering work.

On April 5, 1862, the 32nd Indiana and the other regiments in Buell's army were twenty miles from Savannah, Tn. when the battle of Shiloh began.Rumor spread that the noise heard in the distance was thunder.But one soldier wrote, "Colonel Willich of the 32nd Indiana was seen to dig a small hole in the ground with his sword and lie down with his ear over it."Then Willich informed everybody that they were hearing sounds of battle not thunder.In WWII, German officers in the Eastern front would likewise put their "ears to the ground" to detect advancing Soviet armor columns.

After a force march, they reached Savannah by 11:00 PM and had to wait until morning to be ferried to Pittsburgh Landing.As they boarded the boat, John L Roe, August Willich ordered them to play the Arbiter (Workers) Marseillaise.
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I dispatched an orderly to the colonel of the unknown regiment, with my compliments, and asking his name, 'August Willich, of the Thirty-Second Indiana volunteers' was the reply it brought me."(3) August Willich and the 32nd Indiana charging the woods furnished the model for a in scene Ben Hur.
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Willich was lightly wounded and captured as his brigade was forced back before they checked the Confederate advance.He spent time in Libby prison before being paroled and returned to his command.

During the Tullahoma Campaign in late June 1863 , General Willich faced the formidable task of breaking through a pass known as "Liberty Gap" defended by a brigade of "Stonewall of the West" Patrick Cleburne.
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Rather than assault this fortified veteran force frontally, Willich deployed one regiment to go up the less defended slopes (using bugle calls to direct the advance) and then attacked the Confederates in the flank.The two regiments of Brig.General.St John R. Liddel's brigade getting the worst of it and had to withdraw.Praise was showered on Willich but he shrugged off the accolades and praised his men of the 32nd Indiana and the 89th Illinois.

After the battle of Liberty Gap, Willich marched his brigade to Belfonte, Tennessee, and camped there on August 20, 1862.There he learned that Colonel Henry von Treba had died at his home in Arcola, Illinois.He named the camping place "Camp von Treba" to honor the memory of the second colonel of the 32nd Indiana.

August Willich's brigade would be heavily engaged at Chickamauga.On September 19th, 1863, the German soldiers of the 32nd Indiana using their patent tactic of firing while advancing drove the Confederates back.Willich would have gone farther if he had other supporting troops.
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The enemy disappeared down the hill.5 Sergeant Samuel C. McKirahan of Company F, 15th Ohio recalled: "Of course we had jollification when General Willich came up.With hat in hand, as usual, and laughing he said, 'Look!As I vas coming up the hill I saw a son-of-a-gun stopped behind a stump and I jumped on him and kicked him, and see, I broke all my spurs.'"5 Moments later two other members of the 15th Ohio, Corporal Washington J. Vance, Co.K and Private Joseph C. McColley, Co.G rode up on two captured artillery horses and halted where Willich was surrounded by men of his brigade, "My poys, you kills me mit joy," he exclaimed.
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General Willich personally went to General Sherman and told him that by not allowing the 32nd Indiana to have their beer ration would seriously deteriorate their moral.
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At Resaca, General Willich was seriously wounded and spent the rest of the war performing administrative duties in the Cincinnati military district.
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One can truly say in August Willich's case that the real rebels did not wear gray after all!

Born in Koeningsburg, Prussia in 1810, August Willich was introduced to a military career at the tender age of twelve.He entered Potsdam Military Academy in 1828 and graduated as a 2nd Lieutenant of artillery after six years of rigorous training.His Republican sentiments denied his promotion for almost thirteen years, when he finally became a Captain.He gave in his resignation but was denied and sent to a remote outpost in Pomerania.Persistence with repeated resignations finally brought on a court martial and he was dismissed from service.Immediately, he joined a revolutionary army and was quickly given command of a corps.Defeat at the battle of Candarn forced him to flee along with many others, to Switzerland. he finally made his way to America and arrived in 1853 without a penny to his name but he worked hard to become an editor of a German language newspaper.Within five years he had achieved his goal.At the outbreak of the War Between the States he volunteered as a private in the 9th Ohio where his military talents were quickly recognised and his promotion came rapidly.Finally given full brigade command, he missed the battle of Shiloh but fought ably and well in most of the battles leading up to Stones River.At the age of 52 he was one of the oldest, but most experienced officers in the Union Army of the Cumberland.Just before the battle of Stones River, Willich found that his brigade formed the extreme right flank of the Union army and so turned the brigade at right angles to the main line in order to protect his flank.Unfortunately, by doing this, his brigade would not have a clear field of fire during the upcoming Confederate attack.Willich knew he was close to the Confederate lines and should have "expected the worst" but he still allowed his brigade to stack arms and go into overnight bivouac.

When the fury of the Confederate attack came at dawn, his soldiers were enjoying a leisurely breakfast with their arms still stacked.Willich himself had ridden back to his commander's HQ to report that "all was quiet" in his sector.Kirk's brigade which formed the right angle to Willich's, crumpled like so many toy soldiers under the Confederate onslaught and the survivors crashed through the undergrowth and swamped Willich's brigade who were unable to form a solid defence line.Only the 15th Ohio were able to fire a couple of ragged volley at the Texas brigades who were the first Confederates to break through the Union positions.Willich was startled to hear the roar of cannon and musketry fire, but mounted quickly to return to his brigade.He was just in time to see the 15th Ohio withdraw by the right flank before he was rushed and surrounded by the victorious Texans.Kirk's and Willich's two brigades were too busy to notice his capture as they scampered westwards to escape the Texan's charge.The two brigades, now badly scattered did however perform a service which decided the outcome of the battle.The Confederates were supposed to swing to the north and roll up the Union lines, and were then to be followed by a second wave.The elated Texans, however, chased after the Union brigades to the west thus giving time for the other Union brigades in line to form some semblance of a defence.Willich remained a prisoner until he was later exchanged.

August Willich in the Civil War: Heart of a Communist/Mind of a Prussian
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August Willich considered himself a militant proletarian communist but expressed his reservations about the doctrine of relentless class struggle.