Adolphus Buschbeck

Adolphus Buschbeck commanded the 27th Pennsylvania in the Army of the Potomac and a brigade in that army and later in the Army of the Cumberland. Born in Koblenz, Germany on March 23, 1822, Buschbeck migrated to the United States in 1849 and settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He taught mathematics at a Philadelphia high school. Buschbeck volunteered for service in the American Civil War, becoming lieutenant colonel of the 27th Pennsylvania Regiment in September of 1861. Buschbeck became colonel of the 27th Pennsylvania by October 2, 1861, following the resignation of the previous colonel, Max Einstein. As colonel, Buschbeck took part in the Battle of Cross Keys under the command of John C. Fremont.

Buschbeck next served in second brigade, first division of First Corps of the Army of Virginia, which later became XI Corps. He became acting brigade commander at the Second Battle of Bull Run, when Julius Stahel became division commander. In the Army of the Potomac, Buschbeck served under Franz Sigel and Oliver Otis Howard. At the Battle of Chancellorsville he commanded first brigade second division XI Corps under Adolph von Steinwehr. Buschbeck's brigade was on the left of the corps when the Confederate flanking attack hit the corps under the command of General Howard. His brigade was redeployed into the path of the Confederate advance; and Buschbeck's stand against the Confederates, until flanked out of his position, earned him praise even from critics of the German troops present at Chancellorsville. Howard, in his report, even lauded Buschbeck's "praiseworthy firmness." [http://www.civilwarhome.com/oohowardchancellorsvilleor.htm]

After Chancellorsville, Buschbeck was on leave, missing the Battle of Gettysburg. (Charles Coster commanded the brigade in his absence.) He was transferred West, after returning to the army, under the command of Joseph Hooker. Buschbeck's brigade was present at the Battle of Wauhatchie and the Battle of Chattanooga, where it was engaged on the Union left under William Tecumseh Sherman in the attack on Tunnel Hill. When XI Corps was combined with XII Corps into the XX Corps under Hooker, Buschbeck was the highest ranking German officer retained in command. He led a brigade under John W. Geary (2nd brigade second division) in the Atlanta Campaign, in action at the Battle of Rocky Face Ridge, the Battle of Resaca and the Battle of Dallas before being mustered out of the service. Buschbeck's regiment left for Philadelphia on March 25, 1864. Nonetheless, he is listed as brigade commander April 16 to May 22, 1864. Buschbeck served with distinction but never received a promotion, even by Brevet, to the rank of brigadier general.

After leaving armed service, Buschbeck taught at the Episcopal Academy in Philadelphia. He married a Miss Hornor in 1871, and his wife and a daughter survived him. In ill health, he left for Europe where he died, in Florence, Italy, on May 28, 1883.

References

* Christian B. Keller, "Chancellorsville and the Germans: nativism, ethnicity, and Civil War memory" (New York: Fordham University Press, 2007).
* Stephen W. Sears, "Chancellorsville" (Boston : Houghton-Mifflin Co., 1996).
* Frederick H. Dyer, "Compendium of the War of the Rebellion" (Des Moines, Ia. Dyer Pub. Co., 1908).
* Obituary in "The Philadelphia Inquirer" May 30, 1883.
* Obituary in the "New York Times" May 30, 1883.(Note that these two obituaries disagree on certain details of Buschbeck's early life.)