August Kautz August Valentine Kautz ( January 5 , 1828 – September 4 , 1895 ) was a German - American soldier and Union Army cavalry officer during the American Civil War . He was the author of several army manuals on duties and customs eventually adopted by the U . S . military . Early life and career . Born in Ispringen , Baden , Germany , Kautz immigrated with his parents to Brown County , Ohio in 1832 . He later enlisted as a Private in the 1st Ohio Infantry during the Mexican - American War . Entering the United States Military Academy following the war , Kautz graduated in the class of 1852 . He primarily served at Fort Steilacoom in the Pacific Northwest , where he was wounded twice with the 4th U . S . Infantry during Rogue River Wars with Indians along the Snake River in 1855 , and also served in the Puget Sound War in 1856 . He was rewarded with a commission as a lieutenant in the regular army . On July 16 , 1857 , Kautz made what is sometimes credited as the first ascent of Mount Rainier . Kautz is reported as having climbed to the edge of Rainier ' s crater rim , but as he did not make the final walk to Rainier ' s Columbia Crest , his ascent has often been described as incomplete . During his time in the Pacific Northwest , Kautz became a supporter of Chief Leschi , who was executed in 1858 . Kautz believed the execution was illegal and that Leschi should have been considered a prisoner of war . Shortly before Leschi ' s execution , Kautz published two issues of a newspaper defending him . The newspaper was called the " Truth Teller " , and its masthead stated : " Devoted to the Dissemination of Truth and the Suppression of Humbug . " From 1859 to 1860 , he traveled in Europe . He returned to the Eastern United States in April 1861 , shortly after the outbreak of hostilities between the Union and Confederacy . Civil War . Kautz was a captain with the 6th U . S . Cavalry during the Peninsula Campaign from April to July 1862 . Transferred to the Western Theater , Kautz later assisted in operations as a colonel with the 2nd Ohio Cavalry against Confederate General John Hunt Morgan ' s highly successful raid behind Union lines in Indiana and Ohio during June – July 1863 and under the command of Maj . Gen . Ambrose Burnside at the Battle of Knoxville from September to December 1863 . Promoted to brigadier general of volunteers on April 16 , 1864 , Kautz led cavalry operations of the XXIII Corps under the command of Maj . Gen . Benjamin Butler during Ulysses S . Grant ' s campaigns against Richmond and Petersburg between April and June 1864 . His cavalry division was a part of the Army of the James and was forced to withdraw from its position at White ' s Tavern following an attack by Confederate Lt . Gen . James Longstreet . On December 12 , 1864 , President Abraham Lincoln nominated Kautz for appointment to the brevet grade of major general of volunteers , to rank from October 28 , 1864 , and the U . S . Senate confirmed the appointment on February 14 , 1865 . He was mustered out of the volunteers on January 15 , 1866 . On July 17 , 1866 , President Andrew Johnson nominated Kautz for appointment to the brevet grade of major general , U . S . Army , to rank from March 13 , 1865 , and the U . S . Senate confirmed the appointment on July 23 , 1866 . In early April 1865 , Kautz marched into Richmond in command of a division of colored troops which belonged to Godfrey Weitzel ' s XXV Corps . He was active during the Union pursuit of Robert E . Lee from April 2 to April 9 , 1865 , until Lee ' s surrender at Appomattox Court House . After the Civil war . After the war , Kautz served ( from May to June 1865 ) on the trial board investigating the conspirators involved in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln , before performing extensive service in the southwest frontier , including as the commander of the Department of Arizona and commanding officer of Fort McDowell . He was appointed commander of the Department of the Columbia in July 1891 with the rank of brigadier general . After leaving military service in 1892 , he lived in retirement until his death at Seattle , Washington . He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery .