August Willich August Willich ( November 19 , 1810 – January 22 , 1878 ) , born Johann August Ernst von Willich , was a military officer in the Prussian Army and a leading early proponent of Communism in Germany . In 1847 he discarded his title of nobility . He later immigrated to the United States and became a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War . Early life and career . Willich was born in Braunsberg , Province of East Prussia . His father , a captain in the hussar s during the Napoleonic Wars , died when Willich was three years old . With an elder brother , Willich found a home in the family of Friedrich Schleiermacher , a theologian , whose wife was a distant relative . He received a military education at Potsdam and Berlin . Initially an artillery officer in the Prussian military ( 1 . Westfälisches Feldartillerie - Regiment Nr . 7 ) , he resigned from the army in 1846 as a convinced republican . Willich was not the only republican emerging from that regiment , one of his fellow officers in Münster and Wesel was Fritz Anneke , who also was to become a revolutionary commander in Palatinate 1849 and later a commander in the Union Army . Willich tendered his resignation from the army in a letter written in such terms that , instead of its being accepted , he was arrested and tried by a court martial . By some means he was acquitted , and afterward was permitted to resign . With Schapper , he was the leader of the " left " fraction of the Communist League . He took an active part in the Revolutions of 1848 – 49 . In 1849 , he was leader of a Free Corps in the Baden - Palatinate uprising . Revolutionary thinker Friedrich Engels served as his aide - de - camp . Among his revolutionary friends were Franz Sigel , Friedrich Hecker , Louis Blenker , and Carl Schurz . After the suppression of the uprising , he emigrated to London via Switzerland . He had learned the trade of a carpenter while in England , and so earned a livelihood . In 1850 , when the League of Communists split , he ( together with Schapper ) was leader of the anti - Karl Marx grouping . Coming to the United States in 1853 , he first found employment at his trade in the Brooklyn Navy Yard . Here his attainments in mathematics and other scientific studies were soon discovered , and he found more congenial work in the coast survey . In 1858 , he was induced to go to Cincinnati as editor of the " German Republican " , a German - language free labor newspaper , in which work he continued until the opening of the Civil War in 1861 . Willich became known as one of the " Ohio Hegelians " ( followers of German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel ) , along with John Bernhard Stallo , Moncure Daniel Conway and Peter Kaufmann . Civil War . With the outbreak of the Civil War , in early 1861 Willich actively recruited German immigrants in the southwestern Ohio region . He joined the 9th Ohio Infantry ( " Die Neuner " ) as the regimental adjutant with the rank of first lieutenant , and was promoted to major in August of that year . He served in western Virginia , seeing action at the Battle of Rich Mountain , as well as at Carnifex Ferry . Willich then returned to the Ohio River valley over the winter and resumed his recruiting activities . Governor Oliver P . Morton commissioned Willich as Colonel of the 32nd Indiana , also called the First German ( an all - German regiment ) . At the request of Governor Oliver P . Morton , he assumed command of the Thirty - second Indiana . Willich drilled his regiment , in German , to a high degree . It made a favorable impression wherever it served . An innovative officer , he suggested construction of special wagons convertible to pontoon boats by removing of wheels . To speed up troop movement and assure combat condition of troops upon arrival at the battle - field , he recommended wagon transport of troops . His superiors rejected both ideas . Yet , Willich ' s concern for his men ' s well - being earned him the nickname " Papa " . When possible , he ordered bakery ovens constructed that troops would have fresh bread . The Thirty - second gained nationwide recognition for its stand against Confederate forces at Rowlett ' s Station , Ky . A detachment of 500 men under Lt . Col . Henry von Trebra fought off 1300 men of Terry ' s Texas Rangers and infantry under General Hindman . The 32nd formed the " hollow square " , and drove the attackers back , losing 10 and 22 wounded , but killing thirty - three of the enemy , including Col . Terry and wounding fifty others . The 32nd saw action at Shiloh on the second day , during which Col . Willich displayed great leadership . When his troops became unsteady under fire , he stood before them , his back to the enemy , and conducted the regiment through the manual of arms . He had the regimental band play ' La Marseillaise ' , which was the anthem for all republican movements in Europe . Recovering its stability , the 32nd launched a bayonet attack . Willich was promoted to brigade command . The 32nd remained in his brigade , under command of von Trebra and , later , Frank Erdelmeyer . Rewarded by a promotion to brigadier general of volunteers in July 1862 , Willich fought at the Battle of Perryville under Maj . Gen . Don Carlos Buell in Kentucky . He commanded the 1st Brigade , 2nd Division , XIV Corps in December at the Battle of Stones River . He was captured by the Confederates when his horse was shot out from under him . He was sent to Libby Prison for four months , but was paroled and exchanged in May 1863 . Returning to the Federal army later that year , he was assigned to command of the 1st Brigade , 2nd Division , XX Corps and served with distinction during the Tullahoma Campaign . He led a division at the Battle of Chickamauga and saw additional action during the Chattanooga Campaign . During the Siege of Chattanooga , the 32nd played a conspicuous part , as Willich ' s Brigade captured Orchard Knob . Willich ordered the assault up Missionary Ridge . The 32nd Indiana and the 6th Ohio were the first to reach the top . The 32nd participated in the Atlanta Campaign with General William Tecumseh Sherman . Before the fall of Atlanta , the 32nd was pulled back and sent via Nashville , Tn . to Indianapolis . En route , the 32nd was assigned to counter Confederate guerrilla forces in Kentucky . After three days fighting , the 32nd returned to Indianapolis . Willich who had been wounded at Resaca , Ga . , was promoted to brevet major general and put in command of Cincinnati . Due to the anti - German sentiment in the nation , and the army in particular , veterans of the 32nd did not re - enlist . Nor did most other all - German regiments . It rankled the German - American soldier that General Joseph Hooker had blamed German troops of the 11th Corps for his defeat at Chancellorsville . The New York Times labeled the 11th Corps " Dutch Cowards . " Actually , of the Corps ' s 12 , 000 men , 7 , 000 were American . Of the remaining 5 , 000 , only one - third were German , these having been the units offering the stiffest resistance to the Confederate attack made by " Stonewall " Jackson . The three - year veterans were mustered out on September 7 , 1864 . The remaining 200 replacements whose terms had not expired were organized into a battalion of four companies under Hans Blume . At war ' s end they were stationed with General Sheridan ' s occupation forces in central Texas . They returned to Indianapolis and were mustered out on December 4 , 1865 . In 1864 , Willich led his brigade through Tennessee and Georgia during the Atlanta Campaign . He suffered a severe wound during the Battle of Resaca that forced him to leave the field . For the rest of the war , he served in various administrative roles , commanding Union posts in Cincinnati , Covington , Kentucky , and Newport , Kentucky . He received a brevet promotion to major general of U . S . Volunteers on October 21 , 1865 , then resigned from the army to return to civilian life . Postbellum career . After the war , Willich returned to Cincinnati and went into government service . He held a series of responsible positions , including auditor of Hamilton County . His home at 1419 Main Street still stands in Cincinnati . In 1870 , he returned to Germany for a while , offering his services to the Prussian army during the Franco - Prussian War . His age , health and communist views caused him to be refused , however . He stayed in Germany long enough to receive a college degree in philosophy , graduating from the University of Berlin at the age of sixty . Returning to the United States , he died in St . Marys , Ohio , and was buried there in Elmgrove Cemetery . In his concluding note to the " Revelations Concerning the Communist Trial in Cologne " Marx writes : " In the Civil War in North America , Willich showed that he is more than a visionary " .