J. Gerhardt

Federal (USA)

Lieutenant Colonel

Joseph Gerhardt

(1817 - 1881)

Home State: District Of Columbia

Education: University at Bonn

Command Billet: Commanding Regiment

Branch of Service: Infantry

Unit: 46th New York Infantry

see his Battle Report

Before Antietam

He was a participant in the failed Revolution of 1848-9 in Germany, and fled the country through Switzerland, arriving in Washington DC in 1851. He operated restaurants and hotels, and played violin on the side for extra income. He was also an employee of the US Department of the Interior for at least a short time.

At the start of the War he raised a militia company in Washington and was their Captain. He was then appointed Major in the 46th New York.

The rest of the War

He went West with his regiment in the IX Corps, and by the seige of Vicksburg (May 1863) he was their Colonel.

After the War

He had contracted malaria during the war, and had several repeat episodes, the last of which was the cause of his death in Washington at age 64.

Birth

5/25/1817; Bonn, GERMANY

Death

8/19/1881; Washington, DC