Revolutionary
War
The
German
Fusiliers
Contributed to site / 10
August 1999 by
Rachel Romen
Romen3@aol.com
Revolutionary
War
The
German
Fusiliers
Contributed to site / 10
August 1999 by
Rachel Romen
Romen3@aol.com
|
1999 Charleston Dist / The German Fusiliers Document © 1999 Rachel Romen / Contributor Jerri Lynne Smith / Webmaster |
THE GERMAN FUSILIERS
The German Fusiliers, of
Charleston, South Carolina, was organized in the
year 1775. In the
early months of that year, while the patriots of Boston
were suffering from the
iron rule of the mother country, and appeals were
made to the sister colonies
for assistance, South Carolina's response was
given in the following resolutions,
which passed the Provincial Congress, in
session at Charleston.
"Resolved, that it be strongly recommended to the Parochial and District
Committees to use their
utmost to obtain liberal donations for the relief of
the suffering people in
the Town of Boston and Colony of Massachusetts Bay,
and that all such donations
as may be collected from time to time be
transmitted to the General
Committee in Charleston."
The following resolution
was adopted by the same Congress, and published on
January 17, 1775.
"Resolved, that it be recommended by this Congress to all the
inhabitants of this colony
that they be diligently attentive in learning the
use of arms, and that their
officers be requested to train and exercise them
at least once a fortnight."
A true copy from the Revised Journals.
Peter Timothy, Secretary
When the stirring news from
Lexington and Concord reached Charleston, it led
forthwith to the organization
of the Fusiliers. In May, 1774, Alexander
Gillon, Peter Boquet, Michael
Kalteissen, William Livingston and Gideon
Dupont "collected together
one hundred and thirty-seven Germans," who at once
organized under the name
of the German Fusiliers.
THE ORIGINAL ROLL OF THE COMPANY Henry Timrod David Kaufman John Horlbeck Peter Meurset Charles F. Bech Gottfried Roth Jacob Sass George Young Nicholas Laffitte Christian Martin Martin Clime Christian Belser Philip Will Christian Gruber John C. Schmitt John Groning Frederick Gravenstein William Snider Daniel Cobia Jacob Warley John Sichinger Christian Algir Charles Desel James Gross Daniel Rupple Abraham Markley Adam Sigfrid Herman Nieffer William Bochius Lorenz Simon Adam Petch John Schullerling Jacob Frick Martin Miller Frederick Sauer Jacob Stoll Paul Schlatter Daniel Meylander Joseph Beiler Daniel Strobel Peter Wealth John Aberly Philip Mintzing George Wershing Henry Beyer Heinrich Blankenhorn John Attinger Frederick Mattuce Robert Beard Peter Heissler John Luick Thomas Harris Casimer Patrick John E. Hoof John Kirchnern Henry Lindauer Adam Meylander John Delka, Sr. Florian Charles Mey Michael Seiler Frederick D. Cruger Casper Werching John E. Poyas Elias Hauser John Kimmel Henry Hartung Adam Munick George Herrol William Scheerer Peter Deuer Michael Cobia Conrad Sehm Issac Brubackerm John Phillips Adam F. Gitsinger Philip Naser Frederick Jacobs John Strobel George L. Geil George Keenly John Wealth Christopher Bettenfeld John Schmitt Jacob Mintzing William Evans John Seckly Nicholas Cobia Herman Growning Erhard Rothmeyer Andrew Muckenfuss Adam Hildebrand Bastain Spenzer John Faesch Jacob Martin George Neithamer Richard Russell Henry Liebehent Martin Remely Francis Cohaun Samuel Gruber Henry Geffchen George Hanis Henry Grim Charles Burkmeier Peter Boillat John Cooper Moses Welt John R. Switzer Philip Doertzenbacher Mathias Wolfe John Delka, Jr. George Bell George Welch Christopher Gennin Conrad Sclupp Lewis Timmons Peter Martin Francis Cobia Philip Girhan Andrew Kantzman Michael Schwartz George Gitsinger John Hugerly Johann Ernst Thomas Collis Philip Spenzer Casper Erhart George Clime Frederick Nann Frederick Scharlot Frederick Keloff John Gruber Frederick Switzer Anders Richoney
AT PORT ROYAL AND SAVANNAH
During the years of 1776
and 1777 the Fusiliers were constantly in active
service in and around Charleston.
In the latter part of 1777, Capt. Gillon,
who was the first commander
of the company, and Lieut. Kalteissen, who was
also one of its first officers,
resigned, the former to take charge, as
commander of the vessels
of war in the State, and the latter having been
appointed Wagon-master-General
of the Provincial Army in the State. William
Livingston was then elected
Captain, Gideon Dupont, First Lieutenant and
Jacob Sass, Third Lieutenant
of the Company.
In 1779, General Lincoln,
of the cental Army, having been placed in command
of the State troops, made
a call for the militia; in response to which the
Fusiliers, numbering sixty-four
privates, with a full completement of
officers, non-commissioned
officers and musicians, took the field. They bore
a prominent part in the
disastrous expedition to Port Royal; at the return of
which Captain Livingston
resigned his commission, and Major Charles Sheppard
was elected to fill the
vacancy.
Shortly after this, Count
D'Estaing, the French ally of the Americans,
appeared off the coast with
his fleet, and the allied forces determined at
once to lay siege to Savannah,
at that time in the hands of the British
troops. Orders were
accordingly again issued for the militia of South
Carolina and George to rendezvous
in the neighborhood, and the Fusiliers
promptly took the field
with seventy-five men, of which the following is the
rool at the siege of Savannah.
Charles Sheppard, Captain
Lieutenants
Daniel Strobel Jacob Sass Joseph Kimmel
Sergeants
Henry Timrod Philip Werner Christian Martin Christian Belser
Corporals
Christian Gruber Henry Lindaur Francis Cobia Charles Gruber
- David Gruber, Acting Secertary
- Two Drummers and one Fifer
- George Hahnbaum, Doctor
PRIVATES
- Adam Petsch George Gitsinger John Hoff
- Martin Miller John Gruber John Horlbeck
- Charles Burckmyer Michael Herman George Hamel
- Joseph Beiler Henry Harting Elias Hansen
- George Beil Louis Geile Peter Keister
- John Ernst Frederick Jacobs Frederick Rote
- Jacob Frick John Mathus Jacob Shatterling
- George Young Philip Mintzing John Leckley
- Frederick Maltuse Abraham Markley Adam Mining
- Adam Gitsinger George Neithammer Robert Beard
- Thomas Harris Daniel Rupel Herman Groning
- John Kuchner John Strobel, Sr. Casper Erhart
- Florian D. May John Smith Frederick Kaloff
- William Schneider John R. Switzer Frederick Nann
- Henry Gefken Paul Sletter Lawrence Simon
- Daniel Kaufman Henry Leibekentz John Slatler
- John Kelly William Bockran Charles Frisch
- Adam Meilander Michael Cobia Henry Grim
- Herman Nufer Daniel Cobia Philip Naser
- John Dalke John Philips Phil Dorzenbacher
The incidents of the
struggle before Savannah are well known. General
Lincoln in concert with
the French allies, laid siege to Savannah in the
early part of September.
A month afterwards, on the 9th of October, a
general advance was ordered,
and allied forces marched to the assault, under
a heavy fire. It was
a disastrous attack, and although the troops fought
gallantly, the commander
found it necessary to order a retreat. Before this,
however, the South Carolina
troops had carried the enemy's ramparts. Among
them were the Fusiliers,
whose Captain Sheppard, refused to obey the order to
retreat. At his command
the Fusiliers continued to advance, marking each
step of their way with blood,
until their brave leader was shot down, when a
retreat took place.
In this campaign, Lieutenant
Joseph Kimmel was killed, and a number of the
members of the company killed
and severely wounded. The Corps ultimately
reached home under the command
of Lieutenants Strobel and Sass.
A REVOLUTIONARY RELIC
Soon after these events,
1780, Charleston fell into the hands of the
Brtitish, and the "Continental"
Fusiliers, not being in good order with the
Royal Army, were compelled
to disband. In accordance with the terms of the
surrender, the company gave
up the one hundred superior muskets which had
been presented to them by
the Provincial Government. The arms were deposited
in the magazine at the Southeast
corner of Magazine and Mazych Streets, which
was subsequently destroyed
by an explosion of gunpowder, together with all
the muskets, except one,
which was saved in the following manner:
Mr. John Horlbeck, one of
the privates, an original member of the company,
dropped his gun beween the
wainscoting of his house and the wall, on the
North side of Horlbeck's
Alley, being in the Western tenement of buildings
destroyed in the fire of
1861, and carried another musket and surrendered
that to the British military
authorities. Mr. Horlbeck had carried this gun
in the siege of Savannah,
and did not relish giving it up. So "he hid it,"
as has been related, and
it has been preserved in the family ever since.
The German Fusiliers is still
in active existence as a volunteer military
corps, but what is most
gratifying, is that there should be on the roll of a
century ago so many names
which are familiar in Charleston today as borne by
worthy descendants of the
sturdy Revolutionary stock.
Copied from Charleston Year
Book, 1885
H.H. Cawley
Savannah, Ga.
This
page was last revised on 8/10/99
1999,
Jerri Lynne Smith, Charleston County Webmaster
Charleston
County, South Carolina, USA
ALL
RIGHTS RESERVED