My great-grandfather was a German immigrant who came to America in 1852. He enlisted as a Pvt. on Sept. 20, 1861, for three years, at Davenport, Iowa, and served in the First Flying Battery of the Missouri Horse Artillery. His Company CO was Capt. Elberts and they were part of Gen. Fritz Siegel's group. Evidently, Gen Siegel was really inspiring to the German troops, and there was a saying that they said proudly "I fights mit Siegel". He probably didn't know much more English that that. My g-grandfather "injured himself while helping a group of men get an artillery piece out of a ditch" in Sept. 1861 after/during a battle. (This comment has been passed down in my family - he developed a hernia.) He was hospitalized for a bit in St.Louis, then went home to Davenport for a bit, and then rejoined his unit in Jan. to complete his enlistment. He was released from duty "near Rome, Georgia" on Aug. 25, 1964, according to his record from the Natl.Archives. He died in 1890 ! in Nebraska, and never applied for veteran's benefits. I have copies of his records. Cindy