Adolphus Buschbeck
Adolphus Buschbeck (March 23, 1822 – May 28, 1883) was born in Koblenz, Prussia. He moved to the United States in 1849, settled in Philadelphia, and taught mathematics at a high school. When the Civil War began, he joined the Union Army and rose from lieutenant colonel to colonel of the 27th Pennsylvania Infantry by October 1861.
As colonel, Buschbeck fought at the Battle of Cross Keys under Major General John C. Frémont. He later served with the I Corps, which became XI Corps, and acted as brigade commander at the Second Battle of Bull Run. In the Army of the Potomac, he served under Generals Franz Sigel and Oliver O. Howard. At the Battle of Chancellorsville he commanded the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division of the XI Corps. When the Confederate attack struck, his brigade moved to block them and his steadfast defense earned praise from both friends and critics of the German troops there; General Howard lauded his “praiseworthy firmness.”
Buschbeck went on leave after Chancellorsville and missed Gettysburg. He later served in the Western Theater under Major General Joseph Hooker, fighting at Wauhatchie and Missionary Ridge and taking part in the Tunnel Hill assault under Major General William Tecumseh Sherman. When XI Corps joined with XII Corps to form XX Corps, he was the highest-ranking German officer still in command.
He led a brigade in the Atlanta Campaign, seeing action at Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, and Dallas before leaving the service. He is listed as brigade commander from April 16 to May 22, 1864, though his regiment left Philadelphia on March 25, 1864.
Buschbeck never received a promotion to brigadier general, not even by brevet. After the war he taught at Philadelphia’s Episcopal Academy. He married Miss Horner in 1871, and they had a daughter. In ill health, he went to Europe and died in Florence, Italy, in 1883.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 16:47 (CET).