Hermann Ziegner
Born1864
Weimar, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
DiedSeptember 9, 1898(1898-09-09) (aged 34)
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Place of burial
Calvary Cemetery
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchUnited States Cavalry
Years of servicec. 1882–1898
RankFirst Sergeant
Unit7th U.S. Cavalry
71st New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Battles/warsIndian Wars
Spanish–American War
AwardsMedal of Honor
Other workEquitable Building night watchman

Herman or Hermann Ziegner (1864 – September 9, 1898) was a German-American soldier who served in the U.S. Army during the Indian Wars and the Spanish–American War. In 1891, he was one of twenty men to receive the Medal of Honor at the Battle of Wounded Knee.,[1][2] now called the Wounded Knee Massacre. He was also a non-commissioned officer of 71st New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, taking part in the Santiago campaign and the charge up San Juan Hill, and was one of many regimental members who died from malnourishment and malaria prior to and shortly after returning to the United States.[3]

Biography

Hermann Ziegner was born to Hugo and Lena Ziegner in Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.[4][5] He emigrated to the United States when he was 14 years old.

He first enlisted in the Army in 1889;[6] at the conclusion of his five-year enlistment, he re-enlisted for another term but was discharged as a sergeant before the end of his term of service.[7] His Regular Army service was with the 7th Cavalry Regiment and occurred during the Indian Wars and the Spanish–American War[8] Ziegner served with the 7th U.S. Cavalry for several years as a private in Troop E. At the Wounded Knee Massacre, he was cited for "conspicuous bravery"[1] against attacking Sioux, concealed in a ravine, at Wounded Knee Creek on December 29 and again while defending a hill near the Catholic mission at White Clay Creek on December 30, 1890. Ziegner was promoted to the rank of corporal and was one of twenty men to receive the Medal of Honor.[9] He officially received the award from Congress on June 23, 1891.[2]

After eight years on the American frontier, Ziegner was honorably discharged and settled in New York City. He worked as a night watchman at the safe deposit vaults in the Equitable Building. He married in 1894 and lived with his wife on 124th Street, between Seventh and Lenox avenues, in Manhattan.

Ziegner was a sergeant and later the first sergeant of Company E, 71st New York Infantry.[10] At the start of the Spanish–American War, Ziegner was one of the first men to join the 71st New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He served as a first sergeant of Company E during the Santiago campaign and "suffered all the privation and hardship endured by the members of the Seventy-first" during that time.[9] Ziegner was one of the officers to lead Company E up San Juan Hill, alongside personal friend Captain Malcolm J. Rafferty of Company F, and according to his commanding officer Lieutenant William R. Hill "there was no braver man in the company".[8]

Two weeks after the regiment landed at Montauk, he came to Long Island City on a furlough, suffering from pernicious malaria. His salary had been discontinued after leaving the regiment, and his wife was forced to give up their home. They had been staying at the home of a family friend, Mrs. E. Bracken, at 86 Seventh Street before he was taken to St. John's Hospital in Brooklyn. He was able to sit up unassisted during his first two days, and hoped to return to work, but his condition grew steadily worse over the next two weeks. Doctor Frank E. Brennan treated Ziegner during his time in Long Island City free of charge and providing for the medicine. He also assisted his wife in getting Ziegner admitted to a private hospital but found difficulty in arraigning a carriage. The hospital then had no ambulance, and the Red Cross were unavailable to assist. Local liverymen sometimes hired out their carriages, but none were willing to carry a malaria patient. By the time one was brought around to the house, Ziegner was too weak to ride. After nearly a week and a half, he was finally brought to St. John's Hospital in Brooklyn on the night of September 8, 1898. His wife accompanied her husband to the hospital and was allowed to remain at his bedside until he died the next evening.[11][3] His funeral was held at Mrs. Bracken's home on Sunday afternoon, and he was then buried in Calvary Cemetery. Though they had no children, his wife was expecting their first child at the time of his death.[9]

Ziegner had been generally described as "a fine specimen of manhood, over six feet in height and possessing a splendid physique", but his appearance as well as his health had declined after his return. In his final weeks, he expressed to his wife his belief of the government's poor treatment of the 71st and other returning veterans. He was also of the belief that his illness, as those of the regiment, were exacerbated by government-issued hardtack and bacon army rations and, had they been provided with better food, they would not have been in such a weakened condition by the time the regiment had returned to New York. His wife later issued a statement to The New York Times expressing her late husband's views, telling one reporter,

My husband was starved to death. Think of it, for eight years he was in the service of the United States Army, and fought at Santiago leading Company E up San Juan Hill side by side with Capt. Rafferty, his friend – and now in return for his bravery and courage this Government starves him to death. He returned two weeks ago, a skeleton of his former self. The Government of those four months paid him just $18. How do they expect a man, who for patriotism and love for his country fight for her in time of need, can support his family and live himself on $18 in four months?[8]

The Red Cross Society, upon hearing of her circumstances, organized for money and other services to be provided for Mrs. Ziegner.[8]

On July 29, 1993, during a congressional hearing on the Wounded Knee National Memorial, Ziegner's status as an MOH recipient was questioned by Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, who suggested that the soldiers who received the award at Wounded Knee should have their medals rescinded.[12]

Controversy

Mass Grave for the Dead Lakota After the Engagement at Wounded Knee

There have been several attempts by various parties to rescind the Medals of Honor awarded in connection with the Battle of Wounded Knee.[13][14][15] Proponents claim that the engagement was in-fact a massacre and not a battle, due to the high number of killed and wounded Lakota women and children and the very one-sided casualty counts. Estimates of the Lakota losses indicate 150–300 killed, of which up to 200 were women and children. Additionally, as many as 51 were wounded. In contrast, the 7th Cavalry suffered 25 killed and 39 wounded, many being the result of friendly fire.[16][17][18]

Calvin Spotted Elk, direct descendant of Chief Spotted Elk killed at Wounded Knee, launched a petition to rescind medals from the soldiers who participated in the battle.[19]

The Army has also been criticized more generally for the seemingly disproportionate number of Medals of Honor awarded in connection with the battle.[20] For comparison, 20 Medals were awarded at Wounded Knee, 21 at the Battle of Cedar Creek, and 20 at the Battle of Antietam.[20][21] Respectively, Cedar Creek and Antietam involved 52,712 and 113,000 troops, suffering 8,674 and 22,717 casualties.[22][23][24][25][26] Wounded Knee, however, involved 610 combatants and resulted in as many as 705 casualties (including non-combatants).[27][16]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Beyer, Walter F.; Keydel, Oscar Frederick (1906). Deeds of Valor: From Records in the Archives of the United States Government; how American Heroes Won the Medal of Honor; History of Our Recent Wars and Explorations, from Personal Reminiscences and Records of Officers and Enlisted Men who Were Rewarded by Congress for Most Conspicuous Acts of Bravery on the Battle-field, on the High Seas and in Arctic Explorations, Vol II. Detroit: Perrien-Keydel Company. pp. 324–325. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  2. 1 2 Sterner, C. Douglas (1999). "MOH Citation for Hermann Ziegner". MOH Recipients: Indian Campaigns. HomeofHeroes.com.
  3. 1 2 New York State Historian (1903). New York and the war with Spain. History of the Empire State regiments. Albany, New York: The Argus Company, Printers. p. 249. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  4. ↑ "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WM5-YW2 : 20 March 2015), Herman Ziegner, 09 Sep 1898; citing Death, New York City, Queens, New York, United States, New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,323,384.
  5. ↑ "Death of a Hero" (PDF). Daily Star. Brooklyn, New York. September 10, 1898. p. 1. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  6. ↑ "United States Registers of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJD5-GMTS : 24 May 2014), Hermann Ziegner, 21 May 1886; citing p. 348, volume 086, Baltimore, , Maryland, United States, NARA microfilm publication M233 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 45; FHL microfilm 1,319,378.
  7. ↑ "United States Registers of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJDR-WPWR : 24 May 2014), Herman Ziegner, 21 May 1891; citing p. 342, volume 088, Fort Riley, , Kansas, United States, NARA microfilm publication M233 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 46; FHL microfilm 1,319,379.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Sergt. Ziegner's Death". New York Times. 1898-09-10..
  9. 1 2 3 "Death of a Hero; First Sergeant Herman Ziegner of the Seventy-first Passes Away". Daily Star. 1898-09-10.
  10. ↑ "United States Index to Service Records, War with Spain, 1898", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK7V-M7FY : 18 June 2015), Herman Ziegner, 1898.
  11. ↑ "Death of Sergeant Ziegner". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 11, 1898. p. 27. Retrieved July 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  12. ↑ Gonzalez, Mario and Elizabeth Cook-Lynn. The Politics of Hallowed Ground: Wounded Knee and the Struggle for Indian Sovereignty. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1999. (pg. 392) ISBN 0-252-06669-3
  13. ↑ Dana Lone Hill (February 18, 2013). "The Wounded Knee medals of honor should be rescinded". the Guardian. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  14. ↑ "No Medals for Massacre: Close the Open Wound of Wounded Knee". The Huffington Post. February 12, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Lakota~WOUNDED KNEE: A Campaign to Rescind Medals: story, pictures and information". Footnote.com. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
  16. 1 2 "Plains Humanities: Wounded Knee Massacre". Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  17. ↑ "The 110th Anniversary of the Wounded Knee Massacre". perspicuity.net. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Wagner...Part Two". dickshovel.com. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  19. ↑ Joseph Huff-Hannon (February 12, 2013). "No Medals for massacre: Close the Open Wound of Wounded Knee". Huffington Post.
  20. 1 2 Green, Jerry (1994). "The Medals of Wounded Knee". Nebraska State Historical Society, also available in Nebraska History #75, pp. 200–208. Nebraska State Historical Society History.
  21. ↑ Owens, Ronald J. (2004) Medal of Honor: Historical facts and figures. Turner Publishing Company
  22. ↑ Whitehorne, p. 15. The NPS battle summary lists Union strength of 31,945. Cullen, p. 111, states 35,000 Union effectives, including 10,000 cavalry. Salmon, p. 368, and Kennedy, p. 319, state 32,000 Union.
  23. ↑ Whitehorne, p. 17. The NPS battle summary and Kennedy, p. 319, list Confederate strength of 21,000. Cullen, p. 112, states 18,000 Confederate effectives, including 4,000 cavalry.
  24. ↑ Wert, p. 246, Eicher, p. 752. Lewis, p. 288, reports Union totals as 5,764 (569 killed, 3,425 wounded, 1,770 missing), Confederates 3,060 (1,860 killed and wounded, 1,200 prisoners). Kennedy, p. 323, reports 5,672 Union, 2,910 Confederate. The NPS battle summary reports 5,665 Union, 2,910 Confederate. Salmon, p. 372, reports Union "almost 5,700", Confederate "almost 3,000."
  25. ↑ Eicher, p. 363. Sears, p. 173, cites 75,000 Union troops, with an effective strength of 71,500, with 300 guns; on p. 296, he states that the 12,401 Union casualties were 25% of those who went into action and that McClellan committed "barely 50,000 infantry and artillerymen to the contest"; p. 389, he cites Confederate effective strength of "just over 38,000," including A.P. Hill's division, which arrived in the afternoon. Priest, p. 343, cites 87,164 men present in the Army of the Potomac, with 53,632 engaged, and 30,646 engaged in the Army of Northern Virginia. Luvaas and Nelson, p. 302, cite 87,100 Union engaged, 51,800 Confederate. Harsh, Sounding the Shallows, pp. 201–202, analyzes the historiography of the figures, and shows that Ezra A. Carman (a battlefield historian who influenced some of these sources) used "engaged" figures; the 38,000 excludes Pender's and Field's brigades, roughly half the artillery, and forces used to secure objectives behind the line.
  26. ↑ Sears, pp. 294–96; Cannan, p. 201. Confederate casualties are estimates because reported figures include undifferentiated casualties at South Mountain and Shepherdstown; Sears remarks that "there is no doubt that a good many of the 1,771 men listed as missing were in fact dead, buried uncounted in unmarked graves where they fell." McPherson, p. 129, gives ranges for the Confederate losses: 1,546–2,700 dead, 7,752–9,024 wounded. He states that more than 2,000 of the wounded on both sides died from their wounds. Priest, p. 343, reports 12,882 Union casualties (2,157 killed, 9,716 wounded, 1,009 missing or captured) and 11,530 Confederate (1,754 killed, 8,649 wounded, 1,127 missing or captured). Luvaas and Nelson, p. 302, cite Union casualties of 12,469 (2,010 killed, 9,416 wounded, 1,043 missing or captured) and 10,292 Confederate (1,567 killed, 8,725 wounded for September 14–20, plus approximately 2,000 missing or captured).
  27. ↑ Brown, p. 178, Brown states that at the army camp, "the Indians were carefully counted." Utley, p. 204, gives 120 men, 230 women and children; there is no indication how many were warriors, old men, or incapacitated sick like Big Foot.

Further reading

  • Beyer, W. F. and O. F. Keybel. Acts of Bravery: Deeds of Extraordinary American Heroism. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Borders Press, 1993. ISBN 0-681-45504-7
  • Johansen, Bruce E. The Native Peoples of North America: A History, Volume 2. New York: Praeger Publishers, 2005. ISBN 0-275-98159-2
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