Hubert Anton Casimir Dilger
Born(1836-03-05)March 5, 1836
Engen, Konstanz, Grand Duchy of Baden
DiedMay 4, 1911(1911-05-04) (aged 75)
Front Royal, Virginia, U.S.
AllegianceUnited States
Union
Service/branchUnited States Army
Union Army
Illinois National Guard
Years of service1861 – 1865 (Army), 1869 – 1873 (National Guard)
RankCaptain
UnitBattery I, 1st Ohio Volunteer Light Artillery
Commands heldBattery I, 1st Ohio Light Artillery
Battles/wars
AwardsMedal of Honor

Hubert Anton Casimir Dilger (March 5, 1836 – May 4, 1911) was a Grand Duchy of Baden-born American who became a decorated artillerist in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was noted as one of the finest artillerists in the Army of the Potomac and received the Medal of Honor for his valiant work at the 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville.

Early life and career

Dilger was born in Engen in the Black Forest region of the Grand Duchy of Baden and educated in the Karlsruhe Military Academy. He served as a lieutenant in the Grand Duke's Horse Artillery at military posts in Gottesau, Karlsruhe, and Rastatt. He developed several innovative theories on artillery tactics and drill.

American Civil War

When news came of the outbreak of the American Civil War, Dilger received a leave of absence and sailed to the United States."[1]

Battery I, 1st Ohio Light Artillery Chattanooga, Tenn November 1863

After relocating to Cincinnati, Ohio, he became the captain of Battery I, 1st Ohio Light Artillery and fought at several battles of the Army of the Potomac, including under fellow German native Major General Carl Schurz at the Second Battle of Bull Run.

On May 2, 1863, Dilger fought in the rearguard of the retreating Union XI Corps during the disastrous Battle of Chancellorsville, for which he eventually was awarded the nation's highest decoration in 1893. He unlimbered his battery of six 12-pounder Napoleon smoothbore cannon as a last-ditch defense against a large portion of Stonewall Jackson's entire corps, which had pushed back XI Corps and was threatening to roll up the Union line.

Dilger also received high praise in the Official Records of the Battle of Gettysburg and for his work in the 1864 Atlanta Campaign during which his battery fired the rounds that killed Lt. General Leonidas Polk.[2] Late in the war, he was on garrison duty.

Postwar

From 1869 to 1873, he was Adjutant-General for the State of Illinois.

After the war, Dilger prospered in Ohio and eventually purchased a sprawling horse farm in the Shenandoah Valley near Front Royal, Virginia, where he raised his family. After his death, a portion of his farm was purchased by the US Army as part of the creation of the Front Royal Remount Quartermaster Depot.

Medal of Honor citation

The following citation was issued on August 17, 1893:

Fought his guns until the enemy were upon him, then with one gun hauled in the road by hand he formed the rear guard and kept the enemy at bay by the rapidity of his fire and was the last man in the retreat.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Webpage for Dilger Archived 2011-06-08 at the Wayback Machine "DILGER WAS BORN MARCH 5, 1836 IN EUGEN, A BLACK FOREST TOWN. NAMED HUBERT ANTON CASIMIR DILGER, TAKING THE TWO MIDDLE NAMES FROM THE BOYS PATERNAL AND MATERNAL GRANDPARENTS"
  2. ↑ The Civil War: A Narrative Vol. 3 Red River to Appomattox by Shelby Foote
  3. ↑ "Citation of Dilger, Hubert". homeofheroes.com. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
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