Confederates in the 14th Wisconsin

As stated earlier, it is known that a Charles Stahl enlisted in the 14th Wisconsin following Shiloh. According to Wells all the Confederates captured by the 14th Wisconsin were allowed to enlist in the regiment. Wells states that four took advantage of this offer. He mentions Charles Stahl and says that of the other three, one was soon discharged and two deserted. Charles Stahl stayed with the regiment his full three years, was wounded at Vicksburg, returned to duty and was mustered out after the war, a veteran of both armies. He went back to work in the same New Orleans tailor shop he’d left to enlist with Beauregard, ready to reminisce with customers about whichever side of the war they preferred to discuss.[1]

According to The Roster of Confederate Soldiers there were only three Charles Stahls in Confederate service. Of the three only one served in a regiment at Shiloh, the 20th Louisiana.[2] The movements of the 20th Louisiana on the second day of the battle are very difficult to ascertain but on the first day they made a charge at the Hornets’ Nest. Charles Stahl could have become detached from his unit at this time and “attached himself” to a Louisiana battery or any other unit. On May 29th in the Record of Events book kept by the 20th Louisiana Charles Stahl is listed as missing.[3] It is possible that Charles Stahl was a temporary member of the captured battery or maybe he knew the designation of the captured battery because he fought near it.* That the 14th Wisconsin enlisted captured Confederates seems far from normal. The two other Wisconsin regiments did not do this.

In all eighteen men from the surrounding area enlisted in the 14th Wisconsin in the months following the battle. Of these nine deserted within the month of enlistment, four were discharged within the month of enlistment but the other five stayed. One man was killed at Vicksburg and the rest survived until they were mustered out. Of those eighteen enlistments there were six that for sure did not fight at Shiloh. Figuring out what the other eleven did before enlistment in the 14th Wisconsin is another mystery. One that is pretty certain of having fought at Shiloh is Gerhard Schmitz, who served in the 20th Louisiana with Charles Stahl.[4] In the Records of Louisiana Confederate Soldiers and Louisiana Confederate Commands, Charles Stahl is listed as having deserted May 24th, 1862.[5] Gerhard Schmitz is listed as missing since May 29th, 1862 in the Louisiana roster. This fact casts some doubt as to if these two men were captured by the 14th Wisconsin at Shiloh. The Wisconsin roster though leaves room open for debate as Stahl and Schmitz did not join Company I of the 14th Wisconsin until June 15th. Schmitz would desert from the 14th Wisconsin on January 12, 1863.[6]

The other Confederates who switched to the Union side likely all fought in the 21st Louisiana, Company C. They are August Steinmetzger,[7] Jacob Loderhose,[8] and Edward Rohden.[9] These names appear in the 21st Louisiana and 14th Wisconsin’s rosters identically. There were no other August Steinmetzgers, Jacob Loderhoses, or Edward Rohdens in Confederate or Union service. It seems unlikely that if there were only two Steinmetzgers, Loderhoses, or Rohdens who served in the Civil War, that they would have the same first name. No incontrovertible fact has been found that says that the August Steinmetzger in the 21st Louisiana is the same man as the August Steinmetzger in the 14th Wisconsin or that the Jacob Loderhose in the 21st Louisiana is the same man as the Jacob Loderhose in the 14th Wisconsin or that the Edward Rohden in the 21st Louisiana is the same man as the Edward Rohden in the 14th Wisconsin; however the odds of there being two August Steinmetzgers and no other Steinmetzgers (and so on) must be astronomical.

For August Steinmetzger, Jacob Loderhose and Edward Rohden the listing in the Records of Louisiana Confederate Soldiers and Louisiana Confederate Commands, clears up nothing. For each man the notation by his name is simply present. The roster though does not state when the soldier was mustered out. It does state though the date of the soldier’s parole and since that info is missing for these three men it is plausible to assume that they never participated in the final surrender. They might have deserted days before the surrender or may have been captured at Shiloh, but whatever happened to them is not clear in the Louisiana roster.[10] August Steinmetzger, Jacob Loderhose and Edward Rohden each joined Company H of the 14th Wisconsin on June 18th. August Steinmetzger would be killed at Vicksburg on May 22nd, 1863. Jacob Loderhose and Edward Rohden would each serve three years.[11]

There was also a Michael J Walsh who served in the 21st Louisiana, Company A. In the case of Michael J Walsh though there was also a Michael J Walsh in the 9th Mississippi.[12] The captured Confederate possibilities are then a bit harder to trace. There are three names that are listed under only one regiement; David W Delk who served in the 1st Florida[13], Nathan Rose who served in the 15th Mississippi[14] and Gilbert Waldron who served in the 2nd Tennessee.[15]

Then there are three names that are listed with multiple units. They are John W Lee which is listed under the 16th Alabama, 26th Alabama, 10th Mississippi and 15th Mississippi[16]; Thomas Nash which is listed under the 2nd Texas and 21st Alabama[17]; and Elijah F Warren which is listed under the 13th Tennessee, 24th Tennessee, 1st Arkansas, 2nd Arkansas.[18] More research must be done to figure out is any of these men were captured by the 14th Wisconsin and subsequently joined that regiment or if the remaining men who are listed as joining the 14th Wisconsin at Pittsburg Landing were simply residents of the area.

The history of the 21st Louisiana is as interesting as it is difficult to figure out. The 21st Louisiana was also called the 5th Battalion of Louisiana Troops, Jackson’s Regiment, Kennedy’s Battalion and the First Battalion of Jackson’s Regiment. John BG Kennedy commanded the unit during the time period of Shiloh but the unit was at New Madrid, Tennessee. Following Shiloh the 21st Louisiana was brought to Corinth. At Tupelo on July 28th, 1862 the regiment was ordered disbanded. On January 16th, 1864 Special Orders No. 16 consolidated the 5th, 17th, 21st, 23rd, 26th, 27th, 28th and 31st Louisiana into one regiment which became known as the 22nd Louisiana. The 21st Louisiana might have only existed as the 21st Louisiana on paper. The official reports usually refer to the unit as Kennedy’s Battalion.[19] Although August Steinmetzger, Jacob Loderhose and Edward Rohden seem very likely candidates to have been captured by the 14th Wisconsin it appears that they were not at Shiloh at all. Clearly more research needs to be done to determine the history of the 21st Louisiana and the other regiments that were combined with it to figure out where August Steinmetzger, Jacob Loderhose and Edward Rohden were on April 7th.

[1] Wells, Wisconsin in the Civil War, p 20. I have never heard of this process happening after any other battle in the Civil War. There was the Confederates who became Indian fighters to escape the hellish life at northern prison camps. I believe though that what the 14th Wisconsin did was far from the normal as I have yet to hear of any other regiment doing this at Shiloh.
[2] Hewett, Roster of Confederate Soldiers. Volume 14, p 395.
[3] Supplement OR 2:24, 450.
* The 20th Louisiana was organized in New Orleans and left the city on March 11. It was composed of six companies of Irish and four companies of Germans. Charles Stahl served in Company D, also known as the Tunica Guards, of the 20th Louisiana. During the two days of battle the regiment lost 256 men of 380 engaged. Ref: Daniel, Shiloh: The Battle that Changed the Civil War, pp 60, 93 & 287. Booth, Andrew B, compiler. Records of Louisiana Confederate Soldiers and Louisiana Confederate Commands, Volume I. Commissioner Louisiana Military Records, 1920. http://www.researchonline.net/lacw/launits.htm.
[4] Hewett, Roster of Confederate Soldiers. Volume 13, p. 480.
[5] http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/la/military/civilwar/booth. Booth, Andrew B, compiler. Records of Louisiana Confederate Soldiers and Louisiana Confederate Commands. 3 Volumes. Commissioner Louisiana Military Records, 1920. Accessed May 29, 2002.
[6] Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865. Chandler P Chapman, Adjutant General. (Madison, WI: Democrat Printing Company, State Printers, 1886.) p 799.
[7] Hewett, Roster of Confederate Soldiers. Volume 14, p 439.
[8] Hewett, Roster of Confederate Soldiers. Volume 9, p 520.
[9] Hewett, Roster of Confederate Soldiers. Volume 13, p 317.
[10] http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/la/military/civilwar/booth. Booth, Andrew B, compiler. Records of Louisiana Confederate Soldiers and Louisiana Confederate Commands. 3 Volumes. Commissioner Louisiana Military Records, 1920. Accessed May 29, 2002.
[11] Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, pp 795-6.
[12] Hewett, Roster of Confederate Soldiers. Volume 15, p 559.
[13] Hewett, Roster of Confederate Soldiers. Volume 4, p 485.
[14] Hewett, Roster of Confederate Soldiers. Volume 13, p 317.
[15] Hewett, Roster of Confederate Soldiers. Volume 15, p 504.
[16] Hewett, Roster of Confederate Soldiers. Volume 9, p 397.
[17] Hewett, Roster of Confederate Soldiers. Volume 11, p 438.
[18] Hewett, Roster of Confederate Soldiers. Volume 16, p 7.
[19] Supplement OR 2:24, 465-73, 489-91.