Osterhaus, Peter Joseph.—Regarded by some critics the foremost German commander in the Union army, called by the Confederates “the American Bayard.” He attained the rank of major general and corps commander. Born in Coblenz in1823. Served as a one-year volunteer in the Prussian army at Coblenz and rose to the rank of an officer of reserves. He participated in the German revolution and fled to America, settling at Belleville, Ill., and St.Louis. In1861, at the outbreak of the war, he enlisted as a private in the Third German Regiment of Missouri. He soon was appointed major of the regiment and later was made colonel of the Twelfth Missouri (German) Regiment, rising to brigadier general in January, 1863, and to major general after distinguished service at Chattanooga in the same year. On September23, 1864, he was given command of the Fifteenth Army Corps, which he commanded in Sherman’s march to the sea.

He retired January16, 1866, after continuous service for five years, rising from the pike to the highest command, never deserting the Union flag for a day, fighting thirty-four battles without losing one where he was in independent command. He lived to see the first year or two of the World War, residing at the age of ninety with a married daughter at Duisberg in the Rhinelands. His services to the Union were forgotten and his pension was cut off. Rear Admiral Hugo Osterhaus, retired in1913, is his son. He was born in Belleville, June15, 1851, and resides in Washington.