Ziegler, David, Revolutionary Soldier and Indian Fighter.—American soldier and first mayor of Cincinnati; born at Heidelberg, August18, 1748; served under General Weismann in the Russian army under CatharineII and took part in the Turkish-Russian campaign which ended with the capture of the Krim in1774. Came to America in the same year and settled in Lancaster,Pa.

Joined the battalion of General William Thompson which appeared before Boston, August2, 1775, where it was placed under command of General Washington. Ziegler was adjutant and the soul of the battalion, more than half of which was composed of German Americans, and which was the second regiment, after that of Massachusetts, to be enlisted under Washington’s standard.

Ziegler served throughout the War of Independence as an officer and was repeatedly mentioned for distinguished service. On account of his ability was appointed by General St.Clair, Commissioner-General for the Department of Pennsylvania. Rendered great service in drilling troops and introducing discipline. Major Denny, in his diary, refers to him in these words: “As a disciplinarian, he has no superior in the wholearmy.”

After the Revolution he resided at Carlisle, Pa., until the outbreak of the Indian War in the West, when he served as captain in the then existing only regiment of regulars under Col.Harmar. His own company was composed of a majority of Pennsylvania Germans. Manned Fort Harmar (Marietta,O.); built Fort Finney at the mouth of the Big Miami, and subsequently took part in the expedition of General George Roger Clark against the Kickapoos on the Wabash, and in1790, in the disastrous expedition of Gen. Harmar against the Indians on the upper Miami.

In the battle of the Maumee he distinguished himself for personal bravery, and St.Clair dispatched Ziegler with two companies to succor the distressed settlers in and around Marietta following the defeat of Harmar. He soon obtained the upper hand of the hordes of Indians, and in restoring order gained such decisive advantages that he was hailed as the most popular soldier in the Northwest. In the fall of1791, Ziegler took part in the bloody and disastrous campaign under St.Clair, in which he commanded a battalion of Federal troops. Being prevented from taking part in the actual battle by reason of special service elsewhere, was assigned to cover the headlong retreat of the demoralized troops, and by ceaseless vigilance and strict discipline succeeded in the face of furious attacks by the Indians, drunk with victory, in leading the scattered American forces back to Fort Washington (Cincinnati). This feat earned for him the unqualified praise of all concerned, and materially increased his popularity.

His dash and efficiency in the campaign of the previous year had caused his advancement to the rank of major in the regular army, and new honors awaited him. When General St.Clair, as commander-in-chief, was summoned to Philadelphia to defend his conduct before Congress, he invested Ziegler with the “ad interim” authority of commander-in-chief of the whole army, passing over the heads of officers of higher rank, Wilkinson, Butler and Armstrong. Thus a German, for a period of six weeks, acted as commander-in-chief of the American army. This distinction resulted in a cabal of native officers to get rid of a detested “foreigner,” and Col.Jacob Wilkinson (afterward general and highest commanding officer), and Col.Armstrong preferred charges of insubordination and drunkenness against the veteran.

Ziegler in disgust thereupon resigned his command and retired from the army. But the people insisted on testifying their admiration and loyalty to their hero, and when Cincinnati in1802 became an incorporated town he was elected its first mayor by a large majority and subsequently re-elected “in recognition,” according to Judge Burnett in “Notes on the Settlement of the Northwest Territory,” “of his services in protecting the settlements in1791 and1792 as well as in reprisal for the unjust treatment accorded him by the government.” Ziegler died in Cincinnati, September24, 1811, universally mourned by his fellow citizens.