Joseph Reinhart’s A German Hurrah!: Civil War Letters of Friedrich Bertsch and Wilhelm Stangel, 9th Ohio Infantry is the first English translation of the letters of these two German immigrants during the Civil War. Lieutenant Friedrich Bertsch and Chaplain Wilhelm Stangel fought in a German regiment composed of volunteers, expressing their willingness to join the action and uphold the Union. Among the rare collections of letters from soldiers in a German regiment, Bertsch's and Stangel's letters from the battlefront were published in German American newspapers and offer significant perspectives on the North’s first campaign in western Virginia.
Joseph Reinhart has researched and written about the Civil War for the last 16 years. He is the author of A History of the 6th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry U.S.: The Boys Who Feared No Noise and Two Germans in the Civil War: The Diary of John Daeuble and the Letters of Gottfried Rentschler, Sixth Kentucky Volunteer Infantry.
This lecture will begin at 12 p.m. at The Filson Historical Society. There is no cost for this event, though reservations are suggested. You may reserve your seat by visiting www.filsonhistorical.org or by calling The Filson at (502) 635-5083.