Godfrey Weitzel
| Godfrey Weitzel | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
November 1, 1835 Winzeln, Pirmasens, Bavaria (now Winzeln, Germany) |
| Died | March 19, 1884 (aged 48) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Buried at | Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Allegiance |
United States of America Union |
| Service/branch |
United States Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1855–1884 |
| Rank |
 Major General
|
| Commands held |
XVIII Corps XXV Corps |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
 "Life and Career of Godfrey Weitzel", presentation by G. William Quatman at the Museum of the Confederacy, C-SPAN
|
Godfrey (Gottfried) Weitzel (November 1, 1835 – March 19, 1884) was a German-American major general in the Union army during the American Civil War. He was the acting Mayor of New Orleans during the Union occupation of the city and also captured and occupied the Confederate capitol, Richmond, Virginia. Weitzel also is known for his post-war accomplishments with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in designing and constructing internal improvements, particularly along the Ohio River and the Great Lakes region.
Gottfreid Weitzel was born in Winzeln, near Pirmasens in the Palatinate, once part of Lorraine but which had returned to German control in 1806, and was then part of the Kingdom of Bavaria. His father Ludwig, had served in the German military, and wanted to emigrate to America like his brother Wilhelm, in search of a better life. When his wife, the former Susanna Krummel, became pregnant with what turned out to be a second son, the family immigrated to the United States. They settled in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1837, where Ludwig changed his name to Lewis and his two-year-old son's to Godfrey, perhaps to avoid prejudice against German immigrants, or to Americanize the family. Lewis Weitzel operated a grocery store in the Tenth Ward, which included the "Over the Rhine" neighborhood with many Germanic immigrants, and also became involved in Democratic party politics. In 1853, Lewis Weitzel became a city commissioner (serving for three years) and also served on the local school board, whose chairman was lawyer and former U.S. Congressman Bellamy Storer.
Educated with his younger brother (Lewis Jr.) in the city schools (including the new "central" high school in the basement of the German Lutheran Church on Walnut below Ninth), Godfrey finished at the top of his class. Storer offered to pay for the boy's college tuition, but then with the help of publisher Heinrich Roedter contacted congressman David Tiernan Disney and managed to secure an appointment to the United States Military Academy, although the process started when Godfrey was just 14 (the minimum entrance age was 16) and the tall youth arrived in West Point, New York months after his 15th birthday.
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