Frederick Emil Resche (April 1, 1866 – September 3, 1946) was an American law enforcement official and military officer from

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

. A longtime member of the

Minnesota National Guard The Minnesota National Guard is a state-based military force of more than 13,000 soldiers and airmen, serving in 61 communities across the state. Operated in the U.S. state of Minnesota, it is reserve component of the National Guard. The Cons ...

, he was a veteran of the

American Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

Pancho Villa Expedition The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, U.S. Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the p ...

, and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Resche was most notable for his First World War command of the 68th Infantry Brigade, a unit of the 34th Division.

Early life

Frederick E. Resche was born in

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germany a ...

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Saxon ...

(now Germany) on April 1, 1866, the son of Frederick J. and Amalia Resche. He was educated in Saxony, trained as a woodworker, and was 17 when he immigrated to the United States in 1882. For the first few years after his arrival in the United States, he worked on cattle ranges in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. Resche settled in

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

in 1885 and became a

naturalized American citizen Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

. He worked as a cabinet maker, and in 1892 he received a patent for an improved plug-cutting tool. Resche was also active in the

organized labor A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

movement and served as secretary of Duluth's carpenters' union.

Civilian career

In the early 1890s, Resche joined the Duluth Police Department as a communications systems operator, and he subsequently became a uniformed officer. Resche advanced to the rank of captain, and was the department's recognized expert on the

Bertillon system The history of anthropometry includes its use as an early tool of anthropology, use for identification, use for the purposes of understanding human physical variation in paleoanthropology and in various attempts to correlate physical with racial ...

of cataloguing the identities of criminals and criminal suspects. In 1907, Resche resigned from the police department to accept appointment as probation officer for St. Louis County, Minnesota. While working as a probation officer, he continued to assist the police department in maintaining its Bertillon system files. He advanced to chief probation officer, and continued to serve until retiring in 1936.

Military career

Start of career

In 1888, Resche joined the

as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in Company K, 2nd Minnesota Infantry Regiment. He was a

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

when received his

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

's commission in 1892, and by 1893 he was a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

in Company A, 3rd Minnesota Infantry. In March 1894, several National Guard members in Duluth organized a new unit, which was accepted by the state as Company C, 3rd Minnesota Infantry, and Resche was elected commander with the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. His unit was mobilized for the

in the summer of 1898, accepted for federal service as the 14th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, and completed individual and unit training at Camp George H. Thomas,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. The war ended before Resche's company departed for duty in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, and they returned to Minnesota, where they were mustered out in September. Because his battalion commander was ill, Resche served several times as acting commander of the 14th Minnesota's 3rd Battalion. In October 1898, Resche commanded Company C when it was activated for

service during the

Battle of Sugar Point The Battle of Sugar Point, or the Battle of Leech Lake, was fought on October 5, 1898 between the 3rd U.S. Infantry and members of the Pillager Band of Chippewa Indians in a failed attempt to apprehend Pillager Ojibwe Bugonaygeshig ("Old Bug" or ...

Leech Lake Leech Lake is a lake located in north central Minnesota, United States. It is southeast of Bemidji, located mainly within the Leech Lake Indian Reservation, and completely within the Chippewa National Forest. It is used as a reservoir. The lake ...

Later career

In October 1899, Resche was promoted to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

and assigned to command 3rd Battalion, 3rd Minnesota Infantry. The National Guard emphasized small arms marksmanship in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and Resche took part in numerous individual and team contests. He was recognized as an expert with both rifle and pistol, and won prizes and medals at numerous competitions. Resche was promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in January 1907 and assigned as second in command of the 3rd Minnesota Infantry. In late 1910, he served with his unit during the National Guard's response to a large forest fire in

Lake of the Woods County Lake of the Woods County is a county in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,763, making it the second-least populous county in Minnesota. Its county seat is Baudette. The county co ...

, and in early 1911 he was appointed executive agent for the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

relief committee that was formed to manage rebuilding efforts. In January 1914, he was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

and assigned to command the 3rd Minnesota Infantry. In 1916, Resche led his regiment during service near Llano Grande, Texas as part of the

, and in July he was promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

as commander of the Minnesota National Guard's 1st Brigade. In September 1917, five months after the

American entry into World War I American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry ...

, Resche's brigade was federalized for service in the war and redesignated the 68th Brigade, which became a unit of the 34th Division. He led the brigade during organization and training at

Camp Cody, New Mexico Camp Cody, located on the northwest side of Deming, New Mexico, was a World War I Army camp from 1916 to 1919. History During World War I, Camp Cody, commanded by Augustus P. Blocksom, was an army training camp for the National Guard units fro ...

. Before Resche's command left for combat in France the following year, a controversy arose when his German birth led to accusations that he was not sufficiently pro–American. Resche had proactively attempted to prevent accusations of disloyalty by taking no actions that could be considered anti-American, including forgoing a visit to his aged, ailing father in Germany. An investigation uncovered no wrongdoing, but Resche was still relieved of command in April 1918 for supposed inefficiency and succeeded by John Alexander Johnston. He then retired from the military and returned to Duluth. The members of his brigade demonstrated their support for Resche by cheering him as he left Camp Cody.

Later life

After retiring from the military, Resche returned to his career as St. Louis County's chief probation officer. In 1925, he was approved for a federal military pension in recognition of his Spanish–American War and World War I service. He remained with the probation department until he retired in 1936. After his retirement, Resche and his wife moved to

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

to reside near their daughter. In June 1946, he returned to Duluth as the guest of honor for a testimonial dinner organized by members of the company he commanded during the Spanish–American War. Resche died in Glendale on September 3, 1946. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale. Resche had attained the 32nd degree of the

Scottish Rite The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction in the United States often omits the ''and'', while the English Constitution in the United Kingdom omits the ''Scottish''), commonly known as simply the Sco ...

, and he was buried with Masonic honors. In 1988, a memorial to Resche was installed at Resche Place in Area 11 of

Camp Ripley Camp Ripley is a military and civilian training facility operated by the Minnesota National Guard near the city of Little Falls in the central part of the state. The location of the camp was selected in 1929 by Ellard A. Walsh, Adjutant General ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. The road was subsequently renamed as Baker Place, and Resche's memorial was moved to Camp Ripley's Court of Honor, an outdoor plaza and monument located at the Minnesota Military Museum. The Court of Honor commemorates members of the Minnesota Army National Guard who have been recognized for acts of heroism, or who have attained significant professional accomplishments while rendering distinguished military service.

Family

In November 1889, Resche married Clara Simmen (1870–1962). They were the parents of a daughter, Elsbeth ("Elsie") (1890–1963), the wife of Joseph Warren Carpenter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Resche, Frederick E. 1866 births 1946 deaths Military personnel from Chemnitz People from Duluth, Minnesota People from Glendale, California German emigrants to the United States Naturalized citizens of the United States 19th-century American inventors American Freemasons American municipal police officers Probation and parole officers National Guard (United States) officers American military personnel of the Spanish–American War American military personnel of the Philippine–American War United States Army generals United States Army generals of World War I Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)