Henry Baetz (July 27, 1830January 2, 1910) was a

German American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

real estate and insurance agent. He was the 6th

State Treasurer of Wisconsin The State Treasurer of Wisconsin is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Thirty-six individuals have held the office of State Treasurer since statehood. The incumbent is Sarah Godlewski ...

, served in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

as a

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

officer, and was wounded at Gettysburg.

Biography

Baetz was born in Stockhausen, in the

Grand Duchy of Hesse The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (german: link=no, Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein) was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Grand Duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 ...

(in modern day

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

). He moved to

Two Rivers, Wisconsin Two Rivers is a city in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 11,712 at the 2010 census. It is the birthplace of the ice cream sundae (though other cities, such as Ithaca, New York, make the same claim). The city's advert ...

, in 1853. Later, he moved to Kewaunee, Wisconsin, before settling in

Manitowoc, Wisconsin Manitowoc () is a city in and the county seat of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. The city is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. According to the 2020 census, Manitowoc had a population of 34,626, with over ...

Civil War

In 1862, Baetz volunteered for service in the Union Army. He was commissioned

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 ...

on September 9, 1862, of Company F in the German American

26th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment The 26th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment had a total enrollment of 1,089 men during its service, of which 191, (17.5%) were killed in action o ...

as it organized at Camp Sigel in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

. The regiment mustered into service on September 17 and left the state on October 6. The 26th was ordered to the Eastern Theater and attached to

XI Corps 11 Corps, 11th Corps, Eleventh Corps, or XI Corps may refer to: * 11th Army Corps (France) * XI Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XI Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * XI ...

in the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...

. Captain Baetz 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 ...

on March 15, 1863, just before the

Battle of Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Chancellorsville is known as Lee's "perfect battle" because h ...

. The regiment was engaged in serious fighting at Chancellorsville, when they were posted on a ridge alongside the 119th New York Infantry Regiment on the right edge of the Union line. The 26th Wisconsin took 177 casualties during the fighting at Chancellorsville, including their colonel, William H. Jacobs, who was wounded and had to leave the front. After Chancellorsville, Lt. Colonel Hans Boebal took command of the regiment, and Major Baetz functioned as his second-in-command. At the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

, the XI Corps was ordered, during the first day of fighting, to proceed north of the city and establish a defensive position on Oak Hill. Confederates under

Robert E. Rodes Robert Emmett (or Emmet) Rodes (March 29, 1829 – September 19, 1864) was a Confederate general in the American Civil War, and the first of Robert E. Lee's divisional commanders not trained at West Point. His division led Stonewall Jackson's ...

, however, arrived at the hill first, and XI Corps was forced to establish defensive positions in the field below the hill. They quickly came under intense fire from Lt. General

Richard S. Ewell Richard Stoddert Ewell (February 8, 1817 – January 25, 1872) was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate general during the American Civil War. He achieved fame as a senior commander under Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee ...

Corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

advancing from the north. XI Corps was forced to fall back, and both Major Baetz and Lt. Colonel Boebal were wounded in the fighting and were unable to continue. Major Baetz resigned from the Army on October 8, 1863, and returned to Wisconsin.

Political career

He was town clerk for Manitowoc in 1857, and was elected Register of Deeds for

Manitowoc County Manitowoc County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 81,359. Its county seat is Manitowoc. The county was created in 1836 prior to Wisconsin's statehood and organized in 1848. Manitowoc County ...

in 1858 and 1860. He was elected State Treasurer of Manitowoc County in 1866 and 1868. In 1868, Baetz was a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

that nominated

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

. He was elected State Treasurer of Wisconsin in 1869 alongside fellow Gettysburg veteran, Governor

Lucius Fairchild Lucius Fairchild (December 27, 1831May 23, 1896) was an Americans, American politician, soldier, and diplomat. He served as the List of Governors of Wisconsin, tenth Governor of Wisconsin and represented the United States as List of ambassadors o ...

, and was re-elected in 1871. He did not seek re-election in 1873. He moved to

in 1875 and was the first chief librarian for the

Milwaukee Public Library Milwaukee Public Library (MPL) is the public library system in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, consisting of a central library and 13 branches, all part of the Milwaukee County Federated Library System. MPL is the largest public library sys ...

from 1878 to 1880. He returned to state office in 1880 and served as Secretary of the State Board of Immigration from 1880 to 1883. Baetz died on January 2, 1910.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Treasurer (1869, 1871)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 2, 1869 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 7, 1871

Wisconsin Treasurer (1875)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 2, 1875

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baetz, Henry German emigrants to the United States People from Two Rivers, Wisconsin People from Kewaunee, Wisconsin Politicians from Milwaukee State treasurers of Wisconsin Wisconsin Republicans Union Army officers People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War Military personnel from Wisconsin 1830 births 1910 deaths 19th-century American politicians