Joseph Kargé (July 4, 1823 in Poznan,

Grand Duchy of Posen The Grand Duchy of Posen (german: Großherzogtum Posen; pl, Wielkie Księstwo Poznańskie) was part of the Kingdom of Prussia, created from territories annexed by Prussia after the Partitions of Poland, and formally established following the ...

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

– December 27, 1892 in New York City) was a military officer and educator. He was involved in the unsuccessful 1848 revolutions in Poland and was sentenced to death. He fled to France, then England, and arrived in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1851 as a political refugee. He taught classes in classical literature and foreign languages until the Civil War.

Civil War

Karge was commissioned the military as

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 the 1st New Jersey Volunteer Cavalry. He was wounded at the

Second Battle of Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

in 1862, did not heal fully, and was rendered inactive for most of the War. A later Congressional Record from 1894 noted he suffered a gunshot wound that effectively ended his career in the military. Kargé 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 ...

of the new 2nd New Jersey Volunteer Cavalry in November 1863 and took part in raids of Tennessee and Alabama. His victory over General

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was a prominent Confederate Army general during the American Civil War and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan from 1867 to 1869. Before the war, Forrest amassed substantial wealt ...

at Bolivar, Tennessee, resulted in a rare cavalry victory over Forrest, who developed a reputation as a superb cavalry leader. In December 1864 Col. Kargé led the 1st. Brigade of Brig. Gen.

Benjamin Grierson Benjamin Henry Grierson (July 8, 1826 – August 31, 1911) was a music teacher, then a career officer in the United States Army. He was a cavalry general in the volunteer Union Army during the Civil War and later led troops in the American O ...

's 2nd Cavalry Division. The 1st. Brigade included the 2nd New Jersey Cavalry – Lt. Col. P. Jones Yorke, 7th Indiana Cavalry – Capt. J. H. Elliott, 4th Missouri Cavalry – Capt. Hencke, and the 1st Mississippi Mounted Rifles. Kargé was

brevetted In many of the world's military establishments, a brevet ( or ) was a warrant giving a commissioned officer a higher rank title as a reward for gallantry or meritorious conduct but may not confer the authority, precedence, or pay of real rank. ...

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 ...

by Lincoln on March 13, 1865, "for gallant and meritorious services during the war" at the recommendation of Benjamin Grierson. Kargé briefly rejoined the regular army in 1867 and served in Arizona with the 8th U.S. Cavalry. His service was cut short when he resigned in 1871. In the latter part of his life, he taught literature at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

for the next twenty years of his life.

Bibliography

References

External links

* 1823 births 1892 deaths Literature educators Polish people of the American Civil War Princeton University faculty Military personnel from Poznań People of New Jersey in the American Civil War Burials at Princeton Cemetery Union Army colonels {{US-army-bio-stub