Rudolph Septimus Siegling (3 December 1839 – 13 March 1894) was a Civil War veteran, legislator and prominent lawyer in Charleston, South Carolina.

Life and career

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 ...

General Rudolph Siegling was born in Port Royal, Beaufort,

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, the youngest son of Prussian immigrant Johann Zacharias Siegling and his wife Mary Schnierle. His father was an instrument maker and music publisher who founded the Siegling Music House of Charleston in 1819. Siegling married Effie Oswald Campbell in 1884. His oldest sister was composer Marie Siegling. At the beginning of 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 ...

, a company of German Volunteers was raised for the Confederacy and Siegling became its second lieutenant. The command was attached to the Hampton Legion and was known as Company H, German Volunteers. The Legion was badly in need of artillery, and the commander authorized the conversion of some of its companies into artillery. The Volunteers were selected and thereafter became known as the German Artillery of the Hampton Legion. Siegling was seriously 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 ...

by an exploding grenade. His death was reported to his family and a funeral service was conducted in Charleston. However, when his father went to retrieve the body, he found his son was alive. After the war, Siegling became a Brigadier General of the South Carolina Militia, commanding the 4th Brigade. He had a successful career as a lawyer and served terms in South Carolina's legislature. Siegling was also a college trustee, bank president, builder, railroad president and president of Charleston's newspaper, '' The News & Courier''.Obituary, ''The News & Courier'': March 15, 1894, page 8. Rudolph Siegling died in Charleston and is buried there at Magnolia Cemetery. Papers related to the family are housed at the University of South Carolina.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siegling, Rudolph Septimus 1839 births 1894 deaths Politicians from Charleston, South Carolina Confederate States Army officers American newspaper editors 19th-century American journalists American male journalists 19th-century American male writers Writers from Charleston, South Carolina