William August Kobbé (May 10, 1840, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

– November 1, 1931) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

officer.

Biography

His father of the same name was a German emigrant to the United States, and for many years

consul general A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

of the duchy of Nassau in New York City. His mother, Sarah Lord Sistare, was a native of the United States descended from a Spanish sea captain whose vessel was lost off New London in the early 1700s. Kobbé was educated in New York City and, from 1854 to 1857, in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He studied mining engineering in

Freiberg Freiberg () is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany, with around 41,000 inhabitants. The city lies in the foreland of the Ore Mountains, in the Saxon urbanization axis, which runs along the northern edge of the Elster and ...

and Clausthal until 1862, when he enlisted in the 178th New York volunteers and served until the end of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, rising to rank of captain. He was brevetted lieutenant colonel of volunteers and major U.S. Army for gallantry at

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

and at the capture of Fort Blakeley,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. He was appointed 2nd lieutenant in the 19th U.S. Infantry (regular army) in 1866, serving on the frontier in

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

and

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

during Indian hostilities. In 1872, he was transferred to the 3rd U.S. Artillery. He graduated from the artillery school in 1873, and was in the Philippine service (see

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

and

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...

), 1898–1901, as major of the 3d United States Artillery, colonel of the 35th United States Volunteers, brigadier-general of the United States volunteers and brigadier general of the United States Army. He was in command of joint army and naval expedition to open the

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a plant in the botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial and consumable use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest ...

ports to commerce and was made military governor of

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

and Jolo. He commanded the Department of Dakota at Saint Paul from 1902 until retired as major-general in 1904. He was a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and the Military Order of Foreign Wars.

Family

On June 26, 1867, he married Isabella Hoffman at Ft. Leavenworth,

. His son Ferdinand W. Kobbé (d. 1936) was commissioned in the Army in 1891, rose to the rank of colonel and served during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. His other sons, William, Eric and Herman, all served in the US Army as well. Gustav Kobbé, a New York music critic, was his brother.

Notes

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kobbe, William August 1840 births 1931 deaths United States Army generals Union army officers American military personnel of the Spanish–American War American military personnel of the Philippine–American War Military personnel from New York City People of New York (state) in the American Civil War