Born in Germany in 1828, future Union general August Valentine Kautz came to America as an infant. He was privileged to obtain schooling and, after service in the war with Mexico, attended West Point.
Relying heavily on detailed journals kept by Kautz for 43 years, this biography covers his early experiences and his time in the turbulent Pacific Northwest, where he was involved in Indian affairs and the Rogue River War. As with so many American military men of the time, however, the defining event in his career was the Civil War.
Originally assigned to the Western Theater, where he played a role in the capture of Morgan’s Raiders, Kautz’s service included participation in the First Battle of Deep Bottom, the Wilson-Kautz Raid, and the Petersburg assault aimed at capturing Richmond. Kautz has often been misrepresented in historical mentions and this biography seeks to set the record straight. Period photographs and a number of maps are included.

The late Lawrence G. Kautz was a retired physician in West Jefferson, North Carolina.

Lawrence G. Kautz
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 303
Bibliographic Info: 47 photos, maps, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: [2008] 2016
pISBN: 978-1-4766-6279-4
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8269-6
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents

Preface      1

PART I: THE MAKING OF A SOLDIER

1. An Immigrant Family      3

2. Boyhood in Ohio      6

3. Mexico      9

4. The Academy      16

PART II: THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

5. The Fourth U.S. Infantry      19

6. Fort Orford      23

7. Fort Steilacoom      29

8. Semiahmoo Bay      45

9. Tacobet      48

10. Tenas Puss      51

11. To Europe and Back      54

12. By Steamer to the Mullan Road      60

13. Fort Chehalis      65

PART III: THE CIVIL WAR

14. The Sixth U.S. Cavalry      69

15. The Peninsula      74

16. The Second Ohio Cavalry; Fort Scott, Camp Chase      85

17. Operating in Kentucky      91

18. Chasing Morgan      95

19. East Tennessee      106

20. The Cavalry Bureau      110

21. The Cavalry Division, Army of the James      114

22. Raiding Railroads in Virginia      118

23. The First Petersburg Assault      126

24. The Second Petersburg Assault      131

25. The Wilson-Kautz Raid      135

26. First Deep Bottom and the Beefsteak Raid      147

27. Chaffin’s Farm and Johnson’s Farm      151

28. Through the Long Winter      157

29. The Company Clerk and Customs of Service      162

30. The Fall of Richmond      164

PART IV: THE POSTWAR YEARS

31. The Trial of the Lincoln Conspirators      167

32. Charlotte Tod      173

33. Reconstruction      176

34. From Old Mexico to New Mexico      182

35. Fort Stanton      186

36. Newport Barracks      190

37. Fannie Markbreit      194

38. From Fort Garland to Fort Whipple      200

39. The Department of Arizona      205

40. A Damper on the Party      213

41. The Most Important Court-Martial Since the War      216

42. Benicia Barracks      220

43. Angel Island      225

44. Fort Lowell      234

45. Fort Niobrara      240

46. Washington and New York      245

47. Vancouver Barracks      248

48. Retirement      251

Afterword      257

Chapter Notes      259

Bibliography      277

Index      281

“this is an outstanding book about a man who played an important part in Western History as well as the history of our American Civil War. This book will make a nice addition to your Old West/Union bookshelf. This excellent book has a ‘WOW!+’ rating”—The Lone Star.