Hubert Dilger

Hubert Anton Casimir Dilger (March 5, 1836 – May 4, 1911) was a German immigrant to the United States who became a decorated artillerist in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was noted as one of the finest artillerists in the Army of the Potomac, winning the Medal of Honor for his valiant work at the 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville.

Early life and army career

Dilger was born in Eugen in the Black Forest region in Germany and educated in the Karlsruhe Military Academy. He served as a lieutenant in the Grand Duke's Horse Artillery at military posts in Gottesau, Karlsruhe, and Rastatt. He developed several innovative theories on artillery tactics and drill. When news came of the outbreak of the American Civil War, Dilger received a leave of absence and sailed to the United States. [ [http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~lowery/dil.htm Webpage for Dilger] ]

After relocating to Cincinnati, Ohio, he became the captain of Battery I, 1st Ohio Light Artillery and fought at several battles of the Army of the Potomac, including under fellow German native Maj. Gen. Carl Schurz at the Second Battle of Bull Run.

On May 2, 1863, Dilger fought in the rearguard of the retreating Union XI Corps during the disastrous Battle of Chancellorsville, for which he eventually was awarded the nation's highest decoration in 1893. He unlimbered his battery of six 12-pounder Napoleon smoothbore cannon as a last-dtich defense against a large portion of Stonewall Jackson's entire corps, which had pushed back the XI Corps and was threatening to roll up the Union line.

Dilger also received high praise in the Official Records of the Battle of Gettysburg and for his work in the 1864 Atlanta Campaign.

After the war, Dilger prospered in Ohio and eventually purchased a sprawling horse farm in the Shenandoah Valley near Front Royal, Virginia, where he raised his family. Unfortunately, his son Anton Dilger proved to be less praiseworthy. He waged biological warfare for Germany against a still-neutral United States in World War I, infecting horses with anthrax and glanders. [cite web |url=http://obab.blogspot.com/2007_01_01_archive.html |title=Sometimes Heroes Sire Scoundrels (review of "The Fourth Horseman" by Robert Koenig) |author=David Woodbury |publisher=obab.blogspot.com |date=January 16, 2007 |accessdate=2007-12-16]

Hubert Dilger is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C. [findagrave|5847184 Retrieved on 2008-07-02]

Medal of Honor citation

The following citation was issued on August 17, 1893:

Fought his guns until the enemy were upon him, then with one gun hauled in the road by hand he formed the rear guard and kept the enemy at bay by the rapidity of his fire and was the last man in the retreat. [cite web |url=http://www.homeofheroes.com/moh/citations_1862_cwa/dilger.html |title=Citation of Dilger, Hubert |publisher=homeofheroes.com |accessdate=2007-12-16]

ee also

*List of Medal of Honor recipients
*

References

Persondata
NAME= Dilger, Hubert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= United States Army Medal of Honor recipient
DATE OF BIRTH= March 5, 1836
PLACE OF BIRTH= Germany
DATE OF DEATH= May 4, 1911
PLACE OF DEATH=Front Royal, Virginia