German Regiments of the Civil War

Many of those who fought for the Union Army in the Civil War were not native-born Americans. An estimated 800,000 German-Americans, about a quarter of whom were born in Germany, enlisted to fight for the union cause. Hundreds of those soldiers came from Cleveland, one of the major U.S. destinations for German immigrants. A little-known historical fact is that the union army fielded several entirely German-speaking regiments. At least one of those regiments came from Cleveland. Below are some of the carvings honoring German-American soldiers at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Cleveland's Public Square. All photos by Paul Cox.