US Civil War & Franco Prussian War Documents

Civil War & Franco Prussian War Documents - Brothers Riewe, one of which fought under Colonel Henry Bertram, 3rd Wisconsin Infantry during the Civil War: Prussian "Wanderpass" Passport (belonging to Wilhelm Riewe, with numerous numerical calculations and entries, most in German, two promises to pay a debt in English dated 1856, with three stamps); Sheboygan County, State of Wisconsin Declaration of Intention to Become a Citizen of the United States Document (dated February 28, 1859, declaring before the Court, that Charles Riewe was denouncing his Prussian citizenship and his intent to become an American citizen, embossed Sheboygan County seal affixed, clerk signed, 175 mm x 216 mm, severed, soiled); and Colonel Henry Bertram Photo Card (faded black and white with a two-rule red border, identified on the reverse as Colonel Henry Bertram, 3rd Wisconsin Infantry "newly promoted from Captain, 6 December 1862", studio stamped "H.C. HEATH, PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTIST, LA CROSSE, WIS." with a U.S. Internal Revenue Bankcheck two cent stamp, 60 mm x 100 mm, soiled), Fine.Footnote: Wilhelm Heinrich Riewe was born in 1834 in Dromberg, Germany (now Poland). He sailed from Hamburg and entered the United States on September 5, 1854 via New York. He settled in St. Louis, Missouri, becoming a prominent builder, married Maria Agnes Ulrich on April 13, 1858 and became a naturalized citizen of the United States on September 21, 1868 in St. Louis. He died in St. Louis in April 1905. His brother, Charles Riewe, was born in Germany in 1827 and entered the United States in June 1854 via New York. He moved to Sheboygan, Wisconsin and declared before the Court, that he was denouncing his Prussian citizenship and intended to become an American citizen on February 28, 1859. He later fought under Colonel Henry Bertram, 3rd Wisconsin Infantry in the Civil War. Henry Bertram was a Prussian immigrant, who served in both the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. Bertram was baptized Emil Gustav Victor Beeger. He arrived in the United States about 1840 after serving as a cabin boy aboard a Prussian ship. At the age of 20, he enlisted in the United States Army and fought in the Mexican-American War. He was promoted to sergeant on August 21, 1846, yet was charged with desertion on January 20, 1851, a charge that was posthumously removed from his record. After his Mexican-American War service, Beeger sailed to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he married his first wife. In 1856 they returned to New York and eventually relocated to Watertown, Wisconsin, where he enlisted in a local militia called the Watertown Rifles. Beeger enlisted in Co. A, 3rd Wisconsin Infantry on April 18, 1861, less than a week after the attack on Fort Sumter. He enrolled under the name Henry Bertram, perhaps to Anglicize his German surname. Bertram was promoted to 1st Lieutenant of the 3rd Infantry on May 1, 1861, before it left Wisconsin, and to Captain on September 24, 1861, after it reached the front near Washington, D.C. Over the next nine months, Bertram’s company fought in nine battles in Virginia. On July 1, 1862, Bertram was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the 20th Wisconsin Infantry. When the regiment fought at the Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, on December 7, 1862, Bertram's horse was shot from under him and he was wounded. He was promoted to full Colonel later that month. In June 1863, his regiment participated in the Siege of Vicksburg. In October, it sailed to the mouth of the Rio Grande and blockaded a shipment of Mexican goods intended for Confederate soldiers. Near the end of the war, Bertram was brevetted a Brigadier General for his meritorious services during the war. He was mustered out of service on July 14, 1865. Bertram returned to Watertown on August 1, 1865, and entered politics. He was elected mayor of Watertown in 1870 and served as Dodge County Sheriff until 1872. He later moved to Juneau, Wisconsin, where he was a merchant and hotel keeper. He died suddenly on September 2, 1878 and is buried in the Juneau city cemetery.