Written early 1900's

War Memories of Von Sehlen

Gallant Milwaukee Soldier of Two Campaigns Recalled in Reunion

Met Stone Wall Jackson

Served in the Mexican Fight at Chapultepee and the War of the Rebellion

The return of the Fifteenth Indiana Battery, which took place at Etna Green, Indiana recently, brought out a reminiscence of the battery captain, the late John C. H. von Sehlen of Milwaukee, in the form of a letter written by Private George W. Stith of Hope North Dakota, a former member of the battery. Captain von Sehlen was a well known citizen of Milwaukee before and after the civil war, and his widow and son are still residents of the city. He came from Germany and arrived in New York just as the Mexican war broke out. He enlisted and going with his company by Vera Cruz and taking in part in the skirmishes and battles found himself in the city of Mexico when volunteers for the storming of Chapultepee castle were asked for. As he reached the top of the wall with the party a bullet struck him in the knee and put him out of the fight.

After the suspension of hostilities Von Sehlen returned to this county settled in Milwaukee and was engaged in the post office before the war of the rebellion and when it broke out he enlisted in the Colonel Annek’s artillery regiment, stationed in Racine. When the regiment was broken up and the men were scattered to different organizations, Von Sehlen with Colonel Annek went to Indiana, where another regiment was organized. When this organization was broken up by the Governor of Indiana, he then became Captain of the fifteenth Indiana Battery, a crack organization and he served with credit and distinction. After the war he returned to Milwaukee and was for a long time a bookkeeper in Mann Brothers, woodenware factory. He died several years ago. Private Stith letter, which was written for the reunion, gives some anecdotes of the civil war. He said:
“If Captain von Sehlen were alive not it would give me more pleasure to meet him and shake his hand than it would to meet the President of the United States. He not only made us what we were, but was the leader in the proficiency of the marksmanship of the army and navy of the United States. Captain von Sehlen was not only an artillery expert, but he was a diplomat also. Think of the way he captured the heart of the Gallant Confederate, Stonewall Jackson, at Harper’s Ferry after the center section, and then under Sergeant Fout, had violated the articles of war by firing a shot after Miles had waved the white handkerchief to the rear of Sgt. Fout’s unit, but yet had notified his troops of the surrender. This is the dialogue, as I remember it:

General Jackson: Where is the captain of this battery?
Captain Von Sehlen: I am the captain
General Jackson: You or your men fired after the white flag was up
Captain Von Sehlen-We are your prisoners by agreement with General White
General Jackson: Well captain, what was the meaning of firing after capitulation? I suppose you know the penalty of violating the rules of war?
Captain Von Sehlen: Yes, but I could not avoid it
General Jackson: Why not?!
Von Sehlen-I got my guns so widely scattered that I could not command them all at once
General Jackson-“This is preposterous, but well; get your battery in line in a proper manner.
Von Sehlen: I will as soon as possible, Sgt. Fout, call the men and bring them into line there.

“He flew into frenzy over the emancipation proclamation of President Lincoln. Think of the way he dealt with Lt. Fout and Sharp, his intercession for the life if A. M. Johnston, who was the brother of General Albert Sidney Johnston at Lexington, Ky. Think of his promptness in commanding Lt. Fout to call his some of his men to protect General Garfield and his Negro Sgt. Think of issuing, through his intercession of a loyal certificate to John Clay’s family at Athens, East Tennessee. He was right in line with President Lincoln’s fidelity and General Grant’s sagacity.

Captain Von Sehlen was employed for a time in Milwaukee’s post office after the war. He enlisted in the Mexican war in New York when he was only 17 years old.