Told with great charm and humor, this is the story of one German immigrant to America who served his adopted country during the American Civil War and lived to tell the tale.

Having already served with distinction in the Prussian Army, Frederick Otto Baron von Fritsch took letters of introduction to Abraham Lincoln seeking a commission in the Union Army. Lincoln sent him to Stanton, who sent him to find a governor, who told him to find a regiment with a vacancy.

The Baron finally found some Germans in a beer hall in Washington who were already in the 68th New York and who would get him a commission.

Baron von Fritsch served with great gallantry at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and other battles. He worked closely with Generals O.O. Howard, Schimmelfennig, Schurz, and knew many prominent men of his day. His stories of battle are full of excitement and detail. He was wounded more than once in battle, some of which plagued him for the rest of his life.

Every memoir of the American Civil War provides us with another view of the catastrophe that changed the country forever.