Person:George Piepenbring (1)

George enlisted in the Union side of the Civil War on 26 Jun 1861 in the Ohio Infantry at Camp Dennison. He enlisted for 3 years with the rank of Corporal in Company K, 13th Regiment, 3rd Brigade, Ohio Infantry. These were foot soldiers organized by Captain Horatio G Cosgrove and commanded by Colonel William M Smith. George was paid a bounty of $100 to enlist and $10 per month.

His Civil War records are available in the Federal Archives. He was promoted to 1st Sergeant in March 1862. In Oct 1862 in requested to have his rank reduced to 2nd Sergeant only to be promoted again to 1st Sergeant 3 months later. Again, in March 1863 he requested his rank be reduced to 2nd Sergeant but was given the rank of 2nd Lieutenant instead. Finally in July 1863 he again appeared as a 2nd Sergeant. Why all this fluctuation of rank is not recorded. Perhaps he was given temporary promotions to handle individual battles.

George's unit was part of the Army of the West and operated principally in Kentucky and Tennessee to advance the campaign to break the strong Confederate line that extended from Kentucky to Columbus, Mississippi.

In 1864 his company was active in the battle of Chattanooga in South East Tennessee. George wrote Chistina from Marysville, south of Knoxville, Tenn, in Feb 1864 that he had been transferred to Indiana Company C, 86th Regiment.

In May 1864, the Union General, George H Thomas, was hard pressed at the battle of Nashville, Tenn, but was successful in destroying Hood's Confederate Army at Franklin and Nashville. This enabled General Sherman to begin his famous march across the heartland of the South to Savannah, Georgia.

The records show that 1st Sergeant George Piebenbring was missing in action at the Battle fo Nashville on 27 May 1864, George's 3 years of enlistment was over on 25 Jun 1864, a month before his reenlistment date. How could George have reenlisted if he were a prisoner at Andersonville? Or, did he reenlist before he was captured? Couild this be the reason he was not paid for the last 11 months of back pay?

In studying Piepenbring's discharge certificate in 1979, Larry Kramm (great great grand son fo George) discovered that his last pay was 31 Oct 1863 and that neither Geroge, his widow,m Christina nor his daughter Amelia received any of his last 11 months back pay due him. Larry wrote a letter of inquiry regarding a claim for the back pay but was informed that Congress had conveniently passed a bill dishonoring all such claims. The letter date 23 April 1979 from the General Services Administration read in part, "all unsettled Civil Was claims which were not settled under the Omnibus Claims Act of 1915 were barred from further procecution by Congress."

On 19 Dec 1864, a letter was written by Sugust Stiner in support of Piepenbring's widow's pension claim. In it Stiner says he was taken captive along with George Piepenbring on 27 May 1864. They were prisoners together at Andersonville, Georgia. Stiner was at Piepenbring's side when Piepenbring died on 24 Sep 1864 of scurvy and camp diarrhoea.

Piepenbring was survived by his wife, Christina, and daughter, Amelia. Christina then married George Koerkel on 25 Apr 1868 in Cincinnati, Ohio