Henry A. Kircher
Birth Year: 1841
Birth Place: Arenzville, IL
Residence at Enlistment: Belleville, IL
Regiment(s): Co A, 9th IL Inf; Cos A,C,K and E, 12th MO Inf
Military Notes: Entered service in Apr 1861 and mustered into Co A, 9th IL Inf; mustered out in July 1861; reenlisted in 12th MO Inf as Sgt. in Co A. Was promoted to acting 2nd Lt of Co A in Jan 1862; 2nd Lt of Co K, Mar 1862; 1st Lt of Co K in Sep 1862; Capt in Sep 1863. He was in battles at Pea Ridge, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga. He was severely wounded in the Battle of Ringgold, GA on 27 Nov 1863. His left leg and right arm were amputated as a result of his wounds. Mustered out 3 Sep 1864.
Death Year: 1908
Death Place: Belleville, IL
Burial Place: Belleville, IL
Cemetery Name: Walnut Hill Cemetery
Find-a-Grave#: 125989281
Spouse(s): Bertha Engelman (m. 1880 in St. Clair County, IL)
Remarks: Born in Arenzvlle.
Born in Arenzville, son of Joseph Kircher and Augusta Berchelmann. His father operated a hardware business with Henry Goedeking in Arenzville until about 1848, when they moved to Belleville, IL, and continued the business there. Henry enlisted in the Union Army at Belleville in a 3-month enlistment with the 9th IL Inf. He then reenlisted with the 12th MO Infantry and rose to the rank of captain and was severely wounded in battle at Ringgold, GA. Following the war, he lived in Belleville where he served as mayor from 1877 to 1878, was also a circuit clerk, county recorder, and director of Belleville Savings Bank. His war letters and diary excerpts are published in a book, A German in the Yankeee Fatherland, ed. Earl J. Hess, Kent State University Press, 1983.
