Gustav Brackelsberg

Name: Gustav Brackelsberg Company: D Deserted January 5, 1863; Sergeant.
Birth Date: December 1829 Place: Prussia (Germany)	Mustered In Date: February 13, 1862 Rank: Sergeant Age: 32 Residence prior to military service: Mankato Township, Blue Earth County, Minnesota Vocation prior to military service: Carpenter
Death Date: July 17, 1906 Place: Watonwan County, Minnesota	Mustered Out Residence following military service: Madelia, Watonwan County, Minnesota Vocation following military service: Farmer, Cooper

Gustav Brackelsberg Biography and Civil War Narrative

Gustav Brackelsberg was born December 1829 in Prussia (Germany). In 1852 he came to America, and about 1859 he married Antonette (Lammer?), born February 1841, also in Prussia. At the time of the 1860 U.S. Census, Gustav and Antonette lived in Mankato Township, Blue Earth County, Minnesota, where 30-year-old Gustav worked as a Carpenter. They also had a daughter, 7-month-old Elizabeth, born in Minnesota.

Gustav enlisted in the 5th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment at Mankato, Minnesota. He was mustered into Company D on February 13, 1862, and appointed Sergeant.

From their home base of Fort Snelling, Sergeant Brackelsberg and Company D under the leadership of Captain John Vander Horck were assigned to Fort Abercrombie on the Minnesota and North Dakota border. They arrived at Fort Abercrombie on March 29, 1862. After several months of dull outpost duty at the fort, Company D received news of Indian warfare in Minnesota. In addition to the men of Company D, about 80 residents of the area gathered at the fort. Soldiers and citizens worked together to reinforce the fort defenses.

On August 30th, a small band of Dakota Indians raided, driving off the cattle from around the fort. About fifty of the cattle were recovered the next day. At daybreak on September 3rd, about 400 Indians attacked the post. The fight lasted until about 3:00 pm when the Indians were finally run off. After scattered fire on September 4th and 5th, the Indians attacked fiercely on September 6th. This time two men from the fort were killed and one was wounded. Sergeant Gustav Brackelsberg may have been the wounded soldier. (The 1883 list of pensioners shows Gustav Brackelsberg as having been wounded in the left arm.) A relief expedition was sent to the fort by Governor Alexander Ramsey on September 6th. The reinforcements finally arrived on September 23rd.

Company D rejoined the rest of the 5th Minnesota Regiment at Germantown, Tennessee, on February 14, 1863. According to records published in Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars (Vol. 1), however, Sergeant Brackelsberg did not arrive in Germantown; he had deserted a month earlier on January 5, 1863. But this was not the end of Gustav Brackelsberg's participation in the Union Army. He later served in the 23rd Regiment of the Veteran Reserve Corps (previously named the "Invalid Corps), which provided noncombat military duties for disabled soldiers. The 23rd Regiment of the Veteran Reserve Corps was mustered out in detachments between July 1 and December 5, 1865.

By 1870, 40-year-old Gustav and 29-year-old Antonette Brackelsberg and their 6 children had moved to Madelia, Watonwan County, Minnesota. Gustav was farming; their 6 children were Elizabeth (10), Dora (8), Caspar (7), Sophia (5), Gustave (3), and Ida (1). On September 15, 1874, Gustav filed a homestead land claim for 73 acres, and on November 3, 1876, he filed another homestead claim for 80 acres.

In 1880 the Brackelsberg household included the following children: Theodora (18), Caspar (17), Gustav (13), Ida (11), Henry (9), Antonette (7), Mary (4), and Martha (2). The 1880 Census also shows "Gustov" Brackelsberg by himself in Mankato working as a "Cooper," that is, a barrel maker. The 1883 list of pensioners for Watonwan County shows Gustav receiving a $12 monthly pension.

The 1900 Census record shows that Gustav and Antonette had a total of 12 children, 11 of whom were living, and 5 of whom continued to live with their parents: Casper D. (age 37, born May 1863), Henry J. (age 29, born February 1871), Antonette M. (age 27, born October 1872), Marie (age 24, born August 1875), and Adelia (age 19, born October 1880). Also living with them was Henry's wife, Bertha, born May 1876 in Minnesota. Henry and Bertha had been married for 2 years.

Gustav Brackelsberg died on July 17, 1906, in Watonwan County, Minnesota.

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