Frederick Phisterer

author

Frederick Phisterer

1836–1909

A German-born Civil War veteran and military historian, he combined firsthand battlefield experience with years of careful research to document New York’s role in the war. His work remains closely tied to the record of Union regiments and soldiers.

1 Audiobook

The Regular Brigade of the Fourteenth Army Corps, the Army of the Cumberland, in the Battle of Stone River, or Murfreesboro', Tennessee

The Regular Brigade of the Fourteenth Army Corps, the Army of the Cumberland, in the Battle of Stone River, or Murfreesboro', Tennessee

by Frederick Phisterer

About the author

Born in Prussia in 1836, Frederick Phisterer emigrated to the United States as a young man and built a life in New York. During the American Civil War, he served in the Union Army with the 7th New York Infantry and later the 59th New York Infantry, and he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Spotsylvania in May 1864.

After the war, Phisterer became known for preserving military history in a different way: through records, research, and large-scale historical compilation. He served for many years as the State Military Statistician of New York and is especially remembered for compiling New York in the War of the Rebellion, an important reference work on the state's troops and service in the Civil War.

He died in 1909, but his legacy has lasted through the usefulness of his historical work. For readers interested in Civil War history, his career is notable because it joined lived experience as a soldier with a lasting commitment to documenting the people and regiments who fought.