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Descendants of Johann Conrad Eitelmann (1731-1795)
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ANDREAS (ANDREW) EITELMANN

Andrew
Profile

Born: 1 Jun 1839
Ruchheim, Germany
Died: 20 Oct 1911
Cleveland, OH
Parents: Johann Georg and Elizabeth Eitelmann
Spouse: Louisa Korell (m.1866), Christina Miller (m. 1869), Sophia Tielke (m. 1877)
Children: Elizabeth LOOMIS, William Andrew, Gustavus Adolphis
Occupation(s): Soldier, Policeman

Andrew's Civil War Letters

Andrew
Andrew's Cane
Andrew (as Andreas became known in America) was the last-born son of Johann Georg Eitelmann and Elizabeth Bähr who immigrated to Cleveland Ohio in 1852 at the age of 13 along with his older brother Michael. He was raised in the Bavarian village of Ruchheim (now a suburb of Ludwigshafen) with five sisters and four brothers.

No information about Andrew can be found prior to his military enlistment.

It has been told that Andrew rode the plains, carried the mail and shot Indians with a four barrel, 22 short caliber Sharps Derringer. No information about this story can be found, and it doesn't seem possible that he was in the Pony Express since he enlisted in the military at Fort Leavenworth Kansas 7 May 1860, about one month after the Pony Express started in April 1860.

But the question remains ... what was Andrew doing in Kansas in 1860?

Derringer similar to Andrew's The Derringer was last known to be in the possession of the brother of his grandson William Andrew's fourth wife.

The Civil War

Andrew served in the Civil war and his unit, Battery "E" 2nd Regiment of the U.S. Light Artillery, participated in nineteen of the bloodiest battles from 1861 to 1864. According to Andrews's records, he was wounded in the second battle of Bull Run, 29 Aug 1861, by a shell wound to the head that resulted in a permanent hearing loss in his right ear. Family stories say that he also lost his sense of smell and taste.

By the second battle of Bull Run, the 2nd U.S. Battery E, consisted of four 20-pound Parrott rifles, and was commanded by Lt. Samuel N Benjamin. They were placed in a commanding position 200 yards southeast of the J. Dogan House. This gave Battery E a beautiful view of the Confederate positions in the area. For several hours Battery E fought valiantly, but when the battery finally pulled out one of its two sections had been virtually obliterated.

The saber that Andrew carried in the Civil War is currently in the possession of his great-grandson, James Loomis, and is in poor shape after surviving a fire.

After the Civil War

Andrew was discharged 7 May 1865 in Washington D.C. at the rank of First Sergeant, about three weeks after President Lincoln was assassinated.

He returned to Cleveland and began a job on the Cleveland police force as a patrolman on 1 May 1866. He stayed on the Cleveland Police force until his retirement as a Lieutenant on 27 January 1889, and continued to live in Cleveland until his death 20 October 1911. His police employment records are an interesting mix of promotions, reprimands, suspensions and tribunals.

Andrew married Louisa Korell on 19 July 1866. The photo to the left was taken sometime after Andrew was married, as indicated by his wedding ring. Louisa gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth, in 1867. Louisa died the following year. Andreas married Christina Miller in 1869, with whom he had two sons - William Andrew (1870-1905) and Gustavus Adolphis (1873-1910). Andreas and Christina divorced in 1877, after which Andreas married Sophia Tielke.

Andrew and Abe Lincoln

There is a family story that says Andrew received a personal commendation from Abe Lincoln.

As the story goes, Andrew was standing guard at a bridge across the Potomac and the Presidential Carriage approached. Andrew would not let the Presidential carriage cross the bridge without the proper papers. After it became clear that the presidents driver could not talk Andrew into passage, Abe got out of the Carriage and asked Andrew where he could get the papers so he could sign them, then gave Sgt. Andrew a personal commendation for doing his job. There is supposed to be a record of this event, or an article somewhere, but it cannot be found.

According to his regiment records, Andrew would have been in Washington D.C. around the third week of April 1864 where his unit participated in a Grand Review:

Company E remained garrisoned in Knoxville until March 23,1864 when the company left by rail for Annapolis, Maryland. There they joined other elements of the army's IX Corps under Major General Ambrose Burnside. Battery E, 83 strong, left Annapolis on April 14th for Washington, D.C. While there, they participated in a grand review, along with the rest of the IX Corps. On April 27th Company E left Washington crossed the Potomac River and camped at Fairfax, Virginia. The next day the company moved to Manassas Junction.
It is interesting that this story about the encounter with Abe is also told about Andrew's brother, Michael, by his descendants. But we now know that Michael was not in the Civil war nor served in any military capacity. Could it be that after Andrew was discharged he returned to Cleveland and lived with his brother for awhile, where he told this story to his nephews, Michael and George?

Andrew and Solid Comfort
Calligraphy by Andrew's son, Gus

Prepared by: Jay Eitelman (great-grandson)

Steve Stockdale © 2003
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