Peter Joseph Osterhaus was born in Coblenz, Prussia, on January 4, 1823; he attended the Berlin Military Academy and served in the Prussian army before immigrating to the United States after the 1848 revolution, settling in St. Louis, Missouri.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Osterhaus was appointed major of the 2nd Missouri Infantry; he participated in the Battle of Wilson’s Creek on August 10, 1861. Appointed colonel of the 12th Missouri Infantry in December 1861, he led a division at the Battle of Pea Ridge. Promoted to brigadier general of volunteers in June 1862, Osterhaus commanded a division during the Vicksburg, Chattanooga, and Atlanta campaigns. During the “March to the Sea,” then Major General Osterhaus commanded a corps in Sherman’s army. While serving as chief of staff to Major General Edward Canby, he accepted the surrender of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi forces in 1865.

After the war, Osterhaus was appointed United States Consul at Lyons, France; he later returned to Germany, where he died in January 1917, shortly before the United States declared war on his native country. Osterhaus was buried in Koblenz, but his grave has been obliterated.

Carte-de-Visite by E. & H. T. Anthony, New York, N.Y.

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 31657