Godfrey Weitzel

Godfrey Weitzel was a GermanAmerican major general in the Union army during the American Civil War. He was the acting Mayor of New Orleans during the Union occupation of the city and also captured and occupied the Confederate capitol, Richmond, Virginia. Weitzel also is known for his postwar accomplishments with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in designing and constructing internal improvements, particularly along the Ohio River and the Great Lakes region.

Gottfreid Weitzel was born in Winzeln, near Pirmasens in the Palatinate, once part of Lorraine but which had returned to German control in 1806, and was then part of the Kingdom of Bavaria. His father Ludwig, had served in the German military, and wanted to emigrate to America like his brother Wilhelm, in search of a better life. When his wife, the former Susanna Krummel, became pregnant with what turned out to be a second son, the family immigrated to the United States. They settled in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1837, where Ludwig changed his name to Lewis and his twoyear old sons to Godfrey, perhaps to avoid prejudice against German immigrants, or to Americanize the family. Lewis Weitzel operated a grocery store in the Tenth Ward, which included the Over the Rhine neighborhood with many Germanic immigrants, and also became involved in Democratic party politics. In 1853, Lewis Weitzel became a city commissioner and also served on the local school board, whose chairman was lawyer and former

Source: Wikipedia