Heros von Borcke
He stood four inches over six feet and weighed more than two hundred pounds. After a hard ride, his blondish hair tended to curl in huge ringlets. This large man required a large horse -- he wore out many of them before the end of the Civil War. In Solingen, Johann August Heinrich Heros von Borcke had a fine sword forged of Damascus steel. Like him, it was handsome and large, a real 'wristbreaker.' Only a man with a powerful arm could wield it. It is a prized possession of the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond now.
Heros von Borcke was born on July 23, 1835 at the Rhine fortress Ehrenbreitsstein. He came from a distinguished family long renowned in Prussia's military aristocracy. His childhood was spent in Berlin and Halle. There was never any doubt of a military career. Von Borcke was commissioned an ensign on June 14, 1853 and on September 16th was admitted to the Cuiraisser Regiment of Guards as a cadet. In 1860, he was posted as second lieutenant to the Second Brandenburg Regiment of Dragoons, but had seen no real action.
This adventurer was drawn to the conflict across the Atlantic. He could hardly speak English, but that did not stop him from securing letters of introduction to Confederate authorities. The ship he was on was actually searched by Federal authorities, but von Borcke escaped detection and arrived in Charleston harbor on May 24, 1862. He quickly made his way to Richmond where he met Confederate Secretary of War George Randolph. Randolph secured him a letter of introduction to Stuart.
On May 30th, Stuart was at Seven Pines and von Borcke rode by his side. Doubtless
Stuart could use him on his staff. This was a man whose very presence heralded
Stuart's own; he was ornamental on the parade ground and in review, and his
bravery was beyond question. Perhaps
Stuart was surprised to find that von Borcke also had intelligence and real
ability.
The newcomer was not easy to live with. Beneath von Borcke's facade of amiable comradery was excessive vanity and an ego which equalled his size. European mannerisms and haughtiness did not sit well even with Virginia slaves, and von Borcke could keep no servant. When W.W. Blackford was asked to be von Borcke's tent-mate for a short period, he had enough courtesy to consult his manservant first. Von Borcke was also jealous of titles. He asked General Stuart to put all the couriers at headquarters beneath him and be appointed as Chief of Staff. The title meant little in the Confederate army, but of course held an entirely different connotation in the Prussian army.
Despite these faults, von Borcke was very popular with most of the staff and the average trooper. He certainly was easily recognizable. He participated with zeal in the general revelry which characterized Stuart's staff. He spoke little about himself or his country unless he felt there was real interest, then he recounted stories and events which for the Virginians was truly of another world.
Unselfishly, von Borcke served the Confederate cause. He served with Stuart until his wounding at the Battle of Middleburg, June 19, 1863. He was taken to Dr. Talcott Eliason's home, where the doctor pronounced the wound, which was through the lung, mortal. Von Borcke woke up the next morning determined to live. After a long convalescence, he was moved to 'Dundee,' home of the Price family in Hanover County and was lionized in Richmond society. At 'Dundee' von Borcke fell in love with Miss Nannie Price. Miss Nannie was something of a flirt, though, once telling John W. Thomason, Stuart's biographer, that she was 'engaged' at one time or another to every member of Stuart's staff. A family story is that von Borcke, in a fit of jealousy, once jumped from the parlor window to the portico of the house, and sat down between Miss Nannie and another suitor. If the romance was real, Nannie's father, Dr. Lucien Price, had no intention of his daughter marrying a foreigner and parental pressure prevailed.
Von Borcke was present at Stuart's deathbed. It soon became evident that von Borcke could not take the field again, so in December 1864 he was sent back to Europe on a 'special mission' by Jefferson Davis. Before he left, he did receive the formal thanks of the Confederate Congress for his distinguished service on behalf of the cause.
In London, von Borcke began writing a series of articles for Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, a pro-Confederate organ. In 1866, he would publish it in book form. Memoirs of the Confederate War for Independence was published in two volumes. Dr. Douglas Southall Freeman wrote of it: 'Swords clash and bugles blow on every page of it.' Unfortunately, living staff officers of Stuart's noticed a tendency of van Borcke to claim credit where credit was not due and an excessive use of the first singular personal pronoun. Despite this caveat, there is much to still be gleaned from von Borcke's Memoirs. This is particularly true of the smaller cavalry affairs, mentioned with briefness and only the broadest outlines in the Official Records, told in wonderful detail by von Borcke. Sometimes, it is the only detailed account. Other members of Stuart's staff, particularly Pelham, are frequently mentioned. Of course, it was von Borcke who brought Pelham's body to Richmond after his fall at Kelly's Ford. Von Borcke is certainly verbose, but his book is a sheer delight from start to finish. The sound of bugles should not distract the reader from the true importance of von Borcke' s book. It is still a vital source of information on Stuart's cavalry and always will be.
In 1866, Prussia was at war with Austria. Von Borcke returned home and served as second lieutenant in the Third Neumarkt Regiment of Dragoons and was decorated for his service with the Order of the Red Eagle (with swords). His old wound troubled him, though and von Borcke retired as Captain.
Von Borcke was married twice. His first wife, Magdalene Honig, bore him three sons. She died in 1883. He married her sister, Tony, in 1885 and by her had a daughter, named Karoline Virginia.
In 1884 von Borcke returned to America and the scenes of his Confederate service. He was guest of honor at the Maryland Club in Baltimore. His old friends and comrades came out in force to greet him, including Generals Wade Hampton, Matt Butler, Rooney Lee, Bradley T. Johnson and Colonel W.W. Blackford. Von Borcke was now huge (almost 400 pounds) and all his manly beauty was gone. Still, his reunion was a sentimental one and enjoyed by all.
Von Borcke moved to Berlin and died there on May 10, 1895. Before his death, the R.E. Lee Camp No. 1 of United Confederate Veterans asked that he present to Virginia 'the famous sword which he wore while Adjutant and Inspector-General of the Cavalry Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia.' Von Borcke was delighted and wrote back, 'Be assured that my sons and their descendants will be as proud as I am myself that you claim it, and that you will turn it over for keeping to dear old Virginia.' Von Borcke never forgot the Confederacy. From his castle he flew the Confederate flag alongside the Prussian flag. And the Southern people never forgot the Prussian giant who came and fought on their side.
This article first appeared in Volume 1, No. 2 of The Cannoneer.
Sources:
W. W. Blackford, War Years with Jeb Stuart, New York: Charles Scrlbner's
Sons, 1945.
Douglas Southall Freeman, The South to Posterity.
Heros von Borcke, Memoirs of the Confederate War for Independence,
Dayton, Ohio: 1985 Morningside reprint, introduction by Richard Harwell.
R.F.S. Starr, 'A Prussian for Virginia,' Civil War Times Illustrated,
Vol. XIX, No. 10, February 1981, pp. 32-39.
