Frederick Füger


Frederick Fuger was an enlisted man and officer in the U.S. Army. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Battle of Gettysburg while defending the Union position on Cemetery Ridge against Pickett's Charge on July 3, 1863.

Military service

Emigrating from his native Germany in 1853, Fuger joined the 4th U.S. Artillery in 1856 and was assigned to Battery A. He saw service in Florida in 1856 against the Seminoles, Kansas in 1857, Utah in 1858 against the Mormons, and Nevada in 1860 against the Paiutes.
Fuger's five-year enlistment was set to expire in 1861 when Confederate forces fired during the Battle of Fort Sumter, the first engagement of the American Civil War. He reenlisted and was promoted to 1st sergeant of Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery under the command of Lt. Alonzo Cushing. During the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, Fuger was defending Cemetery Ridge during the Confederate infantry assault known as Pickett's Charge. After Lt. Alonzo Cushing and 2nd Lt. Joseph Milne were mortally wounded, Fuger took command of the battery and continued to fire the single remaining gun under the pressure of approaching Confederates. Confederate soldiers under the command of Brig. General Lewis Armistead managed to breach the stone wall, landing among the forward guns. Fuger's men engaged in hand-to-hand to drive the Confederates off the field. Fuger was awarded the Medal of Honor for this action and also received a commission as 2nd lieutenant in the U.S Army.
By his own account, Fuger was present at 63 Civil War battles and minor engagements, being wounded twice, once in the head at the Battle of White Oak Swamp on June 30, 1862, and once in the left arm at the Battle of Antietam, on September 17, 1862.