A little quiz for you dear readers....
What does Hamburg Pennsylvania, a retort (a device used for distallation), The Dominican Republic, and a tiny town in the West Virginia Appalachias have in common?
Answer: William George Washington Iaeger (pronounced yeager and sometimes spelled Jaeger)
William Iaeger
William was born March 25th 1830 in Hamburg (technically Klinesville between Hamburg and Lenhartsville) Pennsylvania. He was the son of Gottlieb and Mary Iaeger. Gottlieb, a clergyman, was originally from Baden-Wurttemberg Germany and came to the US in 1817. He entered into the Lutheran ministry in 1819 and was a pastor at many of the area churches. His wife Mary was born in Kutztown and would eventually bear 11 children.
The rear of Gottlieb's tombstone reflects his years of service at many different area churches
Williams 1865 passport described him as 5'10" with brown hair, brown eyes, and a fair complexion
Unfortunately the time between his youth and 1860 is shrouded in mystery...hopefully someone who is reading this can fill in the gap and email me at witscivilwar@gmail.com
However multiple sources say he was in the Mexican American war and tag him with the rank of Colonel. (cant confirm this) and multiple sources tag him with also being a friend of Abraham Lincolns (cant confirm this either). However these sources also say he was a Confederate (he was not) and he was a blockade runner (he was not) so with time, history was a bit twisted.
What we DO know (according the to 1860 census) is that he lived in Baltimore Maryland and owned a Lamp Black Manufacturer.
Lamp Black is a finely powdered black pigment made from soot
It was around that time that he applied for a patent for a retort for distilling oil from coal to make that Lamp Black. A retort is a vessel used in the distilling process.
I also do feel he may have been a friend or aquaintence of the president because in November 1861 he was tapped to be the United States Consul and commercial agent to the capitol of Dominica, Santo Dominica (Dominican Republic)
And this is where Williams Civil War service comes into play.
A little background on Santo Damingo.
In 1860, the Dominican Republic was under the rule of President Pedro Santana. This period was marked by significant political instability and economic challenges. Santana, who had been a key figure in the Dominican War of Independence against Haiti, sought to stabilize the country by seeking protection from Spain. This led to the controversial decision to annex the Dominican Republic back to Spain in 1861, a move that was met with mixed reactions from the Dominican population.
Spain moved in quickly since the United States who had financial ties to the area wasnt going to interfere because of country being occupied by its Civil War.
The annexation was intended to bring economic stability and protection from Haitian invasions, but it also led to the loss of Dominican sovereignty. Many Dominicans were opposed to this decision, leading to the outbreak of the Dominican Restoration War in 1863. This war was a struggle to regain independence from Spanish rule and was characterized by guerrilla warfare and significant sacrifices by the Dominican people.
By 1865, the Dominican Republic successfully restored its independence, marking the end of Spanish rule and the beginning of the Second Republic. Spain saw the writing on the wall with the end of the American Civil War and knew it was time to leave.
In November 1861 when William took office Abraham Lincoln was making plans to purchase the Dominican Republic as a potential place for resettling freed slaves. However this plan would not come to fruition.
The Domincan Republic was a safe haven for American slaves and many escaped there to work the docks and warehouses shipping sugar, coffee, cocoa and most importantly tobacco back through the Federal blockade to the United States
These dispatches give us a unique view of the world beyond our borders during the Civil War.
One of his letters speaks of the American Slaves in the Dominican Republic. A large group of African Americans wanted to work the docks, however the Spanish who owned the docks would not allow them to unless they had American citizenship. (which in 1862 was not yet a thing). They also had the choice to take Spanish citizenship and take fealty to the crown but none of the men wanted to do that.
The letter requests help from Secretary Seward (Plate 63)
By Plate 231 it is October 1863 and Domincan Rebels are fighting full force with the Spanish. The Spanish have fortified Santo Damingo and are losing every battle.
William ends his dispatch with..
"A race of beings who glory in the ruin and desolation of my own native country, as these Spaniards have done, I have no sympathy for them and I doubt very much that their dear friend Jeff Davis can now assist them in crushing their revolution in Santo Damingo"
By 1865 the Spanish were excised from the island and the Dominicans once again had control.
After the war and his stint in the West Indies, William started coal and lumber companies in what is now McDowell County West Virginia. As his empire grew and he built more and more buisnesses he became the largest landowner in West Virginia being almost worth10 million dollars in todays money. Soon the area would be named after him,
Iaeger West Virginia
On July 14th 1903 in Huntington West Virginia Colonel Ieager would pass away at the ripe old age of 80.
His body would be returned to Hamburg PA to be buried near his birthplace with the rest of his family.
The family is buried at the foot of St. Johns Church In Hamburg Pennsylvania
