{"id":232,"date":"2011-01-03T05:20:00","date_gmt":"2011-01-03T05:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/2011\/01\/%e2%80%9cthis-faithful-and-devout-catholic-soldier%e2%80%9d-lieutenant-colonel-julius-p-garesche-1821-1862\/"},"modified":"2011-01-03T05:20:00","modified_gmt":"2011-01-03T05:20:00","slug":"%e2%80%9cthis-faithful-and-devout-catholic-soldier%e2%80%9d-lieutenant-colonel-julius-p-garesche-1821-1862","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/2011\/01\/%e2%80%9cthis-faithful-and-devout-catholic-soldier%e2%80%9d-lieutenant-colonel-julius-p-garesche-1821-1862.html","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThis Faithful and Devout Catholic Soldier\u201d: Lieutenant Colonel Julius P. Garesch\u00e9 (1821-1862)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>The Battle of Stones River, which took place on December 31, 1862, in Tennessee, was a hard-fought Union victory. But for the federal commander, Major General William S. Rosecrans, it came at a personal loss, the death of his aide and friend, Lieutenant Colonel Julius Garesch\u00e9. A respected officer, Garesch\u00e9 had recently left a desk job for field service. When news of his death reached Washington, one general said it was \u201cequivalent to a defeat, for Garesch\u00e9 was worth an army<\/em>!\u201d Another general described him as the<\/p>\n

ideal of a perfect Christian gentleman\u2026 a gallant, daring soldier in the field; a wise counselor, and many times consulted by the President, especially in the selection of Officers for high command in the army.
<\/em>
A career soldier, Garesch\u00e9 was also an extremely active Catholic layman. A daily Mass-goer who helped build churches where he was stationed, Garesch\u00e9 wrote for the Catholic press, helped the poor and visited the sick, and impressed many with his good example.<\/p>\n

Descended from two distinguished French families that emigrated to America, Julius Peter Garesch\u00e9 was born in Cuba, where his diplomat father was stationed. Although baptized Catholic, it played little part in his upbringing. It was while attending the Jesuits\u2019 Georgetown College in Washington, D.C., that he embraced his Catholicism wholeheartedly. An exceptional classical scholar, throughout his life he read and translated Latin for pleasure.<\/p>\n

Although classmates assumed he would become a priest, Julius wanted a military career. In 1837, he was appointed to West Point. The sole Catholic cadet, he was highly regarded for his intelligence and character. One classmate commented: \u201cI do not believe he had an enemy in the Corps of Cadets<\/em>.\u201d Another remembered \u201cthe perfect purity of his character\u2026 but few could enter more heartily into a game of football<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

For five years after his graduation in 1841, Garesch\u00e9 was assigned to East Coast garrisons. In 1843, he was contacted by Lieutenant William S. Rosecrans, who was a year behind him at West Point. Rosecrans was interested in Catholicism, and their conversations played an important role in his conversion. A few years later, they formed an association for Catholic officers, dedicated to Jesus\u2019 Sacred Heart.<\/p>\n

During the Mexican War, which he considered \u201cof doubtful justice and forced upon a weak and inferior State<\/em>\u201d (an opinion Ulysses S. Grant shared), Garesch\u00e9 was appointed an adjutant (administrative officer) in northern Mexico. At this time his brother Frederick joined the Jesuits, a step he wished he \u201chad the courage to take<\/em>.\u201d After making a retreat, however, he decided to continue as a soldier.<\/p>\n

He also decided to marry. In 1848 he asked his mother to find him a wife, which one historian notes \u201cwas the custom among aristocratic Franco-Americans<\/em>.\u201d Six weeks after meeting Mariquitta de Coudroy de Laur\u00e9al, age eighteen, they were married. The marriage was happy, producing eight children. Garesch\u00e9 was soon assigned to Brownsville, Texas, where he stayed for several uneventful years.<\/p>\n

There he helped build a church. He served Mass every Sunday in full dress uniform. In 1851, through a priest friend\u2019s influence, he was named a Knight of St. Sylvester, a papal honor for laymen. In 1855 he was promoted to Captain and assigned to Washington in the Adjutant-General\u2019s Office. He also wrote for two Catholic periodicals, The Freeman\u2019s Journal<\/em> and Brownson\u2019s Quarterly Review<\/em>, under the name \u201cCatholicus<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1859, he helped organize Washington\u2019s St. Vincent De Paul Society (a group founded to help the poor), serving as Vice-President. In his spare time he worked on a religious treatise that was never published. Garesch\u00e9 seems to have had a sense of humor about his faith. He once told a Protestant officer: \u201cWe Catholics have an advantage over you Protestants; for when we lose anything, we go to a little saint who assists us to recover it<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the war broke out, Garesch\u00e9 was promoted to Major. A strong \u201cUnion man<\/em>,\u201d he opposed slavery as unjust. President Lincoln offered him a general\u2019s commission several times, but Garesch\u00e9 refused until he had \u201cactive service at the front<\/em>.\u201d For much of the time, he ran the adjutant-general\u2019s office by himself. In July 1862, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.<\/p>\n

In October his friend Rosecrans, now a general, took over the Army of the Cumberland in Tennessee. He wanted Garesch\u00e9, whom he \u201clong esteemed and admired<\/em>,\u201d for his chief of staff. Historian James McPherson describes Rosecrans as a devout Catholic who loved arguing theology with his staff officers into the night over cigars and whiskey. Future President James Garfield, who served under him, described him as \u201ca Jesuit of the<\/em> highest type of Roman piety<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\"\"Major General William S. Rosecrans (seated, fourth from left) with his officers. Brigadier General James A. Garfield is seated to the right of Rosecrans. <\/strong>
<\/em>
On November 5th, Garesch\u00e9 was appointed to Rosecrans\u2019 staff. Family tradition holds that he had a premonition of being killed in his first battle, but that he would be \u201cspiritually prepared<\/em>.\u201d He left his family wondering if he would ever see them again. He asked Mariquitta to see the children studied \u201ctheir catechism well<\/em>.\u201d Mariquitta responded: \u201cEvery evening we all say a Decade of Beads, asking of the Blessed Virgin to protect you and return you soon to our caresses<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the morning of December 31st (the Feast of St. Sylvester), the Army of the Cumberland prepared for battle. Colonel Garesch\u00e9 received Communion alongside Rosecrans, who \u201cnever saw him look half so handsome or animated<\/em>.\u201d Riding together into battle, a cannonball decapitated Garesch\u00e9. After the battle, Brigadier General William B. Hazen was able to identify his friend\u2019s corpse from two items that formed a cornerstone of Garesch\u00e9\u2019s life, his West Point ring and a pocket copy of The Imitation of Christ<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"\"Artist Henri Lovie captured the moment of Colonel Garesch\u00e9\u2019s death at Stones River. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Julius Garesch\u00e9\u2019s body was brought back to Washington for a funeral Mass at the Jesuits\u2019 St. Aloysius Church. There he was eulogized as \u201cthis faithful and devout Catholic soldier<\/em>.\u201d In 1892, historian John Gilmary Shea called him \u201cperhaps the noblest type of the American Catholic soldier we have ever had<\/em>.\u201d Two of his daughters became Carmelite nuns in St. Louis after his death.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Battle of Stones River, which took place on December 31, 1862, in Tennessee, was a hard-fought Union victory. But for the federal commander, Major General William S. Rosecrans, it came at a personal loss, the death of his aide and friend, Lieutenant Colonel Julius Garesch\u00e9. A respected officer, Garesch\u00e9 had recently left a desk […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1042,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cThis Faithful and Devout Catholic Soldier\u201d: Lieutenant Colonel Julius P. Garesch\u00e9 (1821-1862)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Battle of Stones River, which took place on December 31, 1862, in Tennessee, was a hard-fought Union victory. 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