Corporal John Heisserer

Great-grandson, Larry Heisserer

Corporal John Heisserer
Company C, 2nd Missouri Volunteer Infantry (U.S.)

John Heisserer was born December 21, 1838 in Shirrhein, Alsace-Lorraine now France). He emigrated to America with his parents and four brothers and two sisters. His parents were Antoine and Catherine (Hahn) Heisserer. He left for America from the port of LeHavre, France on August 15, 1847 and arrived at the New Orleans Port of Entry October 20, 1847. They were at sea 56 days. They passed Cape Girardeau, Missouri November 1,1847 because they didn't know where Benton, Missouri was and overshot and landed in St. Louis. Antoine Heisserer and Andrew Pfefferkorn left their families near the ship and went and rented a house. While they were out in the city, Joseph Georger happened to see the women and children sitting on the levee taking care of the bedding and clothing. Recognizing them by their dress as being from his old country home, he inquired where they were from and sure enough they were from Alsace. He said that they were neighbors and waited for the men to return. He informed them that they had gone 165 miles too far. They went back to the captain of the same boat and contracted to have him take them back down the Mississippi and let them off at Commerce, Missouri. They settled on a farm near New Hamburg, Missouri.

One of the anecdotes that has been passed down was that John and his older brother, Vincent were shanghaied into the Confederate Navy - taken off the street from where they happened to be. They had no extra clothes with them , not even shoes on their feet. They pretended to go along with this arrangement but decided in their own minds to get out of this situation as quickly as they could. The boat stopped at a fueling station for a short time. They asked the Captain for permission to get off the boat long enough to buy a pair of shoes. The Captain told them to hurry up as they'd be leaving in a short while. The brothers hid in a cave along the Mississippi River banks. They arranged with their brother, Nick, to bring them food so they could hide out during the day and travel at night. When Nick was returning from one of his daily trips to bring his brothers food, he was stopped by two Confederate soldiers on horseback who asked if he had seen or heard of two deserters suspected to be in the area. Nick said that he lied like a trooper and was told by the soldiers that they would be very hard on anyone who harbored or helped them if they got caught. Years later Nick told the story that he was so scared he almost "messed his pants." He wondered what would have happened had they caught him delivering the food. Both brothers intended to join the Union Army.

John did join the Union Army on July 28, 1861 at Cape Girardeau, Missouri, enlisting in Company C of the 2nd Missouri Volunteer Infantry. His pension papers say that he was "enrolled" at St. Louis, Missouri September 10, 1861 under the name of "John Heiserer." Being new to this country, he couldn't read or write English yet and that was how his signer spelled it. John was promoted from private to 8th corporal on April 9, 1863. He was honorably discharged at St. Louis September 27, 1864. He was 5 feet-7 inches tall, fair complexioned, and had blue eyes and brown hair.

During the Battle at Pea Ridge, John Heisserer was in Company C of the Second Regiment of the Missouri Volunteer Infantry under the command of Lt. Col. Bernard Laiboldt, in Col. Frederick Schaefer's Brigade, and Brig. Gen. Alexander S. Asboth's 2nd Division. Of course the whole Union Army was under the command of Brig. Gen. Samuel Curtis. In the 2nd. Missouri Regiment at Pea Ridge there were 54 losses (8 killed, 34 wounded and 12 missing). This regiment also fought at Murfreesboro, Stones River, and at Chickamauga.

After the war, John returned to farming in Kelso, Missouri. He also established the first mail service between Cape Girardeau and New Madrid, Missouri, carrying the mail on horseback. It took him a full day for delivery. He married Rosine Glauss on November 23, 1865 and had three children. They were Adam, Bernard and Louise (Mrs. Blattel). His first wife died July 7, 1871. He remarried to Elizabeth Himmelspech on February 23, 1872 and had eight more children. They were Celestine (Mrs. Bernard Baudendistel); Rosina (Mrs. Clemons Westrich; Caroline (Mrs. Joseph Schaefer; Aloys, Otto, Soloman and the youngest-August. His second wife Elizabeth died May 15, 1909. John died of "infirmities of age" at 89 on January 9, 1928. John is buried with his second wife at St. Augustine Catholic Church cemetery in Kelso, Missouri. His first wife, Rosine Glauss Heisserer is buried at St. Lawrence Catholic Church cemetery in New Hamburg, Missouri. John was blind the last 2 years of his life, but other than that retained nearly perfect health until his death.

John and his father, Antoine, are memorialized on the American Immigrant Wall of Honor at Ellis Island that was erected in 1992.

Larry Heisserer salheisss@juno.com, the great-grandson of Corporal John Heisserer, is a civil engineer with the Construction Assistance Division of the Arkansas Department of Pollution Control & Ecology. He lives in Bryant, AR with his wife, Sherri Lynn, and youngest son, Daniel. His oldest son, Jason, is graduated and teaches at a highschool in St. Louis.