Lt. Col. Frederick Füger
The USCIS Philadelphia District dedicates the new Philadelphia Field Office to Medal of Honor recipient Lt. Col. Frederick Füger. Born in Germany on June 18, 1836, Füger was awarded the Medal of Honor for service during the Civil War at the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, while serving as sergeant, Battery A, 4th United States Artillery.
On July 3, 1863, during what was later known as Pickett’s Charge, Füger’s battery was in the center of the Union line next to the ‘Copse of Trees,’ and firing cannon shot into advancing Confederate forces led by Brig. Gen. Lewis Armistead. The rebel commander led his troops over a stone wall and into the Union battery, where all the federal officers were later killed or wounded. Füger took command and ordered his cannoneers to fight as infantrymen while he continued to shoot the one remaining cannon. Under his leadership, the battery held its position until the Confederate onslaught was turned back.
Füger’s immigration story began in La Havre, France, where he boarded the ship Isaac Bell and arrived at New York City on April 3, 1854. He naturalized in February of 1888, in the Superior Court of Cumberland County, Maine, while stationed at Fort Preble. He served for more than 50 years in the U.S. military and took part in 66 Civil War battles. Füger was awarded the Medal of Honor in August of 1897. He died Oct. 13, 1913.