George Dietzler

George Washington Dietzler (November 30, 1826 – April 11, 1884) was a Union Army General during the American Civil War.

Dietzler was born in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania where he received a common school education and then moved to Kansas, and “grew up with the state.” He was a farmer and realtor. From 1857-1858, and again in 1859-1860, he was a member of the Kansas House of Representatives, and during the former period was elected speaker. Later he was elected mayor of Lawrence, Kansas, and was also treasurer of the University of Kansas.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Dietzler raised the 1st Kansas Infantry and was appointed its colonel. He led his regiment in Missouri and commanded the 3rd Brigade at the Battle of Wilson's Creek, where he was wounded. On April 4, 1863, he was appointed brigadier general of volunteers, to rank from November 29, 1862. President Abraham Lincoln nominated Dietzler for the promotion on March 4, 1863 and the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination on March 9, 1863. Dietzler commanded the 1st Brigade, 6th Division, XVII Corps, during the Vicksburg campaign. After the fall of Vicksburg, on August 27, 1863, he resigned due to ill health and returned to Kansas.

In Kansas, Dietzler received a commission as major general of Kansas militia. During Confederate Major General Sterling Price's Missouri Expedition in 1864, Dietzler commanded 10,000 Kansas State Militia units in the Army of the Border. Dietzler's units were reluctant to fight in Missouri, therefore it was not until the Confederates reached the town of Westport, near the Kansas/Missouri state line, that Dietzler brought his troops into action. The additional troops proved decisive as the Confederates, then outnumbered more than 2 to 1, were defeated at the Battle of Westport.

After the war, Dietzler promoted railroads and died in Tucson, Arizona.