behind AotW

Alfred August von Kleiser was born in Baden-Württemberg (now in Germany), came to America before the war, and enrolled as 2nd Lieutenant of Battery A of the First Battalion, New York Artillery in July 1861. He was 19 years old. By Antietam he was First Lieutenant and commander of Battery B; their big 20-pounder Parrott rifled guns were posted on the high bluffs over the east bank of Antietam Creek on 17 September 1862. He survived the war and was a store keeper in Martinsburg, WV, but died relatively young, of tuberculosis, at age 40 in 1884.

His picture here is from an albumen photograph of a group of four officers kindly shared by Ronald S. Coddington, from his collection.