Wilhelm von Bechtold was born around 1835 in present-day Germany. He eventually immigrated to America. As he later explained, he “left the service of my native country (Hesse-Darmstadt Germany) to fight for the noble cause of this country and to see real warfare as an eye-witness.”

 

In the spring of 1864, he received a commission as a captain in the 45^th USCT Infantry. He resigned on April 22, 1865. As he explained, “The great war having been brought to a victorious close and with this the chief object of my stay in America being accomplished, it is my earnest desire to return again to Europe.” The following month, he expressed “regret that circumstances would not allow me to do more in forwarding the noble cause of the bloody conflict, which, if I am allowed to say so, ended too soon for me. I part with the sincerest regret from the american army.”

 

He returned to Hesse-Darmstadt, and he eventually moved to Austria. He applied for a federal pension in June 1892 and eventually secured one. He married a woman named Emilie, and he died sometime before September 18, 1922.

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