Gustav Albert Schurmann
Sergeant, U.S. Army

Gustav Albert Schurmann was born on 4 February 1849 in Westphalia, Prussia. He immigrated to the U.S. with his parents, Frederick and Caroline Schurmann, while still an infant.

The Schurmanns settled in New York City, where Gus had worked as a bootblack prior to enlisting in the U.S. Army. Brave and reliable, as well as musically gifted, he soon became a Bugler, riding into battle alongside Generals Kearny, Birney, Stoneman and Sickles. When Sickles' leg was shattered at Gettysburg, Gus used his handkerchief to make a tourniquet.

He met Tad Lincoln during a Presidential troop inspection and was consequently invited to the White House. The two boys became friends, their amusements ironically including a backstage chat with John Wilkes Booth, whose acting had "thrilled" 12-year-old Tad. Gus ended his Army days as a 15-year-old Sergeant and veteran of 10 battles. Although he had hoped to attend West Point, his limited formal schooling and the necessity of supporting his widowed mother prevented him from joining "the long gray line."

Active in veterans' organizations, he worked as a bookbinder and later clerked in the New York Customs House. In 1870 he married Anastasia Quinlan. In July 1905, Gus died of tuberculosis at the age of 56, his wife having predeceased him 2 months earlier. Their only child, a daughter, Lillian, who died in 1958, is also buried in the Schurmann plot.

Death and Burial

Gustav Albert Schurmann died on 19 July 1905 in Manhattan, NY. He is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, NY.