August
Kautz was born in Germany in 1828. He
emigrated to the United States and after joining the United
States Army he saw action in the Mexican
War. He studied at West Point before
serving on the frontier where he was twice wounded. In 1861 Kautz
was promoted to the rank of captain.
On the outbreak of the American Civil War
Kautz joined the Union Army. Appointed
colonel of the 2nd Ohio Cavalry, Kautz saw action around Petersburg
and helped to take Richmond in March,
1865.
When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated,
President Andrew Johnson ordered the
formation of a nine-man military commission
to try the conspirators. The commission included Kautz, David
Hunter, Lewis Wallace, Robert
Foster, Thomas Harris and Albion
Howe.
On 29th June, 1865 Mary Surratt,
Lewis Powell, George
Atzerodt, David Herold, Samuel
Mudd, Michael O'Laughlin, Edman
Spangler and Samuel Arnold were
found guilty of being involved in the conspiracy to murder Lincoln.
Surratt, Powell, Atzerodt and Herold were hanged at Washington Penitentiary
on 7th July, 1865. Surratt, who was expected to be reprieved, was
the first woman in American history to be executed.
Kautz had reached the rank of brigadier general when he retired from
the United States Army in 1892. August Kautz,
who wrote several books on army duties and customs, died in 1895.
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