Peter Christian Kaiser

Peter Kaiser was a drummer boy in the Civil War. His great-grandson, William Gale Dietrich, used to play with the drum he used.

Peter participated in the battle at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Spending many hours playing his various harmonicas.

Biographical Record for Peter Kaiser:

Justice of the peace in Ottawa, Peter came to this city in July, 1869 and started in the harness and saddlery business, which he has since conducted, building the block which he now occupies. In politics he has always been allied with the Republican party. Both as a member of the school board and the board of health he has rendered efficient service in behalf of local interests. He is a charter member of George H. Thomas Post No. 18, G.A.R., in which he is past commander. Fraternally he is connected with the Select Knights, Knights of Honor, Knights and Ladies of Honor and Ancient Order of United Workmen. 

Peter was born in St. Clair County, Illinois, April 11, 1844. At fourteen years of age he was apprenticed to the harness-maker's trade, and he was serving his time when the Civil war opened. June 1, 1861, he enlisted in Company A, Third Missouri Infantry, and serviced for three months, taking part in a number of engagements, among them that at Wilson's Creek. In December, 1861, he again enlisted, returning to the same regiment and company. He took part in the battles of Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, Ringgold, siege of Vicksburg and Atlanta campaign. At the expiration of his term he was mustered out in St. Louis, and honorably discharged in December, 1864, after three years of service. He was once wounded by a piece of shell, but remained with the regiment and soon recovered.

After the war he followed his trade in St. Louis, and in 1867 opened a shop at Bridgeton, Missouri. From there he came to Ottawa. He was married in St. Louis to Elizabeth Daab, who was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany.

From the Franklin County Historical Register

Peter Kaiser was born on April 11, 1844, in St. Clair County, Illinois, the son of German immigrants, Christian and Margaret (Dahlem) Kaiser who had settled there around 1838. The family later moved to St. Louis. By the time he was 14 years of age Peter had lost both of his parents and was apprenticed to the harness and saddlery trade . When the Civil War broke out in 1861, he enlisted in the Union Army and participated in the number of major battles, among them Wilson's Creek (in Southwest Missouri) (with his brother-in-law Frederick Daab), Lookout Mountain, the Siege of Vicksburg, and the Atlanta Campaign.

After serving in the Army for three years, Peter returned to St. Louis to pursue his trade. There in 1867, he married Eva Elisabeth Daab, who was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany in 1848. Peter and Elisabeth moved to Bridgeton, Missouri, where he opened a harness shop. Their first child, Magdalena (Maggie), was born there in 1868.

In July of 1869, Peter (then 25 years of age), his wife, and his infant daughter came to Ottawa, Kansas. He opened a harness and saddle shop in a rented building at Fourth and Main. The family lived above the shop and their son, George Frederick, was born there in December of 1869. The following year Peter moved his shop to #85 Main Street and later to #41 Main.

In 1870 , Peter built a cottage for his family on some lots he had purchased at Third and Cedar. According to a newspaper account, the man who sold him the lots became involved in litigation with the Trustees of Ottawa University. The Trustees were victorious in court and Peter's lots, among others, were to revert to the University. Determined to save his home, Peter vowed to move the house to some lots he owned at 409 South Cedar. The O.U. Trustees claimed that all improvements on the property were to be restored to the university and went to the district court to enjoin him. The judge, however, had taken a recess and had gone on a fishing trip. That night Peter summoned some friends and neighbors. They put rollers under the house and proceeded to move it with five teams of oxen. The ground was extremely muddy and the oxen could not budge the load at first. With the aid of crowbars, levers and the expert engineering skills of John Dietrich, the feat was finally accomplished. By the time the judge returned, an injunction would have been too late. It was "strongly hinted at the time" that Peter's friends had taken the judge on the fishing trip.

Around 1886 Peter moved his harness shop for the last time to a building he had built at 113 South Main. Once more the family lived above the shop and they continued to live there until 1900.

Peter Kaiser: was an out-going, civic-minded man with a jovial spirit. He called square dances and met incoming trains to offer his assistance to German immigrants who could not speak English. Along with other Civil War veterans, he planted trees in City Park and cleared a site for Forest Park. He belonged to numerous fraternal organizations and was a charter member of the Ottawa Post of GAR, of which he was the last survivor. a staunch Republican, he often referred to his Democrat friends as "rebels." Peter served on the school board, Board of Health and as Justice of the Peace. In 1900 he served two terms as Probate Judge; hence the name "Judge Kaiser" by which he was known.

Peter retired from the harness business around 1900, and established himself as a pension attorney and insurance agent in an office at 234 1/2 South Main. The building was destroyed by fire in the late 1920's and he moved his office to his home.

Having been in business on Main Street for sixty years, Peter found it difficult to retire completely from the activity there. Even in his early 90's he would go downtown to one of the Kaiser Drugstores and visit for a while. He was fond of children and usually had a pocketful of suckers to hand out to the youngsters who came into the store.

Peter died in 1940 at the age of 96, seventy-one years after he first arrived in Ottawa.

Peter and Elisabeth had five living children: Maggie, Frederick, Clara, John, and Marie. Marie died in 1893 at the age of 9, but the others grew to adulthood in Ottawa. With the exception of Maggie, the entire family is buried in Hope Cemetery in Ottawa.

1861 – 1865 Record of Service – G.A.R. Record

As hand written by Peter Kaiser:

War Record: Enlisted in the 3 months service June 6, 1861 and was discharged September 10, 1861. Enlisted on December 1, 1861 and was discharged November 22, 1864 at St. Louis

Expiration of Term of Service:

Participated in the Battle of Wilson’s Creek August 10, 1861 was in General Curtis’ Army in South West Missouri and Kansas. Participated in the Attack on Vicksburg from Young’s Point, Louisiana and later in the Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, Jackson and Canton. Moved north to Memphis and participated in Battle of Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Ringgold Georgia. Participated later in the Atlanta Campaign, Dallas, Georgia, and Jonesboro, Georgia to Lovejoy Station. Participated in the Attack on Vicksburg, up the Yazoo River, while not describing any particular battles in the Atlanta campaign, it was on of continuous fight from Resaca, Buzzards Roost, Kennesaw Mountain, 22nd day of July when General McPherson was killed, to the Evacuation of Atlanta by the enemy.

Signed: Peter Kaiser (his own signature)

Personal Notes about Peter Kaiser and the Civil War times:

Peter enjoyed playing his harmonica and had a number of different sizes. The harmonica, as we know it today, was invented in 1821 by a 16-yr-old German clockmaker Frederick Ludwig Buschmann. The harmonica became a popular instrument with soldiers, immigrants and American peddlers. During the Civil War, many soldiers (both north and south) had a harmonica in their pocket. I wonder which, if any of the harmonicas we have in the family, were carried during his time in the Civil War.