Description

Front: Lt. Colonel Heros Von Borcke, July 23, 1835, May 10, 1895, Aristocrat, Prussian Officer, Confederate Volunteer, Wounded Veteran

Back: Johann August Heinrich Heros Von Borcke served honorably with the 2nd Brandenburg Dragoons in his homeland. In 1862 he arrived in Charleston, SC to offer his service to the Confederacy. Assigned to JEB Stuart’s Staff he quickly won his confidence and that of the men. He reputedly carried the largest sword in the Confederacy to match his great stature. With Stuart at Upperville, VA in 1863 he received a mortal wound but refused to die; but he was with Stuart in 1864 when he died, and wept. He returned to Europe as a Confederate agent too late to help as the war ended. He was subsequently decorated for his service in the Austrian War. His grave site was destroyed by the Soviets during WWII but in 2008 a new Confederate Headstone was erected in his honor. It is said his estate always flew the Confederate Flag and is still honored there today. Von Borcke never owned a slave.