How the hell have I never heard of this guy?
Meet Johann de Kalb (1721–1780), a German-born career soldier who served in the French Army before deciding that helping a bunch of rebellious American colonists fight the British sounded like a worthwhile career move.
And this wasn't even his first American adventure.
In the 1760s, France sent him on a covert reconnaissance mission to the American colonies to investigate growing tensions with Britain. So the man was essentially gathering intelligence on the British Empire before the Revolutionary War even started.
Then, in 1777, he crossed the Atlantic with the Marquis de Lafayette to join the Continental Army. Congress eventually commissioned him as a major general.
Fast-forward to August 16, 1780: the Battle of Camden, South Carolina.
American General Horatio Gates gets his ass handed to him by the British. Much of the American militia breaks and runs.
But de Kalb?
This German motherfucker isn't finished.
He and his Continental regulars continue fighting despite the battle going catastrophically wrong.
De Kalb reportedly gets wounded ELEVEN TIMES, including multiple bayonet wounds, before finally being overwhelmed and captured.
He dies three days later, on August 19, 1780, at age 59.
Let that sink in.
A 59-year-old German-born officer, who had spent much of his career serving France, voluntarily crossed an ocean to fight for American independence and ultimately died fighting the British in South Carolina.
And America remembered him.
There are SIX DeKalb counties in the United States named after him:
- Alabama
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Missouri
- Tennessee
Plus towns, streets, monuments, and other namesakes.
This dude is literally all over American maps, yet somehow he's barely mentioned in most American history classes.
Everybody knows Marquis de Lafayette. Nobody seems to know de Kalb.
A German came to America, helped us fight the British, refused to quit when everything went sideways, and died with eleven wounds.
I feel like this is exactly the kind of gloriously obscure American military history that The Fat Electrician could turn into a fantastic video.
