Franz Sigel

Major General Franz Sigel

Sigel on the occassion of the dedication of the flag for the 3rd Missouri (Lyon's Fahnenwacht), of which he was colonel:
"When I was coming to this country, a foreigner and stranger, I did not imagine that in so short a time the people of this great republic- the last refuge of liberty... for free men of Europe- would so soon be divided by this most unfortunate evil war[, and] that millions of men... would rise against each other and spoil with their blood the sacred soil of their common country. But when I saw that the same great principles to whose [defence] I had devoted my life, were at stake here, I did not hesitate to embrace the cause of the Union with all the power of my soul and I am proud to say, that I did it with all the great zeal and good will of a man and a citizen... I am responsible for those who have fallen under my eyes for the maintenance of the Union... I will take that emlem of friendship with sympathy into the field and celebrate your remembrance with my friends and comrades in battle."

Source:
The best source on the life and career of Franz Sigel is:
Engle, Stephen D. Yankee Dutchman: The Life of Franz Sigel (Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1993)