Age, twenty-two; residence, Des Moines, Polk County; native of Indiana; private; enlisted Sept. 9, 1861; killed in the battle of Shiloh, April 6, 1862. Captain A. G. Studer says of Wertzel, — "He was a good, faithful, and obedient soldier — a favorite among his companions. At Shiloh, when marching into battle, he was very eager and cheerful. A shell burst close to him — right over his head and the heads of his comrades. 'Good morning, sir,' said Wertzel, and fell the next moment — a minie ball striking him between the eyes. He was the first man killed in Company B. He was passing through Des Moines from the mountains when he enlisted. His mother lived in Illinois." "He was a good man," says Lieutenant Wilkins.
SOURCE: Leonard Brown, American Patriotism: Or, Memoirs Of Common Men, p. 215
