Friedrich Wiele was born on December 31, 1839, in Dehme, Westfalen, Prussia. In 1860, seeking a new life in America, the twenty-year-old Friedrich and his older sister, Justine, departed from Bremerhaven aboard the ship Senator Iken, arriving in New Orleans on October 29, 1860. The siblings then took ship up the Mississippi river. Friedrich settled in Red Bud, Randolph County, Illinois, a community with a substantial German immigrant population, where he worked as a farmer.
When the Civil War began, Friedrich answered the call to defend his adopted country. On August 27, 1861, he enlisted under Captain Ludwig at Red Bud for a three-year term of service. Standing 5'7" tall with brown hair, blue eyes, and a light complexion, the single, 24-year old Prussian native was mustered into Company M of the 7th Illinois Cavalry on September 3, 1861, at Camp Butler, Illinois.
The 7th Illinois Cavalry served extensively throughout the Western Theater, engaging in numerous campaigns and skirmishes. Friedrich participated in operations around New Madrid and Island No. 10, the Siege of Corinth, and continuous operations against Confederate forces in Mississippi and Tennessee. In April 1863, he took part in the celebrated Grierson's Raid, a daring 600-mile cavalry expedition through Mississippi that successfully disrupted Confederate supply lines and contributed to the fall of Vicksburg.
After Vicksburg fell in July 1863, the regiment was headquartered at Memphis and distributed along the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, where it engaged in frequent encounters with Confederate cavalry under General James R. Chalmers. On October 11, 1863, Chalmers attacked the Union garrison at Collierville, Tennessee with 2,500 troops. Confederate forces surprised the 7th Illinois Cavalry camp north of the town, routing the regiment and capturing 150 prisoners along with substantial supplies.
On November 3, 1863, Friedrich was captured at Coldwater in Tate County, Mississippi. He was sent to the notorious Andersonville Prison in Georgia, officially known as Camp Sumter. Originally built to hold 10,000 men, by the summer of 1864 the camp held nearly 33,000 Union prisoners in horrific conditions. Prisoners suffered from starvation, disease, and exposure, with their only water source being a creek that also served as the camp's latrine.
On August 9, 1864, after nine months of captivity, Friedrich Wiele died of disease at Andersonville Prison. He was twenty four years old. Friedrich is buried in Andersonville National Cemetery in Georgia, grave site 5158. He was among the nearly 13,000 Union soldiers who perished at the prison, and one of approximately 900 Illinois soldiers who died there. His death, like that of so many immigrant soldiers, represents the sacrifice made by those who fought to preserve their adopted nation.