In the "Friedhof am Bruchhübel St. Johann" there are a total of seven recognizable gravestones of fallen soldiers from the Franco-German War. Originally these stood on graves in the area of the monument in Echelmeyer Park. The bones were not reburied.
Unfortunately, almost nothing can be seen on three gravestones. The other four are more or less in good to fair condition. There are four gravestones in the back, three more lie in the meadow. The front ones appear to be grave slabs.
A gravely damaged grave slab can be assigned to Captain Benno von Manstein, company commander of the 1st Company of the 2nd Hanoverian Infantry Regiment No. 77. He was seriously wounded on August 6th near Stieringen and died one day later of his serious wound. His entry in loss list No. 18 reads:
"Hauptm. Benno v. Manstein. T. S. i. Unterleib. Died in Saarbrücken on August 7, 1870"
Another, barely legible tombstone names Portepee Ensign Alexander von Randow of the 4th Company of the 8th Brandenburg Infantry Regiment No. 48, who fell on August 6th. He is listed in casualty list 9 with the following information:
"Port. Fähnr. Bogislaw Conrad Alexander v. Randow from Görlitz, T, Granatspl. I. D. Unterleib., August 6th, 1870"
Another plate denotes the grave of the sergeant and officer-aspirant Carl Spiecker of the 2nd Company of the Lower Rhine Fusilier Regiment No. 39. The specialty of the grave plate is that the writing is raised white and is not carved like on most stones. Therefore, this stone is still particularly easy to read and one of the few in its design. Sergeant Spiecker was wounded at Spichern and died on August 8, 1870 in a Saarbrücken hospital. His entry is in loss list no.17:
"Unteroffz. U. Offz.Asp. Carl Spieker, Elberfeld, S. v., Sch. I. D. Unterleib. Died on 08.08.1870 Laz. Saarbrücken"
The last legible gravestone is dedicated to Premier Lieutenant Werner von Beaulieu, who participated in the battle of Spichern as a member of the 4th Company of the Lower Rhine Fusilier Regiment No. 39, was wounded there and died three days later. He is mentioned on loss list number 17:
"Prem.Lt. Werner Louis Adolph v. Beaulieu, Wunstorf Hildesheim, Gest., Sch. D. D. Breast, died on August 9th, 1870 in Saarbrücken"
Now that we have uncovered the area, two more inscriptions have been deciphered. A stone can no longer be deciphered and a stone seems to have broken off at the top. Only the inscription "Be faithful to death, I will give you the crown of life" from the Revelation of John can still be read. In the case of another stone, only the date of death can be seen, although the second number can no longer be seen exactly (October 1, 1870). However, with this information it is almost impossible to identify the soldier, as the casualty lists were not complete and the information provided was very different.
A gravestone names the captain and company boss Gustav von Oppen, company commander of the 4th Company of the 2nd Brandenburg Grenadier Regiment No. 12 (Prince Karl of Prussia), who took part in the Battle of Spichern and died there. His entry can be found in loss list no.16:
"Captain and company boss von Oppen, Gustav, Kiekebusch Cottbus, 4th company, T"
Another stone, which is already very damaged, can be assigned to the second lieutenant and battalion adjutant Curt von Hobe, who was also a member of the 4th Company of the 2nd Brandenburg Grenadier Regiment No. 12 (Prince Karl of Prussia). His stone is in the immediate vicinity of the stone of his company commander, Hauptmann von Oppen. It is also mentioned in loss list no.16:
"Sec. Ltnt.u. Bat. Adjut., Von Hobe, Curt, Breslau, 4. Compagnie, T"
Translated by Google •
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