Godfrey Weitzel died of typhoid fever at his home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 19, 1884. He was 48 years. He left behind his widow and an eight-year-old daughter.
Four days later, his body was returned to his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, where his aged mother still lived. Although Weitzel had wanted a private funeral, the city of Cincinnati commemorated the famous engineer and military hero. Awaiting the arrival of the remains were the 1st Ohio National Guard and Jacob D. Cox with fellow members of the Cincinnati Society of Ex-Army and Navy Officers. They accompanied the body to the English Lutheran Church on Elm Street, where the funeral was held in front of a capacity crowd.
During the procession from the church to Spring Grove Cemetery, thousands of citizens lined the streets to do homage to the general. The city's newspapers touted the spectacle as the largest gathering seen for a funeral in many years.
The Cincinnati Commercial Gazette honored Major-General Godfrey Weitzel: "In private life he was one of the most diffident and unassuming men. He was quiet in all his ways, and plain and practical in the discharge of all his duties. In his death the army and the Corps of Engineers loses one of its most capable officers, and society one of its best citizens."
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| Weitzel's Grave |
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