Eugene Plumacher

Eugene Hermann Plumacher (March 7, 1838 – September 25, 1910) was a German-American diplomat, who served as U.S. consul to Maracaibo, Venezuela, from 1877 until 1890. He started his career as an officer in the Dutch navy and Swiss army, later serving in the Union Army as a colonel and working as a university professor.

Biography
Eugene Hermann Plumacher was born in Elberfeld in the Kingdom of Prussia, on March 7, 1838. He was educated in Germany, Switzerland, and France and, in 1859, enrolled in the Dutch navy as a third officer of the East India Naval Service; his naval career lasted six years. In 1865, he accepted a commission in the Swiss army as Lieutenant of Cavalry in the cavalry company. He was later promoted to captain of the Swiss army.

Plumacher later married the philosopher Olga Marie Pauline Hünerwadel; they had two children. The family later emigrated to the U.S. where he helped establish the Swiss colony of Beersheba Springs, Tennessee. He served as a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Plumacher later survived a bout of yellow fever and relayed reports on upheavals and conflicts in Maracaibo, which is now part of Venezuela. He studied lepers and leprosy, postulating that it was a hereditary condition. He also worked as a university professor in Tennessee.

The Inter Ocean ran a story in 1903 about how Plumacher discouraged others seeking his consul post by highlighting the deadly diseases and dangers surrounding the post. Plumacher corresponded with Dr. Charles Sajous. In his memoirs he discusses various aspects of life in Maracaibo.

Plumacher retired from his consul position in 1910 and died in Washington, D.C., on September 25 of the same year. He was buried in Glenwood Cemetery, Washington, D.C.

Publications

 * Plumacher, Eugene H. Memorias ("Memoirs"). 1912