I Goes to Fight mit Sigel (or I'm Going to Fight mit Sigel) is a song written during the American Civil War by John F. Poole and set to the tune of The Girl I Left Behind Me. The song is named for German-American major-general Franz Sigel and the lyrics parody the language and culture of German immigrant soldiers.
Franz Sigel was a German commander from Baden. After immigrating to the United States, he was appointed to a brigadier-general position by Abraham Lincoln, serving from 1861 to 1864 with a generally poor military record. However, Sigel's popularity among German-Americans and German immigrants was generally unhampered by his poor military performance, as German-Americans generally preferred German leadership. Particularly during the early years of the Civil War, Sigel's German heritage was influential in attracting immigrant German volunteers. Many of these volunteers generally has no military experience and spoke very little English. The phrase "I fights mit Sigel" was a rallying cry for Germans expressing support for the Union, and a "passport" to join the Union army. The song was popular among minstrel impersonators after the Civil War.
The song is generally considered to be a comic ethnic joke about German soldiers, but others consider the song to a genuine celebration of the loyalty of German soldiers under Sigel's command. The song's lyrics are written in English with elements of thickly accented German throughout:
The language, along with references to lager, sauerkraut, and pretzels, reinforce a stereotype of a "typical German-American". "Fighting Joe" in the final stanza of the song refers to General Joseph Hooker:
A parody of the song was written by Confederate soldiers to mock Sigel's poor military performance and German immigrant soldiers: