Max Weber was born in Germany in 1824. A graduate of the German military academy he became involved in radical politics and after the failed 1848 German Revolution, where he fought under Franz Sigel, he emigrated to America.

Weber ran a German hotel in New York City until the outbreak of the American Civil War. Weber joined the Union Army and in May, 1861, was promoted to brigadier general. He was badly wounded at Antietam (September, 1862) and lost the use of his right arm. He continued on active duty and served under David Hunter and Franz Sigel in the Shenandoah Valley in 1864.

After the war Weber worked in the Internal Revenue Department until being appointed as US Consul at Naples. Max Weber died in 1901.