In 1875, he retired with the rank of captain and spent some time in America (1875 to 1877), afterwards settling at Kellinghusen in Holstein, where he remained until 1887.

[2] Liliencron was one of the most eminent of German lyric poets of his time; his Adjutantenritte, with its fresh original style, broke with the well-worn literary conventions then prevalent which had been handed down from the middle of the century.

According to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, Liliencron's work is somewhat uneven, since he lacked the sustained power which makes a prose writer successful.

[2] His poems were set to music, such as "Auf dem Kirchhofe" by Johannes Brahms as No.

German composers Luise Schulze-Berghof (1889-1970) and Pauline Volkstein (1849-1925) also set Liliencron’s text to music.