325.243 B38g M. J. Becker. The Germans of 1849 in ""America. An Address ... Columbus, 0. 1887 UimOIS HISTORICAL SURVEY I -m THE m^ Eeri-T]ai-]5 of 1549 in Ai7]eriGa AN ADDRKSS DELIVERED IJEKOKE iiidav Clyl) of fi V MRRCE 14, IBB 7. By M. T . B E C K E.^ . , t* .mt. verxox, o. The Repiulicax Printing House. 1SS7. -m THE #^ < n 61 CO Eernians ef 1549 in Anieriea ^ Thirtv-xine vears as^o the Central States of conti- c4 nental Europe were suddenly convulsed by a political commotion, which, although unsuccessful in its immediate objects, has nevertheless left an indelible impression, not only upon the local history of the countries directly con- cerned, but, indirectly also, upon the affairs of this countiy, which, in course of time, became the refuge and permanent ^ji home of a large number of th? prominent actors engaged in "^ that struggle. ^ For many years prior to 1S4S there had been, in various parts of Germanv, more or less secret agitation, and a few Vmstances of overt manifestations, indicating the existence of a movement in the direction of political reform. But these demonstrations were not of a well-defined, organized char- acter. The grievances complained of were mostly of local application, and the remedies proposed consequently lacked uniformity of purpose and concentration of effort, and they failed as a matter of course. But in order to understand the situation and realize the 349'77? condition of the country as it existed at the time of which I am about to speak, it Avill be necessary to sketch, briefly, the preceding history of its people; and since the marcli ot pi'ogress in German\- has t>-ver lieen exceedingly sIcav, I will be obliged to go back over quite a period of time, so as to trace, in a perceptil)le measure, the steps of its gradual development. For nine centuries, prior to its final dissolution in 1806, the various principalities composing the German Empire had been governed, more or less independently, by the princes, dukes, counts, bishops and barons, who, by fair means or foul, by inheritance or conquest, by purchase or cxchansfe, bv gambling or In- robbery, became possessed of the territories, which, for the time being, they called their own. Tt) follow, even approximately, the constantly- changing outlines of these possessions during the passing centuries, would be well-nigh impossible, even if it were sufficiently interesting, or of importance enough to warrant the hopeless task. As well might we attempt to retain in our memories the varying movements of the ever-shitting clouds in the skies. In order to maintain themselves against the frequent invasions of foreign foes, and at the same time to control, to a certain extent, the internal relations with each other, these petty rulers had, at an earh' day, found it necessary to establish some central authority, which, though created by themselves, should be supreme in the exercise of its delegated powers. The authority thus constituted in the year 911, devel- oped gradually into a system of government, which, under the name of the '' Holy Roman Empire,"' survived, during nine centuries of almost perpetual strife, the numerous wars incident to its own contests for succession, the revolt of the peasants with its attendant atrocities; the thirty years of bloody religious contest in the earlier part of the 17th century; the invasions of the Swedes from the North and the savao-e raids of the Turks from the South; the incessant dissensions within its own borders and the frequent insur- rectionary outbreaks among its own subjects; until, at the end of the last century, it crumbled to pieces under the upheavals of the French Revolution, and finally died in 1806 under the staggering blows dealt by the invincible armies of Napoleon the Great. The executive head of this central government was chosen by a board of electors, selected from the sovereigns of the separate principahties, partly ecclesiastic and partly secular; and after being crowned by the Pope, the chosen ruler would assume the title of Emperor. Sometimes the crown would descend from father to son and grandson through successive generations; but more frequently the dynastic period would cease with the life of a single ruler, and that life was not always terminated by a death from natural causes. And during all these years the common people — the serfs and peasants — would toil and starve, that the lords and bishops might feast and carouse. The soil belonged to the Church, to the barons, and to the lords; and they owned like^vise the game in the forest, which the peasant would sometimes be permitted to start up in the chase, not to be slain and eaten by himself, but to be killed at leisure by his lord, and then to be carried by the serf to the kitchen in the castle on the mountain, to be enjoyed by the master and his guests at the banquet in the ancestral hall, after a gay tournament with some knight errant, who, in search of adventure, had come to break a lance for the honor of his lady-love. This was the age of chivalry and romance, of trouba- dours and knight-errantry, of which sentimental poets sing in rapture; it was in truth the age of beastly brutality, barbarous ignorance and base superstition; and I am rigbt glad it is over; thanks to Johann Huss, to Phibp Melanch- thon and ^Martin Luther, who inaugurated the Great Rehgious Reformation; to Johann Guttenberg, who in- vented the printing press ; and to Berthold Schwarz, who discovered the explosive property of gunpowder. The period immediately succeeding the Reformation is especially characterized bv the fanatical ferocity of its protracted warfare; the wanton destruction, by fire and sword, of the fertile countries along the Rhine, by the French under Turenne during the reign of Louis XIV., has left in the hearts of the people a deep-seated resentment, which has been nursed through the memories of successive generations, and calls out for vengeance even this day. During the middle of the iSth century, the German Empire was ensfa^ed in a long and disastrous war with Frederick' the Great, the audacious King of the rapidlv-rising new Kingdom of Prussia; and near the end of that century it became involved in a war with the revolutionary leaders of the French Republic, which ended, after the unsuccessful campaign of 1792, in which Prussia had joined the German Emperor, in the temporary peace of 1797; but the renewed aggressions of the restless French Republicans resulted in another war, which again terminated in defeat, followed by another disastrous peace in iSoi, by the terms of which the ecclesiastical possessions were abolished, and much territory lost. Not satisfied yet, the French, upon some trifling jDre- text, provoked another war in 1S05, and once more defeated, not only the German Emperor, but also his allies, England and Russia, in the disastrous battle of Ulm, followed by the overwhelming defeat of Austerlitz, which battle Napoleon, in the pride of his newly-assumed title, delighted to call tlic battle of the " Three Emperors." With this defeat ended the German Empire, in the ahdica- tion of Francis II. of Austria, in iSo6. The period intervening between the dissohition of the Empire, and the war of deUverance in 1S13, embraces the darkest days of Germany's history. Conquered, humihated, oppressed, insulted; its rulers dethroned, exiled, imprisoned; its male population dragged into the armies of the con- queror, and placed in the front rank of his battles against their own kindred and countrymen; its cities and fortresses garrisoned bv the insolent foe, or razed to the ground by treaty stipulations, after successfully resisting siege and assault; the houses of its citizens turned into barracks, the farms devastated and the crops destroyed by the marches, battles and camps of contending armies. These were years of gloom, misery and mourning. But the day of deliver- ance and retribution came at last. When Napoleon, with the shivering remnant of his nearly-annihilated army, returned from Russia in the winter of 1813, his involuntary German allies saw their opportuni- ty and deserted him almost to a man. They issued patriotic appeals to their dear subjects to arise, and with " God for King and Country ", expel the foreign despot, who, upon the soil of his helpless allies, had been fighting his battles, for the glory of France, with the treasure and blood of his conquered victims. And with these appeals were given fair promises and royal pledges of constitutional liberties and a recognition of the rights of the people. And bravely did the people respond to the royal appeals, and heroically did they rise en masse, and never did they stop until the Corsican usurper was safely quartered on board the " Bellerophon," bound for the island beyond the equator where he died; and after the foreign despot had been thus disposed of and peace was restored, the good people of Gcrmanv, in the first enjoyment of their blessed security and gradually-returning prosperity, did not at onqe discover that thirty-six domestic despots had simply stepped in and quietly taken his place. When, at last, after the tinal otherthrow of Napoleon, the victorious princes of Germany repossessed themselves of their principalities, divided the spoils of the conquest, and re-adjusted the boundary lines of their territories, the political and geographical situation v\-as of course very much different from that of the German Empire at the time of its dissolution, ten years before. Prussia had risen, by its own elevation, from a small electorate to a kingdom, as early as 1 701, and had maintained its new position through a bloody war of seven 3'ears' duration, in spite of the opposition of the German Emperor and nearly all the other powers of Europe combined. Napoleon, after dividing the better por- tions of Germanv between his brother and brother-in-law, had permitted the electors of Bavaria and Wurtemberg to assume the titles of Kings, and rewarded them with an increase of territory for their services and assistance. The purely ecclesiastical sovereignties had been abol- ished during the early successes of the French Revolution; the number of free cities had been considerablv reduced, and the old landmarks were extensively and radically changed everywhere during the reconstruction of affairs subsequent to the final exportation of Napoleon after his defeat at Waterloo. Yet when, in iSi:;, they all came to- gether and formed that famous confederation known as the " Bundesrath," there were, exclusive of the free cities, still thirty-six distinct sovereigns left to rule, bv the grace of God, over our blessed fatherland. Twenty years of continuous wars and foreign occupa- tion had thoroughly exhausted the country; and the poor people naturally turned their attention more closely to the I'estoration of their material interests than to the realization of those dimly-outlined liberties which had been pledged as the reward of their heroic patriotism. Sweet patience has ever been the German's crowning virtue, and, at the time of which I speak, it was intensified bv the re-action which followed an vinusual exertion. The peasants contentedly raised their crops, which were generally small, and uncomplainingly paid their taxes, which were invariably large, realizing, in their stolid way, that their lot was indeed a hard one, but thanking the Lord that it was not worse. The merchants and tradesmen sold their goods for lower prices than they had realized during the inflated period of the war, but they were quite satisfied that thev could call the reduced profits their own, and were no longer compelled to pay the ransoms exacted by the marauding Frenchman as an alternative against sacking and pillage. The so-called " German Bund," or Diet, was an organi- zation composed of the sovereigns of the different states of re-constructed Germany; its fundamental laws were formu- lated at the Congress of Vienna, after the first deposition of Napoleon, and were afterwards ratified and amplified by the treaty of Paris, after Napoleon's final overthrow. In its original formation, and in its subsequent delibei'ations and enactments, the people had no voice. Its avowed object was to provide for defence against external enemies, and to guarantee the integrity of the various j^i'ii^cijDalities of which it was composed. It was considered a permanent body, always subject to call after adjournment. Austria held the presiding office; the total number of votes was 71, divided between the 39 states and free cities, each of which had at least one vote — Init some of the larger states had four or five. Two-thirds of the votes constituted a majority. A so-called interior or select council, composed of seventeen votes, in which a number of the smaller states collectively lO represented one vote, and in which simple phiraHty ruled, was charged with the execution of the measures adopted by the larger body. The meetings were usually held in Frankfurt-on-the-Main, and were generally conducted by accredited ambassadors of the ruling sovereigns, who seldom attended in person. The original constitution of this " Bund " provided that all the states and principalities composing its organization should establish, within their own territories, constitutional, representative local governments for the administration of their internal affairs; that the exercise of all forms of the Christian religion should be free in all the states, and that the religious status of the Jews should be taken into consid- eration at an early day; that citizens of one state should be allowed to acquire and own real property in any other state; that, subject to the military duty due by citizens to their native states, emigration and acceptance of civil offices in other states should be permitted. Liberty of the press, in a restricted form, was promised, and rules were established governing copyright; postal regulations, and laws regarding commerce and navigation, were passed; in its relations with the other European powers, the ''Bund," representing Germany as a whole, took position as an independent state, sending its own ambassadors to foreign countries, and receiving theirs in return. Under the provisions of this constitution, a number of the smaller states in Southern Germany had, at an early day, and under various forms, organized constitutional, represen- tative governments; but when, in 1819, some symptoms of political agitation In various parts of the country mani- fested themselves, the "Bundesrath," in a special session, convened at Karlsbad, so amended its constitution and laws as to materially modify the rights and liberties already granted, and revoking and qualifying many of its pledges 1 1 for future reforms. At the Congress of Vienna, held by the "Bundesrath" hi 1S19 and 1S30, some further restrictions were placed upon the exercise of previously-granted liber- ties; commissions were established to supervise the schools and universities; Censors were appointed to regulate all pubUcations, especially the newspaper press and periodicals; and peremptory. orders were issued to all the states which had established representative local governments, to the effect that the monarchical principle must be recognized as supreme in all their actions and deliberations. In 1S30, co-incident with the movement in France which sent Charles X. into exile and installed in his place the citizen-king Louis Philippe, Germany became some- what excited, and loud complaints were uttered everywhere at the long-delayed fulfillment of the promises made in 1S15. In Frankfurt a feeble attempt was made, under the leadership of some university students, to inaugurate an insurrection, which was speedily suppressed, and was fol- lowed by imprisonment of the leaders, and by the expulsion of many of the followers. The "Bundesrath" found in this attempt sufficient excuse for further restrictions. All public assemblies, the formation of societies, the wearing of badges, the carrving of flags or banners, were prohibited. Students were forbidden to attend lectures at certain foreign universi- ties; the sale and circulation of a large number of books ot certain authors was prohibited under severe penalties, and even the journeymen of the various trades, who from time immemorial had been permitted to pursue their vocations abroad, and who roamed habitually all over the country in search of occupation, were forbidden to visit, certain locali- ties, where, it was feared, they might absorl:) ideas inimical to the interests of monarchical government. Measures were also taken to perfect the military organ- ization' of the "Bund"; the contingent to be furnished bv 12 each state for the army was increased; certain fortresses were set apart, and specially'garrisoned by the troops of the Federation; and the miHtary relations of the states to the "Bund" and to foreign powers were definitely fixed. Such, in mere outline, was the condition of Germany prior to the outbreak in the Spring of 1S4S. When you consider that the situations and conditions in tlic different States varied not only amonor themselyes, but lacked iniiformity in their relations to the "Bund" as their central authority; that the basis of representation in those states which maintained some semblance of constitutional gpyernment rested upon a great variety of conditions; that all these representative bodies depended for their very exis- tence upon the pleasure of the sovereigns who could convene or dissolve them at will; that the governments of the larger states were mere monarchical absolutisms; that the unequal relations which the different states bore to each other gave rise to many difficulties, for which no permanent remedies could be found; that the varying interests of the ruling sovereigns were by no means conducive to harmony among themselves; that the re-division of the different sec- tions of the country, after the establishment of peace, had torn asunder old relations and compelled the amalgamation of new elements which would not readily combine; and when you further add to all this the univei'sal discontent caused by excessive and constantly-increasinof taxation, you can imagine that a general feeling of discontent and dissat- isfaction prevailed among the people, and that at the very first favoralile opportunity they would make demand for such measures of reform, and for redress of such special grievances as each class and occupation would feel to be more particularly oppressive. This opportunity at last presented itself, when, in the latter jxirt of February, 1S48, the stimulus given liy the 13 successful revolutit)n in Paris, which drove Louis Philippe into exile, aroused the entire continent, and stirred even the souls of the phlegmatic Germans into action, culminating during the early Spring in sudden flashes of open revolt in Berlin, in \"ienna and along the Southern 1:K)rders of the Duchy of Baden. Insionificant as these earlier demonstrations must appear when viewed in the light of subsequent events, they nevertheless had the cflect of wringing from the frightened rulers partial concessions antl promises of future redress. Relying upon these assurances, the people composed them- selves for the moment and quietly devoted the succeeding summer to the establishment and perfection of such reforma- tory measures as had been recently inaugurated, the election of representatives to the state legislatures, and the choosing of members for the National Parliament which was at last to lav the foundation for the long-drcamed-of unification of Germany. Meantime, the Provisional Government and the ultra- revolutionary element in France had been overthrown by the combined re-actionary factions in the sanguinary battles upon the pavements of Paris in the month of June, and the popular outbreak in Frankfurt in support of the measures proposed by the democratic members of Parliament had been suppressed in September by the cannon and bayo- nets of the united armies of Prussia, Austria, Hesse and Bavaria, and, as the winter approached, the emperors, kings and grand dukes gradually i-ecovered from their fright and beoran to breathe easier. The Crown Prince of Prussia (the present Emperor Wilhelm), who had been chased out of the the country in March, and had taken refuge in England, returned to Berlin; the disheartened rulers regained their courage ; a general re-action began ; concessions were revoked ; remonstrances were spurned; petitions were haughtily H rejected; riotous demonstrations were put down with unnec- essary cruelty and the participants were punished Avitli unusual severity. After the suppression of the rebellion in Vienna, in the autumn of 1848, nian\' of the captives were condemned bv court martial and shot. The winter of 1848 to 1849 ^^ '^^ passed in darkest gloom ; the people, discouraged by failure and embittered bv disappointment, were growing restless and desperate by degrees. In the meantime, France, which had given the first impulse, and which had been severely stunned by the stag- gering blow it had received in June, had now elected, after an exciting campaign, Prince Louis Napoleon as President of the Republic, which meant, as every intelligent observer could even then plainlv foresee, a return to a monarchical government. As a tcmporar}- administrator of the aflairs of Germanv, Parliament had chosen, in the early summer of 1S4S, the Archduke John of Austria, in whose election the princes of the smaller principalities, and the people generally, aqui- esced ; but Austria and Prussia never recognized his authority. Parliament had also succeeded, after much discussion, in adopting a series of articles embodying the framework for a future constitution. But they failed to give satisfac- tion to anv one ; thev did not express the wishes of the people, and it was quite apparent that they would not be respected by the rulers. On the 28th of jSIarch, 1849, the imperial crown of Germanv was offered by the majority of Parliament to the Kingf of Prussia, Frederick William IV.; the smaller states accepted the choice, but Bavaria, Wurtemberg, Hanover' and Saxony refused : ^Vustria formally protested, and after some hesitation, Frederick William himself declined. Thus were the fruits of a whole yeiu's parHamentary labor lost, and the hopes of the people destroyed. All further efforts by these means appeared now like mockery, and the prolonged deliberations of Parliament henceforth seemed but a farce. There was but one course left, aiul that was — Rev- olution. It began early in Ma}', 1849. \\ ith the expulsion of the Grand Duke of Baden, who, with his family and court, and the higher civil and military ofllicers. departed in great haste at the sudden uprising of his people, who were now fully aroused and in bitter earnest. The rank and file of the army, and a few officers of lower grade, joined the people and established a provisional government at Carlsruhe ; the places of the deserted officers were filled from the ranks and the troops marched to the frontiers to resist the invasion which would be sure to follow, unless equal success should attend simultaneous movements elsewhere. The adjoining Bavarian province across the Rhine followed the example of its neighbors in Baden, and the people took posses'slon of the offices left vacant by the departed functionaries ; the garrisons (excepting that in the Fortress of Landau) fra- ternized with the people. Volunteers in great numbers poured in from all parts of the country. An uprising had taken place at Dresden, but was suppressed, and the fugi- tives from Saxony joined the insurgents in Baden and Rhenish Bavaria ; soldiers deserted in many places and swelled the ranks of the Revolutionists, who, for a period of about a month, had things all their own wa}'. Meantime, Prussia, Hesse-Darmstadt and Nassau gath- ered up their forces and concentrated them along the Northern borders of Baden and the adjoining states in rebellion ; a few preliminary skirmishes took place on the Southern frontier of Darmstadt, and finallv, in the latter i6 part of I line, the armies of iinasion approached in force alono- both shores of the Rhine, and also crossed the Bavarian hne in two ccjkunns from the North and West, conNerorinof as thev athanced. The Fortress of Landau had remained in possession of the loyal troops of Bavaria, not- withstanding a bold attempt to capture it, and with such a dangerous enemy in the rear, it was not considered safe to risk any decisive engagement in its vicinity ; the Revolu- tionary forces retreated, therefore, slowly before the invading armies, and after a few unimportant engagements, crossed the Rhine opposite Carlsruhe, and joined the better- organized and much larger forces in the Duchy of Baden. A severe cnsrasfemcnt was fought at Waghausel near Mannheim, in which the present Crown Prince of Prussia, who had accompanied his father on this expedition, was slightly wounded, and in which it required the assistance of the Prussian Reserves to maintain the position of the invad- ing army. After another engagement near Upstadt between the Revolutionary troops from Bavaria and the Prussians, the combined forces of the rebellion took position on a line extendinor from the Rhine on the left to the frontier of Wurtemberg on the right, with the strong Fortress of Rastadt a little to the left of the center. At this point an obstinate resistance was made, and the position was only abandoned after two days of severe fighting, when the troops of the adjoining Kingdom of Wurtemberg crossed the frontier and attacked the insurgents in the rear. With this engagement ended the armed resistance in the field. A large part of the army took shelter in the Fortress of Rastadt, where they withstood a siege of nearly a month, while the remainder, constantly diminished by desertion, re- treated slowly before the advancing Prussians and other German troops, through the Black Forest to the borders of Switzerland, where they were disarmed by the Swiss '7 authorities ami permitted to take refuge in the (hflerent eantons of the confederation. The rank and fde were quar- tered and subsisted at the expense of the Swiss Government, until thev gradually took advantage of the proffered pardon and returned home. The leaders, who could not return, settled down temporarily in various parts of Switzerland; but in the vSpring of 1850 the Swiss Government, under pressure from its surrounding neighbors, induced, under the promise of assistance, the greater munl)er to leave the countr\-. A general exodus followed; Holland, Belgium, South America and England were sought by many, but by far the greater number embarked for the United States at once. The struggles, hardships, privations and sutierings en- dured bv most of these men during the earlier days of their American experience would form extremely interesting, but in manv instances very sad chapters in the histories of their checkered lives. Many fell by the wayside exhausted, and died of want in the crowded cities of the Eastern coast: some, in utter despair, cut short, with their own hands, the hopeless misery of their wretched existence. That the occu- pations which some were forced to accept did not in all cases afford opportunities for improving the advantages ot their earlier education, may be readily imagined. I remem- ber well, that in my o\vn case, while I was trimming toothsome bunches of bright red early radishes, and tying up bundles of fragrant young onions for the daily market, long- before the rising of the summer sun, upon a garden farm on Long Island, I often bewailed the misdirected applications of mv earlv youth; and even the mathematical tracing of the parallel furrows for the transplanting of beets and cabbages, and the engineering precision displayed in the setting out ot the succulent tomato vines, failed to satisfy my professional ambition; nor did I consider the compensation of four dollars per month for fifteen hours of daily toil an adequate reward x8 for skilled labor like this. It is true. I had board and lod^inp; besides. The board, 1 am bound to sav, was inferior in kind, though ample in quantity; but the lodging was on a most liberal scale. 1 had the wh )le of Long Island to sleep on, \vith millions of mosquitoes svveetlv singing their lullabvs. One day I met, in the lower part of New York, a ^ oung sculptor, who in his early youth had been a school- fellow of mine, and who, while pursuing his studies at the ^Vcademv of I'ine Arts in Paris, had been drawn into the common whirlpool of rebellion, and after drifting about for a while in Belgium and England, had arrived in America a short time before. Although still quite young, he had achieved remarkable success, and had been rewarded with a prize medal in recognition of his talent and genius. We were glad to see each other. After a rapid exchange of experiences, I ventured to ask how he was prospering in his profession. " Ah, you should come to my studio and see for yourself," he said ; *' I am just now engaged in putting the last finishing touches upon some magnificent masterpieces of plastic art ; you must see them, before they leave my studio." Responding to his invitation, I found him, a few davs afterwards, in a low, dingy back room of a small carpenter shop in Greenwich Street, busilv engaged in rubbing down with sandpaper the colossal limbs of a wooden Pocohontas, destined to adorn the entrance door of a tobacco shop. But in accordance with the law of natural selection, in the universal strusfsfle for existence, the fittest will always survive; and if I have not already completely exhausted \our patience, I will sketch, in brief outlines, the histories of a few of the prominent survivors of this struggle. ^9 FREDERICK IIECKER. First in point of time, and foremost in prominence and distinction, came Frederick Hecker. When, after the few temporary poi^uhir successes of the early Spring of 1S48, the i^eople throughout Germany, elated with their triumphs, confiding in the promises of their vanquished and compliant rulers, and hoping for a peaceful realization of their long-cherished hopes, sent their hastily-chosen representatiAcs to the Provisional Convention at Frankfurt, with instructions to formulate the outlines and construct the rudimentary framework upon which the eventual permanent Parliament should build its ship of state, Hecker, who had been chosen as one of the delegates, realized, at an early day, that it would be in vain to look to this body for the realization of his hopes. There was manifestly a very wide division among the delegates regarding the general objects in view; and while they all agreed that the spirit of the age demanded some measures of reform, it soon became evident, that in regard to their range and extent, and the means of accomplishing them, the. sentiment of the Convention was greatly divided. The conservative side of the house insisted upon the fullest maintenance of the prerogatives of the ruling sovereigns, and the strictest adherence to the monarchical form of government; and the}' limited their concessions to the people to a restricted system of representation, a moderate exercise of the liberty of the press under governmental supervision, and the right to assemble for peaceable purjooses by special permission; they preferred the continu- ance of the old " Bundesrath " — with some modifications — as the central government for united Germany. The moderate liberal party of progression demanded 20 coustitutiunal monarchical j^uvcrmiieats, with responsible cabinet ministers for the several states; unrestricted liberty of the press; a reduction of the standing armies, and an Emperor for the ruler of united Germany, to be elected by Parliament. The radical members of the extreme left called aloud for immediate abdication of the ruling sover- eigns, total abolishment of the standing armies, and a republican government for all Germany, including Schles- wig and Ilolstein, the (jerman-speaking provinces of Denmark. Between these three leading factions there were many intermediate shades of political creeds, but the extremest member of the extreme republican left was Frederick Hecker. There was no question regarding his platform, and there was no such word as "compromise" in his politi- cal vocabulary. He soon turned his back upon the Convention, and, in a passionate, eloquent appeal, called his constituents of the Lake District from the North shore of Constance, to arms. And heartily did they respond with such arms as they had. With guns of every pattern from the days of the arquebusc do^\;n, with swords dating back to the crusades, they came; pikes and lances they bore; battle-axes and pistols of ancient make; but by far the greater number bore the weapon of old Saturn himself, scythes fastened straight to their handles, with blades sharpened and whetted to the keenness of a razor's edge. Formidable weapons they were, indeed, for close range, but of very little avail against the needle guns of the army; and when, after a short parley upon the field near Kanderen, the troops sent a volley of minie-balls rattling through the scvthe-blades, the insurgents fled and dispersed, and the armed rebellion collapsed. This was in jNIay, 1848. Hecker, mortified and sorely disappointed, took refuge in America, and settled, witli a few of bis immediate friends, near Belleville, in Illinois. He had been the leader and parliamentary champion of the people in that first crude and primitive specimen of representative government in Germany, the Chamber ot Deputies of the Grand Duchy of Baden, for a number of vears prior to 1S4S. Eloquent, sincere, enthusiastically devoted to the people by whom he had been chosen, he enjoved, in return, a popularity seldom attained by mortal man. Of handsome presence, graceful figure and impres- sive countenance, frank in speech, prompt in action, he was idolized bv men and women alike. The f;\mous Hecker Song could be heard upon the highways and byways of Southern Germany, in village and city, sung early and late, by young and by old, with enthusiastic fervor, and encored to the echo. Of sanguine temperament himself, personally brave and fearless to a fault, it is not surprising that he, flattered bv everv possible manifestation of popular devotion, and believing firmly in the righteousness of his cause, did not only count upon the fullest support of his own people, but confidentlv expected to win over to his side the very soldiers who were sent to destroy him. How deep must have been his gfrief, how sore his mortification, at the sad failure of his eftort. Still, when in the following Spring the news of the second uprising in his native country reached him in his Western home, he hastened, with all the enthu- siasm of his fervent nature rekindled, across the ocean, only to learn, upon landing, the far more disastrous failure and the far more bloody defeat of the cause for whose success he woidd have gladly given his life. Sorrow fid and almost heart-broken, he returned to his American home, leading for many years the quiet life of a Western farmer, visited occasionallv bv old friends, exiled 22 from their country like himself, pursuing, in his modest wav, the laborious duties of his new occupation, respected for his sterling worth, beloved for his honesty and integrity, and admired by all who knew him, for the grand yet simple traits of his character. When our own rebellion shook the Union from centre to circumference. Frederick Ilccker hastened to the defence of his adopted country with a full regiment of men, enlisted by himself. The S^d Illinois, or so-called Hecker regiment, composed principally of German soldiers, did credit to itself and to its commander throughout the war, from which he returned at its close, with a severe wound, sorely crij^pled for life. The honest sincerity and enthusiastic fervor witli which he performed his duties, and which frequently assumed a degree of energy bordering on vehemence, led him occasionally into ludicrous and embarassing situations. At the re-election of Abraham Lincoln in the fall of 1S64, Hecker ordered his regiment out in full dress, armed and equipped, and marched the men to the polls with bay- onets fixed, drums beating and colors fl3-ing; and the soldiers voted for old Abe to a man. When Mr. Lincoln, who had known Hecker well as a neighbor in Illinois, heard of this he felt greatly annoyed, and sent for him, and remonstrated with him for committing such a flagrant breach of propi'iety. Hecker quite seriously and earnestly contended that there was nothing wrong in his conduct: if it was proper to vote at all, it could not be imjoroper to do it in good st3de; and, as a justifying precedent, he told Mr. Lincoln that in the days of ancient Rome the legions always emphasized their suffrage by striking their brazen shields with their swords. But honest old Abe did not seem to appreciate the application and failed to see the similarity between a regiment of .Suckers from Western ^3 Illinois and a Roman legion; nor would he admit the semhlance between himself and an Imperial C;?sar. -. After Hecker's return from his four years' service in the armv, he found that the quiet life on the farm did no longer agree with him; his crippled condition interfered with his occupation; and the idle hours dragged heavily. For a season he sought relief and diversion in a lecturing tour, hut met with indifierent success; the subjects chosen for his discourses, although treated with consummate, scholarly skill," were not adapted for liis audiences; his place was the tribune, not the platform. Shortlv after the Franco-German war Hecker made a visit to his old home in Germanv, where he was enthusias- tically received by his former friends and neighbors, with whom he rejoiced heartilv over the final realization of his hopes, the recentlv-accomplished unification of Germany. After his return to America he gradually retired from active life; the infirmities of old age, attended sometimes AN'ith intense suffering, crept on apace, and he died five years ago at his countrv home near Belleville, honored by all who ever knew him. for his uncompromising honesty and ster- ling integritv. CARL SCHURZ. The man, who, on account of his superior education, and bv virtue of his uncj^uestioned talent and great natural ability, could and should have become the foremost representative German in America, is Carl Schurz. But the attainment of such distinction could never have been his ambition; for the success which has always attended his efforts in other directions, would certainly have been a sufficient guarantee for ample reward in this, if he had seen proper to make the attempt. Perhaps he felt, that by giving his services to the 24 whole country of his adoption, he would, at the same time, best promote the special interests of his native country- men. Howcyer that may have been, it is quite certain, that while he acquired fame, he lost popularity, and while he gained distinction, he sacrificed the affection of his people. And yet, no one ever suspected the honesty of his motiyes or questioned the sincerity of his intentions; Init he lacks that straightforward, open-hearted, cheerful adherence to a correct principle and the steadfast support of a righteous cause, which pardons minor faults and generously oyerlooks triflinor defects; he is deficient in that charity which is will- ing to spare the doomed citv, if there can be found but three righteous people within its walls; still. I am inclined to ascribe to an ill-conceiyed sense of duty these failings, which others haye attributed to cold-hearted, mercenary selfishness. Indeed, it would be impossible for a cold- hearted, selfish character to possess the self-sacrificing devo- tion which Schurz displayed, when, after having safely escaped capture, he bravely risked his own life in the rescue of his imprisoned friend, Gottfried Kinkel, under difficulties which called forth the exercise of the highest courage and the most heroic perseverance. O J. At the commencement of the revolutionary movement in 1848, Schurz was a student at the University of Bonn, where his friend, Professor Kinkel, was reading lectures on literature. The out-break in 1S49 brought both to the seat of war, where Kinkel enlisted in Willich's Corps of Volun- teers, and fell during the battle at Rastadt, dangerously wounded, into the hands of the Prussians. Schurz served as aid to Frederick Anneke, who had assumed command of the artillery in the fortress. After the retreat of the army from the field around Rastadt, the fortress was invested and beseiged, and finally capitulated. But during the night preceding the final surrender, Schurz made his escape thioui2^h sewers and ditches and crossed the Rhine in safety. Kinkel, who was a Prussian sul))ect and soldier, and who had l)een captured while tighting against the arni\- of his sovereign, was sentenced to be shot, and would have been executed, if he had not been rescued bv Schurz's daring effort. Thcv linallv landed in Eng-land, where Kinkel remained; but Schurz soon came to America and settled at Watertown, in Wisconsin. His general ability, esiDecially his eloquence, soon brought him into prominence, and as early as iS^6 he carried by storm such far-famed masters of oratory as vSumner and Wendell Philips bv a speech wdiich he made at a banquet in Boston. In iS6o he was a delegate to the National Convention which nomi- nated Lincoln, whom he ardently supported during that memorable canvass which resulted in his election. After the inauguration, Scliurz was appointed Minister to Spain, which office he soon resigned to take a command in the armv. His militarv service, although not distino-uished for any particularly remarkable achievements, has been uni- formly honorable and creditable. It is admitted bv those who knew him then, and had opportunities to judge, that he was a brave, devoted soldier, dutiful and sincere. His military record is voluminous, and the range of his activity quite extensive. In August, 1S62, he commanded the 3d Division of Sigel's ist Corps during Pope's camj^aign at Manassas. In May, 1863, he fought at Chancellorsville at the head of a di\ision in the iith Corps: in Julv of the same year he was at Gettysburgh, where he assumed tem- porary command of the entire iith Corps, when Gen. Howard, after Reynold's death, was placed in charge of the 1st, 3d and Iith Corps combined; on the first da\' of that battle Schurz displayed great personal courage in attempt- ing to rallv the routed troops of his Corps, and on the second dav he repulsed a fierce attack of the rebels u})on Cemetery Hill, where his headquarters were. Transferred with Gen. Hooker to the West, he fouudit before Chattanooi^a in September, and in November took part in the storming of Missionary Ridge. After the close of the war he was sent liv President Johnson, together with Generals Grant and Thomas, upon a commission of inspection into the Southern States, to rejDort upon ilieir condition and ascertain the sentiments of the people. During his term in the United States Senate he gave oflence to the ultra Republicans by his open ad\ocacv of a conciliatory policy towards the South: his sjDeeches on the vSt. Domingo Treaty and on the German Arms question were masterpieces of brilliant oratorv and logical argument. The clear, concise and comprehensive manner Avith which he treated the financial question during the inflation heresv of a few years ago, is admitted by all fair-minded people to be convincing, exhaustive and unanswerable. As a Cabinet ISIinister during the uneventful administration of President Hayes, he conducted the affairs of his Depart- ment on plain but strict business principles, and left the public service with the undisputed reputation of being an honest man. His subsequent career upon the field of political journalism has been characterized bv a hvpercriti- cal treatment of the living issues of the dav, and bv the assmnption of negative positions between the parties, which satisfied neither, and simply made it necessarv for himself to desert to the enemy in order to punish his friends; and having repeated this operation rather too often, he is now left alone in the hands of his enemies, with no friends left to be punished. 27 ALEXANDER SCHIMMELPFENNIG. The secret agitations Avhich for a number of years preceded the final outbreak in 1848, extended, In sonic few instances, among the officers of the Prussian army. The principal centers of this movement were in Westphalia and among the garrisons along the lower Rhine; the officers of the artillery regiments stationed in Cologne, Wesel,#Mun- ster and Minden were especially affected. Some of the officers of the infantry also caught the contagion. As the movement spread, it became more and more difficult to maintain secresy; discoveries were made by spies and detectives, followed by peremptory dismissals of some, and the forced resignation of others. The ^t\\ Regiment of Artillery was almost dismembered by dismissals of its officers during the years of 1S46 and 1S47. Among them were August Willich, Joseph Weidemeyer and Frederick Anneke. Amonsf the infantry officers who left the service about that time was Alexander Schimmelpfennig. He had been a Lieutenant in the 39th Regiment of Infantry, stationed in my native city of Coblentz, and when I met him in May, 1S49, at Ludwigshafen, opposite Mannheim, just after Col. Blenker had captured the Bavarian end of the pontoon bridge over the Rhine at that point, we naturally became acquainted and mutually attached to each other. He was then quite young, short and lithe of stature, blonde and fair, aggressive, combative, a little haughty, but genial, and quite dashing, the ^■ery picture and ideal of the typical sub-lieu- tenant of the Prussian army. His silky, cream-colored mustache was curled up defiantly at both ends, and he car- ried his dimpled chin high up in the air like a boy with a chip on his shoulder. After a few days he was assigned b\' 28 the Provisional (Tovernment ot" Trans-Rhenish Bavaria to the command of some of the regular troops who had gone t)ver to our side, and of the \olunteers who were flocking in from all parts of the country, and which he stationed along the Prussian frontier, with headquarters at Zvvcibrucken. Upon my arrival at this town soon afterwards, I was detailed for service as aid to the Civil Commissary of the District, Doctor Weiss, now a resident of Buffalo, N. Y., to whose fatherly care and friendh' interest I am indebted for mv existence to-dav. While Schimmelpfennig drilled his recruits, I assisted Doctor Weiss in collecting the revenue from the adjacent coal mines and salt works, bv a pro- cess so expeditious and prompt that it could properly be classed under the head of '• direct taxation." This lasted for about three weeks, but one line morning two Prussian columns marched over the border, under the command of the Crown Prince of Prussia, scattered Schimmelpfennig's regulars and volunteers, and while he was trying to check the rout, a Prussian rifle-ball pierced his leg. On that same morning, before I went out on my last revenue errand, I had borrowed a pair of boots from Schimmelpfennig, to wear while my own were undergoing repair. When I met Schimmelpfennig in the afternoon, on the retreat between Zweibrucken and Landau, stretched out in an ambulance, he laughingly said, " Keep the boots, my boy, I will not need them for a Avhile." Three or four months later, after we had passed over the border into Switzerland, I met him again in Zurich and returned his boots, somewhat the w"orse for wear during the preceding campaign and retreat. I never saw him again, nor even heard of him, until his name was mentioned in the newspapers as a possible colonel for a regiment of CTcrmans. enlisted for the war in the Spring of iS6i. He served under Sig^el in the jVrniv of the Potomac 29 during- the cunipaign of Gun. Po])c, fought bravely at Groveton, and was promoted for galhintry at the second battle of I^ull Run. At Chancellorsville he coniniandetl the first brigade of Schurz's Division of the iith Corps. At Gettysburgh he commanded Schurz's Division on the first day, and fought \vith distinction upon Cemetery Ridge on the second day of that battle. In February, 1864, he was sent to St. John's Island in Charleston Harbor, and in Feb- ruarv, 1S6:;, he entered that rebellious city at the head of his Division, the first Union soldier to set foot upon its streets since the firing on vSumter. His health had become seriously impaired during the the last year of the war, and he died from the efl:ects of his exposures in the swamps of South Carolina, in September, 186^, at ]Miners\ille, Pa. FREDERICK KAPP. But the brightest, most genial and trulv lovable charac- ter of all was Frederick Kapp. He was born in the town of Hamm, in the Prussian Province of Westphalia, where his father was Principal of the Gymnasium, as the German colleges are called. Whoever has traveled through that part of Germany, must have been attracted by the singular beauty and physical perfection of its people. Tall of stature, muscular and erect in carriage, with rosy cheeks and fair complexions, clear blue eyes and curling hair of golden hue, the very peasants are models of statuesque beauty and grace; and of this type, Kapp was a superior specimen. Full of health and manly strength, his kindly eyes fairly aglow with merriment and good humor, he delighted to tell his jolly stories and deliver his witty sallies in that peculiar lisping Westphalian accent, which to a Southern 30 German has al\va\s a jx-culiar cliarm. His features were clear-cut, regular, and expressive of strength and character, but his p'ood-naturcd smile secured him at first sight the lasting friendship of all; nor did the deep-cut scar on his risfht cheek, a relic of his Heidelberr in the Artillery of the Guard. He had just been assigned to dutv as a voung advocate at the {Superior Court in his native town of Ham m \vb.en the Revolution of 1S48 broke out in Paris and spread over Germany with lightning speed. After taking an active part in the agitation preceding the elec- tions, he took up his residence in Frankfurt at the assembling of Parliament in that citv, where he remained as correspondent for some of the leading journals of the dav, until the bloodv insurrection in September, during which Count Lvchnovski and Baron von Auerswald, reac- tionary members of Parliament, were killed, when he found it prudent to remo\e to Paris, which was just then beginn- insr to be agitated bv tlie mo^'ement which resulted in the election of Louis Napoleon as President in the following December. During the winter of 1S4S and. 1849, Kapp remained in Paris, engaged as correspondent for various journals and contributor to several German periodicals. In Mav and June. 1S49, while we were in the field against the Prussians, in Southern Germany, Kapp came over once or twice to \isit us; but he did not take anv active part in that campaign; and when, after its disastrous conclusion, we retreated into Switzerland. I found him. in Augfust, at Gene\a. living in the familv of the famous 31 Russian i"e\olutionist, Alexander Ilerzen. uliose literary works he prepared for publication, while, at the same time, he was entrusted \\\[h the education of Ilcrzcn's \-oun<': son. Early in i8:;o he came to Xew York, where he Hrst engaged in literary work. ])ublishing among other works a clear and concise history of sla\er\' in the United States, which little volume ctjutributed larox-h- t.) the enligfhtcn- ment of the German popidation on this important topic, which just then occupied such a large share in the political affairs of this countrw lie became also editor of a news- paper called the Evoiijio- Gazette, published hv a co-opera- tive association of printers. He wrote the lives of Baron Steuben and of de Kalb. both of which v^'ere translated into English, and obtained cpiite an extensive circulation. Later, when he had been appointed Commissioner of Emigration, he wrote a general historv of emigration, which contains much interesting statistical information. Durincr nearly all this time he conducted, in partnership with Zitz and Froebel. a foreign exchange business. Both these part- ners had been prominent in the political aff\iirs of Germany; both had been members of Parliament; Zitz represented the city of Mainz. Froebel. who was a brother of the founder of the now well-known Kindergarten method for the earh' education of children, had taken an active part in the re\'o- lutionary movement in \'ienna during the summer of 1S4S. When that city was finally retaken bv the troops of the Emperor of Austria, wh) had been compelled, at the outbreak, to flee for his life and hide himself at Insbruck in the Tyrol, Froebel was captured, together with Robert Blum, another member of Parliament, from the c\\.\ of Cologne, and l)oth were condemned by court martial to be shot. Blum was executed, but Froebel was pai'doned, quite unexpectedly, at the very last moment, and released unconditionallv. y- The firm of Zitz, Kapp & Froebcl dissolved sometime during the sixties, and Kapp returned to his native country about the time of the Franco-German war, and was soon afteru ard elected to the Imperial Parliament, in which he ser\ed with credit to himself, and to the recognized satis- faction of his constituents, imtil the time of his death- about two ^■ears ago. CHRISTIAN ESSELLEN. Among the early school-felU)Ws and subsequent college mates and university chums of Frederick Kapp was Christian Essellen, whose career I will briefly mention by way of contrast. His father was a quiet, unobtrusive, respectable old gentlemen, an official of the Superior Court in the town of Hamm, in Westphalia, with a small salary, but with a very formidable title, long enough, as his wicked son mockingly delighted to tell us, to constitute a complete hexameter b}' itself. Listen, and hear how it sounds: " Oberlandesger- ichtssalariencassenrendant." Nineteen syllables and thirty- nine letters in one word; fourteen vowels and twenty-five consonants. And . what dt) you suppose it all means ? Listen, again, and I will tell you. It means that the poor old man was the cashier of a treasury in which were deposited the funds for the payment of the salaries of the officers of the Superior Court. Who will dare tell me after this that my native tongue is not concise and expi^essive .'' Out of his small income the poor old gentleman with the extensive title managed to give his son Christian a first-class education, which, iis: Isted by a phenomenally bright intel- lect, developed, at an unusually early age, a mind of rarest brillianc}'. Before he was nineteen he wrote a tragedy, " Rienzi Cola,*' the superior merit of which was acknowl- 33 edged at the time b\ critical judges in most flattering terms. But with the actjuisition of knowledge he absorbed the poison of e\il. He left tlie university an intellectual giant, but at the same time a moral wreck. He became a slave to ever\- vice: he made no attempt to resist temptation, l)ut appeared to take a hendish delight in oflending every \irtue and defvinne River he was captured, in consequence of his anxiety to report personally to his chief the move- ments of some rebel troops on his flank, which led him to ride to headquarters alone, and running straight into the enem\'s lines on his return. At Mumfordville, the superior training of his regiment enabled it to resist, though scat- tered out in skirmish line, a sudden and very fierce attack of a regiment of Texas Rangers, killing its Colonel and repulsing the troopers with heavy loss. This little fight is described as one of the most brilliant achievements of the war. A little yellow, white-maned Texas mustang, which was captured bv Willich on that occasion, was sent by the captor to the young son of Judge Stallo, at Mount Auburn, Avliere it became the pet of the neighborhood. Willich arrived at Shiloh in command of the 32d Indiana early on Monday morning, and at once made a gal- lant attack on the enemy, but met with stubborn resistance. Finding that imder the heavy fire some of his men began to lose self-control, he stepped in front, and for fully ten minutes drilled them in the manual of arms, as he said, to cool them off, and make them steady, and then continued the fight. It is sufficient to say, tliat at Chickamauga he was with Thomas. In one of the engagements near Atlanta he received a severe wound in his upper right arm. which dis- 39 abled liim for active service, and, upon his partial recovery, he was placed in command of the post of Cincinnati, where he remained imtil the close of the war. The old saying, that Republics are ungrateful, is, like many other old sayings, only partly true; but the manner in which thc\' manifest their gratitude leaves it sometimes questionable whether the reward is not a punishment. When a good man has served his country well in one capacity, he is generally made to serve it in another for which he is whollv unfit. The election of General Willich as Auditor of Hamilton County is a flagrant example of this kind, intensified by a repetition. It was the intention to give the brave old soldier an opportunity to save, out of the large income of his office, enough to make himself comfortable for the rest of his days; Init he bad no more idea of savins: monev for himself than be bad of auditiny- the accounts of his office. He became the easy victim of insinuating imposters, and the favorite subject of visionarv cranks; and though be paid dearly for bis experiences, be did not profit bv their lessons. To save him at last from actual want in his old age, his friends secured, during the last vear of bis second term, a part of bis income, and invested it in such a manner that he could not dispose of it, except in small amounts gradually drawn out. Depending upon these allowances for his subsistence, and being of frugal habits, be managed to live abroad for several years, attending lectures on philosophy at the Uni\ersity in tlie same citv of Berlin where, nearly fifty years before, he had studied the science of war as a youthful cadet. Upon his return to this countrv he settled in the quiet little village oi' Saint Marvs, in Auglaize County, near some old friends of his soldier days, and j^^n'sued, with the enthusiasm of a school-bov. the studies he bad commenced at the Berlin 40 University, spenclliifj liis leisure in frolicsome plays with the children of the a illagc, whose dearest friend he was. One nio-ht he retired in good health and spirits, and the next morning he was missed hy the children at the play- ground. He had died during the night, apparently without a struggle. FREDERICK ANXEKE. Among the ofHcers of the Wcstphalian x\rtillerv Regi- ment who left the service prior to the outhreak in 184S, was Frederick Anneke. He was a First Lieutenant at the time of his discharge. He was quiet, studious, reticent, almost morose, hut positive in his convictions and determined in his actions. He took a prominent part in the movements of the Spring of 1S4S in ^Munster and in Cologne, where for a time he \vas imprisoned, with others, for making inflamma- tory speeches and for issuing incendiary puhlications. In May, 1849, he was made Chief of Artillerv of the revolu- lutionary armv in Baden, and as such took command of the artillerv in the Fortress of Rastadt; hut, knowing well that in case of his capture at the eventual surrender he would certainly he shot, he made his escape from the Fortress just before its investment, and retired with the army into Switzerland. After a short residence in England, he came to the United States, and settled in Milwaukee. If he took any part in our own war of Rebellion, it could not ha\e been a very conspicuous one, but I think he was absent in Europe at that time on account of ill health. He died in Chicago about ten vears ago. His wife, Mathilda Francisca Anneke, survived him until two vears ago. She was a woman of distinguished character and rare accomplish- ments. In her youth she was quite famous for her beauty and dignified grace: she had been married at an earlv age to a Wcstphalian nol)lcinan of dissipated habits and l^rutal instincts, ^vho ill-treated her until she was compelled to leave him and obtain a divorce. vShe married Anneke a short time after his discharge from the armw Prior to this she had written several books of local historv, and also some works of fiction. She acccompanied her husband during the entire campaign of 1S49, '^"'^^' shared his subsequent exile. In ^Milwaukee she established a school for the educa- tion of young ladies, which appears to have been well conducted, and largely patronized by the best pegple of the citv and neighborhood. Her voice was verv sweet and melodious ; her lang-ua"-e alwavs earnest, difrnified and impressive; the subjects of her discourse were alwavs chosen with taste, tact and sound judgment, while her man- ners were graceful and pleasing. The life work of such a woman cannot be wasted, and we can safely take it for granted that the beneficial influ- ence of her teachings and example will be felt, and gratefully appreciated, b}- her pupils and their descendants, for generations ^■et to conie. CARL IIEINZEX was a distinguished journalist and an accomplished writer of wonderful force and influence; concise and clear in his statements, logical and convincing in his arguments, bitter and fierce in his denunciations, and relentless in his perse- cution; a severe, uncompromising critic; a man to be admired, but feared rather than loved. His prolific pen had kept the German censors busy for many years prior to the Re\-olution. Most of his publica- tion were confiscated, on general 'principles, as soon as they 4: left the press, unless thev had already been seized bv the police in the composing room. Ph3\sicallv, he was a man of gigantic frame, six feet or more in height, able-bodied and strong; but there was no fight in him. He seemed to feel that his pen was mightier than his sword, and he preferred to attack the enemy at long range with tierce pronunciamentos and soul-stirring harangues; but ne\er a drop of blood would he spill — neither the enemy's nor his own; and \yhile the rest of us fought and then ran away so as to liye and fight some other day, Heinzen, who had neyer fought at all, ran away with the others, but eyidcntly more with a yiew of saying his life for the time being than with the intention of renewing the fight at some future day. During our refuge in Geneya, we li\ ed close together at (irand Pre, on the hedge-lined road to Petit-Sacconnex, near the country-seat of Albert Galere, whose hospitable house was made the cheerful home for many a wanderer during the dreary winter of 1849. At a little cabaret, where the red wine from Tessin and the purple-tinted melange from Canton de Vaux were sold so cheap that eyen we, the poyerty-stricken memliers of the so-called "Brimstone Club,"' could afiord to drink them on credit, Ilcinzen was our frequent guest. He reached New York, after a short stay in England, during the \ear 1S51. and after publishing a newspaper in that cit\- for a fe\y \ears, he moycd to B.oston, where he continued its publication with considerable success imtil the time of his death, about eight \ears ago. OSWALD OTTENDORFER. When Oswald Ottendorfer came to Kaiserslautern in 'Max. 1849, to oft^cr his seryices to the Proyisional Goycrn- 43 ment, he Avore the uniform of the Academic Lc^^ion of tlic l"ni\evsit\- of Vienna, where he had been a student, and Avhcre he had taken part in the insurrection of the previous year, and in the more recent movement in concert with Kossuth's operations in Hunj^ary. He served during the ensuing campaign in Southern Germany as vohinteer, and eventuallv became, hke all the rest, an exile in Switzerland, whence he emigrated to America some time in 1850. We had known each other in Germanv, and when I met him. shortlv after his arrival in Xew York, during one of mv Sunday vacations from that Long Island cabbage farm, Ottendorfer was peddling, in utter want and sheer despera- tion, baskets of gorgeously-labeled beverages of doubtful composition among houses of questionable resort. When next I saw him, during the Centennial ^■ear. his liveried coachman drove us from his magnificent office in Printing House Square to his country-seat opposite the Palisades at Manhattanville, overlooking the Hudson, where we were, met by his noble wife, whose munificent charitable bequests will cause her name to be forever remembered in aflection- atc gratitude. We fought our vouthful l:)attles o^•cr while enjoying a delightful dinner, and when I congratulated him upon his remarkable success, I felt that fortune could never have smiled upon a worthier and more deserving man. His newspaper, the N'e-ju l^o?'k Staatszeitung^ has an immense circulation, and is read by the German people without dis- tinction of party; its independent spirit, and the great ability with which it is edited, form a pleasing contrast with the prevailing journalism of the day, while the high personal character of its publisher, and his acknowledged sterling integrity, are us measure to liis \ isitinj^ friends. He evidently \\ as on hand again prom})tl\- in 1861, for we read of his coverinsr the retreat from Hull Run towards Washington. Earlv in 1S62 he connnanded a di\ ision din- ing the operations of the army in the vShcnandoah \'alley, hilt during the latter part of the war his health failed, and he died liefore its final C(^)nclusi((n. JOSEPH WEYDEMEYER was one (jt those ohiujxious Prussian artiller\' officers \\diose resignations were demanded somewhere in 1847. In 184S he was employed on the Cologne-Minden Railroad as engi- neer, and it was under his tuition that I received the iirst pi'actical instructions of my profession. After the defeat of the revolutionaiT movements in 1849, he came to New York, where he engaged in journalistic enterprises, settled subsequently in Milwaukee, and returned to New York in i860, under an appointment as engineer of the Central Park Commission. In 1861 he enlisted under Fremont, in St. Louis, where at first he took charge of the erection of the fortifications in that A'icinitv, and afterwards received a lieutenant coloners commission in the 2d Regiment of Missouri Artiller}', in ^vhich capacity he spent a long time in Western Missouri figrhtin"- the jjuerrillas and hush- whackers. Towards the close of the war he commanded the 41st Regiment of Missouri Infantrv, and was also Com- mander of the post of St. Louis. In 1 886 he was elected Auditor of .St. Louis County, but he had l)arelv entered upon his duties when he died of cholera, in the prime of his life. His wife, who died a few years later in Pittsburirh, was a sister of Dr. Otto Luenia;, a 46 (listinguisliL'd jcnirnalist, and publisher of the A^czv German Gazette, ihc Icadhit^ organ of the Democratic side of Parlia- ment in Frankfurt (hn'ing the exciting (hiys of 184S and 1849. I'^vo other 1)rothers, who had taken pari in the earher movement of 1830, and wlio liad taken refuge in Switzerland, were professors in the University of Zurich at the time 1 enjoyed the hosj^italit}' of that delightful city. LOREXZ BREXTAXO, who occupied, during the insurrection of 1849, the ))osition of President of the Pro\isional (jovernment. and \vho still li\es in Chicauo. was horn at Mannheim in the Grand Duchy of Baden, in 1813. He received a classical educa- tion, studied jurisprudence at Ileidelherg and Freiburg, and after graduating practiced law before the Supreme Court of the State. He first distinguished himself as lead- ing counsel for the defence in the celebrated state trial agfainst Gustave von Struve, for high treason. After attain- int>- the lesfal age he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies, where he soon became the recognized leader of the opposition party. In 1848 he was elected to Parliament, and after the outbreak in 1849 he became President of the Re\-olutionary Gov(^rnment, for \vhich he was condemned in contumaciam to imprisonment for life. After his emigration to this countrv he first settled upon a farm in Kalamazoo County, Michigan; in i8::;9 he remo\ed to Chicago and commenced the practice of law ; in 1862 he served as a member of the Illinois Legislature, and after the expiration of his term he l)ecamc a member of the Chicago Board of Education. He -was a delegate, in 1S68, to the Nationxil Republi- can Convention which nominated Grant and Colfax, and during all this time he was also editor-in-chief and principal 47 proprietor of the I/I i /wis Staatszcitun^'. In 1869 he took advantage of the general amnest}- and paid a visit to his native countrv, from Avhich lie returned to recover \\hat was left of his propert\ bv the great Chicago tire. From 1872 to 1876 he ser\ed as Liiited States Consul at Dresden, and afterwards was elected to the ^j^th C(jn- gress as a member from the Chicago Citv District. I happened to be present in the ^villter of 184S at a very amusing and somewhat exciting scene, in which Brentano played a conspicuous part. In the course of a speech, which he deli\ered on this occasion in Parliament. he alluded in rather disrespectful language to the Crcnvn Prince of Prussia, (the ])resent Emperor. ) who had just then returned from his short exile in England, ^\•hen a young aristocratic member, a nobleman of high rank, took exceptions to Brentanos remarks, and in a greatly excited manner challenged him right there and then for daring to insult the brother of his King. Brentano looked calmly at his assailant, and said in a quiet and dignified tone, "Well, if this little case betw een the Prince and myself is to be settled by prox\-, I will send my coachman to fight vou", what time would it suit vou to meet him :" If the bold young aristocrat had been actual!} kicked by Brentanos coachman, he could not have been more profoundly humiliated. MAX WEBER. who had been a Lieutenant in the Army of Baden, and his comrade Schwarz, \vho parted from his father, when the latter followed the Grand Duke into exile, both performed gallant services in the Union army during the War of the Rebellion. Weber commanded a brigade in General Sedgwick's division of Sumner's zd Corps at the battles 48 of Frcdcricksburi^li and Antictain, and tlic lu'avcrv of J-^clnx arz's l)attcry of artillery during- CJrant's operations aroinul Fort Donaldson and A'icksburg is honoral)l\' men- tioned in the oHicial reports of that eampaign. iJesides these few, whose li\es 1 ha\ e brieH}' sketched, there have been and still are hundreds of others, scattered throughout all parts of this Western A\'orld, pursuing in modest \va\s their humble \ ocations, \et adding, to the best of their ability, their honest shares to its material develop- ment and intellectual impro\ement. A few }ears more, and the last exile of "49 \\ ill have found refuge in that great asylum where extradition laws are unknown, and where, as I hope, he will not be com- pelled to serve a probationary term prior to his full admission to citizenship. But his children and his chil- dren's children will live on, assimilated, absorbed and Americanized; unmindful of their origin and indiflerent to their descent. The hcmie of my early childhood stands near the l)order of an inland lake. From its shores rise abruptl} a circle of rugged mountain sides, furrowed l)y ra\ ines and cleft by o-orges and valleys, which conduct their tributary streams from the uplands to the basin beUwv. Tumblingin pictur- esque cascades over precipitous clifts, rushing in rippling currents over pebbly beds, or flowing smoothly between green, wooded banks, the\ all mingle at last their liquid contributions with the placid w aters of that quiet moimtain lake. Often ha\e I A\atched this charming scene from some commanding point of view, and lieheld. with the pleasure of childhood, this ceaseless gi\ing and receiving in the meeting of the waters. When the skv is clear overhead, its azure tint will be 49 reflected, with, increased intensitw in tlie. mij'rgr-like surface t»t". the water hclow; and the niinghng currents from the affluent streams will barel\- shade its shore line with a taint and milk-like tVini^e. But in a storm, when the pourino; rain, chased l)\ the ra^int;- wind, swells the jj^entle brooklets into roarino- torrents, tearing down and carrying with them whate\er obstructs their passage, dissolving the soil which confines them, and scouring the beds over which they flow, then the milkv fringe on the shore will change to a rim of deeper dye, darkly outlined along the shore, but growing fainter, as it widens and spreads, and finally melting again bv imperceptible degrees into the undisturbed, unchanged and normal tint of the central part of the lake; and upon the outer edge of the agitated waters will at such times float the dril't and debris from the mountains around. But a day or two of calm will restore the normal aspect. The froth antl t'oam and the rubbish which came down with the torrent, and which floated conspicuouslv on its crest antl covered the surface of the lake, will disappear with the returning calm; the tVothv scum whicii aimlessl\- drifted about in circling eddies, will drv and dissolve: the shin\' bubbles will l)urst and the foam e\"aporate in the ra\s of the genial sun: the floating rul)l>ish will be cast ashore, and the stranded debris will deca\' on the beach, l^ut the solid matter, w hich was held in teniporarN' suspense and solution by the current, will subside in the c[uiet waters of the lake, and. precipitated upon its bottom, liecome. in due course of time, part of the everlasting rocks which form its solid and endiuMug foundation. It is customar\' with artists, when thev draw historical pictures in which appear gr(nii)s of famous man, to annex; marginal sketches, giving in mere cnitlines and upon a reduced scale fac-siniiles cjf the groups in the original, with 5« the names of the persons and other exphmatory notes and references. The ];)'Ktiiie which I lia\ e attempted to draw" ma\' recpure a similar explanatuin ; liut all its min(ir features will ])ec(>me clear in their meaning' and application as soon as von recos^nize in the (piiet, pure antl placid nu>untain lake, vonr own country — jVmerica. the country of my adoption. • CO ■f^ r—PBWHS^f'^^t "^ '^ ' LK"-. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 325243B38G C001 THE GERMANS OF 1849 IN AMERICA MT. VERN 3 01 2 025284362