LINCOLN ROOM 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 LIBRARY 
 
 MEMORIAL 
 
 the Class of 1901 
 
 founded by 
 
 HARLAN HOYT HORNER 
 
 and 
 
 HENRIETTA CALHOUN HORNER 
 

Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://archive.org/details/intimatelettersoOOschu 
 
PUBLICATIONS OF THE 
 STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 JOSEPH SCHAFER 
 
 SUPERINTENDENT OF THE SOCIETY 
 
 INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 
 1841-1869 
 
WISCONSIN HISTORICAL PUBLICATIONS 
 COLLECTIONS VOLUME XXX 
 
SENATOR CARL SCHURZ 
 
PUBLICATIONS OF THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 OF WISCONSIN 
 
 COLLECTIONS, VOLUME XXX 
 
 INTIMATE LETTERS OF 
 CARL SCHURZ 
 
 1841-1869 
 
 TRANSLATED AND EDITED BY 
 
 JOSEPH SCHAFER 
 
 SUPERINTENDENT OF THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 OF WISCONSIN 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE 
 
 STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN 
 MADISON, 1928 
 
COPYRIGHT, 1929, BY THE 
 
 STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 THE ANTES PRESS 
 EVANSVILLE, WISCONSIN 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The project of preparing a book on Carl Schurz 
 was authorized by the Executive Committee of the State 
 Historical Society at its annual meeting in October, 
 1926. The approach of the centenary of Schurz's 
 birth, March 2, 1929, was the immediate stimulus to the 
 undertaking which, meeting with favor in the Legisla- 
 ture of 1927, was provided for through the appropria- 
 tion granted to the Society for the biennium beginning 
 July 1, 1928. 
 
 The original plan contemplated a volume to be made 
 up of documents illustrating especially that portion of 
 Schurz's career which pertains to Wisconsin, this state 
 having been his home from 1855 to 1866. Speeches 
 were found printed in Wisconsin newspapers, which 
 have never been made accessible to the general public, 
 and certain other records were also assembled, partly 
 from the Schurz papers in the Library of Congress. It 
 would have been practicable to bring together from a 
 variety of sources a body of material which would have 
 proved not only interesting but historically valuable 
 enough to justify publication. 
 
 By a rare piece of good fortune, however, we have 
 been enabled to secure a collection of documents possess- 
 ing a vastly higher significance than those just men- 
 tioned. At New York City, in January, 1928, George 
 McAneny, acting on behalf of Marianna Schurz, sole 
 survivor of Carl Schurz's immediate family, turned 
 over to this Society for transcription, with the privilege 
 of publication, a group of Schurz's letters ranging in 
 dates from the early 1840's to the year 1869. These 
 
PREFACE 
 
 in part illustrate his life prior to his settlement in our 
 state, but a heavy proportion of the whole number were 
 written during the eleven years when his legal residence 
 was in Watertown, Wisconsin. 
 
 Carl Schurz, from early boyhood, was a prolific 
 writer of intimate letters, and happily many of these 
 had been preserved so that, when wanted, they could be 
 assembled by the Schurz family. Theodore Petrasch, 
 his principal boyhood correspondent, came to America 
 in 1864, bringing Schurz's letters with him. Professor 
 Kinkel, who lived to a ripe old age, had preserved letters 
 Schurz wrote to him and to the first Mrs. Kinkel; Fred- 
 erick Althaus, who lived in London, preserved letters; 
 so did Schurz's parents, both of whom died in 1876; as 
 did also Mrs. Schurz, to whom the larger part of his 
 purely private letters were addressed. 
 
 When, in 1913, Georg Reimer, publisher of the 
 German edition of Schurz's memoirs (Reminiscences 
 of Carl Schurz. 3 vols. New York: McClure's. 
 1907-1908), called Erinnerungen, wanted to fill a large 
 part of his third volume with letters, Agathe Schurz as- 
 sembled originals from all the sources named and typed 
 copies were executed under her editorship. She then 
 sent a portion of these copies to the Berlin publisher, 
 who printd them in Erinnerungen, volume three, but she 
 retained a still larger number for which the publisher 
 had no space. She naturally sent him what she thought 
 would be most interesting to German readers. Thus 
 were excluded many letters strictly supplementary to 
 the printed group, which are of highest interest from the 
 point of view of American history and of Schurz's 
 biography. 
 
 It was the residue left after supplying material for 
 
 VI 
 
PREFACE 
 
 that work which was turned over to this Society by Mr. 
 McAneny and the surviving Miss Schurz. The bundle 
 contained two hundred and eighteen letters. About 
 seventy of these duplicated letters published in Erin- 
 nerungen, while that book contains one hundred and 
 fourteen which are not represented in our group. 
 Twenty-five of the latter, in whole or in part, had been 
 translated and published in Speeches, Correspondence, 
 and Political Papers (6 vols. New York: Putnam's. 
 1913), volume one. In deference to that important 
 publication, fostered by the Carl Schurz Memorial Com- 
 mittee, these have not been included in the present vol- 
 ume, save that omitted portions of letters therein 
 printed have in some instances been translated for this 
 publication. In a few cases I have made my own trans- 
 lation, directly from the German text, of letters which 
 were printed in the above-mentioned work. All of the 
 balance, both those printed in Erinnerungen and those 
 never printed, are in the present volume. So large a 
 proportion of the letters published in the present volume 
 being already in print in the German, it was decided to 
 avoid the added expense involved in a bilingual publica- 
 tion. 
 
 The letters, both those in Erinnertmgen and those 
 in our bundle, extend into the year 1869, when Schurz 
 entered upon his senatorial career, though the book 
 leaves off with his first letter after taking the oath of 
 office on March 4, while we received manuscript letters 
 extending to August 10, some of them highly significant 
 as revealing the manner in which he attacked his sena- 
 torial problems. That point of termination corresponds 
 with Schurz's own narrative as contained in volumes 
 
 VII 
 
PREFACE 
 
 one and two of Erinnerungen, showing that the publish- 
 er regarded the letters as documentary illustrations and 
 supplements of the text. Schurz in his remarkable 
 autobiography ref ought his way through the most stress- 
 ful and anxious years of his life. In a strain of exulta- 
 tion, which can be traced through the letters immedi- 
 ately following his election to the Senate, he proclaims 
 that he has attained the goal of his ambition politically, 
 while financially he has — after a long and bitter struggle 
 — become independent. He always considered the sena- 
 torial term as the climax of his political career, just as 
 he considered his oratory during the Lincoln campaign 
 of nine years earlier the acme of his political speech 
 making. The year 1869 is therefore a natural point of 
 division in Schurz's life, by far the most meteoric if not 
 the most significant portion of it having been completed 
 by that time. 
 
 Schurz was the first American citizen of German 
 birth who felt himself to be possessed of powers of per- 
 suasion and argument equal to the task of proselyting 
 in the service of a great and sacred cause millions of 
 Germans scattered over a continent. The demonstra- 
 tion he made of those powers in 1860 was the basis of 
 his later achievements. It made him available for a 
 senatorship in a state where he had resided less than tw T o 
 years. The senatorship in turn afforded scope for the 
 exercise of his high talent for practical statesmanship 
 and shaped the issues out of which proceeded the move- 
 ment for the organization of the Liberal Republican 
 party, to which, as to the election of Lincoln, Schurz 
 and the liberal Germans contributed so powerfully. 
 His selection by President Hayes for a cabinet post was 
 
 VIII 
 
PREFACE 
 
 the natural corollary of his leadership in the Liberal 
 Republican movement. Thereafter he had no public 
 office, nor was his leadership of the liberal Germans so 
 complete at any time after 1881 as it had been for two 
 decades after 1860. Nevertheless he was able in 1884, 
 in the interest of what he deemed essential political mor- 
 ality, to guarantee the defeat of James G. Blaine, an 
 activity which entailed a loss of influence such as the 
 non-partisan usually suffers in a time of rigorous organ- 
 ization. Thereafter he disregarded party ties with 
 almost seeming recklessness; but he at all times, with 
 voice and pen, earnestly supported policies he thought 
 good, and just as earnestly fought those he believed to 
 be bad. He died May 14, 1908. 
 
 This collection of private letters of a distinguished 
 political leader possesses special value for American 
 history and biography, as well as special interest for the 
 general reader. Schurz in his mature years was a 
 charming letter writer and, his dominant interest being 
 politics, his letters constitute a kind of running com- 
 mentary on the changing political phases of the period 
 through which he lived and wrote. Especially note- 
 worthy are those written during the stirring days of 
 campaigning in 1860, and those which follow the elec- 
 tion of Lincoln and extend beyond his inauguration to 
 the outbreak of the Civil War. The letters from 
 Madrid later in 1861, while delightful as affording a 
 glimpse of Spanish scenes and Spanish life, reflect very 
 little of European politics, which of course was treated 
 adequately in his letters to the President and Secretary 
 of State. The letters Schurz addressed to Mrs. Schurz 
 during the war, said by him to have been very full and 
 absolutely continuous, designed to make a complete 
 
 IX 
 
PREFACE 
 
 record of his observations at the front, were all lost in 
 a depot fire at Detroit in 1866. We therefore have only 
 a few letters written from the camp — one to his daugh- 
 ter, several to his parents, two to Petrasch. Those he 
 wrote from the South while traveling at President John- 
 son's request to report on conditions affecting recon- 
 struction, are in this file and they should be read in con- 
 nection with his famous report. 
 
 In January, 1866, Schurz wrote to Petrasch saying 
 his legal residence was still at Watertown, Wisconsin, 
 but that in six months he would be permanently estab- 
 lished either at St. Louis or at Detroit. His family, in 
 fact, removed to Detroit in August, 1866, whence it 
 follows that the letters of the last three years repre- 
 sented in this volume are not by "Carl Schurz of Wis- 
 consin." But being by Carl Schurz, the man whom 
 Wisconsin people knew as an intensely ambitious, able, 
 striving, but frequently disappointed and unfortunate 
 fellow citizen, and illuminating as they do the period 
 which makes the turning point in his lif e, no citizen of 
 the Badger State can regret their inclusion in this pub- 
 lication. 
 
 The translation of the letters, after having been 
 dictated by me, was subjected to a detailed criticism by 
 a professional student and teacher of German. It 
 was then revised by me, and put in form for the press. 
 If the translation shall be judged to possess excellencies, 
 it will owe these in large part to the careful work of 
 Johanna Rossberg Morgan (Mrs. B. Q. Morgan) ; to 
 Professor B. Q. Morgan, who supplied the exquisite 
 translation of the poem "Melancholy" and gave aid in 
 other ways; and to Edna Louise Jacobson, whose rare 
 competence in establishing a correct text for the printer 
 
PREFACE 
 
 I have had occasion to compliment in previous publica- 
 tions. For the defects which may remain — and these 
 will doubtless be all too numerous — I alone am to be 
 held responsible, because final decisions on all points 
 were my own. 
 
 On behalf of the State Historical Society of Wis- 
 consin I wish to express special appreciation of the gen- 
 erosity shown by George McAneny and Marianna 
 Schurz in granting the Society the use of the manu- 
 script letters, and by Herr Walter de Gruyter of Ber- 
 lin, Germany, successor to Georg Reimer, in permit- 
 ting us to make and print translations of the letters in 
 Erinnerungen, volume three. 
 
 This volume professes to contain letters of Carl 
 Schurz, yet the reader will find two letters each from 
 his mother and his wife, and one letter from Kinkel to 
 Christian Schurz. The reason for this will probably 
 be apparent. His mother's letters to Schurz in his boy- 
 hood shed some light on his path in the years prior to 
 the beginning of the series of Schurz letters. Kinkel's 
 letter to Schurz's father settles positively any question 
 about Carl Schurz's agency in the Kinkel rescue, as 
 Kinkel regarded it. Margarethe Schurz's letter to 
 Carl's parents, written just after her visit to his camp 
 on the Virginia frontier, gives a charming picture of his 
 military life and is included for that reason. For her 
 letter from Bethlehem after the assassination of Lincoln 
 there is of course the double justification that it supple- 
 ments Schurz's letter to her on the same subject, and 
 that it reveals her own feeling of loyal devotion to the 
 Great Emancipator, a feeling which is doubtless in part 
 the reflection of her husband's attitude and is therefore 
 confirmatory of the views he expressed at various times. 
 Her exclamation, "How glad I am that you served him 
 
 XI 
 
PREFACE 
 
 so faithfully!" is a kind of epitome of the universal out- 
 pouring of love and loyalty which the news of the trag- 
 edy of April 14, 1865, evoked all over the North. 
 
 Joseph S chafer 
 
 Madison, Wisconsin 
 June 1, 1928 
 
 XII 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 (* indicates the letter was printed in Erinnerungeri) 
 
 PAGE 
 
 1841 * April 27 Marianne Schurz to Her Son Carl Schurz 1 
 
 1844 * January 3 Marianne Schurz to Her Son Carl Schurz 1 
 
 1845 September 28 To Theodore Petrasch 2 
 
 ^November 17 To Theodore Petrasch 4 
 
 1846 * January 27 To Theodore Petrasch 7 
 
 *February 6 To Theodore Petrasch 10 
 
 *February 16 To Theodore Petrasch 15 
 
 *August 6 To Theodore Petrasch 20 
 
 September 23 To Theodore Petrasch 25 
 
 *September 23 To Theodore Petrasch 26 
 
 November 7 To Theodore Petrasch 28 
 
 * ? To Theodore Petrasch 30 
 
 1847 *April 1 To Theodore Petrasch 33 
 
 *April 3 To Theodore Petrasch 37 
 
 June 4 To Theodore Petrasch 39 
 
 1848 May 11 To Theodore Petrasch 42 
 
 *May 29 To Theodore Petrasch 44 
 
 *June 26 To Theodore Petrasch 45 
 
 *September 18 To Theodore Petrasch 49 
 
 *December 21 To Theodore Petrasch 50 
 
 1849 *March 20 To Gottfried Kinkel 52 
 
 *March 23 To Theodore Petrasch 56 
 
 *March 27 To Theodore Petrasch 57 
 
 *July 21 To His Parents and Sisters 58 
 
 *July 23 To His Friends 63 
 
 *July 31 To His Parents 67 
 
 * August 15 To His Parents 71 
 
 * August 18 To His Parents 74 
 
 October 3 To His Parents 75 
 
 October 9 To His Parents 77 
 
 ^October 20 To Christian Schurz 80 
 
 xin 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 1850 * January 31 To Christian Schurz 83 
 
 ♦February 8 To Christian Schurz 84 
 
 ♦February 18 To Christian Schurz 85 
 
 *September To ? 86 
 
 ♦November To His Parents and Sisters 90 
 
 ♦November Gottfried Kinkel to Christian Schurz ... 93 
 
 ♦December 1 To Mrs. Kinkel 96 
 
 December 20 To His Parents 96 
 
 1851 *January 1 To His Parents 97 
 
 January 7 To His Parents 101 
 
 ♦March 7 To His Parents 101 
 
 ♦June 2 To His Parents 103 
 
 ♦June 17 To His Parents 103 
 
 ♦October 25 To His Parents 104 
 
 1852 ♦ April 19 To Adolf Meyer 107 
 
 ♦May 19 To His Parents Ill 
 
 ♦July 12 To Frederick Althaus 113 
 
 ♦July 26 To Frederick Althaus 115 
 
 ♦August 4 To Frederick Althaus 116 
 
 1853 ♦April 12 To Gottfried Kinkel 118 
 
 1854 ♦September 22 To His Wife 121 
 
 ♦September 26 To His Wife 125 
 
 September 30 To His Wife 126 
 
 ♦October 2 To His Wife 132 
 
 ♦October 5 To His Wife 135 
 
 October 9 To His Wife 137 
 
 1855 ♦ January 23 To Gottfried Kinkel 140 
 
 ♦March 4 To His Wife 142 
 
 ♦August 8 To His Wife 144 
 
 August 12 To His Wife 146 
 
 August 15 To His Wife 147 
 
 ♦August 27 To His Wife 148 
 
 September 3 To His Wife 149 
 
 September 4 To His Wife 151 
 
 September 16 To His Wife 152 
 
 September 25 To His Wife 152 
 
 October 9 To His Wife 155 
 
 XIV 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 1855 October 15 To His Wife 155 
 
 October 17 To His Wife 155 
 
 ♦October 21 To His Wife 155 
 
 October 28 To His Wife 156 
 
 October 29 To His Wife 157 
 
 ♦November 5 To His Wife 157 
 
 ♦November 19 To His Wife 158 
 
 ♦November 21 To His Wife 159 
 
 ♦November 24 To His Wife 159 
 
 1856 March 8 To Frederick Althaus 159 
 
 ♦April 12 To Frederick Althaus 162 
 
 ♦April 27 To Gottfried Kinkel 164 
 
 Arrival in Montreux 166 
 
 August 6 To Henry Meyer 169 
 
 ♦November 15 To Frederick Althaus 171 
 
 ♦November 20 To Henry Meyer 173 
 
 ♦December 1 To Gottfried Kinkel 175 
 
 1857 March 21 To His Wife 176 
 
 March 24 To His Wife 177 
 
 September 20 To Henry Meyer 178 
 
 ♦November 25 To Henry Meyer 179 
 
 1858 ♦January 15 To Henry Meyer 181 
 
 ♦February 15 To Gottfried Kinkel 182 
 
 ♦February 23 To Gottfried Kinkel 185 
 
 March 12 To His Wife 186 
 
 October 18 To Adolf Meyer 186 
 
 ♦November 5 To Frederick Althaus 188 
 
 ♦December 26 To Gottfried Kinkel 189 
 
 1859 ♦April 19 To His Wife 190 
 
 ♦April 21 To His Wife 191 
 
 September 20 To His Wife 192 
 
 ♦September 21 To His Wife 194 
 
 ♦September 22 To His Wife 197 
 
 ♦September 27 To His Wife 198 
 
 ♦October 3 To His Wife 201 
 
 ♦November 5 To His Wife 202 
 
 1860 January 7 To His Wife 204 
 
 January 12 To His Wife 204 
 
 XV 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 1860 * February 23 
 February 27 
 March 14 
 *March 25 
 July 1 
 July 6 
 July 17 
 July 19 
 July 20 
 July 21 
 July 23 
 *July 29 
 July 31 
 August 15 
 August 16 
 ^September 10 
 ^September 14 
 ^September 17 
 September 21 
 September 24 
 October 2 
 October 4 
 October 25 
 October 29 
 *November 3 
 *November 7 
 November 10 
 December 5 
 December 11 
 December 12 
 December 20 
 *December 24 
 ^December 27 
 
 1861 
 
 * January 29 
 January 31 
 
 ^February 4 
 February 7 
 February 9 
 February 13 
 February 15 
 
 *March 7 
 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 
 To 
 To 
 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 To 
 
 Wife 205 
 
 Wife 207 
 
 Wife 208 
 
 Wife 209 
 
 Wife 211 
 
 Wife 212 
 
 Wife 213 
 
 Wife 214 
 
 Wife 214 
 
 Wife 215 
 
 Wife 215 
 
 Wife 216 
 
 Wife 217 
 
 Wife 217 
 
 Wife 218 
 
 Wife 219 
 
 Wife 221 
 
 Wife 222 
 
 Wife 223 
 
 Wife 224 
 
 Wife 225 
 
 Wife 226 
 
 Wife 227 
 
 Wife 228 
 
 Wife 229 
 
 Wife 230 
 
 Wife 232 
 
 Wife 233 
 
 Wife . .233 
 
 Wife 234 
 
 Wife 235 
 
 Wife 235 
 
 Wife 237 
 
 Wife . 239 
 
 Wife 241 
 
 Wife 242 
 
 Wife 244 
 
 Wife 246 
 
 Wife 247 
 
 Wife 248 
 
 Wife 249 
 
 XVI 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 1861 *March 13 To His Wife 250 
 
 *March 28 To His Wife 252 
 
 ♦April 17 To His Wife 253 
 
 *April 29 To His Wife 254 
 
 *April 30 To His Wife 254 
 
 *June 2 To His Parents 255 
 
 ♦August 13 To Adolf Meyer 256 
 
 ♦August 19 To His Parents 258 
 
 ♦October 11 To Frederick Althaus 263 
 
 ♦December 9 To Frederick Althaus 266 
 
 1862 January 14 To Adolf Meyer 267 
 
 ♦February 2 To His Parents 268 
 
 ♦March 13 To His Parents . . . 269 
 
 ♦May 5 To His Mother 270 
 
 ♦June 12 To His Parents 272 
 
 ♦July 15 Mrs. Schurz to Her Parents-in-law . . . .274 
 
 1863 ♦January 7 To His Parents 278 
 
 ♦March 26 To His Parents 280 
 
 ♦September 10 To His Parents 281 
 
 ♦September 24 To Theodore Petrasch 282 
 
 ♦October 3 To Theodore Petrasch 286 
 
 ♦November 9 To His Daughter Agathe 289 
 
 December 17 To Theodore Petrasch 293 
 
 ♦December 23 To Theodore Petrasch 294 
 
 1864 ^January 24 To His Parents 297 
 
 ♦February 20 To His Parents 299 
 
 February 29 To Theodore Petrasch 300 
 
 ♦April 24 To His Parents 301 
 
 ♦July 5 To His Parents 302 
 
 September 7 To Theodore Petrasch 303 
 
 ♦October 12 To Theodore Petrasch 304 
 
 November 9 To Theodore Petrasch 311 
 
 December 31 To Theodore Petrasch 314 
 
 1865 ♦February 1 To His Wife 314 
 
 February 24 To His Wife 315 
 
 February 27 To His Wife 316 
 
 March 4 To His Wife 317 
 
 March 14 To His Wife 317 
 
 XVII 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 1865 March 22 
 *March 25 
 
 March 28 
 
 March 31 
 ♦April 2 
 ♦April 3 
 
 April 7 
 
 April 9 
 ♦April 14 
 ♦April 21 
 
 May 1 
 
 May 4 
 
 May 19 
 ♦May 21 
 
 May 26 
 ♦June 15 
 ♦June 25 
 
 July 26 
 
 July 30 
 ♦August 9 
 
 August 14 
 ♦September 2 
 ♦September 12 
 
 September 20 
 ♦November 24 
 ♦December 5 
 
 December 17 
 
 December 21 
 
 December 27 
 
 1866 
 
 January 2 
 January 12 
 January 17 
 January 19 
 
 ♦January 23 
 January 25 
 January 26 
 March 3 
 April 23 
 
 ♦May 11 
 July 21 
 July 24 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 318 
 
 To Henry Meyer 320 
 
 To His Wife 324 
 
 To His Wife 325 
 
 To His Wife 326 
 
 To His Wife 327 
 
 To His Wife 327 
 
 To His Wife 329 
 
 To His Wife 331 
 
 Mrs. Schurz to Her Husband 334 
 
 To His Wife 335 
 
 To His Wife 335 
 
 To His Wife 335 
 
 To His Wife 336 
 
 To His Wife 337 
 
 To Henry Meyer 337 
 
 To Frederick Althaus 338 
 
 To His Wife 342 
 
 To His Wife 344 
 
 To His Wife . .345 
 
 To His Wife 347 
 
 To His Wife 348 
 
 To His Wife 350 
 
 To His Wife 352 
 
 To His Wife 353 
 
 To His Wife 354 
 
 To His Wife 354 
 
 To His Wife 355 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 355 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 356 
 
 To His Wife 356 
 
 To His Wife 356 
 
 To His Wife 357 
 
 To His Wife 357 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 359 
 
 To His Wife 360 
 
 To His Wife 361 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 361 
 
 To His Father [and Mother] 362 
 
 To His Wife 363 
 
 To His Wife 364 
 
 XVIII 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 1866 August 2 
 *August 4 
 
 August 6 
 August 15 
 August 31 
 September 5 
 September 11 
 September 12 
 ♦December 16 
 
 1867 January 12 
 January 31 
 
 ♦March 4 
 April 17 
 
 ♦June 16 
 June 27 
 July 2 
 
 ♦July 8 
 
 ♦July 9 
 
 ♦July 16 
 July 28 
 July 29 
 August 12 
 August 20 
 
 ♦August 23 
 August 27 
 August 31 
 September 10 
 
 ♦September 17 
 September 21 
 September 23 
 October 4 
 October 7 
 October 12 
 October 19 
 
 ♦October 26 
 November 3 
 November 9 
 November 15 
 November 22 
 
 ♦November 23 
 
 1868 January 9 
 
 To His Wife 365 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 365 
 
 To His Wife 366 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 366 
 
 To His Wife 366 
 
 To His Wife 367 
 
 To His Wife 368 
 
 To His Wife 369 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 370 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 371 
 
 To His Wife 372 
 
 To His Wife 373 
 
 To His Wife 374 
 
 To His Wife 374 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 375 
 
 To His Wife 377 
 
 To His Wife 379 
 
 To His Wife 383 
 
 To His Wife 383 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch . 385 
 
 To His Wife 385 
 
 To His Wife 386 
 
 To His Wife 388 
 
 To His Wife 389 
 
 To His Wife 391 
 
 To His Wife 392 
 
 To His Wife 393 
 
 To His Wife 395 
 
 To His Wife 398 
 
 To His Wife 400 
 
 To His Wife 404 
 
 To His Wife 406 
 
 To His Wife 406 
 
 To His Wife 408 
 
 To His Wife 410 
 
 To His Wife 412 
 
 To His Wife 412 
 
 To His Wife 416 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 416 
 
 To His Wife 417 
 
 To Henry Meyer 418 
 
 XIX 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 1868 February 8 
 ♦February 3 
 ♦February 24 
 
 March 1 
 *March 5 
 
 March 20 
 
 March 25 
 ♦March 29 
 *April 4 
 
 April 12 
 
 May 11 
 *May 24 
 *May 24 
 *August 2 
 ♦August 9 
 
 * August 16 
 
 * August 17 
 September 7 
 
 *November 2 
 ♦November 9 
 *November 16 
 
 November 23 
 ♦November 28 
 ♦November 29 
 
 December 6 
 ♦December 20 
 
 December 26 
 
 1869 * January 3 
 
 * January 10 
 January 13 
 
 * January 16 
 
 * January 24 
 ♦February 16 
 
 February 17 
 ♦March 10 
 March 12 
 March 20 
 April 12 
 May 30 
 August 10 
 
 To Adolf Meyer 419 
 
 To Henry Meyer 422 
 
 To Gottfried Kinkel 424 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 427 
 
 To His Wife 427 
 
 To His Wife 428 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 430 
 
 To H 
 To H 
 To H 
 To H 
 To H 
 To H 
 To H 
 To H 
 To H 
 To H 
 To H 
 To H 
 To H 
 To H 
 To H 
 To H 
 To H 
 To H 
 To H 
 To H 
 
 To H 
 To H 
 
 s Wife 430 
 
 s Wife 431 
 
 s Wife 433 
 
 s Wife 434 
 
 s Daughter Agathe 435 
 
 s Wife 436 
 
 s Wife 438 
 
 s Wife 441 
 
 s Wife 443 
 
 s Daughter Agathe 444 
 
 s Wife 446 
 
 s Wife 447 
 
 s Wife 449 
 
 s Wife 451 
 
 s Wife 453 
 
 s Wife 453 
 
 s Wife 454 
 
 s Wife 456 
 
 s Wife 456 
 
 s Wife 458 
 
 is Wife 459 
 
 is Wife 462 
 
 To Emil Preetorius 463 
 
 To His Wife 464 
 
 To His Wife 467 
 
 To His Wife 469 
 
 To His Wife 470 
 
 To His Wife 470 
 
 To Emil Preetorius 473 
 
 To His Wife 474 
 
 To His Wife 476 
 
 To His Wife 477 
 
 To Adolf Meyer 478 
 
 XX 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Facing Page 
 Senator Carl Schurz Frontispiece 
 
 Margarethe Meyer Schurz in 1867 166 
 
 Agathe Schurz, Age 13 
 
 289 
 Agathe Schurz, Age 23 
 
 The Schurz Home at Watertown, Wisconsin 416 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 
 
 1841-1869 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 
 
 Marianne Schurz to Her Son Carl Schurz 
 
 Liblar, April 27, 1841 
 
 I cannot possibly take care of your report before 
 Thursday, for your father started for Bonn this noon 
 and will not be back before Wednesday evening. 
 
 Dear Carl, be industrious in all subjects. Particu- 
 larly, I would have you let religious instruction root 
 deeply, for that is the staff on which you will have to 
 lean. It must keep you from going astray. I say again, 
 do not forget your prayers; you must go to sleep with 
 God and rise with Him. Your father and mother can- 
 not be always at your side; but Our Father in Heaven 
 will never abandon His good children; therefore you 
 must do everything to please both God and men. 
 
 Tell Mrs. Schetteler that I will look after your 
 clothing; but I do not know whether to have your coat 
 made here or in Cologne. If I do not come to Cologne 
 this week I shall come the early part of next week. 
 
 Many kind greetings to Mr. and Mrs. Schette- 
 ler. . . . 
 
 Your uncle George is still in Bocklemiind and will 
 not return before Sunday. 
 
 Marianne Schurz to Her Son Carl Schurz 
 
 Liblar, January 3, 1844 
 Your departure today was very hard for me. I shed 
 many tears after you left and have not got myself in 
 
 l 
 
2 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 hand yet. Was it your father's letter which I found 
 yesterday; or is it a presentiment about the future? 
 Dear Carl, you shall want for nothing, not a single 
 thing. You see how hard it is for me when your dear 
 father is a little severe with you. Give us pleasure ; let 
 it be your whole purpose to make yourself and us happy. 
 It depends solely on your industry and deportment; 
 you have talent. 
 
 Your father, indeed, can sometimes be hard, but 
 you are also his pride ; he is truly fond of you. Where 
 will you find a father who needs his money so much and 
 who is spending and has already spent so much on his 
 child ! Think of your poor little sisters ! I hope, there- 
 fore, you will do everything to give your parents and 
 sisters happiness. You will do that gladly, won't you? 
 Also, dear Carl, gladden us frequently with a letter that 
 has some significance. It is dreadful to hear from a 
 child: "I shall write no more at all because you let 
 others read my letter." That is a cold-hearted excuse. 
 Children must not conceal anything from their parents. 
 That [conduct] gives them joy, and we [they] do not 
 injure you [the children] in the least thereby. Do that, 
 dear Carl; in particular, please your father thereby. I 
 trust you will do it gladly. 
 
 Do not forget your prayers ; think often of the dear 
 God. Then He will not forsake you. Keep well and 
 cheerful, and study with pleasure. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Liblar, September 28, 1845 
 That I am still unable to give you definite informa- 
 tion about our removal to Bonn is owing to unforeseen 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 3 
 
 circumstances. The matter will not be settled until 
 Thursday. There is, however, the greatest probability 
 that we shall spend our best years together. It is super- 
 fluous to add how much I rejoice in leaving good old, 
 respectable, stupid Cologne, to live in a romantic region, 
 by your side. With respect to quarters, I would request 
 that you notify me of the best [available?], since it will 
 be necessary for me to be in Bonn before you. If your 
 father should not come to Bonn after Friday or Satur- 
 day, we might (with your consent) have the selection of 
 a dwelling, it being understood that it suits you and your 
 family to have us live together. But it would be best if 
 we could have a personal talk about the matter in ad- 
 vance. We all regret that you cannot visit us for a few 
 days during the present vacation. Perhaps this might 
 still be arranged, particularly if I tell you that there is 
 going to be a big hunt on Tuesday or Wednesday. For 
 me to be here alone is so insufferably stupid that I can 
 no longer entertain a reasonable thought. Yet you ask 
 what is doing in poetry! It is gone from me when I am 
 alone, and even when not alone it eludes me. I bid you 
 come, and await you most anxiously. Autumnal nature 
 at best disposes to melancholy, and when one is so ut- 
 terly alone — you can imagine it. I am truly frittering 
 my life away. Still, I believe I am gathering some im- 
 pressions for the future, so that the days here may not 
 prove quite fruitless. In short, I hope and long for our 
 prospective companionship in Bonn. In regard to your 
 tenth departure I can only pity you. 
 
 I have been ill for several days but am now quite 
 well again. 
 
 The worthy brothers Winterschladen are right tire- 
 some subjects, but they send greetings. Let us hope if 
 possible for your early arrival. ... A fine impression 
 
4 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 of my prose style you will derive from this letter. (I 
 am not at all in a writing mood. ) 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Cologne, November 17, 1845 
 I have received your letter and have conscientiously 
 and dutifully carried out your instructions. Dreadful 
 institution, this pension, for young lovers! I pity you 
 from my heart. I am glad you have become a Frederi- 
 cian. I have been at your house and have delivered the 
 quarterly, likewise Hatem and Suleikha. Holscher has 
 not yet come with the booklet. 
 
 Recently I read something from Lord Byron, but 
 must say I do not share the almost universal opinion one 
 hears expressed concerning him. His poetical narra- 
 tives (at least those I have read: Beppo, A Vision of 
 Judgment , The Siege of Corinth, Parisina, Mazeppa) 
 are in part very deficient in prose content and state- 
 ment, and also suffer to some degree from an extremely 
 heavy wit. With surprise I read and reread, and with 
 the best intention of finding something perfect in them ; 
 but this they did not yield to my zealous endeavor. Most 
 of them seemed pretty flat. Besides these, I have seen 
 several of Byron's dramatic works and, to a large extent, 
 found them in keeping with the epical writings. Man- 
 fred suited me best of all, although even here one cannot 
 fail to note a certain imitation of Faust, I also read the 
 tragedy of Werner, which struck me as quite mediocre, 
 especially since, that same evening, I saw Hamlet per- 
 formed. There is something great about a Shakespeare. 
 When a man contemplates the tremendous effect of such 
 a drama upon the hearts and spirits of the auditors, he 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 5 
 
 would like to be nothing but a dramatist. The dramatist 
 enjoys his own poetry most of all, even more than the 
 lyric poet, who hears his resounding songs from the lips 
 of the common people. He produces the greatest gen- 
 eral effect. If, however, one considers how prodigious 
 the art and its difficulty as compared with one's own 
 powers, one would not want to become a dramatist. 
 Nevertheless, asking pardon for my vanity, I would be 
 one. Whether or not I was born to be one will soon be 
 determined ; there will always be time enough to retreat, 
 and the time spent in such effort is never wasted so far 
 as my education is concerned, and it is but the curing of 
 a disease from which otherwise I should have suffered all 
 my life. I shall soon acquaint you more fully with my 
 plans. I have still another dramatic composition of 
 Lord Byron's: The Changeling. It is possible that I 
 have not understood it, for I really do not know what 
 he is driving at. 
 
 Enough of Lord Byron. Recently I attempted to 
 write a ghazal [an oriental poetic form], for 
 
 To exercise oneself in new artistic practice 
 Is a sacred duty. 
 
 "Attempted to write," understand me! No severe 
 birth pains did I have, for I made things rather easy for 
 myself. On account of its newness I give it a place 
 here, though it really is not worth the trouble. 1 I ask 
 your indulgence, for it is my first (finished) effort, 
 whose imperfections I can myself see very well. 
 
 Otherwise, I have lately been comparatively unpro- 
 ductive and only study men — an interesting subject, 
 however. It is one I have always followed, but now 
 
 1 We have omitted the twenty-six lines of the poem, of which every al- 
 ternate line ends with "nicht." 
 
6 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 with plan and purpose. It is singular that we under- 
 stand least how to portray the character of common 
 people, inasmuch as this remains eternally the same. I 
 believe that you can study the character of men in the 
 lowest middle ages through those of today. Always the 
 same spiritual darkness, the same fanaticism, the same 
 natural wit, the same incompatibility, at least in respect 
 to fundamentals! On the other hand, I do not call it 
 singular that we know how to work out in ourselves the 
 noble and idealistic traits but not the common and 
 deeper-lying. It is peculiarly a trait of the human mind 
 that it can always think itself into regions above its own, 
 but into lower with difficulty or not at all. Therefore, 
 Shakespeare knows so well how to delineate the folk 
 character and folk wit because, until his riper years, he 
 belonged to the lower classes ; for it is known that in his 
 youth he was a poacher. That at least contributed to his 
 delightful descriptions, for surely he to whom Nature 
 has sat will paint her more convincingly. . . . 
 
 It really grieves me to leave Cologne. I have been 
 considerably befriended by most of the teachers (now 
 also beyond expectation by Grysar), and the stupid 
 philosophizing at the Gymnasium in Bonn suits me not 
 at all. But I can live with my family and there will be 
 many agreeable things there for me; therefore I will- 
 ingly submit. You asked recently if I was acquainted 
 with Nattmann. Oh, yes, but only in a singular way; 
 we shall soon get into a long dispute during which we 
 are likely to become mutually acquainted. He praises 
 my description and language as (so he told Putz) dis- 
 tinguished and polished, but he was not content that I 
 had based education and the entire life of the soul upon 
 freedom; in other words, that I present as antagonistic 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 7 
 
 to freedom and as strange to humanity all instincts and 
 voices of nature. We shall discuss this more in detail. 
 
 Could you possibly help me to a history of Old Eng- 
 lish which is quite detailed? The purpose of this — next 
 time! If you scare up one, read the history of King 
 Edwy (955-959) and write me whether or not you 
 would like him as the hero of a drama; leaving aside, 
 naturally, the barbarisms which occur in it. Farewell! 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Cologne, January 27, 1846 
 Today I visited your family and learned with regret 
 that you would probably be here on Sunday, the same 
 day I expect to go to Bonn. I learned that you were 
 going to move and that the question of your going to 
 live with my family still presented some difficulties. In 
 order, if possible, to remove these, I should like to meet 
 you in Bonn. If you are bent on coming to Cologne for 
 the holidays I beg you to remain till Saturday evening, 
 because I would then meet you, arriving about 3:30 by 
 rail. There will still be time after that to get away. It 
 would please me if you could spend those days in Bonn, 
 and moreover the possibility exists since it depends 
 wholly on your own will. I would gladly spend the time 
 here were I not coerced by a projected improvement in 
 my pecuniary circumstances. So be it, therefore. If 
 you have anything to oppose to this, I beg you to write 
 me about the difficulty of changing the plans. 
 
 I have been sick several days, following which I be- 
 came frightfully stupid. I can produce nothing sensible 
 any more, and since the Christmas holidays I have made 
 
8 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 but six lines, on which I do not even trust myself to 
 pass judgment. Listen: 
 
 MELANCHOLY 2 
 
 (Phantasy) 
 
 Oppressive fall the burning rays 
 Upon the weary valley's ways. 
 The brooklet creeps, and mute the breezes all; 
 Upon their stems the blossoms droop and fall. 
 A single rose, all withered, faint, and frail, 
 Looks yearning tow'rd the sky's mysterious, 
 darksome pale. 
 
 I give you till Saturday to think over whether or not 
 this is my best or my worst. I do not know, but it is one 
 of the two. 
 
 What are you really up to? Have you written noth- 
 ing new? No verses? I address this to your conscience. 
 Take care that you do not become too hard a jurist. 
 What would not I do were I in your circumstances! 
 Among friends of high spirit and force, where every- 
 thing stimulates and everything helps! And here — I 
 am utterly, utterly alone; only von Weise associates 
 with me. He is the sole one and I have great regard 
 for him ; but the time is not propitious, it does not bloom 
 as it did last summer. Then it was quite different. 
 Earlier I placed great hopes in our correspondence; I 
 say earlier, for I have been mistaken; as to the reason, 
 
 a Translation by Professor B. Q. Morgan, of the German department 
 of the University of Wisconsin. Following is the original German: 
 
 Schwermuth 
 (Phantasie) 
 Schwer driickt der Sonne Gluthenstrahl 
 Hernieder auf das miide Thai. 
 Es schleicht der Bach, und alle Liifte schweigen, 
 Die Bliithen senken sich an ihren Zweigen. 
 Und eine Rose, matt und welk und bleich 
 Starrt sehnend in des Blau's geheimes dunkles Reich. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 9 
 
 ask yourself. I shudder always when I think of my 
 prospective life in Bonn. When we two have just 
 spoken of academic liberty, and I remember that I 
 shall have to learn Latin vocables by rote, or to con a 
 French lesson, that will make a strong contrast in my 
 mind. If that period were only over! One feels so 
 timid ; believes oneself not entitled to take a bolder step 
 in the sanctuary of the mind so long as one is a gymna- 
 siast. Could you but hear how Vosen cuts loose on Spi- 
 noza, Hegel, and Shelling; it is positively a comedy! 
 Recently he said of me that I might amount to some- 
 thing had I not flung myself in the wrong direction. 
 Honor and praise enough ! 
 
 I am considering writing something in the nature of 
 a novel. The subject shall be the contrast between the 
 ideal world in the mind of a young poet and the crass 
 prose of actual everyday life. How do you like it? 
 
 I should like to know that your dramatic idea had 
 been condemned. For least of all must a young writer 
 begin as a plagiarist. The Wochenstube [lying-in 
 room] of Prutz pleases for the reason that it is the first 
 of its kind. And truly, God save us from the horde of 
 imitators! The idea of making the emancipation of 
 women the theme of such a composition may not be bad 
 in itself, but to bring the heroines all together without 
 falling into a hundred improbabilities and to build up a 
 correct dramatic action — that is truly a herculean labor. 
 And then the material for your adored parabase [choral 
 interlude] ! Consider the purpose of the comedy. With 
 your parabase you draw the whole business into the 
 field of seriousness, destroy the whole illusion, and then 
 do the opposite of what you should have done. I pray 
 you, read Lessing on the subject. 
 
10 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 What I have so often said about the much talked of 
 parabase you will find fully confirmed by the content 
 of the choral interludes of Aristophanes, which is quite 
 different in character from that of Prutz. With the 
 former the choral interlude signified something; but 
 Prutz says in it only what he would and should have said 
 in the piece itself, but what he did not and could not say. 
 Read Aristophanes and satisfy yourself. Concerning 
 all of this, more when we meet. Hearty greetings. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Cologne, February 6, 1846 
 The Manila cigars you ordered are here at your dis- 
 position, and you have only to state how and when they 
 shall be forwarded to Bonn. 
 
 I read Alamontade with great desire; must say, 
 however, that it did not meet my expectations. The 
 philosophy is indeed wholesome, noble, flattering, but 
 not sufficiently mathematical to succeed as such. Zschok- 
 ke is more poet than philosopher. Besides, all of this is 
 brought together clumsily and without insight. In the 
 actual novel, as it stands, more than half the matter is 
 superfluous, though it could easily have been more 
 closely interwoven with it. Zschokke wanted to write a 
 philosophical novel, but he has written the philosophical 
 without the novel, and the novel without the philosophy; 
 the two stand separated, side by side. Zschokke writes 
 elegantly, but his elegance often has to support the rot- 
 tenness of his thinking. His friendliness, too often over- 
 tender, disturbs and troubles. You hardly understand 
 how Abbe Willon was able to get his breath amidst the 
 plentiful embraces to which he was subjected. Alamort- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 11 
 
 tade is the original of an attempt to write a distinguished 
 philosophical novel with less than distinguished powers. 
 On account of its attractive philosophy it has had a long 
 lease of popularity, but time will soon stick it under the 
 bench, inasmuch as we demand our philosophy un- 
 sugared, and particularly without this sentimental color- 
 ing. Throughout this novel there appears an unripe 
 manner; still, were it the work of a young writer, it 
 would justify great hopes. 
 
 I should be glad to come back to your previous letter, 
 and you will trust my solicitous friendship to take an 
 ardent interest in your welfare. You complain about 
 your circumstances; complain that your life is "one 
 which hangs upon the passing moment," that your en- 
 joyment is like "the unconscious pleasure of a dream," 
 whose end is the awakening to dissatisfaction, often to 
 painful remorse— but why all this? Who really de- 
 termined your circumstances? Who but yourself? You 
 feel lonesome among people, but to what purpose have 
 you friends there? You are dissatisfied with the regula- 
 tion of the life there, and it is yours to make that life 
 more agreeable to yourself. 
 
 You bemoan your fate, that it has made unattain- 
 able your yearned for and striven for goal — but has it? 
 Pecuniary circumstances cannot hinder you, for you will 
 be docent before being advocate, and perhaps professor 
 before solicitor. You speak of a wasted semester — 
 better lose a semester than a life. It will cost you only 
 words to change your profession and take up what will 
 gratify you, for your father will not require what will 
 cost your life's happiness. You regret bitterly that you 
 have not been able to attain what you have long striven 
 
12 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 for, that you did not at the outset prepare for a differ- 
 ent career. But what career? 
 
 You say it is not possible to your mind to "recog- 
 nize a restriction in its flight and in its early efforts, n 
 and if it must do so its very being will be shattered. 
 Will and must? You understand but poorly the po- 
 tentiality of your own soul. Who restricts your flight? 
 Your efforts ? Who coerces your spirit to acknowledge 
 a limitation? I assure you that no one disturbs your 
 flight and limits your spirit save your own will. You 
 are unhappy, but you will it. Become clearer in your 
 own mind, and your spirit will effect a heroic flight over 
 your unhappiness and smile courageously upon it. And 
 this smile will save the spirit from ruin, for the can de- 
 pends largely upon the will. 
 
 You write that no office, position, no profession, will 
 harmonize with your natural disposition — but, pardon 
 me if I refuse to believe it; and see here, you yourself 
 don't believe it. It is nothing but phantasy, an exag- 
 gerated idea. This flight of the spirit strives for a kind 
 of freedom which I would call nonsensical because noth- 
 ing can come of it. The spirit, particularly your own, 
 seeks to be free, but always within reason. 
 
 I assume there is nothing wrong with you beyond an 
 unusual attack of melancholy, occasioned by the lack 
 of intimate family life (you smile perhaps, but do not 
 be ashamed of it — it is true) and the lack of restriction, 
 this last being peculiarly the cause of the unproductive- 
 ness of your mind. You are melancholy (in German — 
 Du hast Grillen) ; and what heals this more certainly 
 than friendly intercourse ? Souls like yours are not able 
 to detach themselves from its beneficent influence. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 13 
 
 Friendship resembles the moon. When night falls dark on 
 
 the spirit, 
 Sheds she with tenderer light radiant beams thereupon. 
 
 Now I want to complain too. Unhappy I am not 
 nor have been since a certain time which makes an epoch 
 in my youth more distinct probably than you would be- 
 lieve — since I learned to know you. You were my first 
 friend, and melancholy flees friendship — but I am so 
 frightfully empty. All is so dull in my head, so dried 
 up, so sluggish, so stupid. I can do nothing but read, 
 and hardly that. If I did not believe that it was due to 
 my cold and the eternal running of the nose I should 
 despair. 
 
 You may take it as a proof that I have lost my judg- 
 ment when I hold that the last six verses (this mediocre 
 Melancholy) are the best of my poetical writings; this 
 is still my positive conviction. I beg you to read the 
 thing over again. It is inconceivable to me [that you 
 should regard them as you say?]. You recall perhaps 
 that I developed a dramatic plan this winter. I thought 
 the matter over further and met with unconquerable 
 difficulties, so that I came to see that my powers were 
 far too weak for the task, my versatility too little de- 
 veloped, and that I must study much more. For the 
 present, I have put aside all dramatic plans, and doubt 
 exceedingly if I shall ever accomplish anything in that 
 line. I have achieved a degree of clarity respecting 
 myself, and judge my capabilities as promising to make 
 me, in time, a pretty tolerable quill-driver. For, what 
 have I achieved in lyric poetry? Only occasionally, and 
 rarely, did a lyrical poem come to me, about which, too, 
 judgments differed. An epic poem never came to me, 
 and I give up the drama. I see that the productions of 
 
14 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 my youth are altogether like those which escaped the 
 youthful pen of a later novelist. You see that I am 
 despondent, but still not unhappy. I feel on the con- 
 trary that I have taken a more philosophical direction, 
 for I am laboring earnestly to become clear in my views. 
 Heretofore I only accepted this, rejected that, and not 
 without valid grounds for my action ; but I have not yet 
 classified those I accepted and those I rejected. They 
 stand side by side in my mind, but not logically con- 
 nected. I have not yet made combinations and infer- 
 ences, which will now keep me busy for some time. The 
 results I shall soon be able to impart to you, if they in- 
 terest you. You may call it nonsensical and answer it 
 with a shrug, but to me it is not yet a matter of indiffer- 
 ence. Do not imagine that I was in any measure in- 
 fluenced to this course by Alamontade ; rather a set in 
 that direction drove me to inquire about Alamontade, 
 out of whose sugared philosophy, by the way, little that 
 is profound can be drawn. 
 
 As all kinds of crazy ideas come to me now and then, 
 I have now concluded to write something of a national 
 character. How far I shall get with it I already foresee. 
 But the effort always pays for the trouble, and I am 
 still undecided about the course for which I am best 
 fitted, since I feel an equal inclination toward all and 
 have no special gift for any specific type of effort. What 
 I want to find out is where I can gain a firm footing and 
 how much I shall have to give up. 
 
 Recently I read several legends of the Rhineland. 
 You will recall that last summer you promptly con- 
 demned poetic Legends — I begin to feel that they are 
 the profoundest, most beautiful and real of all poetry. 
 Of course, th.il, depends largely on one's conception of 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 15 
 
 it. A legend must not be told like a fairy tale, though 
 as such it may also have its charm. In legendary poetry 
 a high lyric movement unites with an epic interest, not 
 to mention a profound, inexhaustible symbolism. In a 
 legend you find the tenderest heart-chords touched; you 
 find suggestions of your own most poetical feelings. 
 Let me give you an example — the legend of Roland. 
 Does it lack anything of being true poetry? Nor is it 
 the best selection from among worse specimens ; only one 
 of many. What is the charm in most of Uhland's bal- 
 lads? Precisely this pure, light, natural conception of 
 the legend, rightly adapted treatment, and the childlike, 
 mediaeval naivite which is inherent in large measure in 
 the legend itself. Of course there is no thought of the 
 transcription of a "cow legend" (you will recollect) , for 
 one does not pick out the very worst, and on the other 
 hand you cannot judge the species from the prosiness 
 of one creation. Also, it goes without saying that the 
 author must do his share. 
 
 I should like to urge you to productiveness again — 
 to the will-to-do. Time is too glorious and youth too 
 fleeting. With it [youth] the heaven-aspiring flame 
 sinks, sinks, murkily down into the ashes. Truly, a man 
 can extend his youth, extend it very much (as Goethe 
 indicated), but not to use does not mean to lengthen it. 
 I pray you — do not withdraw from the world ! 
 
 I trust we shall see each other on Shrove Tuesday, 
 whatever the malady may be that causes you to remain 
 there. . . . 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Cologne, February 16, 1846 
 Last Saturday and Sunday I expected you every 
 moment, but in vain. Did you not come to Cologne at 
 
16 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 all? It would have been very wrong not to visit me. 
 Shrove Tuesday I shall hope at any rate to meet you in 
 Bonn. 
 
 I wondered at your letter and must say I was often 
 tempted to regard it largely as ironical, particularly cer- 
 tain portions in a modern-humorous tone. 
 
 Your humble opinion on the subject of being in love 
 is truly open to correction. Such things never entered 
 my head and, as I believe, will not enter it soon. It is 
 strange that you are so ready to judge all others by 
 yourself. Please regard my indisposition as a mere cold 
 in the head, though it might even seem to you the most 
 prosaic ever. What you write about Alamontade is all 
 very good except for your tremendous praise of the 
 novel. I pray you read it again and you will have to 
 confess that it must have a tremendous, fabulous charm 
 in order to produce such unheard-of happiness in the 
 eighteenth century. Improbable situations are not only 
 found here and there, but are numerous. Faultless you 
 call the elegance of the writer; praise which I should 
 call a trifle strong, for I am convinced that you yourself 
 would here and there have written far better. You say 
 the narrative keeps the reader in suspense. But does 
 not the Wandering Jew of Eugene Sue do the same? 
 Only in a somewhat though not very different manner. 
 
 You forthwith condemn my striving to gain clear- 
 ness respecting myself, and remark, a trifle mockingly, 
 that I may give you an account of it when I have finished 
 with it. But what, my wise friend, if I am now finished 
 with it ? You say I shall become tired of that thing, but 
 once more you judge from yourself. It amused me 
 very well indeed. I am eager for your views on the 
 subject, but believe that I can anticipate them. I un- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 17 
 
 derstand how you can regard the whole effort as futile, 
 for you have divested yourself of all belief and have then 
 taken the trouble to prove that man does not need to 
 believe. Then have you arrived at a pure indiff erentism. 
 But this entire business, particularly the indifferentism, 
 I am obliged to reject. What, indeed, can interest you 
 if you are indifferent to yourself? And are you not in- 
 different toward yourself if you want to be indifferent 
 toward everything of that kind? Whereby it can be 
 seen that you only wish to be indifferent, but really can- 
 not be. One must have an opinion, and whoever denies 
 this only wants to startle with a phrase. A man must 
 know what he knows and what he believes ; he must not 
 believe that he cannot know anything and then still know 
 the contrary. 
 
 My first question was : Must I believe ? I ask it of 
 myself. Reject the existence of God; does not there- 
 upon a voice in yourself say you have lied or boasted? 
 Do you not have the refutation in yourself when you re- 
 ject him? I know that you accept some god (say what 
 you will) . Do you know that he is ? A thousand proofs 
 for it there are that are not evident; but one which is 
 irrefutable. It does not carry you to a complete convic- 
 tion, and still you see that you cannot argue it away. 
 You believe it. You see the material world around you, 
 but are you certain that it is as you see it? There is no 
 proof, but you believe it on the not evident testimony of 
 your senses. Take the systems of all philosophers and 
 see how far they carry their belief and their knowledge, 
 and we observe that their belief surpasses their 
 knowledge twice over. They even believe what they 
 believe they know, and they often expect in their pupils a 
 belief which sometimes borders on the unbelievable. A 
 
18 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 man has to believe in something in order not to go mad. 
 I trust you will see that. (You now see me on the 
 straightest way to become a Catholic.) 
 
 But what shall I believe ? Shall I fall back upon the 
 old idolatries ? Shall I adapt myself to a system ? But 
 how many systems have a claim on me ? Almost all there 
 are. All expect great belief of me, the one more and 
 crazier, the other less and more sensible, but all more 
 than I have in myself. A system lies prepared in all 
 human hearts, but these fashion and disfigure it. "There 
 is a God!" my soul proclaims. "There is a God!" says 
 a voice in the cannibal's breast. I see Him smiling sym- 
 pathetically through the whole creation, call Him 
 Father and love Him. The cannibal merely hears Him 
 thunder, calls Him the thunderer and fears Him. The 
 ancient Greek called Him Zeus, personified His quali- 
 ties in his nimble fancy, and smiled at Him as a fatherly 
 brother in whom he discovered the transition to self. 
 The Jew prostrated himself before Him and called Him 
 Jehovah, the mighty creator, the ruler of all. The 
 Christian also made himself a God, out of whom fancy 
 and reason created a wondrous monster — but enough 
 of this! Name me a people that has no god. Name 
 a person who seriously denies Him. The inward voice 
 speaks irrefutably and we believe. Does not a voice 
 in me speak of the immortality of the soul? There is 
 no proof which amounts to a mathematical demonstra- 
 tion. But is not that voice again universal? Name a 
 people which does not believe in a life after death! 
 Various, indeed, yet issuing logically from the nature of 
 the peoples. The Greek loved a beautiful heaven, a 
 thoroughly joyous existence; yet, in his temperate na- 
 ture, is satisfied to find on the other side the shadow of 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 19 
 
 his earthly being. The German was less temperate. 
 His Valhalla was a roystering beer hall where men could 
 contentedly gather to boast, bicker, and fight, but all in 
 greatest felicity. The serious Pythagorean, accustomed 
 to keep in view the goal and purpose of existence, lets 
 his soul wander till, in another state, it becomes what in 
 this it could not be. The Christ unpityingly drags the 
 poor soul around for thousands of years in purifying 
 flames, and he also has a transmigration of souls, which 
 however is not half so aesthetic and delicate as that of 
 Pythagoras. But all live after death, except perhaps 
 a pig let out of Epicurus' herd, which drowned its soul 
 in wine and choked to death in gulping its food. Any- 
 way, it is easy to infer the character of a people from its 
 god and its idea of the future life. Furthermore, the 
 fundamental features of morality are the property of 
 every individual, though variously developed. Every- 
 one has the ten commandments in his own breast, and I 
 cannot think of anything more nonsensical than to com- 
 pel a child to recite them. This is the revelation which 
 every human being has heard, which everyone can under- 
 stand because he carries it in his own breast. 
 
 This is my belief, and morality is my religion. I 
 believe the beliefs of all nations and have the religion 
 of humanity. Do not speak of the manifold gods of 
 the peoples; their distinction rests merely upon the 
 manner of regarding them upon the stage of develop- 
 ment of the nations; and all gods together are but one 
 and the same deity, and the names can all be united 
 under the sublime name "All Father." 
 
 Here ends my confession of faith, but not by any 
 means my philosophy. A tremendous field still spreads 
 out before my eyes, the field of moral philosophy in its 
 widest sense. 
 
20 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 I will stop and not weary you longer, though I could 
 add various other things. If it burdens you, say so, for 
 I am not nearly done : with myself, and within myself, 
 yes, but not with you. . . . See that you remain in Bonn 
 Shrove Tuesday, I pray you. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Cologne, August 6, 1846 
 Our maturity examination closed as late as Tuesday, 
 and it annoyed me later to think I did not remain over 
 in Bonn Sunday evening and Monday. 
 
 I must confess that I was much gratified to be with 
 you men in Bonn, and will compliment you by saying 
 that I long for the time when I can enter into your cir- 
 cumstances. Your organization [Franconia 3 ] is now 
 extraordinarily genial. I think, however, that in certain 
 respects it has reached its zenith and doubt if I shall 
 find Franconia so flourishing when I leave the Gym- 
 nasium. (You will not mind if, on a subject which is 
 so near to both of us, I give you my views openly.) 
 You will not deny that the spirit of the more significant 
 persons controls the views of the masses, even though 
 in this case the crowd is not very great. Now that is 
 all very well, yet the society should have in it no per- 
 sons who will be wholly under the influence of others. 
 No plebs should develop in such a group, and that is 
 very easily prevented by employing a rigorous standard 
 in admitting new members. Of course, that will reduce 
 numbers at the outset, but will not precisely this fact in 
 the long run attract and gain the best minds? In the 
 long run, to be sure, but one must keep that in mind also. 
 
 ' Schurz's Reminiscences, i, 93-94, contains a brief notice of his asso- 
 ciates in Burschenschaft Franconia. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 21 
 
 Quantity will not accomplish it; quality will, and by 
 keeping a sharp lookout for quality at the outset the 
 required quantity will also be forthcoming in time and 
 you will have both together in perfect proportion. If, 
 on the other hand, you begin by considering quantity, 
 which is the easier way, there will in the long run be no 
 thought of quality, and sooner or later the whole busi- 
 ness will go to the dogs. We have living examples of 
 this. I believe that in its beginning your society was 
 far abler: first, because some outstanding men have 
 gone away; and second, because less able ones were 
 taken in. You answer, they are talented in their way. 
 Of what man, rather of what educated man, is that not 
 more or less true? We must not be able to detect too 
 great contrasts among the members of the society. 
 
 You will doubtless say that I do not know your men. 
 True, not minutely, still sufficiently to be able to pass a 
 general judgment upon their intellectual worth. For 
 the rest, your group suits me very well, and when I come 
 to the university I shall not delay about joining pro- 
 vided my financial circumstances shall in anywise allow 
 it, and you will have me — about which there will cer- 
 tainly be serious question inasmuch as I have really done 
 nothing as yet to become better acquainted with your 
 men. Yet, have patience ; I will behave better next time. 
 According to habit, I observed silence on principle, at 
 least at times. I am well aware that this cannot wholly 
 please you, that it may on occasion cause you some ridi- 
 cule, as was certainly the case with Overbeck, to whom 
 you probably cracked me up considerably without con- 
 sidering that in the beginning at least he might feel him- 
 self deceived. You will, however, excuse me if I assure 
 you that I conduct myself in such a clumsy manner in 
 
22 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 order not to compromise you and myself still more 
 through foolishness. I had much rather be thought awk- 
 ward than insignificant, and to a sound question I had 
 rather give no answer than a sickly one. Meanwhile you 
 are quite right in calling me "loquax." But take care 
 lest all too soon I fall into the opposite extreme. 
 
 The happenings in your beloved, loyal, philistine 
 native city [Cologne] have possibly given you concern. 
 The matter certainly has a peculiar aspect; the worthy 
 burghers of Cologne begin to be Prussian-eating and 
 want to see a distinction made between citizen and sub- 
 ject. Horribile dictu in Prussia! On the occasion of 
 the St. Martin's Day kermis a disorder arose in the mar- 
 ket place which was to have been quelled by the arrival 
 of the military, but was only intensified thereby. There 
 was a hot fight which resulted in two battalions occupy- 
 ing the market place the following night, Wednesday 
 about seven o'clock, and closing the streets which con- 
 nect with it. This regulation made an unpleasant im- 
 pression upon the Cologne people, who did not like to see 
 their recreation ground taken away. 
 
 In the night the battalions were attacked with stones. 
 They divided into detachments which scattered through 
 the streets, a part of them holding the market place. 
 Now began such sharp encounters in various places, des- 
 pite the bayonet attacks upon the mob, that a picket of 
 dragoons had to be called from Deutz. These indeed 
 did not come to the market place, but forcibly cleared 
 the high streets as far as my house and carried on vil- 
 lainously. A number of quiet citizens were severely 
 wounded by them. About twelve o'clock I lay in the 
 window, saw entire households of refugees, among them 
 wounded persons, and heard the loud huzzas of the dra- 
 goons as they charged into the unarmed crowds. The 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 23 
 
 police and several companies of the Sixteenth Regiment 
 raged in the market place. One man died there as a re- 
 sult of wounds inflicted by the soldiers' bayonets. He 
 had a terrible wound at the back of his head, probably 
 from saber cuts, and many bayonet pricks in stomach 
 and breast. He died on the hall floor in the home of one 
 of my acquaintances. The tumult continued until day- 
 light. A large number of houses were demolished and 
 in many places the pavement showed prominent traces 
 of blood. Besides the death mentioned, there are said to 
 be five persons in the hospital and several in their homes 
 who are lying mortally wounded. I have heard of three 
 deaths already. Of seriously wounded there are twenty- 
 two in the hospital. Many soldiers are supposed to have 
 received wounds. I spoke to a surgeon who counted six 
 wounded in his company. Also, a malicious brickbat is 
 said to have come into most ungentle contact with the 
 tender bosom of a young second lieutenant. Probably 
 the higher officials regarded the matter in a serious light, 
 for in the night there was quite a reinforced guard at the 
 armory. 
 
 Yesterday the citizens were in an extremely irritated 
 mood. An extra paper from the government appeared 
 in the morning apologizing for their interference and 
 exhorting the citizens to quiet. In the morning there 
 was a big mass-meeting in the courthouse plaza. Many 
 speeches were made by the leading men of Cologne. 
 Franz Raveaux acted as chairman. The crowd was 
 asked not to let the matter rest, but to report at once 
 in the proper quarter concerning details. A tremendous 
 volume of complaints is said to have flowed in already. 
 Toward noon a second sheet appeared which was of 
 much more moderate character. In the afternoon a 
 citizens' guard was organized and the assembled militia 
 
24 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 received the order not to leave their barracks after eight 
 o'clock. The town was tremendously animated, as at 
 carnival; the citizens' guard patrolled the streets and 
 maintained order among the crowded masses, but could 
 not protect Count Canitz against some cat-music and 
 the burgomeister living opposite from a thunderous 
 "Hoch." No red collar was to be seen, and only three 
 volunteers who did not instantly heed the order of the 
 citizens' guard to leave the market place at once were 
 promptly arrested and removed. The night passed in 
 perfect quiet after all. Today again two extras ap- 
 peared, one of which invited to a ceremonious burial of 
 the man who fell in the market place, the other praising 
 the citizens for their peaceful disposition ; and therewith 
 the "Revolution in Cologne" came to its gentle end. 
 Excesses are said to have occurred at Bonn also. Vari- 
 ous things have been told about them. 
 
 At our peaceful school (Gymnasium) also, God 
 willing, a new order is to be introduced. Lukas has pro- 
 nounced most decidedly against the Jesuitical course 
 of Vosen. "We ought to counteract it," said he to the 
 unfortunate director; "there are unhappy people enough 
 in the world who, on principle, draw their fellows into 
 fruitless quarreling. I want to see this changed." Vosen 
 is very lightly esteemed by him, and he made a formal 
 demand of the other teachers that they counteract his 
 erroneous methods in the most determined manner. 
 Several months ago Vosen desired to have the school 
 library placed under his control. Now it has been de- 
 cided by Lukas that the director, Putz, Saal, and Natt- 
 mann shall each have a deciding vote with regard to ac- 
 cessions, and Vosen, as fifth wheel to the wagon, shall 
 have an advisory one. It must natter him mightily! . . . 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 25 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Bonn, September 23, 1846 
 On my return from Liblar, where I spent two weeks, 
 I found your letter. So I might consider myself ex- 
 cused for the long delay in answering. Do I really 
 have to justify my hasty departure without leave-tak- 
 ing? Yet we have accustomed each other to this so 
 little! Or were we worse friends because we gave each 
 other so few assurances of it? You would gladly have 
 written to me, you say, but what? At this question I 
 shall likewise have to express my highest displeasure. As 
 if we had nothing to tell each other except news ; as if the 
 one theme which includes ourselves and everything were 
 already exhausted, or ever could be exhausted! Form- 
 erly you wrote me about your misfortune ; why not now 
 about your good fortune or something else? That you 
 are so industrious pleases me; that you have been ill 
 for several days I regret; but I do not doubt that, ac- 
 cording to your nature, the thing will soon straighten it- 
 self out, for one is not accustomed to such things in you 
 for any length of time. 
 
 von Weise was here recently, but unfortunately did 
 not see me because I was still in Liblar. But he is go- 
 ing to visit me on his return from Coblenz, on which oc- 
 casion, if it can be brought about, I shall make him ac- 
 quainted with Overbeck. My companionship with Over- 
 beck was unfortunately interrupted by my visit to Lib- 
 lar, although a good beginning appeared to have been 
 made. As yet we are unable, I believe, to get very 
 close to each other, and I doubt if we shall be able to do 
 so soon. Yet it is possible that the fault lies in me. 
 Shall I lay aside my "loquacity" with him? Perhaps I 
 talk too little to suit him? When I am able to talk 
 
26 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 more, I shall talk more, and that time will doubtless 
 come. He works industriously; visited Schirrmacher, 
 who at the beginning of the vacation left for St. Goars- 
 hausen; for a couple of days just now, to his great vex- 
 ation, he is accompanying a Hamburg visitor on walks. 
 By the way, of your men those who are here now are 
 Heim, Speltz, Privatdocent, 4 and Schmidt, who how- 
 ever has just now gone to the Ahr. They have consti- 
 tuted an "Omnibus" with several other Fredericians 
 (Ph. Schwartz, Block, etc.) and several Allemanians 
 and drive twice a week to the Dear Madame's. So far 
 I have not gone there, but may go tonight. 
 
 I have deferred my little trip to the Ahr for a couple 
 of weeks. I hope we shall be able to make it together. 
 Perhaps von Weise will go with us. When are you go- 
 ing to visit us here ? I am at home all the time and shall 
 hardly be able to come to Lind, since I still have some 
 work I want to do and have been delayed through my 
 stay in Liblar. You will be uncommonly welcome, for 
 though I have experienced much in my life I have had 
 little pleasure, and I love pleasure. 
 
 Overbeck sends greetings and hopes to see you here 
 soon, for he will hardly be able to come to Cologne dur- 
 ing the next few weeks. 
 
 Hearty greetings to you and yours. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Bonn, September 23, 1846 
 We have expected you all this week without seeing 
 anything of you. Time drags heavily and the vacation 
 is somewhat tiresome. For three or four days Overbeck 
 
 4 Official name for a class of unsalaried lecturers, of whom there seems 
 to have been but one at Bonn; hence his actual name is not given. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 27 
 
 took a young Hamburger walking, whom because of his 
 loss of time he would have wished to the devil. He has 
 only just returned to his work. His journey to see 
 Schirrmacher he accomplished before I returned from 
 my visit in Liblar. After him Privatdocent was there 
 and he returned only last week. They say Schirrmacher 
 will return today. The Omnibus is pretty well rilled. 
 Count Reichenbach has also arrived. Ph. Schwartz 
 comes regularly to be joshed by Privatdocent about 
 Schleswig-Holstein. Speltz, who generally holds his 
 own against the Privatdocent with his jokes, was in- 
 carcerated last evening for three days. The financial 
 depression, now general, is felt here also to such a de- 
 gree that perhaps not a dollar could be extracted from 
 the whole crowd, with the exception of Speltz and 
 Grimm. In the Omnibus tin money is being resorted 
 to, which, as it seems, on account of its unsuspicious ap- 
 pearance is handled pretty freely. Heim is accustomed, 
 as has been at times observed, to inquire urgently the 
 price of the punch before taking the first draught. 
 There are, besides, two unknown Allemanians, three 
 Fredericians (with Schwartz and Schmidt) and the little 
 astronomer Schmidt to be encountered pretty regularly 
 in the Omnibus. 
 
 Although you are so monstrously slack about an- 
 swering (I have already waited a week for your "sensi- 
 ble" letter), I will not bother you the less with letters. 
 My work goes slowly, which I usually find to be the case 
 with me in vacation time. Still I have not been indolent. 
 I have read, exercised, written, etc., but was careful not 
 to write a single verse. Aside from a Latin treatise 
 just now begun, I have written Poetical Letters, A 
 peculiar title, yet no more peculiar than the letters them- 
 
28 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 selves. Enclosed is the first as a sample — inasmuch as 
 we must not and cannot meddle with such absurdities 
 during your visit. I chose this name because, on the 
 one hand, names are very indifferent in that connection, 
 and on the other because the finest sounding names are 
 best. That they are borrowed from Schiller's philosoph- 
 ical letters is of no importance. This first letter may 
 serve as representative of the lot, which is a long way 
 from being completed and may possibly never be. 
 
 von Weise will arrive at an early day, and we are 
 hoping to see you also as soon as possible. It would 
 have been most convenient for Overbeck right now, 
 since he wants to pursue his work uninterruptedly for a 
 certain time and is disposed to defer beginning so long 
 as a pleasant interruption is definitely to be expected. 
 
 I hear that my father is now fully agreed that, upon 
 my entrance into the university, I may also join a fra- 
 ternity. . . . 
 
 Expecting you in the immediate future I am . . . 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Cologne, November 7, 1846 
 The outline came too late, but this caused me abso- 
 lutely no inconvenience, since I have recently made the 
 interesting and unexpected discovery that I am able to 
 write Latin myself. You see, I handed in a couple of 
 good exercises, among others the one in question, which 
 was corrected three days ago, and Grysar praises me 
 very much. How it happened all of a sudden I do not 
 know. But I can do it, and that amuses me exceedingly, 
 as you can imagine. 
 
 I am sorry you are not yet cured, particularly since 
 I can easily gather, from the short but significant words 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 29 
 
 in your letter — "loafing," "coffee," "new wine" — how 
 splendidly you are dieting. Now I hardly pity you 
 much unless for the reason that you are trying to get 
 Schwentzer to join the organization. I have no judg- 
 ment concerning this young man, since it would be re- 
 garded by you as exaggerated and I want to wean my- 
 self of that fault. Only I should like to watch your 
 fencing from afar. 
 
 What do you want to make out of the association! 
 Something like a senior class at the Cologne Gym- 
 nasium? von Weise is here! "Educate!" and you will 
 not need the "considerable labor." I do not believe that 
 he will hold off in the least, for under no circumstances 
 is he going to remain a barb. 5 Do land Meusser, for 
 at least he has money. I regret that you are cutting 
 your college classes altogether for the present, particu- 
 larly on account of the good resolutions which have per- 
 ished in this connection. (Peace to them!) They were 
 still so young ! Material for a touching romance. Other- 
 wise I can only pity and regret your weakness. "Scold, 
 as you expected" I shall not, to be sure, but I cannot 
 conceal that you cause me profound regret. I can 
 imagine quite vividly the situation in which you are, and 
 a little imaginary flight into your circumstances does not 
 affect me pleasantly. 
 
 About my own circumstances I have very little to 
 say, for they are the usual ones which you know. The 
 examination affair does not yet look better to me, al- 
 though I can say nothing certain about it. But I must 
 admit that of late I do not wish so very much for all 
 these things. The business is made more difficult every 
 year, as I learn from very confidential conversations and 
 
 9 One who does not join a fraternity. 
 
30 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 reports from Piitz, and I almost believe that despite all 
 pains I shall not succeed. I beg you not on any account 
 to reveal anything about this to my father or put any 
 idea in his head, so that he may not by an unseasonable 
 interference bring to naught that which I have begun. 
 
 I hear that von Weise takes his meals at our house. 
 Greet him cordially from me and tell him to let me hear 
 from him soon. Please let me know at the same time 
 how he stands in regard to the fraternity. I do not 
 doubt that the matter will suit him extraordinarily, 
 since he stands in a rather special relation toward you, 
 as the representative of the scientific group of the hon- 
 orable Franconia. 
 
 I shall soon be able to send you a new booklet of 
 poems. Doubtless I shall also soon receive a consider- 
 able quantity of the same kind of thing from you. So 
 good-bye. I hope to see you soon again and greet you 
 right heartily. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 (no date, presumably 1846) 
 At last I find opportunity to set forth coherently my 
 thoughts concerning a matter much discussed between 
 us, without being interrupted by your holy zeal for your 
 good cause. For it concerns our talk about the scholar- 
 ship of the fraternity: how far it exists, how far it may 
 be required, and how far it is actually required. You 
 chose, in regard to this matter, to put words in my 
 mouth which I never thought of, and then to laugh at 
 them as manifesting "senility." I formerly asserted the 
 following and still do : What I understand by the schol- 
 arship of a society is the scholarly development of its 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 31 
 
 members among themselves through their association 
 and otherwise. You say the scholarly tendency re- 
 quires no particular representation since it is represented 
 in the members themselves. Good ! Then it must be so 
 represented, and in all members without exception, for 
 only so will it have found representation in the society. 
 If it does so, well and good; if not, then it is bad: for 
 the society as a whole is not living up to its ideals; is 
 therefore not that which it should be nor that which it 
 boasts of wishing to be. By scholarship in the case of 
 the individual member I understand not merely socia- 
 bility but rather that he should possess a sufficient basis 
 for knowing something, and that he should actually 
 know something and not merely something ordinary. 
 For what else is scholarliness ? In the end it does not 
 take much to be a pleasant loafer and popular student 
 and at the same time to be practical. But it takes a 
 great deal to be a useful and all-round member of the 
 fraternity. I am far from affirming that, outside of 
 scholarly mutual furtherance, the association should not 
 have other pleasant features. But a much more de- 
 lightful one it certainly has not, and there ought to be 
 no member in the society to whom scholarly develop- 
 ment and the interests connected therewith are so re- 
 mote that the opportunities for this could by any pos- 
 sibility easily be shifted to other and shallower things. 
 It means simply that the society as a whole must not let 
 itself be influenced by those members who merely fill 
 out the numbers. You would not let your society come 
 to grief by prating of names the reality of which it does 
 not possess. I trust you will not find these ideas as crass 
 as those you assigned to me. I have even been convinced 
 by you that the convivial gatherings cannot be made and 
 
32 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 must not be made very different from what they are; 
 only that the individual member must not deny by his 
 conduct the more serious side of the association's being. 
 I perceive that the scholarly gatherings, as they were, 
 cannot last ; that they were the outward representations 
 of an inner tendency ; but, with these outward represen- 
 tations the inner must not also be sacrificed. Nor do I 
 demand, as you say I do, that all members must be 
 geniuses, but assuredly they should all be men — every 
 inch of them. Do you not demand that, too? I surely 
 hope you do. 
 
 Now I will let you have some verses. I have more 
 of them which you will see in good time. 
 
 I sat here among my companions, 
 And jesting and laughter went round. 
 Full many a ditty was carolled, 
 Indifferent jokes did abound. 
 
 And I felt so oppressed in my spirit, 
 So deeply unhappy at heart, 
 Yet often the riotous jesting 
 Surprised my dark mood with a start. 
 
 And I dreamed of quieter pleasures, 
 Of joys that were native and free; 
 And sighed for a season of weeping, 
 For a breast that could feel for me. 
 
 "The devil, why are you so quiet! 
 You should lift up your head and drink." 
 Then I raised my goblet with laughter; 
 My misery would not let me think. 
 
 In place of the last line the first reading has it : "But 
 a tear down my cheek did go." Which is the better I 
 submit to your much respected and indulgent judgment. 
 
 We shall hardly see each other again before Christ- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 33 
 
 mas. Till then, therefore, accept a brotherly handclasp 
 from your friend (and faithful freshman in spe) . 
 
 life' 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Bonn, April 1, 1847 
 Nothing was more unexpected today than your let- 
 ter, for as is well known, in regard to letter-writing you 
 practice an exemplary laziness. Consequently, as is quite 
 understandable, your letter must rejoice me all the more. 
 That thinking about me fills you with "fear and ti- 
 midity" is in one respect very flattering to me, in another 
 it is regrettable as being in no sense necessary. For, as 
 I told you before, the plan of my return to Cologne was 
 less my own than my father's. He had so forgotten him- 
 self in the matter as to wish to rent a room for me. This 
 proposal naturally went off successfully since, though 
 I continue to hold a firm purpose to ponder the matter 
 thoroughly and wholly without prejudice, still I am not 
 at all prepared to take such a binding step too hastily. 
 It is movingly noble in you to free me from my promise, 
 and it pleases me all the more because, I must say, I in 
 a measure expected you would do it. 
 
 Your assumption that our life in Bonn must be 
 frightfully colorless and quiet is so accurate and pat 
 that I would even call it boresome. Your hope that 
 through it I might, by means of our "involuntary daily 
 contact" with Overbeck, come into better relations with 
 him is unfortunately futile, and your suggestion that 
 such a consummation be attempted through friendly 
 overtures on my side has been carried out more com- 
 pletely but also probably more fruitlessly than you 
 might suppose. Our daily contact is also actually as 
 
34 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 involuntary and feckless as possible, for it lasts at most 
 the few minutes in which I go to the market. I do not 
 remember ever to have encountered Overbeck in any 
 other than a friendly manner, barring the few mali- 
 ciousnesses I pumped into him through my beer news- 
 paper. However, if such a difficulty remains, even 
 though quite without cause, I should rather not be 
 troublesome or intrusive to the man, preferring to 
 leave the matter as it stands. I do not know — I am 
 not exactly the person for this business. 
 
 Overbeck's zeal for the affairs of the association is 
 worthy of all recognition, and I certainly would not wish 
 to assign the entire "hearty enthusiasm" to mere am- 
 bition even though this, as you yourself assert, has a con- 
 siderable part in it. What you write about your crite- 
 rion is all very fine, only thanks to my insatiable nature 
 I am not quite satisfied to have the men show their 
 heartiness, etc. only in the society. Meantime, as stated 
 above, I have made efforts to get closer to Overbeck, 
 but these efforts unfortunately turned out badly for the 
 most part, so that I do not feel in the least degree com- 
 fortable with him. It is not possible for me to trouble 
 myself about Overbeck, though I cannot tell you, in con- 
 cise form, why this is so. If you desire to see pleasanter 
 relations between us you had better go to him ; for from 
 my side, on account of my unfortunate personality, little 
 can be hoped. Overbeck's moral and scholarly stand- 
 point may as much be exalted over my own as he pleases ; 
 he does not stand so high, nor is my respect for him so 
 unmeasured, that I would be willing to give way to him 
 in the slightest degree, particularly since I do not even 
 know what he thinks on this point. This much is cer- 
 tain, that his judgment concerning me may be to me 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 35 
 
 quite as indifferent as my judgment concerning him 
 would be to him, and that I would sooner give Overbeck 
 a malicious than an artful word. That sounds spiteful, 
 but fundamentally there is nothing to it ; for I have good 
 will toward all men if only their praiseworthy qualities 
 present themselves in such a way as to enable one to for- 
 get their disagreeable ones. If you have so much in- 
 fluence with Overbeck that you can move him to ex- 
 hibit himself to me from his better side, that would be 
 the more agreeable to me because our present concealed 
 animosity (at least on my side) might in future tend to 
 become uncomfortable — a condition I would be so glad 
 to obviate that I herewith give you the following assur- 
 ance : I shall not enter the association so long as I stand 
 in uncomfortable relations with one of its most dis- 
 tinguished members, even though I should never get in ; 
 which would be so unpleasant to me, owing to my f eeling 
 of attachment for some of its men, that I would easily 
 overlook any little discomfort which might ensue from 
 the undistinguished part of the society. You see there- 
 fore how delightful to me in general a pleasant relation- 
 ship would be, and also how delightful it would be if 
 J. A. Overbeck would condescend to me, for 
 
 It is charming in a mighty one 
 To speak poor devils thus so fair. 
 
 As to Speltz, I must say, to my deep regret, that I 
 have not established any kind of relations with him. 
 You recall that you once told me, on the occasion of the 
 beer newspaper, that Speltz was enthusiastic over me. 
 That must not have gone very far. I have never 
 doubted that he is an uncommon man, but I should like 
 to know him from another angle than the habitual ob- 
 
36 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 trusively juristic. You say I ought to attach myself to 
 him as much as possible. How can one do that? I do 
 not like to impose myself on the man unbidden. 
 
 Weber returned quite inspired from seeing Uriel 
 Acosta in Cologne, and spoke to me the other day of 
 nothing else. It suited him all too well in your house, 
 and I trust this opportunity has bettered your judgment 
 of this excellent youth. He is a most gracious little fel- 
 low and is at the moment my nearest neighbor. Griebel 
 is very quiet, almost as much so as I was to begin with. 
 I do not believe he will please highly, yet this will de- 
 pend on how he thaws out. 
 
 God be thanked! the men are now all disposed of 
 and I close this portion of my letter with a profound 
 sigh of exhaustion; yet the alarming thought occurs to 
 me that I shall perhaps have to come back to it once 
 more. . . . 
 
 "A life of love consecrated to mankind" is your ideal! 
 But do not consecrate yourself and your love to man if 
 you feel that you cannot honor men in their love, or be- 
 lieve that you do not have to do so. It is your ideal and 
 I honor you for it. I know that you love men (because 
 you honor them) and even believe that their weaknesses 
 are to be honored. I love you for that. You write that 
 your heart is so full : I have never seen it empty. Fare- 
 well. I take leave of you with a warm handclasp. 
 
 If you wish to establish closer relations between 
 Overbeck and me, then write to him yourself if you think 
 it worth while. But do not write as if instigated to it by 
 me. You may give him my opinion of him (which you 
 know well) to swallow straight, solid, and unsugared. 
 That will save details. I promise on my part to take 
 up the matter as far as possible with warmth. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 37 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Bonn, April 3, 1847 
 I understand well that it must be startling to you to 
 receive no account of my home affairs, etc., and I shall 
 try as far as possible to make good the neglect. 6 Our 
 untoward circumstances, which often affect me in the 
 gloomiest manner, will, it is hoped, untangle themselves 
 in a very short time ; when we shall be gaining a quieter 
 and happier existence. At the moment joyousness and 
 peace do not dwell here, and that I have not in a measure 
 succumbed under the conditions, I credit to my equa- 
 bility of temper. Such a school has its uses, but it is 
 hard on the pupils to take these unpleasant lessons to 
 themselves and work them out. 
 
 I can tell you little, or indeed nothing, of my plans, 
 having no future on which to build them. My activities 
 I cannot reveal better than by describing my desk, upon 
 which lie an Iliad, an Isocrates, and a Cicero, inter- 
 mingled with a wilderness of manuscripts which often 
 engross my spare hours. Besides, I have been pretty 
 industrious in my studies, but since this will interest 
 you more I will tell you something about my literary 
 adventures. 
 
 It may seem strange to you, but I have taken up my 
 Richard Wanderer 1 again and am working on it with 
 more satisfaction than ever. In the new edition, which 
 differs absolutely from the earlier, I am full of material, 
 penetrate it, and reproduce in a way that gives me joy. 
 But I often rise from my page with a feeling that the 
 thing is all wrong from foundation up. The material, 
 however, presents itself in such attractive form that I 
 
 6 Referring to the previous letter. 
 
 'Referring to letter of January 27, 1846: "I am considering writing 
 something in the nature of a novel." 
 
38 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 soon recover myself and proceed with it. Still, certain 
 discomforts do not quite leave me after such reflection, 
 and unfortunately I have no criterion to which I could 
 go, yourself not excluded, so that at the conclusion the 
 work is become a totally different one. I am sorry not 
 to be able to give you some account of the whole, because 
 this could not be done without excessive diffuseness. 
 Still I beg you to give me as accurate a judgment as you 
 can on the central idea of the edition (which you have 
 seen), apart from all defects of form and treatment. 
 You will probably recall the matter clearly enough. 
 The thing interests me to insanity, and I have got it into 
 my head that it must become either a perfectly crazy 
 performance or else a bungling work of genius. I see 
 you laugh, but it does not affect me. Aside from this 
 I have written little, having worked myself so deeply 
 into this subject, which has gained a fearful hold on my 
 mind. 
 
 Concerning the incivilities you were pleased to di- 
 rect to me toward the end of your letter, I find them per- 
 fectly agreeable but quite without influence upon me. 
 Good God! Why not leave me in my sphere? You 
 have judged quite falsely of my attitude toward Over- 
 beck, which I regret the more keenly that motives, etc. 
 are assigned to me of which I should have to be ashamed. 
 I want simply to say in reply that Overbeck is just the 
 type of man who, in a friendly relationship, could be 
 quite indifferent to me if I were not likely to have to live 
 with him. And yet I have not abandoned my hopes for 
 the future because it must even be so. That I am the 
 cause of his being angry with you twice for twenty-four 
 hours pains me deeply, for I do not want to rob anyone 
 of his friends ; but all the more because this might serve 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 39 
 
 me as an argument against Overbeck. You say you 
 are going to show him his baseness "orally and in writ- 
 ing." But I pray you, for God's sake, don't; too many 
 words have been wasted over this matter already. 
 
 But please convey my greeting to von Weise — a 
 right warm and hearty one, tell him. You men in Co- 
 logne are dearer to me than all the rest. I cannot refrain 
 from telling you this, you dear fellows. 
 
 Farewell, my boy. When are you coming back here ? 
 Will you make a journey on the tenth? I hope either to 
 see you very soon or to speak with you by letter. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Bonn, June 4, 1847 
 You understand it is with some dislike that I sit 
 down to discuss a matter which, although agreeable 
 enough in one respect, yet on the other hand has left 
 upon me such an unpleasant impression. I trust you will 
 appreciate it if I now speak with a frankness which 
 springs not from prejudice or inconsiderateness, but 
 from the best will and, as you can premise, out of the 
 purest friendliness. You know that I have never flat- 
 tered you, and I should be ashamed to do it now when 
 to speak my real mind can be of some importance to a 
 friend. 
 
 Of course, it does not occur to me to discuss from my 
 standpoint the whole E. G. business, and we will re- 
 serve this for an oral conversation. Still, I cannot resist 
 touching certain points which relate most closely to your 
 letter. 
 
 You assert as before that your loafing days are 
 and were past; you did not want to make an excursion 
 
40 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 hither. "What I do not want to do I do not do, just be- 
 cause I do not want to do it. In this case there is no 
 necessity so compelling as to bend a will, provided it be 
 a true will. One can let himself be coerced by circum- 
 stances. A firm will does not permit itself to be coerced, 
 and accidents are precisely the fire tests of the will." 
 
 It is a testimony against you that you find all the 
 shiftings of circumstances and their pressure so wholly 
 natural and irresistible. One should not permit things 
 to develop in such a manner that, ultimately, he cannot 
 help doing violence to a conviction supposed to be so 
 firm. Of course, you will not want to admit that this 
 trip is a violation of that conviction, but I can only con- 
 sider this a confirmation of my thesis. You say you 
 hope I will assign some faith to this positively expressed 
 conviction, and so I do; I gladly believe that for you 
 it is a firm one, and you will not think the worse of me if 
 I have another. A little reflection will remind you that 
 last semester you often made the same assertion against 
 me in almost exactly the same form, and it will be seen 
 with what justice. I trust, my friend, that your present 
 conviction may also be objectively true, and it is far 
 from me to wish to attack it. 
 
 I only want to remind you, very earnestly, that you 
 would become ridiculous for all time with the associa- 
 tion — from the first to the last member — if in the near 
 or distant future the conviction you so often expressed 
 before the E. G. in such a positive and fiery manner 
 should prove false. This would imply such contempt- 
 ible impotence on your part as I have never ventured 
 to think possible to you. 
 
 You will think that in the above treatment of a 
 special case I have involved myself in vague unmeaning 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 41 
 
 phrases, and this may to a certain extent be true — I am 
 really but little concerned about a special refutation of 
 your statement, but simply want to indicate to you the 
 standpoint from which I am inclined to view such mat- 
 ters. Yet we shall be able to come to a clearer under- 
 standing of it in direct conversation. 
 
 I can assure you that in this matter starting from 
 particular opinions the association and the Court of 
 Honor have demonstrated their friendly disposition 
 more than you, in your ill humor, may be disposed to 
 recognize. Through the admittedly impressive citation 
 they merely wanted to save you from extravagances 
 which in the future might have given you many an un- 
 pleasant hour in results and memories; and if you are 
 determined to see in it malevolence or rigorism, I can 
 ascribe it only to the gloominess produced by all these 
 irritating occurrences. Are those friends less your 
 friends who try with the best will to benefit you? Your 
 doubts about the necessity of a suspension have made 
 me laugh. Are these differences of conviction so dan- 
 gerous to the realization of the association's fundamental 
 principles that you think it necessary to retire? All the 
 men are fundamentally in agreement with you and will 
 give you their affectionate confiding recognition when- 
 ever the future shall raise that conviction in them to the 
 plane it has attained in you. As to von Weise's ideas 
 about which you write, they had best be gathered in pri- 
 vate conversation. 
 
 You see, my friend, that I am frank. I do not know 
 whether you will thank me for it, but I hope in any event, 
 as we have said and wished from the first, that in this 
 connection our friendship may not be a common and 
 vulgar one. I cannot believe you want to be deceived 
 
42 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 by me, and you will recognize that I am your defender 
 against others, your accuser to yourself. I trust in 
 your noble-mindedness. 
 
 I can say very little about my studies and labors in- 
 asmuch as I have before me a special preparation for the 
 examination, about which the only interesting thing to 
 me is that I have to write my biography. 
 
 My home affairs are as untoward as possible and I 
 had just as soon spare you a detailed account. I have 
 need of all courage and all strength to keep me going. 
 The association is on the point of occupying a new meet- 
 ing place. . . . You will hear much news on your re- 
 turn, which is eagerly awaited. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Bonn, May 11, 1848 
 First I will try to describe for you the tremendous 
 surprise which your last letter caused. I answered your 
 first letter immediately because I appreciated all the 
 reasons for haste. But since I have long lived outside 
 the city gate, my parents however still in the city, I 
 finally understood the causes of the accident that the 
 letter mailed to me remained in my former dwelling 
 until from your second warning I recognized the calam- 
 ity. Consequently I believed that I must blame myself 
 less than inevitable fate or the negligence of my young- 
 est sister for my long silence. 
 
 Your decision to remain in Cologne is quite unfath- 
 omable to me, for although some hopes of a new career 
 present themselves I would in any event try to carry out 
 earlier plans, as long as possible, up to a certain turning 
 point, which for you would be the coming fall vacation. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 43 
 
 I do not doubt that you have sufficient cause for inter- 
 rupting your studies, but I believe it my duty to add 
 that an absence of three months involves, according to 
 present statutes, exmatriculation unless one can show 
 proper cause for the interruption. If you can offer 
 sound excuses, or should important changes in the stu- 
 dent statutes in this respect take place within a short 
 time, such an interruption would of course not be of 
 much consequence from this point of view; and, aside 
 from assuring you how sorry I am to see you drop so 
 suddenly from our midst and from your proposed career, 
 I will say no word further against your proposal because 
 I cannot know what private circumstances have caused 
 your change of plans. You may be firmly assured of 
 having in me a sympathetic friend who can be as little 
 influenced by untoward things to draw away from you 
 as he can be attracted to you by success. May these 
 latter considerations have remained inapplicable to the 
 case. 
 
 About your question: Mrs. Peters stated in the 
 most friendly way that she would take care of your 
 things as well and as long as you might wish, against 
 which I naturally had nothing to offer. Freshie Sterken 
 is, as I find, at home. Your occupation with "little edi- 
 torials" seems to me to be very amusing and interesting, 
 and I envy you the delightful opportunity and quiet for 
 furthering your knowledge in so neat a manner. We 
 have begun a regular loafing semester, have voted 
 throughout the vacation, have become very radical, and 
 see ahead of us a lively political and reforming activity 
 of which I shall write you soon. The corps remain as 
 they were. We shall probably soon dissolve and you 
 will hear great things of us. Particulars later. 
 
44 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 The affair of Tendering remains pretty shaky. 
 Werner, Streiker, Ziemesen, and Miiller are back. The 
 rest are expected soon. Your war preparations amuse 
 me. I hope we shall soon have need of them. Surprised 
 by a call and following that by darkness, I take a hasty 
 farewell of you and convey to you greetings from 
 Asholtern and others. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Bonn, May 29, 1848 
 Yesterday I received quite unexpectedly a letter 
 from Herborn, with an enclosure for you which I for- 
 ward herewith. Herborn wrote me quite uncommonly 
 insignificant things. I hope he shows you more consid- 
 eration. 
 
 As to our student activities, we are living in such a 
 swirl of doings, gatherings, elections, etc., that it almost 
 makes us deaf and blind, and certainly leaves little time 
 to enjoy our successes. The general organization has 
 come. Up to now it may have from one hundred and 
 twenty to one hundred and fifty members, but we hope 
 to make a vigorous propaganda. We are now engaged 
 in trying to organize a universal union of associated 
 students, which would then be the battle field where, 
 in bright daylight of publicity, we shall overthrow our 
 adversaries and if possible destroy them. The best spirit 
 prevails in our party, and we radicals stand unqualifiedly 
 at the head, von Weise and I enjoy a very extended 
 popularity, particularly among the Camels and Cata- 
 loguers, Overbeck will have to be very careful or he 
 will sink. I promise you more detailed explanations in 
 a couple of days, for I am just now busy preparing a 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 45 
 
 proposal for this afternoon and it demands my whole 
 time. Franconia has temporarily opened its doors to 
 "social work." 
 
 Till tomorrow, then. In haste I greet you right 
 heartily. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Bonn, June 26, 1848 
 At last I have succeeded in conjuring the elusive 
 spirit of letter writing and the first thing I must do is to 
 excuse myself for my irresponsible silence. Dear boy, 
 your friend has become a fearfully overburdened man. 
 The disturbed times have operated powerfully upon 
 him; and further, with my responsiveness, their con- 
 tinued influence could not possibly turn to my advan- 
 tage in pleasant ways. Our public life is exceptionally 
 interesting and it occupies me the more since, from the 
 beginning of this semester, a lively participation in it 
 has pushed me far into the foreground, made me indeed 
 a public character — which certainly carries with it satis- 
 faction but likewise much inconvenience. The univer- 
 sal recognition that since the departure of our deputies 
 to the Wartburg I have become provisional president 
 of the student union, to remain such until the appoint- 
 ment of a definite directory, of course has for a young 
 man of my ambition very much incitement. But all 
 these things detract powerfully from my agreeable home 
 and scholarly life, which I began to consolidate at the 
 beginning of the previous semester. But — good God, 
 who defends himself against the Devil when he comes 
 in so flattering a disguise and — honestly, I have no re- 
 gret about it because in this public business you acquire 
 
46 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 many a delightful bit of knowledge ; and besides, on the 
 personal side, I may perhaps be able to make a compe- 
 tent fellow of myself. Besides, the cause itself is ex- 
 traordinarily interesting and of the highest significance ; 
 so that I do not understand how so many of our fellow 
 students can be so exceedingly indifferent about it. The 
 disposition of the matters coming before us, the mass of 
 diverse plans before our eyes, the strangest considera- 
 tions, as they criss-cross incessantly lead the mind to 
 many a new philosophical viewpoint, and you obtain a 
 clearer idea how inconceivably wide is the horizon of 
 human activity if we could practically commit individual 
 integral parts to a finer organization. 
 
 In connection with our great political happenings 
 the thought has come to me over and over how petty a 
 thing it is to withdraw out of the big, free, mighty, 
 stormy world into the conditions of academic life. But 
 just as definitely has come the thought how great, often, 
 can be the service rendered within a small circle and how 
 powerfully such a small circle can extend its influence 
 when we have theoretically and practically grasped its 
 relation to the harmony of the mighty whole. This is 
 surely a proud thought for me personally, but how end- 
 lessly much better it would be, in regard to all of our 
 conditions, if each in his own sphere were to understand 
 this thought properly and knew how to honor it ! 
 
 The union between us and the men of the corps goes 
 forward fabulously, and I now see with great satisfac- 
 tion how superfluous were all my plans of war and 
 destruction which, at the beginning of the semester, my 
 evil-boding soul conceived against the other party. In 
 the elections, etc. the corps men are very just, and it is 
 curious that I mvself , who in the first assemblies roused 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 47 
 
 much of the opposition to them, am now sure of a large 
 number of votes among them. Since I have had occa- 
 sion in my official relations to come into pretty close 
 associations with some of the corps leaders in the dis- 
 cussion of our differences of principle and their issues, 
 I often hear such strikingly sensible and liberal expres- 
 sions, that my reason not infrequently seems to stand 
 still in contemplating the decisive influence of a couple 
 of momentous months. Ernthausen, for example, has 
 suddenly gone so far in his liberalism that he promises to 
 exceed all of us in radicalism. As to our political views 
 and policies, we head fellows are all and sundry sworn 
 republicans, but all in moderation and with deliberation. 
 Our people of the Wartburg delegation have been back 
 here for several days. They have done and arranged a 
 great many things and, without exception, in those few 
 days they adopted a strong and firm policy. 
 
 The results of the convention in Eisenach are sig- 
 nificant beyond all expectation. As a permanent place 
 for the assembling of our general student union, which 
 is at this time being constituted and is made up of all 
 elements of the academic society, the academic senate 
 has placed at our disposition the great music hall, to be 
 equipped for the purpose at the university's expense. 
 This may reveal to you more intimately in what rela- 
 tion we stand to the governing powers. We go about 
 the business imperiously, as if we could stamp armies 
 out of the ground, and all our petitions, signed only by 
 the presiding officer from the hundreds of bearers, derive 
 an extraordinary significance. 
 
 Dear fellow, this official life goes on with such fresh 
 joyousness that one feels good in it, but gets intoxicated 
 with it ; but at home — well, you unfortunately know how 
 
48 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 it is — and our future still lies before us so gray, as if 
 we had never had a past at all. In spite of this, however, 
 I have preserved a comparatively fresh spirit, and if I 
 have to censure myself occasionally for frivolity, still I 
 rejoice inwardly over the cheery humor with which I 
 select the individual good, however rare, out of the mass 
 of evil. Where it all may lead to — my dear boy, I do 
 not know. But I have always looked to something 
 better than being a newspaper man. That I live here in 
 the midst of most glorious natural scenery is a great 
 good fortune and often dampens wretched doubts and 
 base unrest when at times I am not strong enough to 
 bear them with firm manhood. It may sound ridiculous, 
 but it is true — we [you and I] have had a rich youth, not 
 indeed as respects earthly possessions, but rich in change, 
 rich in prospects, in points of view, in inner struggles 
 and victories. Should we sometime get the benefit of 
 this youth, we shall have raised ourselves for all time 
 above the weak and commonplace, since we have already 
 been able to view and organize with the perfected ex- 
 perience of manhood, some, nay many, things with which 
 Children of Fortune are still having to make desperate 
 experiments. 
 
 Is it a certainty, then, that you are joining the war- 
 riors ? That is a serious decision and I prefer to be silent 
 about it in order that I may not bother and burden you 
 with needless doubts. Franconia still continues as a "so- 
 cial fraternity." We might have taken in the freshmen 
 by the dozens, but let many of them go. We are really 
 the pleasantest people in all Bonn, and I must say I 
 have never felt so satisfied in a society as now. Over- 
 beck has withdrawn from the fraternity. He has for- 
 saken student life to devote himself to his doctorate. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 49 
 
 Unless I err, he will feel happier. Inasmuch as I have 
 become an "older member," as August Wagner puts it, 
 I have taken a far [Leibfuchs] on whom I shall now 
 practice education. For the present I'll make him cram. 
 His name is Max Sack and he is a very delightful boy. 
 
 You will be surprised when I tell you that I have 
 been upon the fencing floor only three, not more than 
 four, times this semester. I was buried in work but am 
 gradually beginning again. That I shall never, never 
 attack anyone is certain, unless I insult someone, a thing 
 I am not accustomed to doing. Neither do subtilities 
 arise any more. 
 
 You would do well to come over some day very soon. 
 It would certainly cheer you up if it were but for a few 
 hours, on one of our meeting nights. Greeting to 
 Asholtern and ask him why, in the Whitsun holiday, he 
 failed to pay me a visit. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Bonn, September 18, 1848 
 Only in the moment of preparing to leave 8 is it pos- 
 sible for me to take time for writing, and that but spar- 
 ingly — so greatly have I been pressed with the most 
 various kinds of business during this entire week, and 
 hustled hither and yon. 
 
 You will not have failed to observe how political 
 happenings have acquired the most intense interest. 
 Neither will you have failed to observe that we approach 
 distinctly nearer to the tremendous explosion of a uni- 
 versal popular revolution than at any time since the 
 world-historical vote on the armistice. The bow is 
 
 •For the student congress at Eisenach. 
 
50 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 stretched and only awaits the moment when a hand shall 
 loose the fateful cord and speed the deadly arrow to the 
 breast of the foe, whether an accident or a premeditated 
 incident announce the moment for the explosion. 
 
 I shall hasten to reach Frankfort, for who knows if 
 we shall find the Parliament there two weeks hence.' 
 This much is certain : if the German nation makes itself 
 ridiculous now, it will be ridiculous for a long, long 
 time. 
 
 After my return, another letter. I hasten to let you 
 know that under no circumstances is anything concern- 
 ing our eventual gains to be sent hither until I can re- 
 ceive it personally. Therefore, until I announce to you 
 my return, farewell. 
 
 You will excuse the brevity of this letter when you 
 understand that I hope to leave here yet today. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Bonn, December 21, 1848 
 No doubt this prompt answer to your letter will be 
 somewhat unexpected. But just because a me.eting with 
 you is so imminent I want to direct a few words to you 
 in writing which I might perhaps omit to mention in 
 conversation. 
 
 It is superfluous for me to say how much good your 
 letter did me. For, let me say it, you left me here not 
 quite without a sense of injury. I was not quite proof 
 against your aspersions (pardon the word N /, which 
 troubled and lacerated me on precisely that side on 
 which I least want to be misunderstood. Permit me 
 
 8 The Parliament had suffered an attack from local soldiers just 
 before Schurz reached Frankfort. Reminiscences, i, 143. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 51 
 
 the remark that by this method you will not convert any- 
 one, but you will embitter every sensitive soul. But why 
 speak further of anger when I see so clearly that your 
 will, your brotherly partiality, remain the same as be- 
 fore? And have I not to ask indulgence the same as 
 you? Dear Theodore, I am glad we have at last, in 
 our letter- writing, come to speak of that evening in the 
 garden at Neusser's. I have wanted to entreat you, 
 earnestly, not to take seriously words the utterance of 
 which at such a time and occasion even my lightest sense 
 of propriety would have prevented. And you took it as 
 my "judgment" ? I have respect for every conviction as 
 soon as I know it to be an honest one, and would never 
 oppose it with extrinsic personalities. Shall I cover this 
 with examples? Why did I say nothing about your 
 complaint when you were here ? I expected later to con- 
 quer you with reasons, not to outdo you with tirades. Or 
 do you really believe that your announced views, of 
 which I might cite a number to your great annoyance, 
 would have frightened me less than you were frightened 
 by that windy report concerning my political status and 
 activity here? You spoke most excitedly about my po- 
 litical vehemence, and I bore it very quietly even when 
 your words often unintentionally struck me, as well as 
 the truth, squarely in the face. Passion, however, is in- 
 tolerant and quiet patience will not serve, when the 
 means of resistance and answer lie so ready at hand. 
 
 But let me come to what is the real purpose of these 
 lines. I rejoice over your early return; but I pray you 
 let us not draw into our conversation what tends to tear 
 us apart, when we can and should mutually take delight 
 in our good spirits. Let us keep to our agreement to 
 write about everything that requires a deep and calm 
 
52 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 conversation. I beg of you, do not embitter my righteous 
 joy in the pleasing consciousness that a bond of affection 
 is not to be shattered upon a difference of opinion which 
 deserves and must demand respect on both sides. Let 
 us prove that we are not reckless boys and that we know 
 what it means to show proper respect for honest opinion. 
 There was a time when we regarded ourselves as noble ; 
 our faith in each other cannot have suffered shipwreck, 
 and on that I base my confidence. And now farewell, 
 hoping for an early and more cordial meeting. 
 
 To Gottfried Kinkel 
 
 Bonn, March 20, 1849 
 Up to the present I have not really had a chance to 
 write you at length. Now I see before me a pleasant 
 moment when, the business of the newspaper being fin- 
 ished, I can stretch myself in all comfort. 
 
 In the first place, I desire to come to an agreement 
 with you on various business matters. The editorial la- 
 bors which I accepted as a legacy from you on your de- 
 parture have become delightful to me in many respects, 
 through memories as well as hopes. There are, indeed, 
 many tiresome drudgeries, but my easy manner of work- 
 ing helps me over much, especially over the bad humor. 
 When, however, we receive recognition of our efforts 
 from so gracious a source as yourself, you may readily 
 understand that we take hold of our work with a re- 
 doubled pleasurable eagerness. 
 
 I really expected it would not be possible for you to 
 be responsible for the daily handling of the Austrian 
 news. I cannot quite understand how you get time for 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 53 
 
 your other numerous labors. 10 I assume the additional 
 labor the more cheerfully because I can in that way 
 lighten your duties, and also because I can thus retain 
 that dear old intellectual province in which I have ac- 
 quired some vision. We shall naturally group the offi- 
 cial Austrian news, since the reports are not especially 
 urgent, in comprehensive articles appearing about every 
 other day. In so doing we shall accomplish two things : 
 (1) evade the eternal contradicting and modifying of 
 the Austro-Hungarian lies and fluctuating reports; (2) 
 keep our public in distinctly greater clearness, because 
 we shall be able to distinguish more sharply between 
 facts and circumstances. 
 
 Permit me at this opportunity to give you my views 
 on what I conceive to be the necessary character of our 
 newspaper. It cannot be the policy of our little sheet to 
 dish up to the public political news with great speed, or 
 even without any delay. In this respect it is impossible 
 for us to meet the competition of most of the bigger 
 papers. A scramble for news or a motley accumulation 
 of varied news reports in our limited columns does not 
 seem to me to be admissible. We must rather seek our 
 peculiar strength in this — that we examine and illumi- 
 nate all facts and conditions from a consistently main- 
 tained party standpoint, thus introducing into our paper 
 an essentially rationalistic element, which of course can 
 be closely interwoven with the narration of events. This 
 necessity has become even more sharply manifest since 
 your election to the chamber. Since you, in whose name 
 the newspaper is edited, through your entrance into an 
 extensive field of activity have risen to a much higher 
 
 M Kinkel had been elected to a seat in the lower house of the Prussian 
 Diet. 
 
54 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 plane of political significance, nothing is more natural 
 than that you should lift the newspaper to the same 
 plane and make it your personal and party organ, a 
 thing which everyone has expected and will expect. 
 Such a party factor it does not seem to me the paper 
 has hitherto been, since it has, to be sure, kept alive your 
 relations with the circle of your partisans, but has con- 
 fined itself rather too narrowly to those relations. Does 
 it not seem to you suitable that you should write rather 
 extensive leading articles, upon more abstract subjects, 
 upon matters under debate, upon the operation and at- 
 titude of the parties, upon the activities of the sections, 
 upon the relation of the chambers to one another and to 
 the crown, etc., etc.? I believe this might comport so 
 much the better with the space limits of our journal and 
 with your restricted working time, that you can shorten 
 correspondingly the reports of the debates, which com- 
 mand permanent interest, after all, only if aphoristically 
 treated. This would, in my view, carry the paper be- 
 yond the sphere of your former influence and make it a 
 necessity in many political groups. 
 
 A second point is intimately connected with the 
 above. The paper must get rid of its local character. 
 All the time I have been conducting the journal in your 
 stead this has been my constant effort ; I have discussed 
 no city affairs, no striking personalities, unless they had 
 an obvious relation to some question of principle, and it 
 is this characteristic which has won much praise and 
 many subscribers for the paper. During the next quar- 
 ter I hope for a considerable increase in the circle of 
 subscribers, and this expansion would, in my opinion, be 
 still greater if we were to publish as a concluding feature 
 a series of articles from you as was indicated above. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 55 
 
 Your articles are fairly devoured, and our readers have 
 certainly missed long and painfully the Kinkel "bell- 
 wethers' ' at the top of the sheet. You cannot imagine 
 what a sensation your Friedrichshain article made. 
 
 I have one more request. Write me concerning this 
 matter very soon and be a little more explicit about those 
 things in the present management of the paper which 
 may not please you. Many good lessons have come to 
 my mind which I once learned from you but are now 
 half forgotten. I have not lost the eagerness to learn, 
 and do not want your influence over me to be broken 
 by your personal remoteness. 
 
 von Weise, who saw and spoke with you repeatedly 
 in Berlin, arrived two days ago. I had him tell me all 
 about where and how you live, how you look, where you 
 drink your beer, etc. I expected that you would win 
 great influence in your party and I rejoice to hear the 
 confirmation. I learn also that you continue to wear 
 your old gray hat and the green coat with the wide velvet 
 collar; this aids my mental picture of you very much. 
 For several days I have been very busy with my military 
 duties; I have the pleasure to inform you that I am 
 5-8 ' -3 " n tall and qualified for all branches of military 
 service. The draft commission would have promptly 
 stuck me into the infantry, but they will have to be pa- 
 tient three years longer, I trust. 
 
 Concerning our party and other things I will write 
 you soon and at length, if agreeable to you. I rejoice 
 greatly that you will offer the resolution proposing the 
 
 "Five feet, 8 inches, Y12 inch. Thirty-four Rhenish (or Prussian) feet 
 equal 35 English feet. By our measure this would make him about 5 feet 
 10 % inches in 1849. This seems to show that he stretched upward at least 
 a couple of inches after attaining the age of twenty years. Tradition says 
 he grew especially fast after having recovered from scarlet fever in his 
 twenty-fourth year. 
 
56 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 removal of academic jurisdiction. The Kappenheim 
 affair has greatly intensified the zeal of our student 
 body in relation to these matters. I can promise you a 
 mass of petitions for the beginning of the next semester. 
 The whole agitation is rather completely under my con- 
 trol and I shall know how to turn my influence to ac- 
 count. I have become a dreaded person to the univer- 
 sity senate, especially since on the occasion of the ban- 
 quet I spoiled their fun and wriggled out like a serpent. 
 Rector and university court, according to their own 
 statements, presuppose exceptional judicial knowledge 
 on my part, which is the more gratifying to me inasmuch 
 as they dropped a very dangerous charge against me 
 which they believed themselves unable to sustain. The 
 agitation is permanent here, and Bonn is the most un- 
 quiet city on the Rhine. 
 
 You are to be here at Easter. I hope you have not 
 deceived us with a false promise. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Bonn, March 23, 1849 
 In great haste I am writing you, since I find myself 
 in a tremendous difficulty. A considerable time ago I 
 handed in the required evidences in regard to my one- 
 year [military] service to the proper department's 
 board of examiners without hitherto receiving any 
 answer, much less the notice to volunteer. Since, by 
 way of exception, the levy has already been in progress 
 for eight days, because my papers had not arrived I was 
 drafted, when naturally, after qualifying for any branch 
 of military service, all else remained in suspense. On 
 April 3 occurs the general muster, when the recruits are 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 57 
 
 to be placed in the appropriate branches of the army. If 
 by that time I shall not have my volunteering notice, or 
 some other written evidence of having sent in my at- 
 testations at the proper time, I fear they will take great 
 pleasure in sticking me into the infantry for a couple of 
 years — especially since I have become persona non grata 
 to the powers that be, and shall hardly enjoy any con- 
 sideration. I have a suspicion that they have intrigued 
 against me for the purpose of banishing me from Bonn 
 as quickly and for as long a time as possible. 
 
 If you, through your father, are acquainted with any 
 officer who may have to do with these things, I pray you 
 to find out from him what the state of affairs is. Should 
 you be able, through someone, to cause my papers to be 
 expedited you would be loaded down with my gratitude. 
 On account of these things, I shall probably come to 
 Cologne in a few days. An accident in this respect 
 would have the most unthinkable consequences for me, 
 and I shall leave no stone unturned to prevent it. 
 
 It is really a bit shameless in me to want to draw 
 you into this matter, but I do it in the thought that we 
 both would find it hard to consider ourselves shameless 
 in such cases. Very soon I shall write you in more detail. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Bonn, March 27, 1849 
 I am greatly obliged to you for your prompt reply. 
 Unfortunately I must point out to you that simultane- 
 ously with my letter to you a dunning letter went off to 
 the board of examiners quite in the manner indicated 
 by you. It is the third one — and still no answer. From 
 this it looks to me as if a new letter would prove as fruit- 
 
58 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 less as the old. In giving me your advice you did not 
 know of this circumstance and hence could not take it 
 into account. Should it nevertheless appear to you ef- 
 fective to have recourse to writing once more, let me 
 know — if possible, immediately. On the other hand, 
 should it seem possible for me personally and orally to 
 accomplish something with the commission concerned, 
 I would come to Cologne during the next few days, al- 
 though it is hard for me to get away. 12 You will doubt- 
 less be able to learn from your father if this commission 
 is approachable or not. 
 
 To His Parents and Sisters 
 
 Rastatt, July 21, 1849 
 In vain would I attempt to describe the emotion 
 which seizes me as I begin this letter, for I know not if 
 these may not be the last words I shall ever entrust to 
 paper, since my life, or what amounts to the same thing, 
 my liberty, may end tomorrow. In this hour (which I 
 may call the most momentous I have ever experienced; 
 which is perhaps the last that will permit me, in calm 
 clearness, to review my past and contemplate my fu- 
 ture before my fate shall be decided forever) there press 
 upon my soul such masses of great questions that I am 
 unable to answer them all, though I know how extended 
 an accounting I owe you. 
 
 I know how sorely I have injured you. I know the 
 hopes you built on me, the pain of disillusionment which 
 must be rending you. My dear ones! I would stand 
 before you as a penitent, did not the proud consciousness 
 
 12 Since Schurz does not mention the volunteering difficulties in his 
 Reminiscences, it may be presumed that he adjusted these. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 59 
 
 of having offered up to you my future, my whole life, 
 my principles forbid me to bow my head. Have I been 
 one to chase after distractions? Have any of the baser 
 motives impelled to overhasty action? Or have I been a 
 reckless youth who, without reflection and good sense, 
 followed a momentary impulse or childish ambition? 
 This last thought weighs upon my heart and I have 
 often considered it when, during this siege, a sorrowful 
 lonesomeness permitted quiet meditation. But, see! 
 Now I face the day of decision ; now the time has come 
 when I shall have to die for my principles or be sub- 
 jected to lifelong imprisonment. This moment finds me 
 quiet and self-contained — like a man. At this moment, 
 which in its devastating reality banishes every romantic 
 illusion, the pleasant consciousness that I have done my 
 duty with spirit and honor becomes doubly clear. I have 
 never been prouder than now, for I know I have never 
 had more right to be. 
 
 In happier days you have seen me and observed my 
 doings. I know there were moments when you looked 
 upon me with vanity. I shall not decide here whether 
 you had a right to do so, but my memory tells me that 
 my will would have striven for greater things, my powers 
 would have achieved more, had only my experience and 
 knowledge been greater. I tried to pass judgment on 
 great situations, although I had not seen them and be- 
 cause I had not seen them. I would participate in great 
 affairs although and because I had not considered the 
 necessity of a far-reaching organization, or because, in a 
 measure, I thought such an organization superfluous. 
 If I deceived myself I have merely suffered the common 
 fate of men, and a heavy penance will expiate a trivial 
 fault. 
 
60 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 You do not know my life since the day I had to leave 
 you. The shortness of the hours does not permit me to 
 describe to you my experiences and adventures. I have 
 recorded them in my diary, 13 which I intended for you 
 and which I kept regularly day by day even at the time 
 when I did not know how to keep it. You will have to 
 content yourselves with that. If only the complication 
 of affairs does not rob me of the happiness, denied me 
 forever, of getting it [the diary] to you! I have not 
 much to add. When the danger of an attack by the 
 Prussians became imminent and I recognized that all 
 non-military activities on my part would be absolutely 
 illusory and useless, I became a soldier in the army of 
 the Palatinate. A fortunate combination of circum- 
 stances made me an officer, and my position was as pleas- 
 ant as it was educative. I must confess that I have 
 longed for some time to stand for my convictions, sword 
 in hand, and since the first attempt in that direction 
 ended in a farce 14 I was irresistibly urged into the 
 struggle as if I had to expiate a sin there. I came under 
 fire first at Bruchsal. I rode in the first line, the enemy 
 bullets, grape, and shrapnel whizzing around me. I 
 swear to you that never in my life did I feel so happy 
 and never so purified as during this baptism of fire. In 
 that very first encounter I was wounded. It was a graz- 
 ing shot on the shinbone, which soon quit bleeding, and 
 I remained on horseback that whole day. In the en- 
 counters under the walls of Rastatt I was often in the 
 bloodiest fighting, in the most murderous fire. You 
 may tell my enemies, if they seek to revile me, that I did 
 not spare my blood in behalf of my sacred cause, that 
 
 13 Diary unfortunately not found. [A. S.] 
 
 14 See Reminiscences, i, 171ff. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 61 
 
 I never flinched before the rain of enemy bullets through 
 fear or because it drove me back. And though all of 
 these fights proved futile I, and many others with me, 
 saved our honor from the mockery and revilings of those 
 who are our adversaries. 
 
 I can never requite all the troubles, the cares, that 
 you endured on my account, all the tears you have shed 
 for me. Fate has played me a sorry trick, raising the 
 suspicion that our family is born to misfortune. All 
 this, however, I foresaw long ago, if not in all its de- 
 tails, at least in its results. I knew my life would be full 
 of storms and dangers because I was too proud to evade 
 them. But I always imagined that I should die like a 
 man whose memory should encompass a rich life, 
 charged with distinguished achievements. With resig- 
 nation I have succeeded in arming myself against every 
 misfortune. But the reflection that I have been able to 
 achieve so little with my powers — such a thought is hard 
 for me to bear. Had a longer life been vouchsafed me, I 
 should have become an unhappy man ; but I should have 
 exploited my unhappiness for the welfare of many; I 
 should have suffered in action and acted in suffering, 
 like all men who are self-sacrificing enough to forget 
 their own present and future in that of others. And so 
 it means resignation enough, when I am reluctant to 
 give up my hopes for the future. 
 
 I forgot to indicate precisely the moment in which 
 this letter is being penned. Our scouts returned this 
 evening ; they report simply that we are lost. Our army 
 was destroyed several days ago; the Prussians, pro- 
 vided with all the equipment for a siege, are assembling 
 great masses of troops about the city. It would be mad- 
 ness to try to hold the fortress longer. So we have the 
 
62 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 choice of two alternatives : either to cut our way through 
 to the Rhine and thence to France, which is hardly pos- 
 sible ; or, what is all but certain to be done, surrender the 
 fort. All captured Prussians will be subject to mar- 
 tial law and, according to overwhelming probability, 
 will suffer the penalty of death. Among these am I. 
 When you read this letter I shall perhaps already be 
 counted among the dead. Possibly I may be thrown 
 into captivity which can be broken only by great events. 
 I write this in cold blood because I am master of my- 
 self. I trust you will be the same when you read these 
 lines. — And yet, when I think that I shall see you no 
 more, you loved ones ; you, who have given me so much 
 affection, from whom my heart can only sever itself 
 bleeding, my eyes seek to give way and I could cry like 
 a child — but I must not weep now, for I stand in the 
 presence of death. — I cannot offer you a word of con- 
 solation; it would be superfluous, for I hope it will be 
 consolation enough for you to have the assurance that 
 in life as in death I have been worthy to be your son. 
 
 I have placed this letter in the hands of the man with 
 whom I was quartered. He is a good and obliging man. 
 He has instructions to mail it when my fate shall have 
 been decided. 
 
 Farewell, my dear ones, my good parents, my be- 
 loved sisters. Be assured that no one has loved you more 
 faithfully than your brother; that he loves mankind 
 more than himself and was resolute enough to love it 
 even unto death — and you will be comforted. 
 
 Farewell, farewell. We shall see one another no 
 more — or at least not for a long, long time. Farewell. 
 
 Through a paper that the Prussians have sent in 
 here I learn that Kinkel was sentenced to death at 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 63 
 
 Karlsruhe by the military court. I know he can die 
 like a man, because he has lived like one. If I could say 
 the same of myself to the same extent, I should at this 
 moment carry my head higher. But I am happy that 
 weakness is as remote from me as cowardice; that I 
 endure, with steadfast heart, the blows of misfortune 
 and my own thoughts. Farewell! on the day of capitu- 
 lation ! 
 
 To His Friends 
 
 Rastatt, on the day of capitulation 
 July 23, 1849 
 
 May this letter, penned at a moment when life makes 
 its last demands upon me, serve as proof of the warmth 
 with which I think of you. The next hour will bring the 
 Prussians through our gates and we shall be in the hands 
 of our most embittered enemies. Excuse me from nar- 
 rating and discussing facts whose narration and dis- 
 cussion you will find in all the newspapers. I am now 
 impelled to speak to you out of a full heart, recalling 
 the joyous days which we spent together, and which we 
 mutually beautified for one another without being con- 
 scious of doing so, even partly — permit me the pointed 
 remark — even without wishing to do so. 
 
 It is as yet uncertain what the next hour will bring 
 us, but there are only two alternatives which agitate my 
 imagination — death or permanent incarceration. The 
 two facts that I am a Prussian and a political offender 
 leave me no hopes beyond these alternatives. With 
 serene spirit I face my fate, and desire still with calm 
 clarity to cast a glance back over the delightful past 
 out of which your images move so lifelike before my 
 
64 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 spiritual eyes. When I traveled from St. Goarshausen 
 into the Palatinate, Wessel said to me in his dry manner : 
 "Say, it would be fine if you were shot there; for it is 
 interesting to be able to say that a good acquaintance 
 went down in this or that affair." I laughed over the 
 remark at the time, but today it comes back to me in 
 a wondrous way. And does it not contain much, very 
 much significance? Of the hundreds with whom I was 
 acquainted, will not the great majority on learning of 
 my death say with a shrug of the shoulder: "Too bad 
 about him ; he had fine talent, but he was over-eager and 
 excitable. He might have become an able man"? And 
 so the thing is ended and the young soul, with all his 
 good will, his warmth, his self-sacrifice, is forgotten. 
 
 Why? Because the majority do not know for what 
 he sacrificed himself ; and what he would have gained by 
 his sacrifice if all had made the same sacrifice. It is 
 easy for me to become reconciled to this thought because 
 I can see that the majority are right. It is utility which 
 rules all conditions, and my unselfishness is only then 
 deserving of recognition when it turns out to the mani- 
 fest advantage of others. I have done nothing to be 
 remembered for, hence there is nothing more natural 
 than that I should be forgotten. See the program of 
 my ambitions before my end. I know that some of you 
 have considered my ambition excessive and exclusive. 
 I see that clearly in the moment when I am prepared to 
 step out of myself and have a right to pass judgment on 
 my past. It is true, I did not want to be second where 
 I could be first ; I did not want to serve where I under- 
 stood how to command. But subordination under su- 
 periority has never come hard for me, and I have never 
 denied recognition to superior power wherever I have 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 65 
 
 found it. And yet I do not deny that I should have been 
 ruined had I remained longer in those conditions. There 
 was in me a certain untameableness which was bound to 
 lead me to tyranny. The feeling of superiority in some 
 things would have made me forget my limitations, and 
 the words of those who, without knowledge or desire, 
 would have caused me rather to overlook than to im- 
 prove my own faults. I was on the way to become an 
 intolerant person — indeed, should long since have be- 
 come such had not a certain natural shyness which, by 
 the way, I was most anxious to throw off, kept me by 
 force on the right track. 
 
 Then I did a ridiculous thing which at the same time 
 involved an act of treason ; this marks a break in my life 
 course. I went into the Palatinate, where I observed an 
 agitation which quickly illustrated with sufficient clear- 
 ness what demands a revolution makes on the man who 
 hopes to play a role therein. I joined a group of men 
 whose names were much spoken in Germany. It was 
 not difficult to appreciate the superiority of some, the 
 undistinguished powers of others ; to learn and recognize 
 that the fame of being a political notability by no means 
 signifies a high grade of political ability and may be 
 achieved at slight cost. The spectacle of all that had to 
 be done in the Palatine revolution to assure it of even the 
 appearance of a hoped-for success; the spectacle of an 
 inefficient provisional government, soon caused me to ask 
 myself whether I really would have had this or that idea 
 or whether I would have been able to set it forth had a 
 role in this drama fallen to me. I then quickly recog- 
 nized that a lack of knowledge and experience branded 
 me as an undistinguished individual whose present 
 might well be exploited even though his future were 
 
66 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 lost. I chose, with steadfast resignation toward other 
 offers, a quiet, contemplative position which might yield 
 me a pretty deep and clear view into all groups and all 
 conditions without imposing a responsibility which in my 
 want of self-confidence might have become oppressive. 
 So I traversed the revolution as a nature student tra- 
 verses a mountain range, not without danger but with- 
 out weariness. I have learned in these few months more, 
 a thousand times more, than if fate had left me behind to 
 my apparently independent but in fact illusory ac- 
 tivities in our university city. 
 
 Soon, however, came evil days, and when I had al- 
 ready learned much a relentless fate cut me off from 
 the hope of becoming a useful man. I see my life ending 
 where it ought really to begin, my liberty destroyed 
 where it was my purpose to ally liberty with clarity. 
 That is the heavy misfortune which weighs upon my 
 shoulders, and I feel it is no consolation for me to 
 save the untamed powers of my soul. I have preserved 
 my moral pride and nothing shall bend my neck. I feel 
 myself worthy to live since the expectation of death 
 leaves me clear and undisturbed. I have looked death 
 in the face frequently — at Bruchsal where I was 
 wounded, in all of the fights at Rastatt where I stood 
 up against the enemy face to face and gave him blow 
 for blow. Danger did not cause me to waver nor the 
 nearness of death to tremble — say this to those who 
 may ask about me. 
 
 For the last time our drums are beating in the 
 streets ; for the last time I put on belt and sword in order 
 to surrender to the enemy. 'Tis time to bid you farewell. 
 It is childish in me, yet now it pains me to think that at 
 the time of my flight I did not even take leave of you. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 67 
 
 So then, farewell. To hope for a reunion would be 
 folly. Remember occasionally a friend who pledged his 
 life for the realization of an idea before he knew the 
 means of achievement; whose greatest sin it was, con- 
 trary to his own theory, to be too regardless of egoism. 
 Again, farewell. 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 Dornachbruck, July 31, 1849 
 At last I find a moment of quiet to let you know that 
 I am rescued and free, both through a hazardous enter- 
 prise which ended as successfully as it was begun boldly. 
 I wrote you the last lines in the comfortless anticipation 
 of falling into the hands of my most embittered enemies. 
 Fate changed this and I was given back my life after 
 having already looked death in the eye. I do not know 
 if you received my last letter from Rastatt. If you 
 did, it went off sooner than I had intended, and from 
 my heart I absolve you from the heavy hours of terror 
 and pain which, innocently, I brought upon you by my 
 too hasty report. My rescue could not be anticipated and 
 I did not wish that in future you should be forced to 
 answer the question: "What became of your son?" with, 
 "I know not." It was for this reason I wanted to give 
 you information while it still was possible to do so. The 
 manner of my rescue you will find from the enclosed 
 sheets, written for you and for all others who are in- 
 terested in my fate. 
 
 Now let us speak of the cares of life. I am here in 
 a Swiss village, near Basel. My money resources, be- 
 cause I was able to save little from Rastatt, are so small 
 that I shall not be able to live on them three days. True, 
 
68 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 I have my diary, kept with great regularity and in ex- 
 tended manner and which I want to have printed. How- 
 ever, until after a necessary revision and until I can 
 get it into a publisher's hands, at least one or two weeks 
 must elapse, and even then it is very questionable that I 
 shall receive money in hand at once. I ask nothing from 
 you, for I know that I can suffer better than you. But 
 this request I make: Ask of Frau Erbschloh, or else- 
 where, if someone may be disposed to support me up to 
 the moment that I can sell my diary. I would then go 
 to French Switzerland, probably to Geneva, to con- 
 tinue my studies and incidentally to learn to speak 
 French fluently. I would have remained in France had 
 the refugees dared to stop in Paris or near the bounda- 
 ries. As I am in dire want of many things highly neces- 
 sary to life, sums up to twenty-five or thirty thalers will 
 be needed for procuring them — particularly as I do not 
 dare remain here but shall be compelled to emigrate. No 
 refugee may remain nearer the boundary than eight 
 hours ; so, should my tour to Geneva be long deferred, I 
 would risk being arrested by the police, and set over the 
 boundary or locked up, a result which might prove 
 highly inconvenient. To this first request I join a sec- 
 ond. Should it be possible, under a description (which 
 fits me pretty well) with an assumed beloved name, to 
 get me a passport it would have a special advantage for 
 me. I should be able then to remain not only upon the 
 French or Belgian frontier, but as near as possible to 
 my home — even in the immediate neighborhood of Bonn 
 — without the danger of being discovered. That this 
 would prove of special advantage goes without saying. 
 Anyway, I could stay in Paris, which would be most de- 
 sirable from the point of view of my education. The 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 69 
 
 only difficulty now is to pass the frontiers without being 
 arrested, which is no small trick in the present watchful 
 attitude of the police. As aforesaid, the passport may 
 bear whatever name you choose — however, the descrip- 
 tion must fit me as closely as possible. If both these re- 
 quests meet with a happy fulfillment, I hope to improve 
 the duration of my banishment by the most useful and 
 diversified employment possible. 
 
 And now the third and greatest request. For two 
 months I have strayed around in the world without re- 
 ceiving the slightest intelligence concerning you. I know 
 not if you are well, if things are going well with you, 
 even whether you are still living. Do you realize what 
 that means? Day and night I have worried more on 
 your account than on my own ; day and night the thought 
 of your cares, your labors, your tears, tortured me; for 
 you must have believed that all was in vain, all lost. 
 Dear parents, I feel what I have brought upon you, but 
 do not hold it against me; do not let me linger or pine 
 for a word, for news, concerning you. Though you send 
 no money, though I must go begging, yet write to me all 
 of you. Write to me, you and my sisters, so that I may 
 once more press them to my lips — those precious lines 
 for which I have yearned so long and so ardently. In- 
 expressibly do I long for the day on which I shall hold 
 the dear page in my hand as a sweet guarantee that 
 those are still on earth whose image daily becomes 
 fresher in my mind. 
 
 Concerning the manner in which you are to send the 
 money and the passport you may confer with some of 
 my friends whom I shall designate. They will perhaps 
 be able to put the proper means in your hand. Ask Sulz- 
 bach if he cares to publish my diary. It will make about 
 
70 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 two hundred pages and contains, on the subject of the 
 Baden revolution and especially the surrender of Ra- 
 statt, very important and authentic information which I 
 was able to give because I was always in immediate con- 
 tact with the commandant. Tell him that I am asking 2 
 Frederick d J or per signature [thirty-two pages of the 
 printed book] in monthly installments of three signa- 
 tures each. Meanwhile I shall look into this matter 
 among Swiss book dealers also, but shall wait for Sulz- 
 bach's decision since he has the preference in any event. 
 Necessity forces me into these demands, which however 
 are quite unalterable. Write me also whether the Bon- 
 ner Zeitung still exists, and — what would be dreadful — 
 if the death sentence of Kinkel was a fact and his execu- 
 tion has already occurred. I can hardly believe it ; time 
 brings wondrous things to pass, and we ourselves are a 
 witness of how fearful is the play of fate. 
 
 I sit here, still in a state of deathly exhaustion from 
 my superhuman exertions in Rastatt, and labor inces- 
 santly upon the editing of my diary. I have learned to 
 know lif e from new angles and shall know how to make 
 that knowledge useful to myself. Just a little more help 
 and I am wholly saved. I know that I shall not perish 
 in the slime of idleness in which most of the refugees here 
 are sinking. My intellectual needs guarantee my intellec- 
 tual activity, and I feel clearly that I have gained more 
 than I have lost in these last days. Nothing is yet lost ! 
 Therefore, courage and activity! No doubt one of my 
 friends will write me. You can combine your letter 
 with his. Once more I beg you to raise and send me the 
 money at once, as quickly as possible — only do not tap 
 your own resources. Do not write me under my true 
 name, but at the following address : Mr. Gustav Stahl, 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 71 
 
 in Hotel Zur Krone, Dornachbruck near Basel, Canton 
 Solothurn. Write soon. I am waiting with feverish 
 longing. Heartiest greeting to all. 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 Near Zurich, August 15, 1849 
 Your letters, brought to me by Strodtmann with con- 
 scientious haste, have instantly reanimated my exhausted 
 powers and opened my soul to joy again. I had lain 
 sick abed the entire day, but when Strodtmann arrived 
 and handed me your precious letters I leaped up as 
 sound as a fish in water and was as if newly born. The 
 very next morning we marched hither to Zurich, where I 
 think of staying and where the glorious natural sur- 
 roundings, the daily view of which exerts such an inde- 
 scribable influence, and the excessively quickening 
 mountain and sea air, will soon make a new man of me. 
 I can assure you, however, that the after-effects of my 
 terrific exertions actually narrow down to a few — a 
 little exhaustion occasionally and a rheumatic pain in 
 my right leg, grazed by a bullet at Bruchsal and some- 
 what neglected by me, although the periosteum was 
 probably injured a little — that is all. A few days will 
 heal this too. But how have I deserved all the touching 
 care and love which is vouchsafed me ? My friends, full 
 of sympathetic zeal, have shunned no effort to help and 
 benefit me; and my good old father does not shun the 
 long road to Rastatt to set eyes on me once more — the 
 supposedly lost one! He is now doubtless returned, to 
 receive the gladder tidings which reached home in his 
 absence. I pray you, write me at once; the matter dis- 
 quiets me greatly. I trust nothing has happened to him 
 
72 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 while seeking and not finding me. Had he only known 
 my place of refuge, he might have been with me in 
 Dornachbruck in less than a day. Answer about this 
 by return mail. Satisfied on this point, I shall once 
 more be able to live a quiet life until my strength per- 
 mits me with redoubled zeal to resume the business of my 
 calling. 
 
 I have rented a good, cheap, and simple room here 
 in a village not two hundred paces from Zurich. My 
 windows open upon the lake and the ice-covered moun- 
 tains, and it is but a few steps to the top of a hill whence 
 one can enjoy the grandest and most sublime of all 
 views. I shall write you later how beautiful it is here — 
 just now the spirit urges me to write of other things. 
 Were you really without news of any kind about me dur- 
 ing that whole long period? Your last letter I received 
 through Anneke's wife the very day we were marched 
 out of Kaiserslautern. And from that day forth I had 
 to be in the saddle day and night, on marches and biv- 
 ouacs, constantly near the enemy, and finding not a mo- 
 ment of leisure which would have enabled me to write, 
 much as I longed to do so, aside from the few hours 
 for sleeping granted me now and then. Finally, two 
 days after the battle at Bruchsal, on the twenty-fifth of 
 June, I went to Offenburg for the purpose of rendering 
 myself fit for service as quickly as possible. While at- 
 tending to my wound there I wrote you on the twenty- 
 fifth of June and asked the innkeeper on the twenty- 
 sixth to send it through France ; and on the morning of 
 the twenty-seventh, having been roughly put in shape, 
 I had to return to headquarters, which had then been 
 established in Rastatt. Did you not receive this letter 
 of June 25 written from Offenburg? It was the last 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 73 
 
 one I wrote, for as soon as Rastatt was invested it was 
 no longer possible to think of writing letters. 
 
 I have experienced great and interesting things, and 
 had remarkable fortunes, and now that all the misery is 
 over I rejoice that I experienced them. My longing for 
 you, the uncertainty concerning my father's journey to 
 Rastatt, are the only things that still worry me. About 
 my own future I have no fears. Fate has armed and 
 steeled me against all distress, every affliction. I have 
 suffered and endured so much that I look forward with 
 keen confidence to any fortune that may now come to 
 me. He who feels in himself enough force and courage 
 to conquer life can be sure of eventual victory, even 
 though unable to avoid some severe battles. That such 
 struggles will come is certain; but equally certain is it 
 that my past will be the best protection against my fu- 
 ture. It seems, to be sure, that I have taken a long step 
 away from the goal I had formerly set for myself, and 
 this pains me not a little when I think of you who 
 brought me thus far by the sweat of your brow. Yet 
 who knows whether a higher goal may not have been 
 brought closer to me — closer perhaps than we can know 
 or imagine ? And as, standing in the presence of death, 
 I felt what it is to live and what one must do in order to 
 live truly and worthily, it also became clearer to me than 
 ever how one must labor in order to have truly labored. 
 I shall do what in me lies to become what in me lies. And 
 of this you may be sure, were the spur to this lacking in 
 myself, your love and care would forbid me to rest or 
 halt. 
 
 My friends have collected so much money for me 
 that, for the present, I can live and labor in security. 
 There is little lacking, particularly since I have the hope 
 
74 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 of recovering, at least in part, the things I took with me 
 from home and which got out of my hand at the time of 
 the withdrawal of the headquarters from Rastatt. I 
 need only some shirts, say three or four, handkerchiefs, 
 and a neckerchief. These things are very dear here, and 
 I do not know if it would be more advantageous for you 
 to buy them there and send them to me than for me to 
 buy them here. The latter course would exhaust my 
 means considerably. If you decide in favor of the 
 former, buy me only colored shirts. I learned in the 
 campaign how good and practical these are. 
 
 My desire to return and live for a time quietly in 
 the neighborhood of Bonn I feel it necessary to restrain 
 for the time being, the plan being as yet too dangerous. 
 I have learned to be conscientiously economical of my 
 liberty. Still I trust it will not be too long until we see 
 each other again. Mail time is approaching, and I add 
 the most pressing request that you write me instantly 
 and dissipate my worries about Father's journey. I 
 await the letter longingly. If more money is raised for 
 me, send it with the letter, under the following address : 
 Diedrich Rentrup, Care of Madame (widow) Landolt, 
 in Enge, near Zurich. 
 
 Please greet the entire family for me. 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 Zurich, August 18, 1849 
 For the second time and momentarily in expectation 
 of a letter from you, I am writing from this beautiful, 
 wholesome, for me so lonesome, Zurich. I am writing 
 merely because I do not want to let Strodtmann leave 
 without utilizing the excellent opportunity of talking 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 75 
 
 with you. I feel that I can here carry on a life full of 
 lonely activity. Already, since the joyful greetings are 
 over, I have renounced most of the acquaintanceships 
 established during recent months. We live here undis- 
 turbed by the waves of political life, and all circum- 
 stances combine happily to establish a quiet, scholarly 
 life. I shall endeavor to exploit it as far as possible. 
 My health is almost completely restored. My fatigues 
 seem to wish to spare me all their significant after-pains. 
 This for your consolation in that connection. 
 
 My things — coats, trousers, etc. — which went astray 
 during the campaign and which I hoped to recover, I 
 have not yet received. But I expect them daily, and 
 with them and the things I asked you to send I shall 
 be sufficiently equipped for the present. 
 
 In expectation of your letter, which must now be on 
 the way, I close to write more fully on receipt of it. 
 Hearty greetings to all the family. 
 
 P. S. In case you have not yet sent a packet off to 
 me, it would be well if you were to add a vest, since I 
 have none now. You can buy it at Wolff's. 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 Zurich, October 3, 1849 
 Opportunity offering, I will add a few words to my 
 letter of yesterday. I have considered more fully the 
 matter of securing an individual amnesty from the min- 
 ister of justice and find myself in a very peculiar situa- 
 tion in relation thereto. My interest is a double one: 
 On the one hand I must try to get back as quickly as 
 possible into the old routine. But, from another point 
 
76 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 of view, my hands are tied in many matters by popular 
 opinion, which I dare not oppose because my entire fu- 
 ture is based thereon. Through my part in the Palat- 
 inate-Badish Revolutionary War, my popularity and 
 standing among the people has risen considerably. I 
 have won by it, but I recognize at the same time that I 
 would lose all this should I stoop to prefer a request of 
 the present powers. Also, it goes against my innermost 
 nature to demean myself before my enemies for merely 
 my own personal interest. It is in fact impossible for 
 me, and I will not agree to it under any circumstances. 
 It would be different if it involved the interests of others. 
 You know how much I have been moved by the fate of 
 Ungar. I am convinced that my participation in the 
 lawsuit might have a material influence upon its success ; 
 it might be possible for me to save him. 
 
 Were it possible, without my personal cooperation, 
 for others to secure an amnesty for me, under the condi- 
 tion that in the Siegburg matter I appear before my reg- 
 ular judge, I should have nothing against it. But even 
 this matter would have to be handled with the utmost 
 caution. I must have a reserve through which I can 
 prove the purity of my motives to all and at all times. 
 That might be secured in the following way: Some 
 citizen, for example Hittorf or Rass, must be induced to 
 write me urging that I apply for an amnesty. I would 
 answer and this exchange of letters could later serve as 
 a document to prove my sentiments. It could, in case of 
 necessity, be printed, etc. One of you, along with one of 
 the indicated citizens, or with Lawyer Schmitz, could 
 hold a conference and consider what may perhaps be 
 done in the matter. This gentleman must be told of my 
 firm determination not to be admitted to private am- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 77 
 
 nesty. Besides, they must in nowise be allowed to see 
 that I knew about the step you were taking or had in the 
 slightest degree suggested it. Finally, they must be 
 urged to write to me directly about the matter, and 
 quickly. Hittorf would be best. As aforesaid, I would 
 not at any price stoop to a request which could place me 
 before the people as a schoolboy begging off before his 
 teacher. Also, I shall not take the first step which might 
 cast a shadow upon my reputation or a doubt upon my 
 views. If, in this whole business, I cannot stand out as 
 a man whose honor and principles are dearer than his 
 happiness, I renounce all clemency of a ruler. In the 
 above suggested manner whereby I contest personally 
 for my right, everything injurious can be avoided. 
 Above all, however, do not approach Professor Sell and 
 that gang; if a step is to be taken and they want to do 
 something, there will always be time for it. It is not nec- 
 essary to let men whose sentiments are very doubtful see 
 our cards. Manage the business prudently. Honor is a 
 sensitive thing, and remember how difficult it is to rid 
 oneself of an imputation, however groundless it may be. 
 I want to stand out clean, and you must all wish it with 
 me. Hasten this matter and destroy my letter so that it 
 may fall into no one's hands. I greet you all most 
 heartily. 
 
 Do not take any step without letting me know. 
 Once again I beg you let me know about Ungar's trial. 
 My other plans remain as before. 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 Zurich, October 9, 1849 
 I hasten with the answer so that if possible my letter 
 may arrive in time. I wrote you a couple of lines several 
 
78 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 days ago which you must have received now per en- 
 closure. Therein I developed a plan which bases itself 
 upon what the minister of justice, as you wrote me, sent 
 out concerning individual amnesty. In the newspapers 
 I have hitherto found nothing about this announcement 
 of the minister of justice, wherefore I unfortunately 
 came to the belief that the whole matter probably rests 
 upon an error. If that is true, of course my whole plan 
 falls asunder ; the one, namely, which is described in my 
 last little letter. 
 
 As to my other plan, I shall in any case delay its exe- 
 cution until the end of this month. It is possible that by 
 that time other prospects will appear which may cir- 
 cumvent or lessen the dangers involved in the step. As 
 soon as I have reached a definite conclusion I will notify 
 you of it, as also concerning the manner in which the 
 thing can be carried out. In regard to community steps 
 in this behalf we can later come to more definite agree- 
 ment. Since considerable time will necessarily elapse 
 and the whole matter must first be more carefully 
 worked out, please send me the things that are there 
 for me, but especially I should like my overcoat. 
 
 If the legend of the journey of young Edlibach to 
 Italy and my participation therein were true, I should 
 be mightily pleased. But unfortunately I have thus 
 far heard not a word about it. Edlibach also, so far as I 
 know, is not in Zurich at all. Such a journey to Italy 
 would enable me to pass the winter in the pleasantest 
 and most educative way. Could you perhaps inquire 
 of Dr. Schafer about it, and if there is any truth in the 
 project it would be very welcome to me. 
 
 But I should like to know in the most definite way 
 how things stand in regard to that individual amnesty, 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 79 
 
 whether it is really in prospect or not. In the first in- 
 stance I could at least request permission for a four 
 weeks' stay in Bonn such as Veneday actually received 
 in 1840. If the matter were properly presented from 
 our side it would hardly fail. But before I take a step 
 in this matter I must have authentic and thorough re- 
 ports, and I must say that something of that kind would 
 be most welcome to me. A permanent return can hardly 
 be thought of for me until a complete change in the 
 aspect of things occurs, but I believe that we shall not 
 have to wait for this longer than the second quarter of 
 next year. Should I even now be able, with effort and 
 humiliation of spirit, to secure an individual amnesty, 
 I would at the very least be stuck into a regiment for 
 two years, and these years they would know how to em- 
 bitter for me to such a degree that it would probably be 
 just as well for me to spend them in prison. 
 
 Kamm does in fact owe me some money — seven 
 gulden. He was in dreadful need; still I am certain 
 that I shall get it back. Should Hofling hold back the 
 money collected for me, I should indeed consider that 
 mean. Tell him as opportunity offers that I have writ- 
 ten he should turn over to you all he has for me. That 
 would please me particularly inasmuch as in the carry- 
 ing out of my plans I shall perhaps not come out even. 
 
 I am getting along as well as one in exile can. My 
 health is once more quite sound. I am studying with 
 much comfort and get along all the faster for having no 
 other enjoyment. In order to establish a future as a 
 learned man, this circumstance of banishment might not 
 be so bad were I not always oppressed with thoughts of 
 you and my home. I have kept up my courage, but I 
 know very well that a reversal of things would bring a 
 
80 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 better but not less stormy future. Everything that was 
 lost for us heretofore a single moment may restore. Ac- 
 cordingly, we should merely be careful that nothing 
 more be lost and that that moment may find us yet. 
 How are my sisters? Are they well? Has Nettie de- 
 cided to become a schoolmistress? . . . Mrs. Kamm 
 has told me a great deal about little Trina. I send greet- 
 ings to her. 
 
 I shall maturely consider the business until the end 
 of the month and then make my decision. I know how 
 to appreciate the great danger, and you can well under- 
 stand that I who have purchased my freedom at so great 
 a cost will not carelessly place it in jeopardy. 
 
 Be so good in your next letter as to give me a de- 
 tailed and reliable explanation of the alleged individual 
 amnesty, prospect of which was held out by the minister 
 of justice. The matter might be of the greatest im- 
 portance. With most hearty greetings to you, my sis- 
 ters, and all friends. 
 
 To Christian Schurz 
 
 Zurich, October 20, 1849 
 In our discussion as to whether I should carry out 
 my design, we quite overlooked one point. I shall not 
 be able to remain in Belgium without proper certificates 
 of identity. I should have to have a new passport if 
 possible for one year. I have reflected much as to which 
 one of my relatives or friends could secure it for me, and 
 have fixed on Herbert or Mathias- Joseph. But were I 
 to remain in Switzerland a passport designated for 
 France, Belgium, and Switzerland would be very ser- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 81 
 
 viceable to me. I beg you to inquire if it would be pos- 
 sible to secure such a passport from that source. 
 
 New prospects have now opened up for me here. 
 You see, in the University of Zurich the studies I am 
 pursuing are taught in the weakest manner. In history 
 there is but one professor, and he lectures only on Swiss 
 history. For the whole of the balance of the field there 
 is not even a Privatdocent. I have obtained information 
 about the examination and find that I could easily be 
 prepared for it within a year. If no new agitation in 
 Germany shall have brought about a change in affairs 
 by that time, I believe it would be my wisest course to 
 stick to this project with utmost perseverance. It is 
 pretty much a matter of indifference whether I find my 
 living in Germany or in Switzerland, just so I find it. 
 A certain inspiration to scholarly achievement now pre- 
 vails here. Some of the refugees of the educated class 
 have united in the decision to do as much as in them lies 
 toward the education of the others, as well the wholly 
 uneducated as those who have had good preparation. A 
 sort of institute will be the outcome, to which the Swiss 
 superior officers have already promised their approval 
 and support. I am interested in it and hope that out 
 of this educational movement certain not inconsiderable 
 material advantages may emerge; for example, a free 
 dwelling place. A few more days will determine how 
 far our expectations are to be fulfilled. If they should 
 be reasonably satisfied, it would seem wisest for me to 
 remain in Switzerland, particularly since, after a re- 
 moval to Belgium, I should hardly have the prospect 
 of coming back. The outlook for a future position is by 
 no means to be despised, and I shall do my best. In case 
 a new revolution should make the soil of the fatherland 
 
82 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 accessible again, a thing I hold to be very probable, 
 such foundation-laying as is herein contemplated would 
 not be "built in the wind," for it is always good to keep 
 open a door for unforeseen accidents. Write me your 
 views as you have opportunity. I believe you will agree 
 with me. 
 
 Mrs. Hess has delivered to me the things and the 
 money. I thank you heartily for them. She has also 
 suggested several things to me — private tutoring, etc. — 
 and I must confess that every means which will enable 
 me to keep from being a burden to you and also prevent 
 the solicitude of my friends from being put too much 
 to the test is in highest measure welcome to me. I think 
 it pretty certain that some alleviation of my situation 
 will soon occur, which has augmented my doubts about 
 exchanging these advantages for a removal with wholly 
 uncertain future. I pray, however, that all these mat- 
 ters may remain among ourselves. 
 
 The above-mentioned passport you will need to have 
 executed only when I specifically ask for it and have 
 need of it. 
 
 In this manner I trust that our misf ortune, if it does 
 not lift, may still become bearable. The period of suf- 
 fering cannot last long. It will not be impossible, with 
 my healthy powers, to gain a better future for us all, 
 and you know that my will to do it is not lacking. For 
 this reason, however, I can do violence to my intense 
 longing to see you all, oppressive as this has become and 
 may yet become in the future. Of this we may be cer- 
 tain, our reunion will be a joyful one. Be strong and do 
 not let your spirit sink; for your spirit is mine. As 
 soon as Strodtmann gets back, ask him to write and give 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 83 
 
 me his address. I greet you, my sisters, and all friends 
 most heartily. 
 
 P. S. Mrs. Hess tells me much about Kinkel, that he 
 seems to have changed his mind, etc. Do tell me what 
 there is in this. — Should there be an opportunity to 
 send me my coat with the cape, I would be very grate- 
 ful. 
 
 To Christian Schurz 
 
 Zurich, January 31, 1850 
 I am extremely perplexed to have waited in vain 
 since December 20, 1849, for an answer from you, and 
 yet a letter from Meyer received at the beginning of 
 January shows that you must have had mine of the 
 middle of the preceding month. I wrote again the fourth 
 of January, but in vain. Did this letter arrive and the 
 one I addressed to H. Hittorf ? What, then, has hap- 
 pened to cause you to leave me so long in most painful 
 uncertainty? Or have you perhaps written and was the 
 letter intercepted at the post office? I have grounds to 
 fear the latter, for the letter from Meyer bore unmistak- 
 able evidence of having been opened. I shall write 
 Meyer particulars concerning it. I pray you, write me 
 instantly. I know not in the least how things are going 
 with you — whether you are well and contented. The 
 most peculiar, gloomy forebodings cross my mind. If 
 it has happened that one of your letters was left lying 
 in the post office, reclaim it in order that I may get it. 
 
 My circumstances are such that I cannot complain. 
 We support one another, according to ability, and to- 
 gether overcome our perplexities. At the end of De- 
 
84 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 cember I gave up my old residence, it being too cold 
 to work there. I now live with merchant Dolder, by the 
 moat, in Zurich, to which place all your letters should be 
 directed. More about this next time. My disquiet pre- 
 vents me from giving you more details about my situa- 
 tion. 
 
 Our lawsuit is probably going on. Would it not be 
 possible for you to send, soon, the Cologne newspapers 
 in which the proceedings are reported? It might per- 
 haps be necessary to write something concerning it and 
 to give it publicity in one or more papers. 
 
 Again I implore you for a prompt answer. 
 
 To Christian Schurz 
 
 Zurich, February 8, 1850 
 I have just posted a letter to Herbert praying him 
 promptly to take care of the matter of a passport for 
 me. 15 I may perhaps need it soon. At any rate, mo- 
 mentous events are approaching, events which may mo- 
 mentarily worsen our condition considerably but whose 
 ultimate results will unquestionably be favorable. Much 
 is said here about the enmity of Austria toward Switzer- 
 land, about expelling the refugees, etc. Though these 
 things are not to be fully credited, yet without doubt 
 they rest partly on facts. An expulsion would place 
 us all in the severest straits, for money is very scarce 
 everywhere and without it nothing is to be accomplished. 
 How the crisis may pass is still impenetrable. Were it 
 possible to make available to me as much as would enable 
 me to shift my residence, I should find it a great relief. 
 
 15 This was in preparation for his dangerous expedition into Prussia 
 to liberate Kinkel. See letter written at sea, middle of November, post, 90. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 85 
 
 Yet I always hope it may not come to this. At present 
 no kind of danger threatens us, but it is well to be pre- 
 pared, as far as possible, for eventualities. Since Meier 
 has been arrested, as I read with regret, I know no one 
 among the students at this moment with whom I could 
 correspond. Strodtmann, since his expulsion, has not 
 been heard from at all and his place of residence is al- 
 together unknown to me. It would be particularly 
 pleasing to me to continue in relations with at least one 
 of the Bonn students. If any one of my people [of 
 Franconia] should come to you, please request him to 
 write to me. 
 
 Your last letter reached me just an hour after I had 
 posted mine to you. It is a great satisfaction to know 
 that you are all well. I am so likewise. 
 
 In two or three days I shall give more particular re- 
 ports of our circumstances to the Bonner Zeitung and 
 will also write more fully about them to you. For today, 
 accept my love with these few lines, and let the enclosed 
 letter be commended to your prompt attention. 
 
 In haste, with heartiest greeting. 
 
 To Christian Schurz 
 
 Zurich, February 18, 1850 
 The nearer spring approaches, the nearer comes the 
 decision. No one can have failed to observe that things 
 are preparing east and west, north and south, which 
 will materially alter our circumstances. I hinted in my 
 last letter something in relation to an early action 
 against the fugitives either through an Austrian armed 
 invasion or through new edicts of the confederation 
 chamber. The latest reports indicate that, while there 
 
86 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 is something to the above, we shall still be safe here for 
 a time. I have written Herbert urging the sending of 
 the passport with the greatest possible dispatch. I 
 might need it soon, for the Zurich police appear to be 
 extremely malicious toward the refugees. I beg, how- 
 ever, you will be as secret as possible about the passport 
 business, for the police there, if they should hear about 
 it, could either try to intercept the letter in the mail or 
 else make things inconvenient for me here. My per- 
 sonal circumstances are endurable. I suffer no want 
 though I cannot deny some money would be welcome, 
 particularly because we are never quite certain but that 
 sudden occurrences may make a change of base neces- 
 sary. Be good enough to write me in detail, soon, how 
 matters stand at that end. Every report is significant 
 to us. The departure of the post makes it necessary to 
 close this letter. For today, farewell. 
 
 To ? 
 
 Berlin, September, 1850 16 
 Though I do not know at this moment where in all 
 the wide world to place you, I cannot repress the desire 
 to write you some words and will confide these lines to 
 any favorable wind. First a reproach. Why have I 
 heard not a single syllable from you since our last meet- 
 ing? The way from you to me was always safely open 
 to you through your brother, and I imagine we might 
 have had this or that to say to each other. But I see 
 
 16 This letter, undated, of Carl Schurz, written from Berlin in Septem- 
 ber, 1850, and in part published in the Vossischen Zeitung, 1912, no. 236, 
 was discovered by Dr. M. Ballcrt in the proceedings of the inquest against 
 the Berlin physician Ferdinand Falkenthal, with whom Schurz lived dur- 
 ing the final weeks preceding the rescue of Kinkel. The addressee of 
 the letter could not be ascertained. [A. S.] 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 87 
 
 that I must take the initiative again, a proceeding which 
 has often been more flattering to me than in this case. 
 
 I write these lines in Berlin, whose walls have har- 
 bored me nearly three weeks and will probably harbor 
 me longer yet, for I am chained to the place where I sit, 
 like Prometheus to the rock, and cannot move. Do not 
 be frightened ; I am not occupying a prison cell or one 
 of the iron-railed guard-houses, but a simple student 
 room, which however is nearly as lonesome as the prison 
 cell. I had to propitiate my good star through a bit of 
 hard luck. The incident may interest you, for it is 
 medical. One morning about two weeks ago I entered 
 the bath in order to prepare fittingly for the heat of a 
 day pulsing with activity. As, anointed by a health- 
 giving ice-cold shower, I walked up through the bath- 
 house, barefoot to my neck, in the pride of my Apollo- 
 nian limbs, on a slippery step my feet shot out from 
 under me with wondrous facility and I fell full length 
 with corresponding force. After they had taken me 
 home, with much labor (I suffered distracting pains), 
 late in the afternoon two doctors (after an examination 
 conducted with the aid of chloroform) decided that my 
 right thigh-bone was not broken, but that a very severe 
 contusion of the muscle had occurred. Now there had 
 to be blood-letting, bandaging, etc., and after five days 
 I was actually so far along as to be able to crawl out of 
 bed and sit on a chair for several minutes. Now I slink 
 around my room conscious of an hourly access of 
 strength, but still unable to stand alone and obliged to 
 hold on to chairs — longing impetuously for the time 
 which will restore me to a free, two-legged state. It is 
 not far away now. Though I had marvelous pretty 
 dreams during my chloroform sleep, and the cupping 
 
88 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 process was rare fun, I will not deny that my whole situ- 
 ation assumed a somewhat inconvenient and unpleasant 
 character. But I have already got forward so hand- 
 somely in the practice of peripatetic study and have such 
 fortunate sources of scientific aid here, that it has not 
 been necessary to step outside of the circle nearest to my 
 intellectual labors. So far all is well, and I have no par- 
 ticular inclination to be misanthropic. 
 
 Oh, this Berlin! How I rejoice that I was able to 
 live and observe here for some days! Berlin with its 
 splendid line-straight streets, its magnificent palaces, its 
 wondrously beautiful theatres and museums, its con- 
 stables and white and black cockades, its guard lieu- 
 tenants and white-beer philistines ! Berlin is truly beau- 
 tiful, the archtype of a modern princely residence, with 
 brightly cleaned houses and large windowpanes, inces- 
 santly disturbed by the din of omnibuses and equipages. 
 
 But Berlin lacks one thing which gives imposing 
 character to great cities: In Berlin you find nothing 
 that bears on its brow the stamp of great history. It is 
 hardly possible here to draw a parallel with Paris. How 
 can a statue of old Ziethen stir me here; or Blucher's, 
 Scharnhorst's, or Billow's ; or even an equestrian statue 
 of Frederick the Great? They stand like anecdotes in 
 history, and nothing is associated with their fame aside 
 from a little cold admiration. Here one cannot read, 
 as at a Paris street corner, a chapter in world-history. 
 Even the few and mean occurrences of 1848 in their im- 
 potent instability fail to lift our souls through any great 
 memories. 
 
 How different it was in Paris in 1789, when the 
 people had as yet done little more than storm the Bas- 
 tille! Everything there was more universal, more au- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 89 
 
 thoritative for the civilized world. And even the French 
 legitimate kingship was, in itself, an immensely more 
 significant phenomenon. Apart from the tremendous 
 material power, the court of Versailles ruled the taste 
 of Europe for hundreds of years. If that court was 
 frivolous and wicked, it became at once the duty of edu- 
 cated Europe to be frivolous and wicked. If a mistress 
 in Versailles loved ostentation, all Europe took to show- 
 ing off. If a king became old and pious, the world's 
 "four hundred" dropped upon prayer stools. Though 
 this phenomenon is often degrading and disgusting, it 
 remains distinguished and splendid. And all these vari- 
 egated affairs of Europe one can read upon the windows 
 of the Tuilleries, in the Luxemburg gardens, and in the 
 courts of Versailles. Shall I narrate the glorious mem- 
 ories of the revolution, the nattonal pride in the Empire, 
 of which every pillar there, every plaster cast, the name 
 of every street seem to preach? Where would it be pos- 
 sible, here in Berlin, to feel the profound thrill I ex- 
 perienced one evening in the garden of the Tuilleries 
 as I leaned, lonesome, against the pillar of Spartacus, 
 in this overpowering image of revolutionary force and 
 heard all around me in great circles the eternally thun- 
 dering streets of Paris ? 
 
 And then the people! I do not know whether you 
 know the South German folk intimately enough to 
 draw a parallel between them and the North Germans. 
 How different they are even along the Rhine! Where 
 do you find, among them, the sickly, spiritless apathy 
 we find here; where the insufferable superciliousness, 
 which even tries to exceed itself ? At first, as was my 
 habit, I regarded the people with all good humor, and 
 cannot forbear to tell you a little incident. In coming 
 
90 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 hither on the railway I fell in at Magdeburg with a 
 young woman returning with her children from a tour 
 of the Rhine. The children cried and the mother was 
 in a state of despair such as is not uncommon on a 
 journey. Finally the desperation of the woman changed 
 to an attack of anger. She was a Berliner. "On the 
 railway," she began, "everybody is treated alike. The 
 officials run hither and thither as if they had wondrous 
 much to do. No one asks who you are, and (she added 
 weepingly) on the railway one cannot dress according 
 to what one should really represent. If my husband 
 knew that!" "I've got to punish that woman," thought 
 I, and asked with the most cold-blooded shamelessness : 
 "What, then, is your husband?" "He is in the minis- 
 try," she replied. "What, your husband is a minister?" 
 said I. "He is in the ministry," she said rather deject- 
 edly. "Oh !" said I ; "well, that will pass." Fortunately 
 the company was tactful enough to swallow the laughter 
 that threatened to break out, but the woman was quiet 
 as a mouse all the way to Berlin. 
 
 To His Parents and Sisters 
 
 At Sea, middle of November, 1850 
 For more than three months you have had to wait 
 for the moment which would bring news of your son 
 and brother. I went away secretly, without a parting 
 word, and left nothing with you but a difficult time filled 
 with the cares of a bitter uncertainty. Did the news of 
 Kinkel's rescue finally cast a light ray into the secrecy 
 of my departure? In fact, the news which connects 
 Kinkel's escape and my name is true. Luck was favor- 
 able to us, making good the boldness of the hazard. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 91 
 
 Did I not do right to keep from you that I spent 
 three months in Berlin and Spandau? In hiding my- 
 self from my friends I hid more .securely from the po- 
 lice. One favorable night permitted the rescue of 
 Kinkel, and the smooth working of our arrangements 
 hurried us quickly beyond the danger of pursuit. At 
 the moment you are reading this the sea is bearing us to 
 the coast of England, or perhaps a friendly port has 
 already received us. The time of danger is past and we 
 are well and happy. 
 
 Will you ask how I could have so jeopardized my- 
 self and you in this affair? The answer will be read in 
 the glad countenances that surround you. Is not Kinkel 
 a great power in the party, and a friend? Something 
 had to be risked for him. Such bold undertakings must 
 be judged by their results. The joy of succeeding 
 makes superfluous an excuse for the risk. I beg you 
 to think so too; rejoice with the rest, and let us not 
 have too many words about it. 
 
 But you must not believe that in the moments of 
 danger I was less conscious than at other times, that 
 every step I was taking should give the measure of my 
 obligation to you. I thought about that too, but there 
 were other things also that I must not forget. Please do 
 not reproach me for this seeming inconsiderateness of 
 mine, for it would be bitter to hear from your mouths 
 the somber demand of everyday life that one must sac- 
 rifice a great ideal for petty cares. I am happy in the 
 consciousness that I shall not so readily subordinate 
 purposes to doubts instead of doubts to purposes. Do 
 not let it appear too dangerous to you. For the present 
 the danger is past, and I foresee no new one in the im- 
 mediate future. 
 
92 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 I shall not so soon again abandon the safe soil of a 
 neutral land, and a quiet scholarly activity will I trust 
 at last afford me opportunity and means to serve also 
 as a secure support to you. I shall hardly remain in 
 England. I am thinking of spending the winter in 
 Paris, studying and writing as much as possible. I 
 have the firm conviction that I shall be able to keep my- 
 self there. The rest we shall have to entrust to the fu- 
 ture. I put a little trust in my luck; you must do the 
 same. 
 
 The first thing I am hoping for is a letter from you. 
 Please do not write too much about the anxiety and care 
 you felt in regard to me. We are now gaily enjoying 
 the unalloyed happiness of our success, and I would 
 not wish that subsequently a dark shadow should be cast 
 upon it. But about the joy which the news of freeing 
 Kinkel brought to your environment — about this I 
 should like to hear much, very much. I should like to 
 know in how far the scenes I pictured in my imagina- 
 tion, with all the well-known figures in them, lag behind 
 reality. 
 
 With oppressive fear I write the question again as 
 to how you are getting along; whether your existence 
 still drags along from day to day, in care and durance, 
 as when I last saw you. If so — and I can hardly hope 
 it is otherwise — keep nothing from me. I hope soon to 
 be able to answer your complaints with something more 
 than bare promises. 
 
 Of the details concerning the freeing of Kinkel, 17 
 our flight, and the incidents of our journey, I will say 
 nothing now, but will entertain you with these things 
 
 17 A full account of the incident is given in Reminiscences, i, chapters 
 9 and 10. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 93 
 
 in detail as soon as I shall have found some leisure for 
 it on English soil. 
 
 Once more, be not angry with me for going to Berlin 
 without taking leave, and now going to sea in the same 
 way. When one has to employ cool reason at every 
 step it is necessary to constrain the heart. For today, 
 farewell. You can be easier about me than I can be 
 about you. Only on account of the impending seasick- 
 ness do you need to pity me a little. I have prepared as 
 best I could for this type of the "morning after" feel- 
 ing and hope to sustain it better than the Manteuffel 
 ministry its German politics. 
 
 Today be content with most heartfelt greetings from 
 your faithful son and brother. 
 
 Gottfried Kinkel to Christian Schurz 
 
 At Sea, November, 1850 
 When you receive this letter your Carl and I shall 
 be at sea and practically in complete safety. I regard 
 it as my duty to write first to my wife and next to you as 
 the father of my rescuer, my truest friend. For on the 
 occasion when you visited me at the casemate in Rastatt, 
 mourning for your son, I saw fully how attached you 
 were to him, and hence I can imagine that you and your 
 entire household, in these months, must have suffered 
 many anxieties on my account, because the staff of your 
 age exposed himself to such great danger for my behoof. 
 Yes, it is true: Carl has manifested a loyalty to me 
 which I shall hardly ever be able to repay. His spirit, 
 persistence, and resourcefulness performed a miracle, 
 and I owe to him in the full sense the saving of my life, 
 more endangered daily through hard usage. As to the 
 
94 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 way this all came about and how wonderfully up to the 
 present all things conspired to the success of the venture, 
 this I cannot and dare not yet narrate in writing. I 
 hope, however (and a glance into the newspapers which 
 I had to dispense with so long gives me the certainty of 
 it), that Carl and I, after not too long a time, shall re- 
 turn to the fatherland, when under altered conditions 
 all can be told with more peace and less danger, with a 
 pint of new beer. 
 
 As far as I am concerned, Carl arrived in the nick 
 of time, for I am still quite well and my loyal ones in 
 Bonn would quickly observe, could they hear me talking 
 and joking with Carl, that I have still not lost in the 
 cruel solitariness of my confinement my joyous Rhenish 
 heart. Tell this to all those, in Bonn and the surround- 
 ing country, who have remained loyal to our beautiful 
 old flag. Tell them I am still the old Kinkel and expect 
 to remain so, until — for all the love, devotion, and loy- 
 alty which so many brave men poured out upon me 
 during my suffering — I can repay them by placing all 
 my powers at the service of the fatherland. For, if in 
 the sinister night of my imprisonment I never for a 
 moment despaired of the success of our efforts, I now 
 look into the future with especially sure hope. Carl 
 also, by reason of his character and intellect as well as 
 his unheard-of wonderful luck, will win a position which 
 will enable you gladly to forget that you have had to 
 give him up so long. 
 
 Though it will depend on a number of circumstances 
 where I shall fix my residence, Carl and I will remain 
 together for some considerable time, enjoying the 
 hearty friendship struck up in the course of our com- 
 mon political activities and now rendered inviolate by 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 95 
 
 Carl's loyalty and my gratitude. It was a rare mo- 
 ment in my life when everything had succeeded and he 
 first embraced me there upon the free thoroughfare, 
 when after a year and a half of torture leaning on his 
 shoulder I rode forth into the rescuing night, and be- 
 tween dark lines of Brandenburg pine treetops the 
 morning broke upon us happy ones. Given back to 
 freedom, activity, my beloved wife and sprightly chil- 
 dren, escaped from boundless distress ! Only when full 
 security in England envelopes me and complete quiet of 
 spirit returns, shall I be fully sensible of how much I 
 have become indebted to the loyalty of my party and 
 above all to my friend. I believe also that in freeing 
 me he has given joy to many, many other persons be- 
 sides ; for aside from the democrats, many hearts, stirred 
 by the hard and unreasonable treatment accorded me, 
 were inwardly moved to sympathy; all of them will be 
 grateful to Carl for what he has done in my behalf. 
 
 I have not been able to repress this expression of a 
 strong feeling toward you and your family, and I beg 
 you tell my other friends and my party associates in my 
 name to whom I ascribe my rescue. Greet all for me 
 who have maintained the true spirit in these heavy times 
 and who still think with pleasure about our fiery sum- 
 mer of 1848. Keep well and conserve your age, till the 
 glad day comes when I can restore your son to your 
 arms. I greet you with high respect and brotherly af- 
 fection. 18 
 
 "Another letter from Kinkel to Christian Schurz is dated Paris, De- 
 cember 19, 1850. In it he asks permission to prepare Antonie, youngest 
 sister of Carl, for the work of school teaching. The offer was accepted and 
 Antonie went with Mrs. Kinkel to London, living in the Kinkel household 
 one year. She came with the family to America in 1853; was married to 
 Edmund Jussen at Watertown in 1856; and died at her home in Mil- 
 waukee, April 29, 1923, at the age of nearly eighty-six years. 
 
96 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 To Mrs. Kinkel 
 
 Edinburgh, December 1, 1850 
 Our first business is over; the time for cracking 
 jokes has come. Our cheerfulness is as boundless as 
 our appetites, our appetites as boundless as our health. 
 Today, for seven hours uninterruptedly strolling about 
 we searched for an eating place, because all are closed 
 on Sunday; and when late at night we picked one up, 
 it was found that we understood English enough to se- 
 lect, out of the entire list of earthly things, a beefsteak, 
 a pudding, and a bottle of Xeres, with trimmings. Not 
 without reason do we imagine that our progress will 
 quickly disclose the most splendid talents. If in the 
 u|3shot I shall be outstripped by Kinkel; if he laughs 
 more and drinks no less than I, you may look upon it 
 as a proof of extraordinary good humor, since my fond- 
 ness for such professional studies is certainly not far 
 behind his. 
 
 Farewell! Look forward to the day of reunion as 
 cheerfully and as well as we. 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 Paris, December 20, 1850 
 Our journeys are now ended. Now the return to 
 London and we shall have peace. Work begins, and let 
 us hope for good results. In regard to my sister Nettie, 
 we have agreed on some things. I am pleased that she 
 wants to become a schoolmistress. She has talent, 
 quickness of perception, and I hope industry enough 
 to carry on her education with good success. We are 
 agreed that she should come to England with Mrs. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 97 
 
 Kinkel and remain in the Kinkel household and re- 
 ceive instruction there. You will be able to talk the 
 matter over better with Mrs. Kinkel than I can explain 
 it to you in writing. Only this much I assure you, that 
 this offer of the Kinkel family seems to me a rare piece 
 of good fortune for my sister. I hope to learn as soon 
 as possible what you think about it. 
 
 My arrangements in Paris will soon be made. I 
 shall live quietly and in retirement and concern myself 
 at present with nothing but my studies. I find here 
 the most abundant materials for my work, and I hope 
 to bring something to pass. 
 
 The reports about the state of your health are in- 
 deed slight, but permit me to hope that your condition 
 is somewhat improved. Your sickness, dear mother, I 
 trust was nothing but the old weakness which was again 
 easily overcome. My health is fine ; I have an iron body 
 for hard exertion. The sea and land journey has not 
 weakened me in the slightest degree. 
 
 For today, farewell. Write me soon about what 
 you have discussed with Mrs. Kinkel. I can then give 
 my opinion more fully. Since I do not wish my where- 
 abouts in Paris to become known, I should like my 
 letters to come to me in a roundabout way. Be so good 
 for the present as to give to Dr. Lehmann without ad- 
 dress everything that you write to me. He will then 
 undertake the further care of it. Hearty greetings to 
 the children and all friends. 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 Paris, January 1, 1851 
 At this moment I have a lively recollection of the 
 time when I was still going to school. I used regularly, 
 
98 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 on December 31, to rule with utmost care a sheet of 
 paper and then begin in anxious solemnity a New 
 Year's wish to you such as the master had set for us. 
 I would write and write, letter by letter, the perspira- 
 tion coming out on my forehead; and at last, when I 
 was quite at the bottom of the page at "Obedient Son," 
 a drop of ink was sure to mar the page and I would 
 have to begin all over again. And so over and over, 
 my writing worse and worse, till at last it was very bad. 
 You will recall that my New Year's letters never came 
 out very well. That was a labor and a torture, and in 
 connection with the many "Welfares" [Heil] and 
 "Blessings" [Segen] I thought only of the difficult 
 H and the hard and unshapely capital S\ and of how 
 superfluous it was, after all, to write a long letter, since 
 we were sleeping in the same room. And when had it 
 ever come into my mind to wish you anything but "Wel- 
 fare" and "Blessing"? Yet, this had to be solemnly 
 written, on paper. At that time I knew nothing of the 
 hatred of life, and in my childish faith supposed that 
 love was self-evident. 
 
 Since then many years have passed and for the sec- 
 ond time I greet the opening hour of a new year in 
 exile. Last year I was in Zurich. We had watched in 
 cheerful comradeship the passing of the last hours of 
 the bloody year of misfortune, and as suddenly the bells 
 pealed out from all towers and the crowds rushed into 
 all streets congratulating one another, I walked arm in 
 arm with Techow across the Linth bridge and we re- 
 counted many and delightful things concerning the 
 hopes we were carrying over into the new year. What 
 did our wishes not make us glad to believe! And of 
 all that, nothing has come true. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 99 
 
 Today the second half of the century takes its first 
 step into history. I sit, quietly working, by the dying 
 chimney fire, and nothing indicates to me the passing 
 seconds. There is no solemnity save the deep stillness 
 of night. Nor is my mood a solemn one, and I would 
 not wish to force my thoughts to roam over all the pos- 
 sibilities which might perhaps sleep within the new 
 year's digit. Wherefore excite the brain with things not 
 yet tangible and which our imagination cannot hasten? 
 
 But it is not as if my hopes were dead. I believe 
 more firmly than ever in the great day on which the 
 power of the new time will set its mighty foot upon the 
 ruins of our degradation; in the day which will recall 
 us to the breach with irresistible battle-cry, when we 
 shall stand fighting till our victorious banner flutters 
 from the conquered fortress. It must be and will be. 
 It is undying, this spirit which draws its magic circles 
 wider and wider about this earth, which even arouses 
 nations seemingly dead, causing them to enter upon the 
 universal march. How? Have not those who call them- 
 selves our enemies poisoned themselves with home- 
 brewed medicines ? Did not their own mouths yesterday 
 brand the things which today they themselves are doing? 
 Do they possess any other greatness than in shame ? Do 
 they not publicly boast of their shame ? They have un- 
 manned themselves, and this closes the future to them. 
 
 But who knows when the day will come? Decades, 
 in the life of peoples, are like a single day. The spirit 
 of world history regards not the longing of men, but 
 their weakness and their strength. Therein lies the 
 free will of peoples. Whether today or tomorrow, no 
 matter. We are all still young enough to witness the 
 tragically absurd fall of those fools who must first learn, 
 
100 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 by the course of history, that they cannot bind down the 
 storm with ropes. 
 
 Let us wait. We can wait quietly, for we have 
 saved our honor. Even the conquered can no longer 
 be mocked, since the victors have covered themselves 
 with ridicule. Who deserved ridicule more, the insur- 
 gents in Baden or the Prussians in Hesse? Who stands 
 higher, more worthy of honor, Tiedemann before the 
 court martial or Herr von Manteuffel before the Dres- 
 den Conference? It has gone so far that they count it 
 an honor to have had no power in the general confusion. 
 The silent voice of the press speaks louder than the 
 talking one could have done. We have arrived at the 
 point where silence can agitate. 
 
 All of this was ended in the year just gone. And 
 the tasks of the new? The nature of things, the logic 
 of events dictate them. They will be intelligently car- 
 ried out even if our intellects cannot evaluate them in 
 advance. I am perfectly calm about it. The study of 
 the past makes easy for me the expectations of the fu- 
 ture. The conception of happiness which we are ac- 
 customed to wish one another has changed not only 
 for me but also for you. 
 
 What would it amount to if we were to sit quietly 
 together here or there, and the four walls limited our 
 horizon, and aims which are calculated for tomorrow or 
 next day limited our hopes ? Our family is severed any- 
 way and we look upon that, I believe, without great pain. 
 Has not each of us had his own kind of happiness ? Is 
 there not in store for each of us his kind of happiness? 
 Certainly there may be much to be desired ; but in com- 
 pensation for that which man renounces, a favoring for- 
 tune proffers something else. Let us not belong to that 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 101 
 
 perverse class who can neither recognize nor enjoy any 
 other happiness than that which their own narrow imagi- 
 nation alluringly dangles before their eyes. 
 
 That we are as we are is all that I personally can 
 wish for us. For the rest, you will feel with me that it 
 is beautiful to see our fortune united with that of suffer- 
 ing peoples. 
 
 I have long had no news of you. I have a feeling 
 things must be going better with you than formerly. 
 Write soon. 
 
 Farewell, and greet my sisters heartily for the new 
 year. 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 Paris,, January 7, 1851 
 From the letter of Mrs. Kinkel to her husband I 
 infer that a letter from you must already have been sent 
 to me. You can imagine how eagerly I have looked for 
 news from you and Dr. Lehmann, but so far without 
 receiving a single line from Bonn. Has a letter been 
 lost perhaps, through wrong address or interception in 
 the mails? Please reply at once, for our family affairs 
 must now be further discussed between us, urgently and 
 indeed promptly. 
 
 I am writing in haste and expect an answer in equal 
 haste. Hearty greetings to my sisters. 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 Paris, March 7, 1851 
 Your last letter troubled me greatly. Will it then 
 be wholly impossible to remain longer in that house if 
 
102 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 no other is found ? As for myself, I shall do what is in 
 my power and you may count on this, that I would 
 rather suffer want myself than let you suffer. But my 
 position continues to be very precarious, my earnings 
 uncertain. To promise something definite at stated 
 times is impossible because I always have to wait for 
 the outcome of an undertaking. I certainly hope in the 
 near future to make a beginning in literature, but a se- 
 cure position is not to be thought of in that connection. 
 That I shall make many a fortunate move thereby I 
 surely hope, but this hope is all I have yet in sight. As 
 to Kinkel, his circumstances are in no respect bright. 
 The reports of rich legacies, etc. are one and all legends. 
 He will have to live by his pen, and will have all he can 
 do to make a living. Then, too, his entire family lies 
 sick in a city where living is so desperately high. He is 
 overloaded with outside affairs and has hardly been able 
 to think of his income-producing work. 
 
 What I can promise by May is between fifty and 
 sixty thalers. If I have more I will give more, but it 
 cannot be counted upon. Is there no one in Bonn who 
 will agree to aid you until I can earn more ? It is self- 
 evident that more sources must soon be open to me. I 
 need very little, and what I have beyond my necessities 
 belongs to you. Yet we must fight our way through, 
 however it may go; we may hope for better times. 
 
 Nettchen [Antonie] has written me several times. 
 She seems to like the life in the Kinkel family. 
 
 I have not heard from Dr. Lehmann for a long time. 
 I expect a letter from him or his brother any day. 
 
 I have a great deal of work to do and am in the 
 house or the library almost all day, often having hardly 
 an hour left for my walk. Of the carnival I saw only 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 103 
 
 the opera ball. But I am in good fettle, able to be a 
 
 little strenuous. Farewell for today. Greet my sister 
 
 Anna heartily. Why has she not written me? Heart- 
 felt greetings. 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 Paris, June 2, 1851 
 Do not be surprised when I tell you that I have just 
 now got out of prison. I was arrested on the street Sun- 
 day evening, my papers attached, and my person con- 
 fined. They believed I was on the point of over- 
 throwing the government of France. It was found, 
 however, that the French alone could accomplish this 
 feat, and so they let me out again today. In addition, 
 they desire that I betake myself to England within eight 
 days, which anticipates my plans. I write this in haste 
 so you may know where you are at, should you learn the 
 news of my arrest from other sources. Later more on 
 this subject. I shall perhaps leave here this week. . . . 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 June 17, 1851 
 You must not take it amiss that I did not write you 
 again after the very short letter telling of my arrest and 
 subsequent release. You learned enough from the news- 
 papers to quiet your fears. In addition, I was so over- 
 whelmed with activities and business during my last 
 days in Paris that I had hardly a minute to spare. Yet 
 I have made so many acquaintances that the way into 
 the society here will smooth itself. Then things will go 
 better. My arrest and expulsion have had little in the 
 
104 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 way of unpleasant results, excepting the thing itself. 
 Moreover, I would perhaps have gone to England 
 earlier anyway. The expulsion by the police rather de- 
 layed than expedited my departure. It would have been 
 easy for me to secure permission for a longer stay in 
 Paris, but I did not care about it and I avoided every- 
 thing that looked like a request. 
 
 Greet the family most heartily. How is my beloved 
 sister Anna? I hope soon to receive a few lines from 
 her. Adieu. Answer soon and as fully as possible. 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 1 Henstridge Villas, St. Johns Wood 
 London, October 25, 1851 
 
 I promised you a long letter, which comes herewith. 
 
 First, a few words about my journey. You have 
 given yourselves a great deal of uneasiness but without 
 great cause. If you learn that I am gone from London, 
 never get foolish notions about my danger. I am care- 
 ful enough to undertake no great adventures unless the 
 reward of labor fully balances the danger. It gives me 
 no such great pleasure to risk my life. Besides, luck 
 at times helps out my precautions, and I always get 
 back to a safe harbor. 
 
 This time I was in Paris just at the time of the 
 wholesale arrest of strangers. I arrived Thursday, re- 
 mained over night, and I do not know what urged me 
 to hasten my departure as much as possible. Two hours 
 after leaving Paris the arrests began there; thus I es- 
 caped, luckily. I stayed one night in Strasburg and 
 next morning rode to Basel; from there to Zurich. 
 Hardly had I arrived in Zurich when I learned that im- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 105 
 
 mediately after my departure from Strasburg arrests 
 began in that place also. And so I had fortunately es- 
 caped the double danger. However, the matter was not 
 so very dangerous after all. In case of my arrest, they 
 would have kept me in confinement a couple of weeks, 
 and then shipped me across the channel. The whole 
 Parisian plot has ended in exposing the ministry to 
 ridicule, and the poor devils who are still in prison per- 
 haps have their own indiscretion to thank, at least in 
 part. 
 
 In Switzerland I stayed a couple of weeks, made a 
 walking tour through the mountains, climbed around in 
 the snow, saw an avalanche, heard glaciers thunder, 
 slept one night several thousand feet above the clouds, 
 etc. I made the trip in the company of several friends. 
 . . . From Switzerland I returned to Paris and re- 
 mained twelve days without any interference. Nat- 
 urally I was extremely circumspect, but it is after all 
 hard, in so large a city, to discover and seize quickly a 
 newly arrived and unobtrusive stranger. . . . 
 
 Several days after my departure from London 
 Kinkel set out for North America. The purpose of his 
 journey is the promotion of the German national loan, 
 which we have undertaken from London. Kinkel is 
 now holding mass meetings in the large American cities, 
 calling for subscriptions to the German loan and organ- 
 izing the whole business on that continent. His results 
 are colossal. I receive twice weekly a large packet of 
 newspapers from America, which are full of news about 
 the Kinkel mass meetings, his speeches, and the enthu- 
 siastic manner in which the people are taking up the 
 German loan. Detailed accounts have thus far been 
 received from two cities, Philadelphia and Baltimore. 
 
106 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 Kinkel's reception was cordial beyond all measure. Ban- 
 quets, escorts of honor, serenades, deputations vied with 
 one another, and the sums actually paid in after the 
 meetings showed sufficiently that this excitement is no 
 mere straw-fire. In Philadelphia the mayor (Burgo- 
 meister) was a member of the loan committee, and in 
 Baltimore the mayor offered to organize and conduct 
 a mass-meeting for both German- and English-speaking 
 Americans. The business is steadily taking on a more 
 and more official character. . . . 
 
 Kossuth arrived in Southampton a couple of weeks 
 ago and will reach London on the twenty-eighth. You 
 will have learned from the newspapers about his recep- 
 tion in Southampton. Great preparations are being 
 made for his arrival here in London. Several hundred 
 thousand people will be out. I am on the committee of 
 the German refugees who will welcome him. I hope 
 to see him several times and speak with him, particu- 
 larly in reference to our American undertaking. 
 
 In Kinkel's absence I am living as vice-regent in 
 his house. My hands have been very full since my re- 
 turn. There is a tremendous general correspondence, a 
 weekly lithographic correspondence for America, the 
 work of the current business connected with the loan, 
 and my studies. We have two presses in a state of lively 
 activity, printing the interim receipts, and for every 
 American mail we have to get several thousand copies 
 ready. 
 
 My tour in France gave me great hopes for the de- 
 velopment of things in the year 1852. The agitation 
 among the people is exceedingly active, and confidence 
 is matched by determination. Never has the press given 
 so inadequate a picture of what is going on down among 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 107 
 
 the people. The new occurrences in France also show 
 abundantly the temper of the reaction. How these mat- 
 ters may develop is in detail most uncertain; on the 
 whole, however, after the observations made in the de- 
 partments as well as in Paris, I consider a most for- 
 tunate outcome of the crisis to be not at all doubtful. 
 It will be our problem to spread it over the rest of 
 Europe. 
 
 Write me fully about your circumstances. Adieu. 
 I greet you and my sister Anna most heartily. 
 
 To my party associates in Bonn, "Salut et frater- 
 niter 
 
 To Adolf Meyer 19 
 
 London, April 19, 1852 
 You expressed the wish, in your letter to Marga- 
 rethe, that I would acquaint you with my past and with 
 my plans for the future, since to our profound regret 
 it is not possible for you to see us in London. I would 
 have met your wish in this regard immediately had not 
 the conclusion of your letter to M. led me to hope for 
 a prompt reply to my own letter to you. But now it 
 appears as if we were waiting the one on the other, and 
 it is for me to break the silence. 
 
 As regards my past I can be brief; for it will in- 
 terest you, as it does me, less than my future. From 
 earliest youth I have lived in very modest circumstances, 
 and while not exactly obliged to earn personally what 
 I required, still I was always forced to get along with 
 what I had. I decided early upon a scholarly career: 
 
 "Carl Schurz's future brother-in-law. "In February, 1852, Carl 
 Schurz affianced himself to Margarethe Meyer of Hamburg." [A. S.] 
 
108 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 finished the Gymnasium, and beginning with the spring 
 of 1847 studied history at the University of Bonn, in or- 
 der eventually to win a professorship at one or other of 
 the German higher schools. Then came the events of 
 1848, and the mighty spirit of the time drove me into 
 the tumult of the political agitation. In the summer of 
 1849 I found myself compromised in the United Ger- 
 many movement on the Rhine; had to leave my home, 
 was in the Palatinate and in Baden, and after the un- 
 fortunate catastrophe went to Switzerland, where I con- 
 tinued till April, 1850, the studies I had interrupted for 
 a short time. Kinkel's misfortune called me back to 
 Germany once more. His release was achieved. I 
 turned to Paris, where I lived half a year, and have now 
 been in London since June, 1851. That is a concise 
 sketch of my life. As to details, may that which you 
 know of my life serve as guarantee to you for that which 
 you do not know. 
 
 Your chief explicit doubt is whether, after my union 
 with Margarethe, I shall be strong enough to provide 
 an assured living. Since entering into the political 
 agitation I have considered it my duty to spare my 
 family all care for my personal support. It has never 
 proved very difficult to meet my needs, although up to 
 now the larger share of my working energy has been 
 devoted not to earning but to the furthering of my edu- 
 cation. At this moment I earn at teaching what would 
 suffice in a pinch to cover the common needs of two. I 
 should undoubtedly be able, by and by, to establish my- 
 self here in a very advantageous position. But there are 
 reasons of overpowering weight which decide me to 
 shift my residence from London to America. 
 
 I do not expect to find any mountains of gold in 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 109 
 
 America, knowing on the contrary that only a vigorous, 
 uninterrupted activity will enable me to succeed there. 
 But just this is what I seek in America and for this I 
 hope to find there a broader and more fertile field than 
 I can open to myself here. I am accustomed to work, 
 to work hard, but I would that the goal of my effort 
 were something more than mere bread. My nature can- 
 not content itself with the life aims which are contained 
 within my four walls. By and by I might have a good 
 living here in England. But citizenship here, for the 
 alien, is merely formal. The stranger remains a stranger 
 here. Under such circumstances I cannot feel at home. 
 What I am looking for in America is not only personal 
 freedom, but the chance to gain full legal citizenship. 
 If I cannot be the citizen of a free Germany, then I 
 would at least be a citizen of free America. 
 
 Yet this is not the only reason which drives me 
 across to America. Another is the following : My fam- 
 ily (my parents are still living) have acted in the most 
 self-sacrificing manner in all the changes of fortune 
 which have befallen me. And from the day I liberated 
 Kinkel they have been exposed to almost uninterrupted 
 chicanery and annoyances on the part of the Prussian 
 government. This went so far that one evening soldiers 
 of the garrison there entered my parents' house and with 
 naked sword in hand caused the most fearful destruc- 
 tion, and next day were loudly praised by their superior 
 officer. All this because of me. Violent and sudden 
 disturbances in business life followed, blow upon blow. 
 
 You understand that it is my duty to make an end 
 of these insufferable conditions. I cannot permit the 
 vengeance they cannot visit upon me to be visited upon 
 my gray-headed parents. Some of my relatives are 
 
110 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 in America, in the state of Wisconsin, in pleasant and 
 comfortable circumstances. Immediately following the 
 December occurrences in France I conceived the plan to 
 associate my parents with those relatives and to assist 
 them in establishing themselves there. It is desired on 
 both sides, and this matter has become dear to my heart. 
 
 You see from the above that these resolves were al- 
 ready firmly fixed before I learned to know Margarethe. 
 The reason that the thought of a union with her does 
 not cause me to waver in these plans, is as follows: 
 Margarethe's is in every respect a gifted nature, which 
 however has not yet found true content in itself. I 
 know her, and it is my profound conviction that only 
 one thing can give her complete physical and mental 
 health; namely, a stimulating occupation. Problems 
 have been lacking in her life. Because she has never felt 
 what it means to provide her living she has not yet 
 learned to enjoy it. Activity, immediate aims in life 
 are what she has lacked for her happiness, and what I 
 shall provide for her. And that we shall find there, 
 and would not find it in Europe under present circum- 
 stances, and especially not in England. 
 
 Margarethe must not be bored, and she will discover 
 that not only pleasure entertains. As far as making a 
 living goes, for me, to whom the most strenuous ac- 
 tivity is necessary to life, it will not be harder in America 
 than in London ; and I do not bring Margarethe's prop- 
 erty into the reckoning. I do not require a large capital 
 in order to make my living, but only the opportunity 
 and scope for work. These I have never lacked. 
 
 This is what I expect to do first: I shall give lec- 
 tures in the larger cities of the Union upon subjects 
 which lie in the field of my scholarly studies. That I 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 111 
 
 shall succeed in this is probable both from what has been 
 written me from America and from the widely rami- 
 fying acquaintanceships I have there through my po- 
 litical relations. Such a tour will have as another ob- 
 ject to find a location and position which may suit both 
 of us. According to assurances received, there will be 
 no lack of invitations. In six or eight months, perhaps 
 sooner, this tour will be ended and I shall then settle 
 down in the most favorable place. 
 
 This is the first element of my plan. I trust I may 
 now await your kind communications. 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 London, May 19, 1852 
 Yesterday and today I received letters both of which 
 have very gloomy contents. The first, from Mother 
 and Anna, expressed the suspicion that I had half given 
 up the thought of emigrating to America and living 
 there with our family, and was beginning to think of re- 
 maining in London. I do not comprehend this misun- 
 derstanding. I wrote that Margarethe's brother did not 
 agree to our immediate emigration, but that I expected 
 to arrange the matter. It does not in the least follow 
 from this that I myself am prepared to give up that 
 plan. And, in fact, I am not thinking of it. My plan 
 is still the same that it was three months ago, and I am 
 still just as much convinced that I shall carry it out. 
 That difficulties should have arisen was to be expected; 
 and it is quite natural that I should attempt to over- 
 come these difficulties amicably, and not needlessly bring 
 on a break with the family by violent steps. The plan 
 for me to go first to America rests upon what seems to 
 
112 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 me the very sensible idea that I ought not to let you 
 journey at random into uncertainty. I must at least 
 know in a certain measure where we are to lay our heads, 
 and to find that out requires time. If a longer continu- 
 ance in Europe is impossible for you, then very well; 
 I will make a provisional dwelling place there for half 
 a year or as long as may be necessary. Then we shall 
 establish a definite home, and all will turn out well. But 
 the complications here must be overcome or circum- 
 vented with wisdom. For two reasons I am not consid- 
 ering settling down in London: first, because in that 
 case we could not arrange to live together; second, be- 
 cause I camiot endure permanently the kind of work 
 with which I have to make my living here. 
 
 The present sorry state of your affairs touches me 
 deeply, and you may be sure that I will help where I 
 can. Just now I am unable to send you more than the 
 enclosed bill of exchange, for I have no more. My 
 money has not yet all come in, but what is still to come 
 amounts only to a couple of pounds sterling. If I can 
 in any wise make it possible, I shall send you something 
 more soon. I have been earning now for only a full 
 quarter-year, and for that time I think I have saved 
 enough. 
 
 I can as yet say nothing definite about my departure. 
 I shall hasten it as much as possible. I am glad that I 
 shall soon give up my teaching hours. They have broken 
 down my health, but I trust not too greatly. The cli- 
 mate also is objectionable. I feel the most pressing 
 necessity for activity on a large scale. 
 
 Farewell for today. Be prudent, and depend upon 
 me to do everything that I can. Do write me at once 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 113 
 
 as to whether the bill of exchange arrived properly. 
 Adieu. 
 
 To Frederick Althaus 
 
 Hampstead., July 12, 1852 
 The situation in which I am writing you is in some 
 respects inconvenient. This you will detect in the un- 
 certainty of my handwriting. With my young wife I 
 am lying on the grass under one of the most glorious 
 English elms in a large peaceful meadow set with mag- 
 nificent clumps of trees. I have been married two days ; 
 our wedding was in the most middle-class, democratic 
 style. We now live in a charming little cottage in rural 
 Hampstead, right near London, in the midst of glorious 
 scenery, where we shall quietly pass the days before our 
 departure for America. I need not tell you that I am 
 happy. The new life lies before me, stirring and great 
 like the ocean, for which I yearn. I hope to sail in two 
 weeks. That is the external factor in my situation. 
 
 Has not fate been kind to me ? Without difficulty I 
 have won the fulfillment of a beautiful wish, 20 and in 
 the near future there beckons to me a life of striving 
 activity in a mighty part of the world, in which dwells 
 the inexhaustible power of development. I shall com- 
 bine the happiness of home with the surge of the forum ; 
 and viewpoints and avenues for learning and striving 
 are opening to me. I am tired of the futile doings of the 
 refugees. Our great hopes have come to nothing, or 
 they have receded to an indefinite distance. I do not 
 want longer, with enforced inactivity, to fix my gaze 
 
 20 Apparently referring to his wish to take his wife with him to America 
 on the first visit. 
 
114 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 on a point in the future for the attainment of which our 
 active cooperation is almost wholly inhibited. I re- 
 quire close, definite goals and objects, and I am going 
 where I can find them. I want to make the period of 
 my exile fruitful. 
 
 As to my plans in detail, they are as yet not definitely 
 fixed. So far as I can now survey the possibilities, I 
 shall first of all give lectures upon recent history in the 
 large cities as I pass them. I shall take up directly that 
 which has the most burning interest this year, the French 
 catastrophe. In America they judge concerning it — 
 particularly as incited by Kossuth — with much vivacity 
 but with little knowledge. And I myself have learned 
 so much by and through this episode that, for the first 
 time in my life, I feel moved to bring my knowledge 
 before the world. My principal theme is this: No 
 country is so much misunderstood in its tendencies and 
 its destiny as France. No history is so misinterpreted 
 as the French. These successive convulsions of a folk 
 spirit striving for liberty; these utterly contradictory 
 events which so quickly follow one another — now fiery 
 proclamations of democratic principles, then shortly 
 afterward a general acceptance of the usurpation of a 
 new tyrant — all these things in colorful variety, and 
 yet the inner life of the people always the same — always 
 lack of freedom on the part of the people ; a passion for 
 government within the democracy; a passion for indi- 
 vidual distinction within theoretical equality ; in a word, 
 with the most fantastic political device that has ever ap- 
 peared, "La liberte et un government fort," "Un gov- 
 ernment fort vis-a-vis de la liberte," or, what amounts 
 to the same thing, "Un government fort contre la 
 liberte" ! That is the red thread which runs through the 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 115 
 
 most recent French history from 1789 to 1852. The 
 affair of December 2 is the most instructive incident of 
 recent history. . . . 
 
 To Frederick Althaus 
 
 Malvern, Worcestershire, July 26 [1852] 
 My letter was interrupted at this point by an illness 
 which rendered me speechless for almost a week and 
 kept me in bed several days longer. My wife had just 
 been ill for a couple of days and I had nursed her as 
 well as I could, when suddenly an inflammation de- 
 veloped in my gums which made swallowing difficult 
 and speech almost impossible. A high fever followed, 
 which soon showed symptoms of scarlet fever. So there 
 I, poor devil, lay a few days before my projected voyage 
 to America. My wife's sister, Mrs. Ronge, suggested 
 that in the midst of my fever I should undertake a trip 
 to Malvern, a water cure, and submit myself wholly 
 and with every convenience to this method of healing. 
 I took the advice and with my wife made the long, bitter 
 journey, on which I truly suffered. Arrived here I 
 was pretty miserable, but my wife nursed me splendidly, 
 the water cure applied its harsh remedy, and in a few 
 days the fever was broken and my mouth reopened for 
 speech and for food. My sickness, as is usual with me, 
 was swift and severe in its onset, prostrating my whole 
 organism for a short time; then just as quickly broken, 
 and a prompt convalescence. I like the water cure. 
 The operations are sensible, above all vigorous, decisive, 
 and effective. But one must not be too exclusive even 
 in this system of treatment. I consider it nonsense to 
 set up as an incontrovertible, absolute principle that 
 
116 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 one must never take a drop of medicine — as though the 
 results hitherto attained by empirical medicine were 
 now at once to be stricken out of history. 
 
 We are thinking of returning to London tomorrow 
 and hope to be on the ocean in a week. My illness has 
 made me a little impatient. One appears to himself so 
 futile when ill, and that is unendurable. Every moment 
 lost now lies heavily on my soul. I am actually in a 
 hurry to reach America, now that I have given up my 
 living here. It is such a floundering state of suspense, 
 which would be most unpleasant were it not for my wife. 
 She is about me like a good angel, and everything goes 
 as well as possible. Women are an indescribable ele- 
 ment in life. You know that too. 
 
 To Frederick Althaus 
 
 London, Hampstead, August 4 [1852] 
 We reached here only yesterday — precisely the day 
 which we had set for our departure ; my condition sud- 
 denly became worse, my wife also was somewhat unwell, 
 and on the advice of the physician our departure was 
 deferred until yesterday. Now we are here. This let- 
 ter to you is the first thing I have undertaken. I have 
 spoken only to a couple of persons, and news comes to 
 me already in full strata. Kossuth is here again; also, 
 an agitator of the German emigration has returned from 
 America; the French are indulging new hopes of an 
 early development of the popular spirit in France; the 
 fugitives are naturally in considerable motion again. 
 Kossuth I have not yet seen. So I do not know what he 
 himself says about his successes. He obtained consider- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 117 
 
 able money, swam constantly on the tide of enthusiasm, 
 and is said to be convinced that the happenings in 
 Europe will very soon correspond to the hopes he pro- 
 claimed as his in America. The German agitator Gogg, 
 of Baden, has organized a number of associations in 
 America which have combined and centralized into a 
 "German Revolutionary Confederation." Their pur- 
 pose is to support by every possible means the move- 
 ment on the continent of Europe, and in the United 
 States itself to throw the entire weight of the German 
 population into the scale in connection with political 
 questions, such as elections, etc. It sounds good, but 
 signifies little. First of all, the great majority of the 
 "Revolutionary Confederation" consists of more or less 
 new arrivals who, for the present, have no political 
 rights ; and in the second place, everything which is pri- 
 marily in the hands of actual political refugees (espe- 
 cially Germans) soon dies. The Grays, the "old 
 settlers," soon withdraw from such enterprises because 
 the Greens, the "newcomers," make too much noise 
 about their European humbug. Such an institution can 
 hold together only for a time, just so long as it remains 
 in a passive state. Its disruption begins the moment it 
 comes into practical operation. 
 
 Dear Frederick, I am sending you a letter which, so 
 to speak, is made up of mere shreds. Pardon me; I 
 could not do better and yet I had to pay off my long 
 overdue debt to you despite my shame. I hope to be 
 on shipboard in a week. Until then my hands will be 
 very full here, exclusively with business matters, which 
 are not my specialty, and a multitude of calls upon po- 
 litical and other friends, some of whom are even trying 
 to keep me here. As for myself, I am saying farewell 
 
118 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 to Europe with the certainty of being back again at the 
 right time. My wife, whom you do not know, wants to 
 greet you cordially. I regret that you two have never 
 met. You are worthy of mutual friendship. Farewell. 
 With all the old cordiality. 
 
 To Gottfried Kinkel 
 
 Philadelphia, April 12, 1853 21 
 You made me wait a good long time for your letter. 
 It was about three or four months after I had last writ- 
 ten you when your reports arrived, and a few days there- 
 after your wife's letter surprised me all the more pleas- 
 antly. Of your good success in Manchester I have 
 learned through the newspapers, and what you write 
 me about it has distinctly heightened my pleasure. Your 
 position in London seems now indeed to be assured, 
 whereas almost everything else has crumbled away. As 
 I hear, a rather general exodus hither of the exiles there 
 is to take place this spring. That is good; here he 
 learns to work who does not yet know how. 
 
 I proposed to you that I should put myself in touch 
 with the loan committees in this country, and as soon as 
 I had received from you any sort of instruction, to pass 
 it on to this one or that one. This instruction I awaited 
 in vain, and as you answered absolutely nothing at all 
 I came to the conclusion that you in London had de- 
 cided to operate on an entirely different basis, and were 
 following new plans, and so I held my peace. Finally, 
 I learned of the arrival of Willich in New York, and the 
 
 21 Carl Schurz and his wife arrived in New York from London, Sep- 
 tember 17, 1852. They lived at Philadelphia till 1855. For Schurz's earliest 
 letters from America, see Speeches, Correspondence, and Political Papers, i. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 119 
 
 newspapers announced the plans which he proposed to 
 carry out. About three weeks ago, he arrived here and 
 called upon me. I soon saw with what illusions he had 
 come here, and realized that he would not allow himself 
 to be convinced either by arguments or through his own 
 observations. His whole agitation is a thoroughly mod- 
 erate one. The transformation of the loan committees 
 into little political clubs seems to me purposeless, as in 
 general all showy undertakings, all noise-making, all 
 forcible digging up of old stories, are entirely out of 
 place. You yourself must have learned what the build- 
 ing up of a so-called moral force signifies here in 
 America, especially as far as it depends on the Germans. 
 .... The Revolutionary Confederation, begun and 
 organized with such great enthusiasm, has failed almost 
 simultaneously with its creation, because with the first 
 ebullition its enthusiasm was spent, and it lacked ob- 
 jectives for its activity. To that result, to be sure, this 
 beautiful annexation dream has contributed. But Wil- 
 lich has expounded to me something of the "great idea 
 of the actual establishment of the German state in 
 America, through the loan," which is no less fantastic 
 than the universal annexation and is exactly calculated 
 to disappoint the practical American understanding, 
 which little by little becomes operative in the German. 
 On all that I expressed my opinion to Willich. 
 
 For seven months now I have quietly observed here, 
 said little, and inquired much; and I believe I have not 
 been superficial in forming my opinions. I believe as 
 follows: Your agitation and Kossuth's and the Revo- 
 lutionary Confederation have so used up the enthusiasm 
 for transatlantic affairs, and the European events since 
 1851 have made the Americans so distrustful, that the 
 
120 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 people must be given rest and quiet to recover from their 
 chagrin and disappointment. For that day which shall 
 bring us great news from Europe, the explosive material 
 must have been collected here once more. We need not 
 fear that everything will lapse again. The constant 
 embroilments with European powers, the Cuba and 
 Honduras question, and a hundred other things keep 
 the fire alive and force the foreign policy of America 
 naturally into a new channel. . . . 
 
 Our task for the present seems to me to be as fol- 
 lows: We must get at the American politicians, bring 
 before them a true picture of political life in Europe, 
 and center their attention upon Germany. They would 
 first have to learn what conclusions, as to Germany it- 
 self, they could draw from the German doings here, 
 which they despise — etc. ... If the Americans have 
 hitherto had not much use for the German revolution, 
 no one is to blame for that but the Germans here. . . . 
 I have already confided to you the plan of forming a 
 secret association — that is, one that is not public, but 
 also not bound up with any secret hokus-pokus — which 
 shall comprehend within itself the intelligent forces of 
 the Germans in this country. It will be a sort of mis- 
 sionary society to proselyte American politicians. It is 
 in operation, works quietly, and has already accom- 
 plished something. If it is possible for me to do so, I am 
 going this year for a time to Washington, as a wholly 
 private individual who uses the library there for the 
 study of American history. On this occasion we must 
 cast our nets without officially indicating our inten- 
 tion. . . . 
 
 This winter we have lived very quietly. I have pre- 
 pared a book which will go off to Germany at the first 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 121 
 
 opportunity. It is not wholly the realization of my old 
 plan for an account of the French Revolution; I have 
 broadened the scope and drawn in the most recent his- 
 tory, and to that end briefly summarized the details. 
 If I stay here somewhat longer, I shall begin a book on 
 America, the plan of which already lies pretty clearly 
 before me. It will be essentially different from what 
 has heretofore been written about America. . . . 
 
 I forgot to give you my opinion in the matter of 
 the loan. That it continues to stand is a matter of 
 course. But I think one should merely let it stand 
 quietly ; the less noise made about it, the safer it will be. 
 It will yield no more money until things begin to happen 
 in Europe. Then, however, it will yield again. Until 
 then, a special agitation for the loan here is a pretty poor 
 affair. . . . 
 
 Be so good as to inform me of your activities from 
 time to time. I am no less attached to Germany in 
 America than I was in Europe. And be not so stingy 
 with your letters. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 22 
 
 Indian apolis, September 22, 1854 
 ... I will not undertake to give you a full account 
 of my journey, because I hope that most of what I 
 might tell, you may have opportunity to see personally. 
 As soon as one reaches the Alleghenies the character of 
 the country changes. At the point where the Susque- 
 hanna flows out of its mountains Pennsylvania ceases 
 to be a flourishing, friendly garden. Dense forests 
 
 22 The earliest known letters addressed to his wife were written by 
 Schurz from Washington in March, 1854. See Speeches, etc., i, 8-14. 
 
122 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 cover the heights and whereas in eastern Pennsylvania 
 only occasional groves stand amid the cultivated fields, 
 here one sees only isolated cleared spots looking out 
 from the dense woods, and these even more rarely. The 
 mountains press close upon the stream, hardly leaving 
 room for a narrow highway. One begins to see here 
 for the first time the blockhouse (log cabin) in all of 
 its primitive roughness, which gives one a remote im- 
 pression of the hardships and privations which are in- 
 separable from the life of pioneers. Unfortunately, I 
 did not see as much of the Alleghenies as I wished, 
 since we passed through mostly by night and only the 
 contours of the mountains could be observed in the dark- 
 ness. 
 
 Only the entrance into the mountains, where the 
 railway crosses the broad Susquehanna, I enjoyed in 
 most beautiful evening light, and I can recall but very 
 f ew views which are so magnificent. We passed through 
 Pittsburg about three o'clock at night and I saw nothing 
 of it except the yellow, burned-out fires which were 
 lighted in the streets as a defense against the cholera. 
 The impression was distinctly what one calls "gloomy." 
 The rising sun lighted us over the boundary into Ohio, 
 and I would have greeted that state with great pleasure 
 had I not frozen so in the cutting morning air that even 
 my thick winter overcoat was not warm enough. In 
 Ohio the character of the land changes in the direction 
 of friendliness; the "dark forest" has been mightily 
 cleared, and though far the greater portion of the sur- 
 face is still overgrown, the farmsteads range themselves 
 thickly side by side, the ensemble presenting a picture 
 of rapidly progressing well-being. In many places the 
 log house still predominates, though even in the forest 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 123 
 
 solitudes people are beginning to establish themselves 
 more pleasantly. The German tongue is heard every- 
 where, and often on the train we recognize our honest 
 fellow countryman, even without hearing him speak, 
 by his indestructible cap and his decorous long coat-tails. 
 
 A farm in the first stage of its development has 
 about it something quite touching. The log cabin is 
 only just big enough to hold a fireplace, a table, a bed, 
 and the assembled members of the family. Stables there 
 are at first none. A shelter covered with boards, or often 
 only with limbs of trees, takes the place of a barn. The 
 fields still have many trees in them, but the farmer 
 has girdled these or set fire to their trunks so that they 
 stand leafless and dried up, awaiting the first good wind 
 storm which will uproot them. Cattle roam among the 
 trees, and children among the cattle. The woman is in 
 the house busying herself about the butter ; and the man, 
 somewhere around the edge of the clearing, is turning 
 the rich new soil with his plowshare. The entire picture 
 is enclosed within dense woods, and only a trail, often 
 seen cutting through the forest for many miles, straight 
 as a taut string, establishes a connection with the out- 
 side world. Such forest trails in Ohio are wonderful, 
 and when I saw one I wished nothing more than that 
 you and I might ride it from end to end. The woods 
 become lighter and lighter as one nears Cincinnati; at 
 last there opens upon us the magnificent valley of the 
 Ohio, showing a glimpse of the proud "Queen of the 
 West." 
 
 The Ohio had so little water that at first I saw only a 
 broad streak of sand where its bed should be, until 
 finally I discovered the stream itself. When the river 
 is at regulation height it is about as wide as the Rhine 
 
124 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 and its hilly banks are not much less beautiful. Cincin- 
 nati lies in crescent formation upon the Ohio and is 
 bounded north, west, and east by high, steep bluffs. The 
 aspect of the city is friendly, not so monotonous as 
 Philadelphia, not so noisy as New York, but of course 
 inferior to these eastern cities in magnificence. But 
 there is so much building going on in Cincinnati, and the 
 new constructions are on such a magnificent scale and 
 so splendidly executed that the "Queen of the West" 
 may soon proudly compare herself with the great east- 
 ern cities. The Germans live together in one part of 
 the city — at least most of them — and their streets are 
 easily recognized by the conspicuous but not very ad- 
 vantageous old-country customs. I stopped in Cincin- 
 nati only long enough to gain a general impression of 
 the city, and yesterday afternoon journeyed to Indian- 
 apolis, to which place my business called me. I came in 
 during the night and have seen only what a short walk 
 this morning enabled me to see. I shall write you one of 
 these days about this city, which looks to me very pretty. 
 This morning I hunted up Mr. Bolton, who received me 
 most cordially. He took me to see the governor of the 
 state, F. Wright, whom he had told about me earlier and 
 who in a long conversation showed himself very obliging 
 and pressed me to call on him. Mrs. Bolt()n, who is en- 
 gaged in furnishing a house, and who on that account 
 was absent this morning, I saw this afternoon. 23 I hope 
 that my Washington acquaintance may serve me very 
 well here. The governor declared he would make every 
 
 23 Sarah Bolton, the poet. Schurz had met her in Washington in March 
 (Speeches, i, 13). Her husband was Nathaniel Bolton, who was soon to be 
 appointed consul to Geneva, Switzerland. Schurz's "gas business" seems 
 to refer to a plan for the gas-lighting of Indianapolis streets, and suggests 
 that he at that time was pushing any business venture which promised 
 financial success. He was doubtless agent for a Philadelphia company. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 125 
 
 effort to induce me to remain here. I am thinking of 
 entering at once upon the gas business ; the auspices are 
 good. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Indianapolis, September 26, 1854 
 ... I now know the city fairly well. Although it 
 has at present only eighteen thousand inhabitants it 
 covers a very extensive area. The great "Main Street," 
 with its stores, allows no doubt that Indianapolis is a 
 state capital. It presents an extremely lively appear- 
 ance, not like any one of the leading business streets of 
 Philadelphia or New York ; rather it bears a rural char- 
 acter. With its confused mass of farm wagons and 
 equestrians (also equestriennes) it looks more like a 
 permanent annual fair. There is much horseback-rid- 
 ing here. No farmer comes into the city afoot, and the 
 women and girls mount their horses in their everyday 
 clothes just as they are. Since there is much breeding 
 of horses here, about half of the riders are followed by 
 young colts. These gambol about in the street as if they 
 were at home. Thus the beautiful broad street has an 
 animated appearance and you hardly realize that you 
 are from seven to eight hundred miles west of the At- 
 lantic coast. Private dwellings, at least the more ele- 
 gant ones, now begin to leave the innermost portion of 
 the city and to move toward the outskirts, and charm- 
 ing rows of nice cottages are seen toward the ends of 
 the business streets, which run out from the middle point 
 of the city ten or fifteen minutes' walk into the forest. 
 You might say, indeed, that the outermost houses of the 
 city are in the woods. The Germans, who number about 
 
126 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 two thousand, dwell mainly together in their own part 
 of the city, as in Cincinnati. The public buildings of 
 Indianapolis, among them a school for the blind, an in- 
 sane asylum, and a school for the deaf and dumb, con- 
 cede nothing in external magnificence or in solidity of 
 construction to the best eastern establishments. The 
 railroads, with the exception of two or three, are all 
 combined in one general depot and between twelve and 
 one o'clock in the afternoon you can see, leaving the 
 Union Station, six trains at once moving in different di- 
 rections. So far I have not heard anything of acci- 
 dents. To be sure, cows sometimes get on the tracks, 
 but as soon as the engineer sees them he lets the locomo- 
 tive whistle loud and long ; whereupon the cows are gen- 
 erally frightened and hasten away. The roads are well 
 built. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, September 30, 1854 
 Before this letter comes you will probably have com- 
 plained bitterly because you have had to wait several 
 days for news of me; but the blame lies more in the 
 great distance I have covered in the meantime than in 
 me. Do not draw bad conclusions concerning my wel- 
 fare if my letters are a little delayed ; there is really no 
 help for it at times. 
 
 Today I can tell you about travel adventures which 
 I am glad you have not had to share with me. From my 
 last letter you saw that I was about ready to leave In- 
 dianapolis. This I did last Wednesday about twelve 
 o'clock, and should have reached Chicago at 8 :30 in the 
 evening. You see the shortest way to St. Louis, from 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 127 
 
 which place I go to visit Hecker, is at present through 
 Chicago. But the train was so crowded and the ac- 
 commodating of the passengers took so much time that 
 we were very slow in getting started. The sun was al- 
 ready low in the west when we crossed the Wabash and 
 saw on our left the bloody battle field of Tippecanoe. 
 At twilight we entered the "grand prairie" which oc- 
 cupies the northwestern quarter of the state of Indiana. 
 The movement out of the forest on to the prairie is com- 
 parable to that out of a stream into the high sea. On 
 both sides of the railway track the woods recede farther 
 and farther, just as the stream opens out into the bay; 
 and as you gaze ahead ever on the level, endless prairie 
 meadows, your eyes find no point of rest save the sharp, 
 straight streak which the horizon makes ; here and there 
 perhaps a straggling clump of trees or a small farm- 
 house, which stand forth like single islands in the wave- 
 less grass sea. Finally the forest banks right and left 
 disappear, and wherever you turn your eyes they see 
 only the unbroken, inexorable, dead plains. I believe 
 there can be no prof ounder sense of abandonment than 
 to be alone upon a great prairie. The sea is much more 
 alive than the prairie. There at least the waves shift 
 grandly and the horizon changes with their movements ; 
 but even a storm leaves the prairie still. It must be a 
 remarkable sight to witness from a distance a train roll- 
 ing over the prairie. Flowers are abundant and of 
 many colors, but when one regards the prairie as a whole 
 its flowers are forgotten. The "grand prairie" has a 
 rich soil and in some localities is already studded with 
 farms; but however much I am compelled to love the 
 West, at least what I have seen of it, I should not like 
 to live upon a great prairie. 
 
128 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 It was nearly midnight when we reached Michigan 
 City, and after two o'clock when we arrived in Chicago. 
 Here my misfortunes began. I was taken to a hotel, 
 but there was not a room or bed to be had. In vain I 
 drove to a second and a third ; everything full. By this 
 time the omnibus which carried me had reached its termi- 
 nus and I had to get out. The hour was now past three 
 o'clock in the morning; yet dead tired as I was, I had to 
 seek in a strange city, and afoot, some place where I 
 might lay my head. Fortunately I had left my baggage 
 at the railway station. So I wandered forth at ran- 
 dom, and when I saw a bright jet of gas light, decided 
 that there must be a hotel, which was true. Finally in 
 a small public house I found a chance to sleep in the 
 same room with another man. But inasmuch as my 
 prospective bedfellow in his exterior was not to my lik- 
 ing, I had the energy, to me now quite inconceivable, to 
 decline the offer and entrust myself anew to the night. 
 Meantime it had become very solitary. I wandered 
 from one street to another but saw no human being to 
 whom I could direct a question. Still, the streets had 
 living creatures, and very jolly ones. Chicago has 
 "wooden sidewalks" under which live millions of rats. 
 These rats regard the streets at night as their domain, 
 and in my presence made great use of their freedom. 
 Rats of all sizes and colors, old and young, white and 
 gray, played charmingly about my feet. And when I 
 stepped on one and it squeaked, it seemed to me as if I 
 ought to beg pardon. I roamed around in this company 
 until a tower clock struck half past three. Then, on one 
 of the bridges, I sat down upon a curbstone to rest a bit. 
 The rats gathered around me and I experienced some- 
 thing like what Heine did when he was stalled with the 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 129 
 
 mail wagon in the Teutoburg forest, surrounded by 
 wolves who spoke to him. A large rat, who seemed the 
 oldest and wisest of all, stepped forward and began: 
 
 (Heine's wolves could talk German, but American 
 rats naturally spoke only English. ) 
 
 "What do you want here, stranger?" said the 
 speaker. "Why didn't you stay with your lovely wife 
 and child ? Why did you come into this distant country, 
 in the pursuit of wealth and earthly things? Fool that 
 you are ! How sweet would be your rest with your loved 
 ones, and now you are sitting here on a cold stone, lone- 
 some, and nobody cares for you! But you cannot sit 
 here any longer! Move on, stranger, this is our time 
 and you are in our way; move on!" 
 
 The gaze of the speaker was so determined and ener- 
 getic that I considered it diplomatic to be polite. So I 
 answered in the following words : 
 
 "Mr. Speaker and Fellow Rats! Though I am not 
 accustomed to speaking to so large and respectable an 
 audience in a language foreign to my native country, 
 yet I feel myself compelled by the reasonable sentiments 
 expressed by your honorable and worthy leader to ven- 
 ture upon a word or two. Mr. Speaker and Fellow 
 Rats ! I am exceedingly sorry to have trespassed upon 
 your nightly rights and privileges by the unfortunate 
 fact of my presence. But, gentlemen, you may be sure 
 that I never should have taken such an indecent as well 
 as dangerous course, if not [sic] beings of my own race, 
 men with hearts of stone, had kicked me away from their 
 doors and turned me into the deserted streets. I know, 
 gentlemen, that you harbor feelings of kindness in your 
 hearts and that you are not insensible to the sufferings 
 of a distressed stranger, who in the vain pursuit of 
 
130 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 earthly things, as your worthy speaker expressed him- 
 self very appropriately, has improvidently left his 
 dearest ones and threw [sic] himself into the wide world. 
 Mr. Speaker and Fellow Rats! Deep regret creeps 
 over my soul when I remember my dearest ones, and 
 every one among you who happens to be separated from 
 his spouse and offspring will readily understand my 
 feelings in this respect. (Several rats begin to swal- 
 low hard. ) Now, my friends, I see it is not impossible 
 to kindle the holy fire of sympathy in the hearts of pure 
 children of nature and, trusting to the world-renowned 
 hospitality of the noble rats of Chicago, I throw my- 
 self entirely into your arms, and as men have forsaken 
 me, I will sleep among you as one of your own!" 
 
 The rats broke out in great enthusiasm and gave me 
 three cheers. They then quickly named a "com- 
 mittee of arrangements," and after a short private con- 
 ference the speaker came to me and said : 
 
 "Sir! I am very sorry to have addressed you in a 
 harsh and discourteous tone, and if any one among us 
 has offended you we are ready to apologize in any terms 
 which you may choose to impose upon us. Now, sir, by 
 unanimous consent we have agreed to offer you all the 
 honors of our hospitality, and I hope you will feel quite 
 at home amongst us. There is no rat in Chicago who 
 would not exert himself to the utmost of his power to 
 show himself worthy of your noble confidence in our 
 race. Now, sir, I take the liberty to invite you to take 
 supper with us; then I shall introduce you to my lady, 
 and she will be happy to accommodate you in one of our 
 best rooms. This is the way to my house; please, sir, 
 step in!" 
 
 Thereupon the speaker pointed out to me a knothole 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 131 
 
 in one of the planks of the sidewalk only big enough to 
 enable me to stick two fingers in it. I was about to fall 
 into a state of high indignation, when I was awakened 
 out of my slumber by a man, who told me that I had 
 been on the point of falling off the curb, etc. I told 
 him my story, and he guided me to a hotel in which I 
 found a room. Aside from a small air-hole over the 
 door, this room had no window. The walls bore evidence 
 of bloody bedbug battles. One of my predecessors had 
 obviously attempted to kill the bedbugs by squeezing 
 them with his finger against the wall until they burst, 
 whereby he probably gained his purpose. I, however, 
 threw myself like a daredevil into the bed, hoping to 
 sleep until ten o'clock, for already the hour of four had 
 passed. But soon after six I was awakened by a vulgar 
 rapping upon the door, and heard a voice calling to me 
 that breakfast was ready. I would gladly have re- 
 nounced my breakfast, but thereafter I could not go 
 back to sleep (particularly as I now felt the bedbugs 
 more strongly than I anticipated) ; so I went out to 
 visit my cousin Edmund and learned that a short time 
 ago he had gone to St. Paul, Minnesota, on business, 
 and would be away for four weeks. (Later I found 
 several friends of the olden time — lawyers and news- 
 paper men — who received me with extraordinary friend- 
 liness. ) I will write you about Chicago next time. This 
 young city is one of the most marvelous phenomena of 
 America, or indeed of the world. 
 
 About ten o'clock at night I got into the Chi- 
 cago and Mississippi train and arrived here yesterday 
 about one o'clock in the afternoon. I visited an old 
 countryman, a lawyer named Kribben, who promptly 
 took me away from the hotel and forced me to stay in 
 
132 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 his home. I am enjoying as much attention and hospi- 
 tality as I can use. As yet I have seen little of St. Louis, 
 employing my first free time here in writing. Day 
 after tomorrow I shall go to Hecker, who has been dan- 
 gerously ill but is now quite well again. Perhaps I shall 
 write you again before leaving St. Louis, but cannot be 
 sure that they will leave me time for it here. 
 
 Be cheerful, and laugh a bit at my squirmy little rat 
 story. I am taking a lot of notes and having many ex- 
 periences which will soon come in handy. I am more 
 and more convinced that we should be on Easy Street 
 here in a couple of years. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, October 2, 1854 
 I write just before my departure to see Hecker. 24 
 I had just posted the previous letter when I learned that 
 Hecker's illness had returned upon him with severity 
 and that they feared for his life. Though it was im- 
 possible to obtain wholly authentic news, I have decided 
 to go to him anyhow, whatever the situation may be. 
 Hecker's friends here, who are very numerous and 
 greatly worried about him, urge upon me the employ- 
 ment of every argument to induce him to adopt a dif- 
 ferent manner of life — if, indeed, it be not already too 
 late. His illness is generally ascribed to the reckless 
 over-exertion with which he works his farm, and it is 
 believed he cannot survive long if he continues in the 
 
 M Friederich Carl Franz Hecker was born September 28, 1811; died 
 March 24, 1881. He was prominent in the antislavery struggle, was a 
 colonel in the Civil War, and continued active in public affairs till near 
 the end of his life. Hecker was most prominent in the German revolution 
 of 1848. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 133 
 
 same way, even should he withstand the present crisis. 
 I shall try my best to prevail on him to undertake a 
 journey, or something of that kind. They tell all kinds 
 of remarkable stories here about the passion with which 
 he pursues his new occupation, as though he were striv- 
 ing to dampen through the fatigue of bodily labors the 
 fire which burns in him. 
 
 Day before yesterday I described to you my night 
 entrance into Chicago. Today I shall say something 
 about the impression the city makes by daylight. My 
 friends took me around to see its greatest wonders. 
 After reaching the lake, along the courses of the broad 
 business streets with their high, magnificent marble 
 structures, which in the activity of trade hardly yield 
 to New York's Broadway, and making our way among 
 colossal warehouses, we reached the great station. This 
 is almost at the water's edge, and from it four or five 
 railway tracks built on trestles extend through the water. 
 We stopped in front of a small wooden building, con- 
 structed of logs and pierced on every side with loop- 
 holes, which obviously could have no relation to the tre- 
 mendous life going on all around it. This, I was told, 
 was Fort Dearborn, which up to about twenty years 
 ago served the few settlers of this place as a protection 
 against the wild Indian hordes. This fort, the oldest 
 building in Chicago, the most honored relic, is now thirty 
 years old. The oldest native inhabitant of Chicago is a 
 girl of twenty-two years. She was born when only three 
 miserable huts stood there. Now the city has over 
 eighty thousand inhabitants and an incalculable com- 
 merce. One sees the place growing as one walks its 
 streets. The building and business activities are inde- 
 scribable. That section of the town in which the well- 
 
134 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 to-do people live and which, on account of the gardens 
 surrounding the houses, is called "Garden City," shows 
 an elegance in the buildings and beauty of streets 
 which is not behind the best I have seen. The magnifi- 
 cence of the public improvements and undertakings, in 
 relation to the youthfulness of the city, surpasses any- 
 thing I have known. The prices of land in the vicinity 
 are absurdly high because the people realize to what an 
 extent Chicago will spread out. 
 
 The journey over the Illinois prairies is rather 
 monotonous; the many places passed enroute are neat 
 and prosperous, but otherwise without distinction. From 
 Alton to St. Louis we were on the Mississippi, whose 
 dark waters move majestically between the eternal for- 
 ests that cover its shores. Great herons glide on slow 
 wing over the waves, swooping down occasionally to 
 spear their victims. Large birds of prey, in swarms, 
 cross and recross the dark primeval forests adjacent, 
 strengthening the melancholy impression which the soli- 
 tary wildness makes upon the soul of the wanderer. 
 For, scarcely has the town of Alton vanished from 
 sight, when cultivation ceases on both sides of the river. 
 All is desolation until one reaches the immediate vicinity 
 of St. Louis. Where the broad Missouri mingles its 
 yellow, slimy waters with those of the Mississippi, the 
 color of the stream changes. At first the water of the 
 latter is clearly distinguishable from that of the former, 
 one side of the stream being dark brown, the other pale 
 yellow. Soon, however, the Missouri with its tremen- 
 dous water mass overwhelms the Mississippi, and then 
 the entire stream becomes clay-colored. 
 
 St. Louis looks very imposing from the waterside. 
 The warehouses and hotels range themselves side by 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 135 
 
 side on the broad quay like palaces. But in the interior 
 the city is dirty, and the streets of the "old" section are 
 narrow — that is, according to American standards; in 
 Germany they would be considered very wide. 
 
 You see at once indications that the city was orig- 
 inally laid out by the French. Several streets are now 
 being developed with great elegance, and accord with 
 the significant business life and the incalculable re- 
 sources of the city. I found here a multitude of old and 
 new friends, and it was with difficulty I was able to keep 
 myself clear of invitations, etc. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 October 5, 1854 
 Between the first half of my letter and this comes 
 my visit to Hecker. I reached him in the morning 
 toward eleven and found him in a pitiable condition: 
 countenance sunken and peaked, eyes languid, voice 
 weak, skin yellow — parchment-like. I was affrighted to 
 look upon him and still more to hear him. For four 
 weeks he had not slept and was perpetually tossing back 
 and forth with restlessness, though hardly master of his 
 limbs. His illness is the so-called "congestive fever," 
 which manifests itself in a sudden rush of blood to breast 
 and head, the third recurrence of which is generally re- 
 garded as fatal. In addition he suffers from abdominal 
 ailments. I believe one can arrive at the true ground of 
 his illness by hearing him talk. His sanguine-choleric 
 temperament throws him from one extreme to the other, 
 often in the most contradictory manner. His recollec- 
 tions of the past constantly torture his spirit and drive 
 him to combat them through the hardest bodily exer- 
 
136 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 tions. He has become exceedingly nervous and perma- 
 nently irritable. The violent, thoroughly foolish bodily 
 exertions, the bitter rashness with which he exposes him- 
 self to the dangerous effects of the climate, have broken 
 down his resistance, and the present distressing solitari- 
 ness has confirmed him in the darkest possible views of 
 life. When he complains, he accuses ; when he censures, 
 he damns outright. He feels old ; believes it is no longer 
 worth the trouble to live, and often wishes for death 
 merely to be at rest. He is vexed because he craves 
 vexation, and the things he cannot censure give him little 
 pleasure, since there are so many other things to censure. 
 He looks at everything with the eyes of his dejected 
 spirit and complains bitterly about disillusionments 
 where he never needed to have been deceived. I sat sor- 
 rowfully by his bed and tried, by dint of the greatest 
 efforts, to cheer him up. At last we got into the swing, 
 and as I brought up matters about which he could talk 
 with some satisfaction all went well. Finally both of us 
 became lively and got to laughing. I did my utmost and 
 we kept on talking till late in the evening. Next morn- 
 ing I found him much better, and he said in greeting 
 me, "Since four weeks ago, I have slept today for the 
 first time, and you are the cause of that. You made me 
 forget my fever period yesterday." 
 
 He felt strong enough to get up and walk about the 
 house. A great fire was kindled on the hearth and we 
 sat in the large room. A joyful spirit was visible among 
 the farm-hands when he came to the table once more, 
 and things seemed in the way of turning toward his im- 
 provement. I advised him to leave his farm and seek the 
 benefits of a water cure. He was agreeable to the sug- 
 gestion, but I fear that as he comes to feel better he 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 137 
 
 will not do it. He is being treated wholly according to 
 the old methods and takes unbelievable quantities of 
 medicine. I have done all I could to dissuade him from 
 it, but with only apparent result. I had intended stay- 
 ing a longer time with him, but a two-days' visit drove 
 me forth, partly because I really was deeply dispirited 
 by what I heard and saw, and could not wholly conceal it 
 longer, partly because your letter was waiting for me 
 in Chicago and I suddenly found I could not bear to 
 wait longer. Therefore I gave up the hunting trip and 
 all other Illinois delights, attractive as they were with 
 millions of passenger pigeons flying over us. I returned 
 to St. Louis as soon as possible, in order to get off today 
 for Chicago, where I shall at last gain some rumor con- 
 cerning you. I feel that I must get back to you soon. 
 What is left to be done I shall complete as quickly as 
 possible. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Watertown, Wisconsin, October 9, 1854 
 . . . My last letter I wrote from St. Louis shortly 
 before my departure for Chicago. I rode through the 
 night, and finding at Chicago letters from my Uncle 
 Jacob [Jussen], who urged me in a most pressing man- 
 ner to pay him a visit, I took the night steamer which 
 brought me across Lake Michigan to Milwaukee. This 
 voyage, crossing the lake on an indescribably lovely 
 moonlight night, was one of the most beautiful of my 
 journey, and in this riotous enjoyment of nature noth- 
 ing was lacking save that I should have had you by my 
 side. Well, you must sometime travel with me and see 
 everything that I have seen. There is so much here 
 
138 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 which is grand and beautiful that it well repays one for 
 the expenditure of a little time and some inconvenience. 
 I believe you would quickly lose your dislike for the 
 West if you could once see it. I will not say that in 
 beauty this country surpasses the East. On the con- 
 trary, the tremendous plains on both sides of the Missis- 
 sippi are not exactly interesting in the long run ; but an 
 infinitely fresh breeze blows through this land. Wher- 
 ever you direct your gaze you see something great de- 
 veloping. Grandeur is the characteristic of all western 
 life. All life looks at you hopefully, and the war against 
 obstacles opposing civilization is carried on in the seren- 
 est confidence of victory. I have never seen so many 
 cheerful people as here. The western American, how- 
 ever great may be his instinct for enterprise and acquisi- 
 tion, does not bear on his countenance the stamp of 
 speculative determination which one meets so frequently 
 among the eastern Yankees. The Westerner is sincere, 
 talkative, direct; he makes friends with extraordinary 
 ease, wherever he may be. The cold reserve of bearing 
 which so often seemed freezing to us in the East is a 
 stranger to the "Western man." He is resolute in 
 speech as he is in act, and the complete spontaneity of 
 social intercourse makes one forget quickly that he 
 should not look for a finely polished behavior among 
 these people. You find an extraordinarily large pro- 
 portion of sensible men and women, and in conversa- 
 tion you can usually be sure of discerning both an open 
 mind and a sound heart. 
 
 The trip from Chicago to Milwaukee by boat takes 
 eight hours, and when I awoke in my stateroom this 
 morning I found the chief city of Wisconsin before me. 
 The town is quite pretty, but for some time it has not 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 139 
 
 been progressing very well. 25 The immigration into 
 Wisconsin has been somewhat too forced. The state has 
 to some extent overshot its future, and when the for- 
 midable competition of Chicago arose it could not quite 
 keep up. Still, things will undoubtedly go better as 
 soon as the "territories" west of Wisconsin become 
 states, so as to give the trade of Milwaukee a new 
 market. 
 
 Milwaukee also suffers from the presence of too 
 many Germans. Wherever the German in this coun- 
 try has to live off Germans, things go badly for him. 
 There [in Milwaukee] you can see in the morning, while 
 passing through the street, the German house father 
 standing in his door in dressing-gown and slippers, with 
 his long pipe in his mouth. 
 
 From Milwaukee to Watertown you have seventeen 
 miles of railway and thirty miles "stage," which over the 
 splendid "plank road" is not at all unpleasant. Wis- 
 consin is a beautiful land, contrasting very favorably 
 with the flat Illinois country by reason of its wooded 
 hills and the multitude of its beautiful little lakes. I 
 had imagined it to be less well settled ; for although one 
 finds the borders of civilization so near at hand that in 
 hunting one often encounters Indians, yet the southern 
 half of the state is developing into a great, blooming, 
 densely populated agricultural district. 
 
 I was received by my Uncle Jacob [ Jussen] and his 
 family with the most hearty, even tearful, joy. You 
 know I am sort of the pet of our family, the object of 
 its modest pride ; and as we met after so long a separa- 
 tion the happiness was extreme. My uncle is still the 
 same noble, fine man, although he has had to make his 
 
 85 Cf. letter of August 15, 1855. 
 
140 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 way with great effort and care and sometimes rather 
 poorly. But an inextinguishable and indefatigable 
 cheerfulness reigns in the family, each lightening the 
 load of the other as much as possible. My aunt is a very 
 sensible and well educated woman who understands 
 music and several languages and has a multitude of 
 practical accomplishments. My uncle now has a busi- 
 ness that goes well, and it seems to me he is beginning 
 to prosper. No one deserves it more than he. I only 
 wish you could see him. I am sure you would love him. 
 I shall not see my cousin Edmund upon this journey, 
 for he is just now on business several hundred miles 
 farther west. . . . 
 
 I am now looking forward a great deal to the re- 
 turn journey. I shall have to rest a couple of days, for 
 in this last period more than half of my nights have 
 been spent on trains. Before Sunday I mean to be in 
 Chicago. If I find there no letters which call me to 
 Indianapolis, I shall travel thence, day and night, until 
 I reach you. 
 
 To Gottfried Kinkel 
 
 Philadelphia, January 23, 1855 
 I received your letters yesterday and will reply at 
 once to the points therein which are of importance. The 
 passport which I carried in Berlin in the year 1850 has 
 not been in my possession for a long time. I burned it 
 shortly before my arrest in Paris, since it had lapsed. 
 Besides, I do not see how the accused could be materially 
 aided by it. That I bore a false name in Berlin is a 
 fact established by a sufficient number of witnesses. 
 The point is merely to show that Falkenthal did not 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 141 
 
 know my real name as well as my assumed one. In that 
 connection my passport could not serve as evidence, 
 since it would merely prove that I bore a false name, 
 which is already proved. It is absolutely impossible 
 to prove by positive evidence that F. did not know my 
 real name. The whole argument would merely come 
 down to a calculation of probabilities, in which my pass- 
 port would be devoid of weight. F.'s attorney must 
 obviously put on the opposing party the burden of proof 
 that F. knew my name — and of this I believe there is no 
 evidence, unless F. has got himself into a pickle by some 
 cheap, unfounded bragging. I know positively that he 
 did not know my name. This declaration, according to 
 my legal understanding, is the only thing by which I 
 can help the accused. The affidavit I sent you, to be 
 sure, has another object in view, because I did not know 
 exactly what the real charge was. But the above-men- 
 tioned necessary declaration is nevertheless quite clearly 
 contained in it. I believe the lawyer will be able to use 
 it if he does not regard the entire document as compro- 
 mising in another respect. If the trial is long enough 
 deferred, he might let me know what I can do for F. 
 I can swear (1) that he did not know my real name; 
 (2) that he did not help to influence the officials; (3) 
 that he was not active in the operation itself and had no 
 special knowledge of what went on that night. I cannot, 
 however, state on oath what he asserted; namely, that 
 he was not informed as to my plans and activities. 26 
 
 That they have changed to "Gissem" the name I 
 bore at that time is especially pleasing to me. I am 
 
 29 Dr. Falkenthal was one of the friends in Berlin who gave aid toward 
 the liberation of Kinkel. Schurz does not speak of his trial with the others 
 mentioned in Reminiscences. 
 
142 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 very anxious to have this "Gissem" satisfy them. Her- 
 bert is the actual head of his family, an excellent and in 
 his group quite indispensable man. The loss of his 
 freedom would greatly disturb, perhaps wholly disor- 
 ganize, the life of the family. I would wish, therefore, 
 to do everything to keep him clear of the whole affair. 
 On that account I should not be able, in the statement 
 concerning the name and passport which I bore, to go 
 into greater detail; I should not like to weaken the 
 "Gissem" idea. Perhaps this little error will stick. I 
 think there have been sacrifices enough. Besides, ac- 
 cording to the latest reports the trial seemed to me to be 
 going so well for F. that he would have to employ all his 
 inconsistency and indiscretion in order to alter the 
 chances. Please remember, therefore, if you do any- 
 thing in the matter, to keep H.'s interests well in view. 27 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Watertown, March 4, 1855 
 We finally reached our destination yesterday after- 
 noon without railway accident, without being snowed 
 in on the prairie, without suffering hunger or thirst, etc. 
 I wrote you last from Chicago. We took the train there 
 at nine in the morning, since the lake is not yet open 
 for traffic. We reached Wisconsin by a detour, and in 
 order to get to the railway which runs from Milwaukee 
 
 37 The balance of this letter, save eleven lines, is translated in Speeches, 
 etc., i, 14-17. The omitted lines divide into two paragraphs. The first asks 
 an anxious question about Brocklemann, the man who aided in the Kinkel 
 rescue by placing a vessel at their disposal in which they sailed to Edin- 
 burgh. The other refers to the German National Loan, which Schurz thinks 
 should be held for the present in KinkePs hands — until some hopeful ob- 
 ject presents itself for the furtherance of which it could be used effectively. 
 The sum, he says, is small. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 143 
 
 to Watertown we were obliged to cover a stretch of 
 six miles by sleigh. The weather was warm, the snow 
 was thawing, and the sleighing party was most un- 
 pleasant. I was very glad that I had not taken you 
 along, for the outing was really somewhat wearisome, 
 particularly since in some places the snow was wholly 
 melted away and we had to go on foot. About five 
 o'clock we arrived at a small rural town, Jonesville, 
 where we had to stay over night because we had got 
 there too late for the regular train. Yesterday morn- 
 ing we left there in the finest weather, and are now here 
 safe and sound. Today being Sunday we were able to 
 do nothing for our purposes aside from amassing some 
 information. But the results of these inquiries are very 
 satisfactory. . . . My Uncle Jacob and two of his 
 children were somewhat unwell, but not seriously so. 
 Otherwise, all well. Papa is in the best of spirits; his 
 birds have promptly taken possession of their new quar- 
 ters and feel very much at home. . . . 
 
 The town has improved in many respects since 
 my last visit. Much building is going on, and property 
 values are rising steadily. I believe that much can be 
 done here to our great advantage, but you can be as- 
 sured that I shall spare no pains to inform myself in 
 advance with the utmost accuracy about all the con- 
 ditions. Aside from business relations, a good deal is 
 also being done for social entertainment. A singing 
 society [Gesangvereiri] has been organized which has 
 already given a very successful concert. A lot of balls 
 were given during the winter, and an amateur theatre 
 is organizing. Of course all this is only a beginning, but 
 it is something. It is a sign that spiritual needs are 
 strongly making themselves felt. . . . 
 
144 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 Much as I desire your presence here, I am glad I did 
 not take you with me. Winter journeys have much that 
 is unpleasant and would be too hard for one in infirm 
 health. . . . 
 
 Today is the fifth day that I have been separated 
 from you and our child, and my first desire is to get my 
 business settled in the shortest possible time in order to 
 be able to come back to you. I am glad that I shall be 
 so fully engaged as to have no time to brood on my 
 homesickness. But you, too, must not worry. Time 
 will fly, and some regular occupation, whatever it may 
 be, will quickly help you over the days of separation. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Watertown, August 8, 1855 28 
 ... In my earlier letters I forgot to write you 
 about two political items which used to interest you 
 greatly. One is the temperance movement in New 
 York, the other the Know-Nothing movement. I had 
 been in New York two days before I recalled that pro- 
 hibition was in force. All lager beer saloons are open 
 and full of guests; you find in the hotels, as formerly, 
 the tables covered with bottles, and the wine-list lies 
 before you just as copious and unconcerned as ever. 
 People drink just as they used to, but with the extra 
 pleasure of talking about the temperance law over a 
 bottle of wine. A couple of tavern-keepers lately in- 
 dulged in a humorous and profitable speculation. They 
 engaged temperance preachers to speak in the street in 
 
 28 Between the date of the preceding letter and this one Schurz ac- 
 companied his wife and child to England. They sailed April 21 and he 
 sailed on the return trip July 8. See Agathe Schurz's note, Erinnerungen, 
 iii, 126-127. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 145 
 
 front of their places of business. That was done; of 
 course it drew a great crowd, and the natural result 
 was that the barrooms of the neighboring tavern-keepers 
 were filled to suffocation with thirsty humanity. The 
 only effect of the temperance law is this: that all per- 
 sons found drunk in the streets are arrested and must 
 pay ten dollars fine. If they will not or cannot pay they 
 are jailed for several days. This arrangement is not 
 bad, and it would seem as if such regulations should 
 constitute the final residue of the great temperance 
 movement. 
 
 As to the Know-Nothings, important and perhaps 
 decisive alterations have occurred on the inside of this 
 widespread party organization; and, moreover, in ex- 
 actly the way I predicted more than six months ago. 29 
 About two and one-half months ago there was a great 
 convention of the Know-Nothing party in Philadelphia, 
 to which delegates came from all parts of the Union. 
 Very promptly the slavery question arose, and the 
 southern Know-Nothings, who were in the majority, 
 secured the passage of a declaration friendly to slavery. 
 Immediately all the delegates from the North left the 
 convention en masse, and with that the Know-Nothing 
 party was divided into two large opposing factions. 
 The next result was that the northern (that is the anti- 
 slavery) Know-Nothings approached the foreigners 
 and the slavery question was declared to be the 
 leading issue. Through this proceeding the edge is 
 taken off the entire Know-Nothing movement, and you 
 begin to see many of their greatest leaders modifying 
 their tone and saying that neither religion nor birth- 
 place, but republican sentiment, is the true criterion by 
 
 29 See letter to Kinkel, January 23, 1855, in Speeches, etc., i, 14-17. 
 
146 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 which the worthiness of a foreigner to receive Ameri- 
 can citizenship can be determined. That is the begin- 
 ning of the end; and it is a question whether the exist- 
 ence of the Know-Nothing organization will last until 
 the presidential election of the year 1856. Here and 
 there, no doubt, individual small sections of the party- 
 will perhaps come forth strongly once more, but the 
 bulk of the army is decidedly in retreat. 
 
 To this extent, then, the political heavens are some- 
 what brighter, and the unpleasant things which have 
 occurred may in the end be looked upon as an agreeably 
 exciting change. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Watertown, August 12, 1855 
 ... I was out with Rothe 30 today to examine pieces 
 of land near a town about ten miles from here, and we 
 had taken with us guns and dogs to hunt as we went. 
 So we tramped about the region the whole day from 
 early morning on, breakfasted at one farmhouse, had a 
 lunch of sour milk and bread at another, and were some- 
 what provoked at our bad luck which put into Rothe' s 
 bag only a single prairie hen and a snipe, and a prairie 
 hen and two quails into mine. Finally, shortly before 
 sunset, our luck changed. For, at the edge of a wet 
 tract, we suddenly found ourselves in the midst of such 
 a multitude of prairie chickens that we could hardly 
 take time to load. In half an hour our hunting bags 
 were full, and when darkness settled we returned to 
 Watertown. There I found your dear letter. . . . 
 Perhaps I shall be able to tell you in my next letter 
 
 30 Emil Rothe. See Reminiscences, ii, 46. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 147 
 
 how the business with Jackson stands, but in case the 
 sale occurs the real work will have just begun. I shall 
 then have to survey the entire tract and lay it out in 
 lots. ... 
 
 Later 
 Last evening I went with my parents to a summer 
 refreshment place near the city, which was opened last 
 Sunday with a great bowling contest. In such places 
 things are conducted with much cheerfulness and wholly 
 in the German style. The arrangement of the garden 
 and all the grounds, and the predominance of the Ger- 
 man language, would almost make you feel that you 
 were in the fatherland if you did not hear the most 
 varied German dialects and here and there a couple of 
 Americans talking. At another place near the town, in 
 the woods, there is target shooting on Sunday, and when 
 the setting sun ends the work of the marksman a piano 
 in the hall invites the young people to dance. Even the 
 American is reconciling himself little by little to this 
 German mode of celebrating Sunday, which (if the 
 abominable high-handedness of the priestly hierarchy 
 in Germany continues) will soon exist nowhere save in 
 western America. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Milwaukee,, August 15, 1855 
 . . . The reason for my journey to Milwaukee is 
 principally that before definitely closing with Jackson 
 I want to see once more what opportunities there are 
 here for favorable investments. In addition, I shall 
 try to make some acquaintances, business and otherwise. 
 
148 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 Today is Wednesday, and I expect to return to Water- 
 town before the end of the week. 
 
 Last night, immediately after my arrival, according 
 to my old custom I took a solitary walk through the city, 
 particularly through those portions which contain the 
 better dwellings. No American city, not even Cleve- 
 land, has made upon me such a pleasing impression. 31 
 Most of the houses still combine in a highly delightful 
 manner the urban with the rural character. The sur- 
 rounding gardens are mostly full of dense foliage, and 
 the almost universal and tastefully decorated veranda 
 makes the whole very homelike and livable. Just as 
 darkness fell I came to the height above the lake where 
 stands the white lighthouse tower which can be seen 
 from afar. The great Lake Michigan with its subdued 
 roar announced itself from afar, and suddenly I stood 
 upon the steep declivity of the hill which revealed out- 
 spread before me the light green, sail-covered water 
 plane. The impression of the lake at that point is not 
 very different from that of the sea, only the colors are 
 not so darkly somber. 
 
 The wish to live here arose strongly in me, particu- 
 larly when I saw through a lighted window into a family 
 room and involuntarily imagined you and our child in 
 it. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Watertown, August 27, 1855 
 ... It was very annoying to me that Mr. Jackson 
 condemned me to another wait, for he neglected to give 
 his relatives here the necessary power of attorney, 
 
 31 Cf. letter of October 9, 1854. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 149 
 
 which forced me to open a correspondence with him 
 again. . . . 
 
 There is much to do now on the farm. The grain 
 harvest is completed; the wheat, barley, and oats, how- 
 ever, are not yet threshed, so that I do not know defi- 
 nitely how much there will be. But it looks fairly prom- 
 ising. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Watertown, September 3, 1855 
 . . . The active period has now begun for me; that 
 is to say, the business activity, for otherwise my life here 
 is pretty empty. Before I received Mr. Jackson's last 
 reply, and thus before I had to take the definitive step, I 
 again last week made a tour into the country twenty- 
 five miles westward to Columbus. I was astonished at 
 the extent to which this region is cultivated and with 
 what energy people have developed the advantages 
 which the soil offers. Several miles west of Watertown 
 the woods cease to be dense and the openings take the 
 place of the forest. These latter are great open spaces 
 set with trees, orchard-like, the soil of which is mostly 
 without any brush but covered with lovely turf. The 
 openings of Wisconsin can best be likened to the open 
 planted sections which one sees in the parks of Lon- 
 don. Between the openings, which are crowned by 
 hills, spread out the succulent meadow lands often en- 
 livened by island-like patches of woods, but often also 
 like valleys of small streams extending for miles be- 
 tween the highlands. These elements of the landscape 
 give the most peaceful, pleasant, prosperous pictures. 
 There is here nothing of the ruggedness which attaches 
 
150 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 to almost every American beauty spot. This type of 
 region repeats itself in the friendliest variation, except 
 that the openings become lighter and the meadow lands 
 more extensive the farther west one goes; until finally 
 at Columbus the far-spread prairie land lies before you. 
 It is astonishing how very rapidly the building up of the 
 country proceeds here; indeed, how rapidly in some 
 neighborhoods even the log house disappears and the 
 pleasanter frame house or a pretty stone building takes 
 its place. 
 
 I cannot refrain from giving you an incident which 
 is not exactly flattering to our German fellow country- 
 men. You cannot believe how greatly the house and the 
 whole domestic management of the American farmer 
 surpass in cleanliness and clever arrangements those of 
 the Germans. If you enter the most insignificant hut of 
 the Americans you will at least find the walls specklessly 
 white, all utensils brightly scoured, the windows shining, 
 furniture in order, no farm tools inside the house, and 
 all female occupants arrayed with a certain degree of 
 taste. I have found that if one comes into an American 
 farmhouse ever so unexpectedly the wife never finds it 
 necessary to absent herself a while in order to make 
 herself presentable in the eyes of a stranger, which is al- 
 most always the case in the German farmhouse — if, in- 
 deed, the German woman even considers it necessary 
 to appear well. As regards practical arrangements, too, 
 I found that the German farmer has a vast deal to 
 learn here. 32 . . . 
 
 32 Of course Schurz had seen only the better types of American settlers 
 and he had apparently not seen the superior types of German settlers. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 151 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Watertown, September 4, 1855 
 This week I had an artistic pleasure here. Three of 
 the artists of the Milwaukee Music Society were here 
 and gave an "operatic concert," a new invention which 
 consists in this, that large continuous sections of an 
 opera are performed in costume. The Milwaukeeans 
 this time selected "Norma," which had already been 
 given a number of times in Milwaukee. You can imag- 
 ine that a presentation of the production without 
 scenery, without orchestra, with a bare piano accom- 
 paniment upon a bare concert stage looked pretty bad. 
 But so far as the musical performances themselves were 
 concerned, they surpassed my expectations, and would 
 in part have forced even an art critic to give a favorable 
 judgment. I now understand very well how they put 
 on more ambitious performances in Milwaukee, with the 
 best success. I do not believe they can perform any bet- 
 ter in most of the small capitals of Germany. The small 
 traveling company will perform their operatic concert 
 in most of the larger cities of Wisconsin, and it is hoped 
 that the praiseworthy efforts of Milwaukee will thus 
 secure a wider support. There they are expending 
 much money; the costumes throughout are very 
 good, and the director draws a better salary than in 
 most of the German theatres. I hear also from Phila- 
 delphia that they have developed the German stage 
 which was begun there in so small a way. The dramatic 
 society there has rented a big place on Chestnut Street, 
 and the most prosperous and influential families it is 
 said are at the head. You know they have already built 
 a German theatre in New York, which is said to be 
 very well equipped. . . . 
 
152 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Watertown, September 16, 1855 
 Since yesterday the storm has not ceased to roar. 
 Old oaks have been overturned and our garden has ex- 
 perienced sad ravages. One thunderstorm followed 
 another. The roads were flooded a foot by the rain, and 
 the heavens are still as dense and leaden as yesterday. 
 This moment a new storm is gathering, the third or 
 fourth today, and it is so cold withal that we go dressed 
 in winter clothing and gather with chattering teeth 
 around the kitchen stove. The railway, which should 
 have opened today, has been injured by floods in a 
 number of places. The soil was carried away to such an 
 extent from beneath the rails that it will perhaps take a 
 week to make the necessary repairs. The plank road 
 also is broken at a number of points, and we have had no 
 mail at all today. . . . 
 
 And my hay ! my hay ! Two days more of rain would 
 finish it. And I fear greatly, for we are in the midst 
 of the equinoctial period which sets in here usually be- 
 fore the twentieth of September. How sorry I am that 
 you cannot share with me directly the cares of the 
 farmer ! I already understand a great deal about farm- 
 ing. You will not believe it, but when a man attends 
 so much to it he is bound to learn something. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Watertown, September 25, 1855 
 . . . Day before yesterday Jackson arrived here to 
 close the sale with all due formality. I had not done 
 anything of a practical nature upon the farm up to 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 153 
 
 this time because 1 wanted to see first whether every- 
 thing was all right. . . . 
 
 A couple of wagons arrived here today with very 
 prosperous-appearing German immigrants, and the 
 railway brings us new inhabitants almost daily. That 
 is a source of growth which will not so soon be ex- 
 hausted. . . . 
 
 There stands before me on the writing-table a plate 
 of splendid grapes which one of my neighbors raised on 
 his farm — a noble fruitage which will indicate to you 
 that Wisconsin is not so far behind in civilization. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Watertown, October 9, 1855 
 Today and tomorrow we shall be moving out. Then 
 the threshing machine will come to the farm and I shall 
 have to sell the wheat. (The sudden arrival of good 
 weather has saved us from almost all damage. ) Mean- 
 time the surveying goes on and I must work at it for at 
 least two hours per day in order that no square foot of 
 land shall remain unutilized. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Watertown, October 15, 1855 
 . . . Last Wednesday immediately after posting 
 your letter I rode out to the farm. On the way, in the 
 middle of the city, my horse stumbled and in falling 
 crushed my left leg. In and of itself the thing was of 
 no consequence, but it will have the result, nevertheless, 
 of rendering it impossible for me to walk for several 
 days. I have to make cold bandages constantly to keep 
 
154 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 down the swelling, and have to watch the lovely weather 
 through the window from my doleful prison. I am 
 often in the mood of a wounded soldier who hears the 
 drums going outside. I could not close an eye at night, 
 partly because such contusions hurt a little, partly be- 
 cause the cold bandages dispel sleep until one becomes 
 used to them. Besides, I saw myself delayed in this 
 disagreeable manner in the completion of my business. 
 From all of which you can assume that I have had some 
 jolly bad days. . . . 
 
 . . . There is something remarkable about such a 
 place as Watertown. All the wealth here is personally 
 amassed and, as it were, on the spot. There is prac- 
 tically no imported capital here. All residents, per- 
 haps with two or three exceptions, came with nothing 
 and now you see these same people building mills, fac- 
 tories, railways, gas works, great stores, organizing 
 banks, etc. And all this has been accumulated and done 
 in less than ten years. Everything was created from 
 nothing by sheer industry, initiative, and persistence. 
 And you should see the bustle! Long wagon trains 
 loaded with wheat coming into the town from all direc- 
 tions are snatched up at the entrances by buyers who 
 try to anticipate one another. Then, with pockets filled, 
 the farmers distribute themselves around among the 
 stores. The streets are crowded with wagons, and the 
 sidewalks with people. It is a picturesque, lively scene, 
 full of cheerfulness. Among the rest you see the newly- 
 arrived, the green ones, with bashful countenances, who 
 do not yet understand what it all means and which way 
 they will have to turn. The last few weeks have brought 
 us a goodly number of these pleasing apparitions. And 
 almost every day I have opportunity to give advice to 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 155 
 
 this one or that one who arrives here with the strange 
 plans of the ignorant. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 October 17, 1855 
 I am on my legs once more. You cannot imagine 
 how glad the exercise makes me. In the last two days 
 the injury improved so fast and decidedly that I have 
 conceived a genuine tenderness for the stricken knee. I 
 do not weary of seeing how much I can do. Already 
 I get along nicely by simply supporting myself a little 
 on a chair back. It is nearly the same case as that time 
 in Berlin when I fell on my haunch and had to lie abed 
 so long. But that time I suffered much more. The 
 pain was infinitely greater and my weakness lasted 
 longer. This time I got out of it pretty smoothly. And 
 everybody has helped to ease my bed of pain. I held a 
 regular little court in my room. Visitors were here un- 
 interruptedly from early until late, and if I slept the 
 good sympathizers were in the adjoining room. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Watertown, October 21, 1855 
 Now, as I write, I belong once more to two-legged, 
 walking mankind. But you should see how pitifully I 
 still have to limp — I, who was always so proud of my 
 irreproachable straight-leggedness ! Still, in the last 
 two days my crushed knee has improved so greatly that 
 in a very short time I hope to have fully recovered from 
 the inconvenient accident. . . . 
 
156 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 To be thus sick with a healthy body! And then, dur- 
 ing a succession of nights I was unable to sleep, partly 
 because of the pain and the cold bandages, and partly 
 because, accustomed to constant hard exercise in the 
 open air, I was now condemned to continuous inaction. 
 Thank God, it is over now, and I begin to rejoice in life 
 as before! I read through entire nights Heine's mis- 
 cellaneous writings, his newest Misery, then a good por- 
 tion of Schlosser's History of the Eighteenth Century, 
 etc. At last I took to sketching and drew up a com- 
 plete plan of our future dwelling-house: ground plan, 
 facade, side-elevation, and all detail drawings. 33 That 
 gave me much pleasure, and I feel that an architect was 
 lost in me. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Watektown, October 28, 1855 
 This, I hope, is the last time I shall write to you 
 from here. It is probable my next letter will be mailed 
 from Philadelphia or from New York. . . . 
 
 My leg is not yet wholly restored ; there is still much 
 weakness in the knee which hinders me from walking 
 much and far. Also the swelling has not entirely dis- 
 appeared. Still the improvement proceeds pretty fast 
 and decidedly, of itself, and in a very short time I shall 
 doubtless be in a position to undertake the journey to 
 the East. . . . 
 
 We are all quite enraptured by the place on the 
 former Jackson farm where we live, and everybody who 
 visits us envies us the beautiful site. How much more 
 beautiful it will be when the new gardens have been laid 
 
 33 See cut, p. 172. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 157 
 
 out! Aside from a quantity of fruit trees, we found 
 here a nice strawberry bed which next year will cover 
 almost half an acre. There are also currants and goose- 
 berries in smaller quantities, and Father will arrange 
 for raspberries and the like. There are also multitudes 
 of melons and other good things. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 October 29 [1855] 
 The sun has risen bright and clear, and the view 
 spread out before me presents so cheerful and sweet a 
 picture that I am distinctly encouraged to hope we 
 shall be very happy here. On the left the stream, shin- 
 ing out between tall trees; directly in front of me, at a 
 little distance, the town with its friendly white houses; 
 beyond and to my right, wooded hills and a luscious 
 strip of green meadow land. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Watertown, November 5, 1855 
 I am writing you once more from here today be- 
 cause I am not certain of being in Philadelphia early 
 enough to post my letter there. According to my origi- 
 nal plans I ought to have been on the way by this time, 
 but a multitude of petty circumstances combined to 
 delay my departure for several days. First, I still have 
 a couple of contracts to close concerning the building 
 next spring, and it was impossible to get the men to- 
 gether. Then the threshing machine did not come, and 
 that delayed the sale of our grain. Further, the state 
 elections came on, which occupied everybody, and I was 
 
158 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 unable to get my notary to transcribe certain mortgages 
 and the like. So things went, in a descending scale, 
 down to the trifling circumstance that, having given 
 my tailor my winter coat to turn, this tailor ripped the 
 coat and then got sick and could not deliver it at the 
 appointed time. You see that I am an unlucky wight, 
 but in four or five days I trust all these things will be 
 overcome and I shall be sailing cheerfully toward the 
 East. . . . 
 
 I was never quite at ease so long as I knew you to 
 be in Germany, and the little incident you tell me con- 
 cerning your adventure with the Prussian policeman 
 shows that my fears were not groundless. What petti- 
 ness on the part of the government! Is that a power 
 which feels itself strong and wants to impress others 
 with its strength? Not even to leave women in peace, 
 and to distress them with things over which five years 
 have passed ! It is hardly conceivable. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Philadelphia, November 19, 1855 
 Today I write from Philadelphia, and feel much 
 nearer you in consequence. . . . 
 
 My head is so full of my affairs here, on which the 
 possibility of my early return depends, that I can think 
 of nothing else. I meditate this way and that, about 
 what I should do. . . . The longing for you and our 
 child is often so powerful in me that it costs me an effort 
 of will not to leave everything in the lurch. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 159 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 November 21 [1855] 
 I had hoped so ardently soon to be done with my 
 affairs here, that I almost took my wish for actual 
 reality and could think of nothing except with which 
 one of the next ships I was to take passage. And now 
 I see this joyous prospect darkened once more. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 November 24 [1855] 
 Between the previous note and the present lie two 
 days — two days in which I have had a hard struggle 
 against my longing for you. At last I am obliged to 
 give it up. Tomorrow I shall settle with D., then I 
 shall arrange my remaining business so that my 
 shoulders may be light for a time. I shall then go to 
 New York and take passage on the Washington or the 
 Canada. So, this is the last letter I shall write you be- 
 fore coming. . . . 
 
 I see your joy when you shall have reached the end 
 of this letter, and it is the loveliest picture that I hold 
 before my soul. I revel in it. How we shall revel in 
 the reality! 34 
 
 To Frederick Althaus 
 
 Montreux, March 8, 1856 
 The letter which you sent me on my birthday and 
 for which I heartily thank you has found us in the 
 
 34 He arrived in London December 17, joining his wife and child at 
 Kinkel's home. Early in February they went to Montreux, Switzerland. 
 
160 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 enjoyment of a beautiful, happy recreation. Your let- 
 ter was doubly good for me because it made clearer to 
 me the picture of you which I took with me from Lon- 
 don after all those sad days. We wish so often to have 
 you here. How this marvelously serene Nature would 
 benefit you! I hope it may be arranged in the future. 
 I think Margarethe will have sent you news of our ar- 
 rival here. We found that we had been looked after 
 more kindly and obligingly here than we dared to ex- 
 pect. My brother-in-law, Henry, whom I have seen 
 here for the first time, is an excellent person, very well 
 trained in his field ; and I may say that we have become 
 quite intimate, little as Charlotte [Voss] may have ex- 
 pected that. Neither timid in his ideas nor narrow in his 
 conduct, he seems to me to be quite a free-thinking man, 
 who, though he may be inclined to make concessions, is 
 also not afraid to admit the consequences. We live 
 together very agreeably, in splendid harmony, and with- 
 out ever running out of conversation. 
 
 Up to now we have had wonderful spring days, 
 always full of sunshine ; splendid weather — in the morn- 
 ing a pleasant breeze, at noon and in the afternoon just 
 as warm. All this has only one disadvantage, that one 
 finds too much pleasure in strolling around and in row- 
 ing on the lake, and thinks too little about work. I 
 know the country around pretty well; no day passes 
 without a little excursion, sometimes by water, some- 
 times by land. But with all that, I have sent to London 
 only one article on Wisconsin, and a very hastily writ- 
 ten one at that. I hope you will find it printed in the 
 course of a few days. The second one I have started; 
 it will hardly be finished any sooner however. Some- 
 times I wish myself some days of bad weather — and 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 161 
 
 then this wish will seem to me a little too rash. It has 
 pleased us very much that August showed himself so 
 thorough. But I did not expect it to be otherwise, 
 and firmly believe that the course adopted will prove to 
 be the best. Ee so good as to write me everything about 
 how the matter develops. 
 
 The letter from Osw. gives me less hope in regard to 
 the Westminster Review, but I shall write the thing as 
 soon as I have finished my articles on the West. If the 
 composition then is never published, it will always have 
 been a good study. 
 
 As to the certainty of peace, things seem to look 
 somewhat problematical again. The insertion of the 
 "Siecle" article in the Moniteur looks almost like a 
 manifesto, and if it should be true that large Paris 
 firms are speculating on a fall, then those are bad signs. 
 We must prepare ourselves with stoical equanimity for 
 whatever may come. 
 
 The victory of the Free- Soil party in the American 
 Congress is again a little gleam of light in present 
 politics, and since the danger of war between America 
 and England is receding more and more into the back- 
 ground, one may hope for better developments over 
 there. — Did you read that Julius Froebel has married 
 in New York the widow of the former "revolutionary" 
 minister of Baden, Mordes, and with her will move 
 south? I thought it would be interesting to all of you, 
 and so am writing to you about it. 
 
 Yesterday we made up a little rowing party to the 
 Hotel Byron, where you formerly lived. How glori- 
 ous it is there, and how much it made us think of you! 
 Is it not a great shame that you cannot spend a few 
 weeks here before the beginning of hot weather? My 
 
162 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 brother-in-law goes away from here toward the end of 
 this month, and perhaps we could live in these delight- 
 ful quarters happily together. Consider seriously 
 what you can do, and let us hear from you. I should be 
 happy to have you here. Greet Charlotte heartily for 
 me. Margarethe will herself write to her. With more 
 warm heartiness than ever. 
 
 To Frederick Althaus 
 
 MonteeuXj April 12, 1856 
 It is so long since I have heard from you that I am 
 obliged to assume your business is exhausting in its ef- 
 fects upon you, but rarely puts you in a mood to write. 
 I could well understand it if you were not at present 
 especially communicative. There are things which bear 
 speaking of only when in personal conversation the 
 impulse finds the right moment. I will not assume that, 
 owing to the weight of your bereavement, you have 
 arrived at something like indifference toward your- 
 self. 35 Could I but attract you hither, where it is so 
 beautiful! But what Charlotte writes us about your 
 designs dashes my hope of this completely. We could 
 put you up so nicely in our dwelling, now that my 
 brother-in-law and his wife have departed. (We had 
 lovely days, were most harmonious, and separated very 
 reluctantly.) It is impossible not to gain a new joy of 
 life amid these wondrous natural surroundings. One 
 revels here even when not disposed to do so. It is hard 
 to think of other things while out of doors, and when one 
 does think he can hardly be otherwise than sanguine. 
 
 M Mrs. Althaus died shortly before this time. [A. S.] 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 163 
 
 That is, I believe, what you need; and why can you 
 not be here? 
 
 I would gladly have told you more about my favor- 
 ite plan, to take you along across the sea, but since 
 Gregorovius has probably come to you and you have 
 fixed your plans with him I can see it would be useless. 
 How fortunate it is that precisely Gregorovius, with 
 whose friendship many beautiful old fields of thought 
 are associated, should be near you day after day ! Write 
 me soon whether Gregorovius agrees with your views. 
 If time allows, I should like to be the third link in your 
 chain. 
 
 We restless birds of passage shall probably be here 
 till the middle of May. Then, as everybody says, it 
 becomes so unbearably hot here that it is best to get 
 away. We shall return via Paris to England. Ac- 
 cording to reports from America it will be impossible 
 for me to leave my affairs throughout the entire sum- 
 mer without personal management. The chances are 
 so good that I could not be answerable for letting the 
 summer pass in idleness. 
 
 It seems to me that Margarethe's condition, in gen- 
 eral, has improved; at least many of the more disa- 
 greeable symptoms have disappeared or have greatly 
 moderated. It is my opinion that a pleasant residence 
 in a healthful climate, her own permanent housekeeping, 
 in which all comforts can be looked after, a quiet country 
 life without excitement, supported by strict regularity 
 in diet and moderated treatment, would prove more 
 beneficial to her than this uncertain search after any- 
 thing that might be good and the continued uncertainty 
 of existence which leaves us restless today over what 
 may happen tomorrow. We have discussed the matter 
 
164 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 frequently and calmly, and are unable to arrive at any 
 other conclusion. We cannot longer resist the convic- 
 tion that Margarethe's illness cannot be cured by a 
 half-year's water cure or an extended stay in a cura- 
 tive climate, as Dr. Gully first believed. 
 
 You see that I have serious questions to answer, for 
 whose solution the short time which we still have here 
 for consideration will hardly, in itself, contribute very 
 much. I heartily wish, dear Frederick, you might utilize 
 a moment set aside for writing, and then be explicit 
 concerning yourself, as to what you think and plan to 
 do. Be assured I shall not take it amiss if you remain 
 silent, yet hope you will speak out if you are in the 
 mood for it. 
 
 With cordial greetings to Charlotte. 
 
 To Gottfried Kinkel 
 
 Montreux, April 27, 1856 
 You must forgive me for not sooner thanking you 
 for your readiness in forwarding my American cor- 
 respondence. Our life here goes on so quietly and 
 equably that there is no external inducement to write, 
 and the reflections on world events one might make are 
 mostly of so gloomy a nature that we might as well 
 spare one another the infliction of them. We have lived 
 here for seven weeks with my younger brother-in-law 
 and his wife, and have had a delightful time. . . . 
 
 For nearly three weeks we have been alone and 
 living an idyl. The region, which you probably know, 
 is beautiful beyond all others, the climate precisely 
 what we wanted; and were it not that the enjoyment 
 of nature makes one intellectually a little dreamy and 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 165 
 
 unproductive, it would be the most satisfactory way 
 conceivable to spend time. At first my wife was con- 
 tinuously ill; she is now some better, but the pain with 
 which she is afflicted still gives us concern. . . . 
 
 I saw d'Ester yesterday. He lives nine miles from 
 here and called here to visit me, having learned my ad- 
 dress through a mutual acquaintance. He is quite as 
 of yore and looks just as he did five years ago. . . . 
 
 I have also received news about Techow, which, to be 
 sure, is already a bit old. According to it, Techow and 
 Schiitz must have had quite a hard time in Australia; 
 while Damm, the one-time pastor from Baden, entered 
 an educational institution as teacher and after the death 
 of the owner married his widow, and is now in prosper- 
 ous circumstances. 
 
 So much about your acquaintances in this region. 
 It is not yet certain when we are to return to London, 
 probably sometime during May. My business in 
 America demands my presence so imperatively that I 
 shall hardly be able to remain much longer. Still, noth- 
 ing is settled positively about our departure from 
 Europe. I will not deny that under existing circum- 
 stances I long to get across again. The wish to ad- 
 vance my undertakings there is not the only reason. 
 Europe at this moment appears quite unpromising. 
 There are, indeed, enough things which are tending 
 toward a crisis, and among these the financial confusion, 
 the overspeculation stimulated by the national loans 
 and the credits mobiliers are not the least in importance. 
 But what kinds of crises will these be? Merely such as 
 are socially impotent. 
 
 During the presence here of my brother-in-law we 
 read your volume of stories, and rejoiced greatly in 
 
166 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 "The Homeless," "The Honest Youth," "Musical Or- 
 thodoxy," and "Household War." "Margaret" did not 
 please me so well. The beginning of the tale — the pic- 
 ture of the father — is splendid, but in the love story and 
 the whole development the language seems not natural 
 enough and the dialogue too sustained to enable it to 
 produce a harmonious impression. You see that in my 
 old age I am coming to study your works, and in that 
 connection I cannot refrain from speaking of your fa- 
 mous "The Homeless" and to compliment your wife 
 especially on "The Honest Youth" and "Musical Or- 
 thodoxy." That is the general opinion among us here. 
 I will not ask you to write, for I know how busy you are. 
 Do not feel under any compulsion about it. 
 
 With heartiest greetings to your wife and the chil- 
 dren from both of us. . . . My wife says that what I 
 have written about your Tales is so arrogant and not 
 favorable enough. Take it not amiss ; you know how it 
 was meant. 
 
 Arrival in Montreuoc ZQ 
 
 Before taking up the subject of my return to Amer- 
 ica I cannot withstand the impulse to speak of a matter 
 of such a purely personal character that my children 
 and nearest friends will pardon me if I mention to them 
 that the reader who does not belong to the circle of 
 friends may not find it interesting. I am moved to 
 speak of it because it is so dear to me. It is the memory 
 of one of the happiest moments of my life. 
 
 Margarethe, my wife, was advised by her physician 
 to spend one or two months in Montreux on Lake Le- 
 
 36 Written for the Reminiscences, but omitted from that work. 
 
MARGARETHE MEYER SCHURZ 
 
 In 1867 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 167 
 
 man before taking the sea voyage back to the West. The 
 time was early in February, 1856. We traveled by 
 way of Paris and Dejon through France and were 
 obliged to take a mail coach somewhere on the Swiss 
 frontier. Rooms had been ordered for us at Montreux 
 by my brother-in-law Henry Meyer, who also for 
 reasons of health wanted to spend the spring months 
 there with his young wife Emilie. He occupied one 
 floor in a very simple house, called "Maison-aux-Bains" 
 because a brook flowing back of the house formed a 
 tiny waterfall. Our rooms were in the same house, we 
 being the only occupants, with the Meyers, aside from 
 the family of the owner, who lived in a high ground- 
 floor apartment. 
 
 On a bright moonlight night about eleven o'clock we 
 reached Montreux, and the postilion of the mail coach 
 was kind enough to set us off, with our baggage, at our 
 destination, Maison-aux-Bains. Since the hour of our 
 arrival had been left somewhat indefinite, my brother-in- 
 law was not momentarily expecting us, for the house 
 was still and dark. So we stood all alone on the street. 
 We had to ascend a considerable number of stone steps 
 leading to a side of the house, in order to reach a door 
 whence we could gain the attention of the occupants. 
 During the last hours we had now and then caught 
 glimpses of the lake between the trees which lined the 
 road. But as we climbed the steps and sort of half- 
 turned to look behind us, a scene presented itself which 
 was beyond all description. The moon was the brightest 
 I had ever seen. The air was mild and in gentle motion. 
 Before our gaze the lake spread out many miles in ex- 
 tent. A small boat, with sails like swallows' wings, 
 glided lazily over the bright, shimmering water streaks, 
 
168 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 in which the moon mirrored itself. Over yonder on the 
 opposite shore of the lake rose the dark mountain walls 
 of Savoy; far to the left gleamed the white peak of 
 Dent du Mide; directly before us, projected into the 
 lake, was the celebrated castle of Chillon, its turrets 
 showing, but the nether walls wrapped in black shadows. 
 We held our breaths in our ecstasy, and instantly agreed 
 not to knock at once for admittance but to enjoy the 
 view a short time. So we sat us down on the stone steps, 
 my dear wife at my side, the sleeping child on my lap. 
 There we sat and sat, drinking in pure joy in full 
 draughts. When, after a time, the one concerned for 
 the other would ask: "Isn't it time?" the answer would 
 come back: "No, not yet; we shall never see such 
 beauty again." Finally, having to confess, despite our 
 inclinations, that we could not sit there forever, we rose 
 and knocked on the door, to be greeted in heartiest man- 
 ner by our friends. 
 
 When I now look back over my long life, recalling 
 its happiest moments, this half — or possibly whole — 
 hour upon the stone steps at Montreux floats into my 
 memory as one of the very happiest. Nor was the 
 moonlight hour upon the stone step all of it. My 
 brother-in-law, Henry, was a young man of very lively 
 disposition, of jovial temper, and many attractive 
 qualities ; my sister-in-law, Emilie, not yet quite twenty, 
 one of the finest and noblest of women; my wife Mar- 
 garethe, at the height of her loveliness, and our child, 
 already beginning to say the most wonderful things, 
 the central point of interest for us all. We were very 
 fond of one another, were young and blessed with an 
 abounding love of life, full of hope for the future and 
 not yet oppressed with the cares of the moment — each 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 169 
 
 one anxious to contribute to the happiness of the other. 
 Added to all this we had the natural beauties of the 
 environment always before our eyes, were surrounded 
 by all the glories of spring in this blessed corner of the 
 world where, protected by sheltering mountains from 
 all raw winds, the loveliest tropical fruits of earth ripen. 
 To us it was as if all these gifts were ours, for Mon- 
 treux was not then the modern bathing resort it is today. 
 So we rowed, wandered, or sat together in our com- 
 fortable Maison-aux-Bain, reading aloud from Thack- 
 eray, Dickens, or Shakespeare; or we discussed what 
 Henry and Emilie would do in Hamburg, or what Mar- 
 garethe and I were going to undertake in America, and 
 how we must get together now and then. Yes, those 
 were weeks of untroubled pleasure; pure, childlike, 
 spontaneous joy such as comes to us on this earth only 
 rarely. At last the hour of separation came. Tears 
 flowed in streams, and when we four came together 
 again later — which occurred at times under much al- 
 tered circumstances — we never failed to warm our 
 hearts with the recollections of those heavenly days at 
 Montreux. He who has once enjoyed such sunbeams of 
 happiness — he may well thank his kind fortune — and 
 I am truly thankful. 
 
 To Henry Meyer 
 
 Watertown, August 6, 1856 37 
 . . . Unfortunately, to our surprise, we found that 
 our house here was not yet ready, so that for the present 
 
 37 Carl Schurz, with his wife and child, sailed on June 21, 1856. They 
 spent several days after their arrival in New York and Philadelphia, and 
 then went to Watertown, Wisconsin, where the new dwelling had mean- 
 time been erected. [A. S.] 
 
170 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 we have had to quarter ourselves in the small old house. 
 This involves many an inconvenience, but we shall soon 
 be past this bad time and then we shall enjoy the greater 
 comfort with double pleasure. 
 
 I found Watertown changed in a number of par- 
 ticulars. Business was very quiet in the spring, due 
 principally to the sudden drop in the price of grain after 
 the peace. With the coming of summer everything be- 
 came more active again, and the building of new houses 
 and business places began in such an extensive way that 
 one needed to make his arrangements early in order to 
 secure workmen. In addition, the Common Council 
 passed an ordinance that ail streets must be graded and 
 all cross-walks built of brick or stone. This required 
 the work of all hands. On top of this not less than three 
 railway lines were begun : one from here to Madison and 
 beyond to Prairie du Chien on the Mississippi ; a second 
 from here to Columbus, where my newly-married sister 
 lives, and thence farther to La Crosse on the Missis- 
 sippi; and a third from here to Fond du Lac and the 
 great pineries on Lake Winnebago. One sees and 
 hears nothing but houses under construction, which are 
 rising with the speed of the wind; excavating on every 
 hand, and harvesting in the neighborhood. Before 
 winter all three railroads are to be ready for traffic as 
 far as the nearest main points. And if you look at the 
 map you will find that Watertown is a railroad center 
 of importance. All these roads have come into existence 
 because of immediate need, and therefore have good 
 prospects. The excellent outlook for Watertown is 
 further improved by the fact that the last legislature 
 made this place the county seat. The immigration in 
 the spring was small in numbers but the immigrants 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 171 
 
 brought a conspicuously large amount of cash, so that 
 the farms round about have risen decidedly in value. . . . 
 
 To Frederick Althaus 
 
 Watertown, November 15, 1856 
 My letter is being written piecemeal. The cause for 
 the long interruption is a visit from a Philadelphia 
 family who stayed with us a number of days. There is, 
 indeed, no lack of connection with the civilization of 
 the coast. Recently the one-time member of the Par- 
 liament, Wesendonk of Diisseldorf , visited us in com- 
 pany with his wife. He formerly belonged to the pro- 
 slavery Democracy, but now works very actively and 
 effectively for the party of freedom. He has an excel- 
 lent mercantile business in Philadelphia, and is travel- 
 ing in part for it and in part to prepare the way for a 
 national convention of the Germans in the United 
 States. The German population is to be vigorously 
 stirred up during the next four years, and brought en 
 masse into battle in the election of 1860. But I see I 
 am involuntarily getting back into politics, whereas 
 other things are probably more interesting to you. 
 
 Our house has been finished for some weeks. Also, 
 the equipment has been completed with the exception 
 of a load of furniture which is hourly expected from 
 Milwaukee. Most of our things were made here and are 
 as nice looking as they are solid. Anything pleasanter 
 than Margarethe's and my suite cannot be conceived. 
 These rooms are on the ground floor, to the right of the 
 corridor. Margarethe usually sits in her light bay 
 window, which is shaded by the veranda roof, with 
 views of the city, the woods, and the hills directly in 
 
172 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 front of her. My windows, the one directly opposite my 
 writing-table and the other on my left, open upon the 
 yard, the farm buildings, the river, and the woods be- 
 hind. The rooms are fairly spacious, very high, not 
 without a certain elegance and at the same time livable 
 and homelike. 
 
 As to business and undertakings, aside from the 
 information that since my arrival I have sold a whole 
 row of lots I can hardly give you a better idea than by 
 speaking of the improvements and the prospects of the 
 town. For the interests of landowners are so identified 
 with those of the city, that anything other than a com- 
 mon progress or common decline is hardly thinkable. 
 
 Four new lines of railway are at this time building, 
 which will put Watertown in direct communication with 
 the Mississippi, with Lake Superior, with the northern 
 portion of Lake Michigan, and partly with Chicago. 
 Three of these will be in operation within a few months. 
 
 In addition to real estate, I have gone into another 
 line. The governor of Wisconsin gave me a commission 
 as notary public and I have an office for this purpose. 
 In March the office of advocate will be added, for which 
 I have a pretty extended field here. Besides, I have be- 
 come president of an insurance company newly or- 
 ganized here, which is just now beginning to do business. 
 
 Up to now the climate, although it has already given 
 us a taste of winter, has not by far caused Margarethe 
 the inconvenience which last year made our stay in Eng- 
 land so unpleasant. All day long she is upstairs and 
 downstairs in our fresh new house, and we begin to ex- 
 perience such profound satisfaction as we have not here- 
 tofore had in our home life and which I should never 
 have had but for her taste and talent for arranging. If 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 173 
 
 I could only give you some of my way of thinking and 
 attract you hither! If I could only have you here a 
 half-year on a visit, perhaps you would change your 
 mind. The more I become accustomed to the broad 
 fairway in this country, the less can I comprehend your 
 pleasure in the confining, monotonous conditions in Lon- 
 don. But I shall of course have to give it up, and I do 
 it with deepest regret. Who knows when life's courses 
 may bring us together again? I feel more and more 
 that my lot is cast on this side the ocean, unless changes 
 hardly to be expected shall occur over there. And fate, 
 or your inner urge, seems to bind you ever closer to 
 Europe, the more I detach myself from it. 
 
 But enough of this. What is Herzen doing? I 
 should like to write him as soon as I find time, but the 
 difficulty is that I have heard nothing from him for so 
 long that I probably could write little that would arouse 
 his interest. 
 
 Do me the favor not to let me wait as long as I have 
 made you wait. Since I can hardly hope any more to 
 see you here personally, your letters are all the dearer, 
 indispensable guests. 
 
 With the warmest greeting of friendship. 
 
 To Henry Meyer 
 
 Watertown, November 20, 1856 
 In the past few weeks public matters have made 
 more than the usual demands upon American citizens. 
 You over there in your decrepit Europe can hardly 
 understand any more how a great idea can stir the 
 masses to their depths and how an enthusiastic fight for 
 principles can displace all other interests; even, for a 
 
174 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 certain time, materialistic ones. It is the first time in 
 seven years that I have taken part in politics — in a time 
 which arouses even the sleepiest and in a cause which is 
 second to none in the world in reach and greatness. 
 
 At last a regular, intense struggle against slavery 
 has arisen in the United States; and the party of free- 
 dom, while defeated in the first election contest, despite 
 its youth and deficient organization, has shown so much 
 strength and won so much territory that it can look to 
 the future with the confidence of victory. 
 
 The campaign was one of the most stirring that 
 America has ever seen, and the efforts put forth by both 
 sides were tremendous. A universal struggle of opinion 
 among a free people has about it something unbeliev- 
 ably imposing, and never does one see with more clarity 
 what a comprehensive influence political freedom exer- 
 cises upon the development of the masses. How gloomy 
 is the contrast which makes itself felt here between the 
 native-born American, to whatever rank he belongs, and 
 the immigrant of German or Irish origin! While the 
 first seizes upon a new truth with clearness and ease, 
 finding at the same time the means of putting it into 
 active operation, the second, by the mere force of inertia, 
 lies fast anchored by stupid prejudices. It costs him 
 incredible effort to engage in the bold venture of a 
 new idea and to reach some independence of judgment. 
 Still, our efforts were not unsuccessful, and Fremont 
 received in our state alone upwards of twenty-five 
 thousand German votes. As for myself, my brief ac- 
 tivity brought me such widespread influence that I shall 
 probably not keep out of official life very long. 
 
 Our home life will interest you more than politics. 
 We have been living for a number of weeks in the new 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 175 
 
 house, and Margarethe has an extended field for her 
 activities. . . . Briefly, our house suits us so well that 
 we prefer not to go out, and there is nothing lacking 
 in it but a visit from you and a piano, on which we 
 could play with satisfaction. For the rest, the cottage 
 is situated so beautifully, and its external appearance is 
 so tasteful, that envious looks have already been cast 
 upon it. . . . 
 
 To Gottfried Kinkel 
 
 Watertown, December 1, 1856 
 I write you today out of the full pleasure of my 
 home situation. Picture to yourself a handsome country 
 house, upon a gentle acclivity, a gunshot distant from 
 the town; an unhampered view over stream and town 
 and the encircling hills before it, and looking out at the 
 back upon an oak forest enlivened here and there by 
 small dwellings. Within the house, to the right of the 
 hallway, are two high and spacious rooms connected by 
 a wide sliding door. In the bay window of the one 
 room are a lovely young woman at work and a red- 
 cheeked, angel-faced child at play ; in the other is a per- 
 son of the male species at the writing-table, surrounded 
 with books — among them, Blackstone and Kent and 
 their associates distinguish themselves by their thick- 
 ness; on the walls guns, implements of the chase, and 
 the like — the ensemble so cheerful and agreeable — the 
 front room also not without elegance. Here you have 
 my wife, Hans [Agathe], and myself as at this moment 
 we live and have our being. Would you complete the 
 scene, bethink you that December came in today with 
 one of those snowstorms known only here in the West, 
 
176 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 which bring the trains to a stand in the open fields, 
 snow in travelers on the wild prairie, and interrupt all 
 communication. The storm sings a many-voiced song in 
 the notched pointed arches of our veranda, and the 
 whirling snow permits us, from the window, a view of 
 but a few paces. "Such a moment was it after the great 
 action" — that I got around to write you. 3S . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 New York, March 21, 1857 
 ... I promised to tell you something about my 
 journey. The weather was constantly bad, and the 
 farther east we came the deeper was the snow. About 
 eleven o'clock Thursday night we arrived in the neigh- 
 borhood of the great suspension bridge over Niagara, 
 and one of my wishes, to see this mighty phenomenon of 
 nature and this triumph of human art, seemed about to 
 be fulfilled. But the night was so pitch black that one 
 could not see a foot before him, and I must say that 
 the waterfall and the suspension bridge were ravishing 
 in this illumination ! I saw nothing, absolutely nothing 
 of them. We were obliged to change at the station 
 because the connection with the corresponding train had 
 failed. The hotels were full, and so my portion was a 
 soft place on the stone floor of a barroom, where how- 
 ever I slept splendidly for several hours. In the morn- 
 ing at six we went on, and I asked where the great 
 "hanging bridge" and Niagara Falls were. The answer 
 was, we had passed them in the night, and with this 
 impression of the great phenomenon of nature I had 
 to proceed in patience. About twelve o'clock at night 
 
 38 Balance of letter printed in Speeches, etc., i, 24-28. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 177 
 
 I arrived here at the Prescott House, slept until seven, 
 and immediately fitted myself out at a clothing store, 
 as necessity required. At breakfast a surprising 
 homage awaited me. The landlord was so delighted 
 about the arrival of such a distinguished guest, that he 
 brought on a bottle of champagne in my honor in order 
 that he might clink glasses with me. My fame is now 
 almost seven years old, and in the seventh year it still 
 brings me a bottle of champagne ! Is not that a strong 
 testimony against the vanity and transitoriness of 
 human fame? The hotel is elegant, the accommoda- 
 tions good, and everything in the finest order. I have 
 every reason to be content, but although I have been 
 here hardly a day I want to go back again. . . . 
 
 I know how heavy the evenings will be for me. I 
 shall see Miss Heron and hear Thalberg, who is still 
 here. I have seen Lowe and Schiitz and shall probably 
 be with them once more before I leave New York. 
 Lowe was very charming, and I shall probably take 
 advantage of his invitation to visit him. Schiitz has 
 become old ; he gave me news about Techow which per- 
 mits me to hope that the latter may be induced to come 
 to this country. I learned the address of Baron Briin- 
 ing. He lives in Brooklyn and is undecided whether to 
 go back or remain here. Perhaps I may see him. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 New York, March 24, 1857 
 
 ... I have much to tell you about other things. I 
 
 have heard Thalberg, seen Miss Heron, talked with the 
 
 Baron, etc. In the Thalberg concert I heard for the 
 
 first time what real piano playing is, and I will demon- 
 
178 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 strate it to you when I come home. Miss Heron did 
 not enrapture me so much. She is ugly and on the stage 
 she constantly makes faces, which render her uglier 
 still. Her voice is mediocre and does not nearly equal 
 that of Davenport. Her acting is overdone; she does 
 too much in all respects and is in general too excitable. 
 She has unquestionably great talent, but will still have 
 to undergo much training. It is folly to compare her 
 with Rachel. She patterns after Rachel but cannot 
 attain the plane of Davenport. She is at times a little 
 grotesque and will have to civilize herself first. I fear, 
 however, that she has gone too far already in the wrong 
 direction. . . . 
 
 Now I must tell you about the Baron, who sent 
 word to me by Dr. Lowe requesting me to call ; I found 
 him quartered in a quiet street in Brooklyn. He has 
 received letters from his family, which of course urge 
 him strongly to return, and so he is once more in a 
 state of the greatest indecision about what he should do. 
 The children are well and nice as ever. . . . He is now 
 thinking of going to Russia with his family next sum- 
 mer, but hopes and expects that the Russian govern- 
 ment will make this impossible by excluding him from 
 the state federation. However, Lowe thinks that he 
 will not get away from here. 
 
 Do not worry about me. I shall not fall a prey to 
 the cutthroats and pickpockets. Aside from nights at 
 the theatre I am in bed in good season and experience 
 very little of the dangers of the new metropolis. 
 
 To Henry Meyer 
 Watertown, September 20, 1857 
 ... I am in the process of rising in the world to 
 a certain extent, and according to all appearances I 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 179 
 
 shall from now on hold quite an important position in 
 Wisconsin. Inasmuch as the antislavery party here has 
 a pretty large majority, the confirmation of my nomina- 
 tion by the popular vote November 3 is hardly doubtful, 
 and I shall then advance at a single leap from the posi- 
 tion of alderman in Watertown to that of lieutenant- 
 governor of Wisconsin. Meanwhile the honor brings 
 its own burden. I have a great deal to do and have to 
 carry on an almost oppressive correspondence in order 
 to prepare for my public appearance, so that I may do 
 honor to my new position. In the next four weeks I 
 shall have to travel a good deal and shall return to the 
 full quiet of home life only at the beginning of Novem- 
 ber. 
 
 For the rest, everything goes its usual pace. Busi- 
 ness is very quiet; money matters in the whole United 
 States are depressed. Railroad bonds and other se- 
 curities are lower than almost ever before, and grain 
 prices are likewise very much depressed. We have had 
 an excellent crop, and the quantity makes up somewhat 
 for the low prices. How far the financial crisis which 
 has recently broken upon us may go is still hard to de- 
 termine. While some assert it has already passed, it 
 has in fact hardly begun. We shall have to take things 
 as they come, with resignation. . . . 
 
 To Henry Meyer 
 
 Watertown, November 25, 1857 
 You were right when in your last letter you con- 
 jectured I should probably be so overwhelmed with 
 other matters as hardly to be able to get at letter writ- 
 ing. The campaign kept me continually on the move. 
 
180 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 particularly since, long before the decisive day, we noted 
 that the financial crisis was claiming the attention of 
 everyone, so that we could easily lose our majority and 
 the election. Since our party is composed chiefly of 
 the most reliable element of the population — namely, 
 the native American farmers, who follow politics with 
 a great deal of conscientiousness but with little zeal, un- 
 less particularly exciting questions happen to be up for 
 decision — we feared lest many, more than usually con- 
 cerned about their business, should fail to go to the 
 polls and leave us in the lurch. The strength of our 
 opponents lies mainly in the populous cities, and con- 
 sists largely of the Irish and the uneducated mass of 
 German immigrants, and in the nature of things is 
 easier to assemble and to handle. The result justified 
 our concern. Only 90,000 votes were cast in the entire 
 state, which has nearly 140,000 voters, and the bulk of 
 the defections are on our side. Although the election 
 took place on November 3, we do not yet have certainty 
 about the outcome because the determining majorities 
 were so small. All reports agree that of all candidates 
 of our party I have the largest vote, and indeed a some- 
 what outstanding one. But, since my opponent was 
 likewise one of the strongest, I hold — notwithstanding 
 my American friends stoutly and firmly maintain that 
 I was elected — that my election will not be certain until 
 the official count is completed and I have in my hands 
 the official letter of appointment. This count begins 
 on December 15, and will perhaps, depending on the 
 manner in which it is conducted, make necessary a de- 
 cision of the supreme court, inasmuch as in such doubt- 
 ful results frauds not infrequently take place. I do 
 not intend to brag until I know the end. The office 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 181 
 
 which would fall to me is that of lieutenant-governor, 
 the deputy of the governor. During the sessions of the 
 law-making body he is president of the senate, the upper 
 house of the legislature, and in case of the illness or 
 absence of the governor he has to conduct the full ad- 
 ministrative power of the state. The position carries 
 with it extensive influence and, for him who knows how 
 to fill it, is the forerunner of many other things. How- 
 ever the final result of the last campaign may turn out, 
 for me it has been the source of an outstanding in- 
 fluence and a considerable reputation which extends 
 beyond the boundaries of Wisconsin and which will in- 
 sure me a respected position in America. 
 
 I send you herewith the stenographic report of a 
 speech I delivered during the candidature, which has 
 made and is still making the rounds of a large portion 
 of the United States. It has gained much attention 
 and was much cited. It will perhaps not be uninterest- 
 ing to you, since it contains a comprehensive account of 
 our political parties. . . . 
 
 Happy New Year to all! With heartiest greetings. 
 
 To Henry Meyer 
 
 Watertown, January 15, 1858 
 I had intended to write you for New Year's Day, 
 but a lot of pressing engagements prevented. My New 
 Year's wish comes late on that account, but it is hearty. 
 I am really glad that the mean calendar year 1857 is 
 finally past. It was full of bad luck of every sort. 
 Just think, in the election I was defeated by forty-eight 
 votes — 45,005 against 45,053 — and that by means of an 
 election fraud which lies practically open to the light 
 
182 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 but could be proved and determined only by some out- 
 lay of money. This I have no desire to spend in these 
 hard times. I therefore content myself this time with 
 the spurs I won in the campaign, in which we as a party 
 were defeated through an irresponsible negligence on 
 the part of the members. 
 
 As to material circumstances, the financial crisis 
 naturally lies heavy upon us. . . . The greatest incon- 
 venience in the present conditions is the frightful scar- 
 city of money. One cannot cash in anything and there- 
 fore loses out on all sides. ... In the East money is 
 again more plentiful and confidence has risen, and I 
 hope we shall soon feel the effect. If things continue 
 as at present the cabinet maker desiring to purchase a 
 leg of mutton from the butcher will soon have to pay 
 with a table and take a chair for change. There have 
 been a considerable number of failures among our mer- 
 chants. Among others, the brothers Werlich of Ham- 
 burg failed, a fact which on account of their excellent 
 reputations causes general regret. . . . 
 
 To Gottfried Kinkel 
 
 Madison, February 15, 1858 
 For months I have been unable to think of paying 
 my epistolary debts to friends. You complain that 
 your business activities in London prevent you from all 
 correspondence having no other object than friendly 
 sociability, and I, in a wholly different sphere of life, 
 must heartily join in that lamentation. . . . 
 
 Since last September, when my political career be- 
 gan to be decided, to take shape, and to make more 
 comprehensive demands upon me, I have been wholly 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 183 
 
 unable to enjoy home life, and as the superscription of 
 this letter will show you I am not writing you now from 
 my delightful home place. 
 
 You have again called me back vividly into the old 
 world, and I must admit that of all your descriptions 
 those concerning your family life and your activity 
 were the most interesting to me. It is not that I have 
 lost interest in and understanding of the political de- 
 velopments in Europe, but because the insight into your 
 own individual life is the most refreshing of all. I can 
 respond in kind. During the past months my wife has 
 on the whole felt pretty well, and though she is some- 
 what ailing at times I still see a steady progress toward 
 improvement. She has worked herself so effectively 
 into our life here and proved herself so splendidly prac- 
 tical therein, that (without boasting) our house is the 
 pleasantest to be seen far and near, and everyone of 
 whatever nationality is at ease with us. My children 
 thrive splendidly. . . . 
 
 Business lately has been beneath contempt. The 
 money famine went so far that people were almost 
 forced to go back to the primitive custom of barter. 
 The greater part of our merchants, naturally, went into 
 bankruptcy. Personally, I have had no serious losses 
 to bemoan. . . . Fortunately, all necessities were so 
 cheap here that almost nothing was required to keep the 
 house going; for the rest, we cut our coat to suit the 
 cloth. . . . 
 
 So much about business; now as to politics. My 
 activity and successes in the Fremont campaign of 1856 
 brought me more recognition than I expected. On 
 September 2 last year the Republican convention nomi- 
 nated me for the office of lieutenant-governor with a 
 
184 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 majority approximating a unanimous vote, since which 
 time I have come more and more into the foreground. 
 Circumstances favored me decidedly. I got around the 
 state widely during the campaign, and with my speeches 
 I had the best success — even more with the English 
 than with the German. . . . 
 
 On the whole, I believe my popularity has risen too 
 rapidly to be enduring. I was a phenomenon to the 
 Americans. A German who, they assert, speaks their 
 language better than they do, and besides has the ad- 
 vantage over their own politicians of possessing a pass- 
 able knowledge of European affairs, must naturally 
 attract their attention. So, I am more popular among 
 the Americans than among the Germans, for among the 
 latter are those who envy me. You know our country- 
 men in America. By the way, so far I have little cause 
 to complain. . . . 
 
 However the imminent events may shape them- 
 selves, it is certain that Buchanan's administration will 
 mark a turning point in American politics and history. 
 It has shown in a decisive manner the logic of events, 
 and simplified the contest. However much the eco- 
 nomic condition of the country claims the attention of 
 statesmen and the people, everything gives way before 
 the overwhelming magnitude of the slavery question, 
 and all efforts to cover it up with other things are fu- 
 tile. We watch developments in Washington with more 
 eagerness than anxiety and are ready to pitch in. Apro- 
 pos, I am "first colonel" on the staff of our militia, and 
 possibly we shall wage a bit of a war, if necessary. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 185 
 
 To Gottfried Kinkel 
 
 Watertown, February 23, 1858 
 I have been home since day before yesterday and 
 see before me a week of quiet. I shall utilize this time 
 for thinking of something besides politics. Your Nim- 
 rod has attracted so much attention as to have been re- 
 viewed in a number of German- American papers. The 
 articles are in part very favorable, in part tame. That 
 the play is not sufficiently radical and incendiary for cer- 
 tain New Yorkers goes without saying, and I am glad of 
 it. To be sure, you have gloriously kept up the praise- 
 worthy modesty of never having sent me your works, 
 but that you do not let your Chief Nimrod come to me 
 is a bit too much. Chief Nimrod I must have, and if 
 you will send it to me you may salve your conscience 
 with the knowledge that, if it does not please me, I will 
 condemn it by letter, regardlessly. 
 
 In order to overcome your last scruple I send you 
 herewith a speech of mine, the only one which during 
 the last campaign was correctly reported. Upon this 
 speech rests a large part of my reputation in this coun- 
 try. So, with becoming modesty I lay it at the feet of 
 my master in the oratorical art. Excerpts from it have 
 made the round of the American press and were well 
 received. I need hardly say that I spoke after careful 
 preparation. An extemporary speaker I shall never be. 
 In debate it goes well enough; but without preparation 
 — that is, relying on the inspiration of the moment — I 
 shall hardly ever be able to make a great and beautiful 
 speech. It would be of the greatest importance to me, 
 but I believe I am lacking in the absolute command of 
 form. In this connection I envy you; study and prac- 
 
186 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 tice may achieve something, but they will not make 
 the master. . . . 
 
 Farewell for today, and try now and then to find 
 a free hour for sending me such a dear letter again. 
 Greet your family heartily for us all, and particularly 
 tell your dear wife how much I thank her for her lovely 
 letter. I should have written her direct had I not known 
 that complete community of ownership exists between 
 you. Do not forget the Chief Nimrod. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 New York, March 12, 1858 
 It goes without saying that I arrived here safely 
 and stood the journey with my usual equanimity; and 
 that I am already yearning for our quiet house in the 
 West is certain. The noise and rush of this city make 
 me melancholy in the long run and I shall be glad to 
 regain my western freedom. 
 
 To Adolf Meyer 
 
 Watertown, October 18, 1858 
 This winter I shall live with Margarethe in Mil- 
 waukee. Sometime ago, in consequence of an invita- 
 tion of the Republican State Central Committee of 
 Illinois, I spoke before a great assembly in Chicago 
 with such success that I was asked by a number of 
 citizens of that place to settle there as a lawyer. They 
 went so far as formally to guarantee me a respectable 
 income, so that I was not disinclined to consider it. 
 When this matter became known, some of the most 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 187 
 
 prominent American merchants, bankers, and property- 
 holders in Milwaukee met for the purpose of making 
 me the same offer for Milwaukee which had been made 
 by Chicago, if I would remain in the state of Wisconsin. 
 I embraced the latter proposition all the more willingly 
 since I already have a pretty wide reputation in this 
 state and because my pecuniary interests are concen- 
 trated here. For the future, our affairs will be so 
 shaped that we shall live in Milwaukee in the winter, 
 and in the summer in Watertown, an arrangement 
 which the railway connections will make convenient for 
 my practice. 39 Inasmuch as I have already such far- 
 reaching connections in the whole United States and 
 have a great number of friends in this state, I believe 
 that I shall be able to make considerable money as a 
 lawyer. Besides, in times of depression like the present 
 the lawyers are the only class that prospers. 
 
 I am sending you herewith a small packet of printed 
 matter, my latest "Works." These have made some- 
 thing of a sensation, and as a result of the address on 
 "Americanism" I was named one of the regents of the 
 State University. Are you, or is Henry, still in pos- 
 session of my manuscript relating to the French Revo- 
 lution? I have no copy of it and I should like the origi- 
 nal manuscript, in order in my leisure time to make a 
 couple of historical essays out of it, for which I could 
 get very good pay. If the manuscript is still there, will 
 you have the goodness to forward it at your first op- 
 portunity? 
 
 39 Schurz's agreement to practice law in partnership with Halbert E. 
 Paine is dated January 1, 1859. 
 
188 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 To Frederick Althaus 
 
 Watertown, November 5, 1858 40 
 
 I recognize and feel how much cause you have to 
 complain of me, but I assure you that for months I have 
 had no quiet day which would have furnished the neces- 
 sary leisure and comfort for writing such a letter as I 
 should like to write you. . . . 
 
 Margarethe is become a very zealous and enthu- 
 siastic politician, reads the newspapers with much regu- 
 larity, and never fails to cut out everything that relates 
 to me. These collections are then sent off to Hamburg 
 in order to give her brothers some notion of her hus- 
 band. . . . 
 
 Do you know that we are strongly thinking of bring- 
 ing you here and of preparing a comfortable berth for 
 you? . . . 
 
 At any rate, deem the matter at least worthy of 
 consideration. Let me know by return mail if and 
 under what conditions I should propose you to the 
 Board of Regents. Your position would be a com- 
 fortable, agreeable, and influential one, and we should 
 be able to undertake and accomplish many things to- 
 gether. Think the matter over and write me soon, at 
 any rate in time for me to know long enough before 
 the meeting of the regents where I am. You ought to 
 weigh the chances that are open to you for the future 
 in London and what kind of career would be open to 
 you here. Also, a thought about your offspring ought 
 not to be left out of consideration. Margarethe is quite 
 enthusiastically in favor of it. If it could be arranged, 
 one of our most cherished wishes would be fulfilled. 
 
 What Charlotte wrote us of your domestic life has 
 
 40 Portions of letter not translated, in Speeches, etc., i, 36-38. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 189 
 
 given us the deepest pleasure. And the blessing which 
 awaits you can only increase your happiness. The joy 
 of having children you have not yet experienced, and 
 you will find that your imagination could not give you 
 an adequate conception of it. Our two have developed 
 in a loveliness that surpasses description. During the 
 summer Margarethe was ill much of the time, so that, 
 although the doctors do not regard her illness as related 
 in any way to climatic conditions, we have thought of a 
 trip to Europe. Her illness is the only shadow upon our 
 domestic happiness. My health is as usual; that is, 
 such that my body seldom reminds me of its existence. 
 Now let me hear from you soon, especially about the 
 matter referred to above. Cordial regards to Charlotte ; 
 also to Herzen and to our other friends. 
 
 To Gottfried Kinkel 
 
 Milwaukee, December 26, 1858 
 We have learned all about it from the newspapers. 41 
 We were sitting in my room with Anneke and his wife 
 when a friend called me out and gave me a sheet which 
 contained the entire report. No blow could have come 
 to us so unexpectedly and none could have brought all 
 other thoughts to such a sudden end. It is not surpris- 
 ing that I received no letter from you. One cannot 
 always write, and what you would have been able to 
 write me I knew already, knowing you. I am sure you 
 do not expect me to force myself to write you words of 
 consolation. I could perhaps do it if I did not under- 
 stand your grief. Besides, that is not the right thing 
 for men who have so often looked fate in the eye and 
 
 41 Johanna Kinkel died in London on November 15, 1858. [A. S.] 
 
190 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 who will have to do so hereafter, who knows how often. 
 Every blow should steel us against new blows and every 
 loss harden us against new losses. We have not lived 
 and fought nearly enough as yet. I see you standing be- 
 fore me as in the flesh, surrounded by your children 
 who have lost not merely their first but also their second 
 home. I see you facing the future with courage. I 
 know you have it, and that the hardest trial cannot 
 break it. This confidence is unshakable in me and 
 therefore I know that no one can console you except 
 yourself. 
 
 Now when you are able, write me, and do so in the 
 consciousness that you can nowhere find a more loyal 
 or sympathetic understanding. The bonds which unite 
 us are too strong and too genuine for you to fail of 
 knowing this. Therefore write and tell me all that you 
 feel you must say to someone. I wish, dear friend, I 
 might have you here now and lead you into the surf 
 of the life in which I am swimming. But perhaps it is 
 better to battle in quiet with a grief which a noisy ac- 
 tivity might outroar but cannot still. 
 
 Write as soon as you can. Let me feel as you feel, 
 and be assured there is no heart which appreciates yours 
 so greatly as mine. 
 
 Margarethe and I send love to your children. Re- 
 mind them of us. 
 
 To His Wife* 2 
 
 Boston, April 19, 1859 
 I have just returned from a dinner with Longfel- 
 low. I am dead tired. Oh, that I might have an hour 
 
 43 See also letters of April 13, 14, 15, 1859, in Speeches, etc., i, 161-163. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 191 
 
 in our cozy room, I lying on the sofa, you beside me in 
 the rocking-chair, the children clambering over me! I 
 am once more surfeited with glory, but cannot keep it 
 at a distance. I receive thirty to forty visitors between 
 ten o'clock a.m. and three o'clock p.m.,, and when later 
 I return home there are a number of additional cards. 
 
 My reception at Fanueil Hail was magnificent. 43 
 There were between fifteen hundred and two thousand 
 people, the galleries occupied by ladies. I spoke like a 
 god, and today I cannot get away from the praises of 
 my speech. It is in all the papers; you will perhaps 
 have seen it already. If not, let me simply say I am 
 satisfied with it. . . . 
 
 I cannot write more, but will tell you all when I 
 am with you again. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 New York, April 21, 1859 
 I have been in New York two hours. Last night I 
 spoke in Worcester with great success. I hesitated long 
 whether to go home direct but at last concluded, being 
 once more in Boston, to finish my business here. 
 
 My success in Massachusetts was decidedly brilliant. 
 My way hither is opened. I have already made prelimi- 
 nary agreements respecting the proposed lectures and 
 received the most cheerful assurances on all sides. 
 George Sumner, brother of the celebrated Charles, 
 Longfellow, and others will see that I have plenty of 
 engagements. My speech was read with admiration 
 everywhere and has won for me the whole intelligent 
 
 "Where he gave the address on "True Americanism." See Speeches, 
 etc., i, 48-72. 
 
192 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 world. I was hardly able to accept one-half of the in- 
 vitations with which I was overwhelmed. I was the 
 "lion," and was glad to get away. This "lionizing" is 
 a very strenuous business, which I am hardly up to. . . . 
 What a jaded, crazy letter I am writing! But such 
 is my mood. My head is stupid and my whole being ex- 
 hausted. The time in Boston was excessively strenu- 
 ous, and I shall be happy when you can nurse me again. 
 Do you know what it means to be intellectual from 
 morning till night and be obliged to say brilliant things ? 
 That was my problem ; I believe I solved it. I was sen- 
 tentious as an oracle. But now I should like a few days' 
 rest and the privilege of being stupid. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Paul, Minnesota, September 20, 1859 
 After a long, long journey I reached here yesterday 
 morning about ten o'clock. The train on which I left 
 La Crosse Junction was one of the slow kind. It was 
 half past nine at night when we reached La Crosse. 
 The steamer left at eleven, and when I awoke in the 
 morning I found that on account of the heavy fog we 
 had been forced to lay by in the night about four hours. 
 We had not made twenty-five miles by seven o'clock in 
 the morning. From then on the voyage proceeded 
 cheerily through the wonderfully beautiful Mississippi 
 Valley. But we had so much trouble avoiding sandbars, 
 which on account of the low stage of the water appear 
 everywhere, that we were hardly able to make eight 
 miles per hour. At noon we actually stuck fast on a 
 sandbar and got afloat again only after four hours' 
 work. At five o'clock in the afternoon we reached Lake 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 193 
 
 Pepin with its wildly romantic shores. We should have 
 been there in the morning. Evening brought us a heavy- 
 storm. The rain came down in torrents, and flash after 
 flash of lightning illumined our way among the wild, 
 savage, lonesome islands of the river. We expected to 
 be in St. Paul by eleven o'clock at night, so I went to 
 bed with my clothes on. At four o'clock in the morning 
 I awoke to find that we had again run upon a sandbar 
 about four miles from St. Paul, within sight of the 
 city. So we paced the deck restlessly until at last, after 
 nine o'clock, we got free, and entered St. Paul after ten. 
 The entire journey from La Crosse hither took about 
 thirty-five hours. 
 
 At the landing I was received by the committee. 
 Great preparations had been made for my reception on 
 the twelfth — a torchlight procession, music, speeches of 
 welcome, etc. The excitement is said to have been tre- 
 mendous. Of course all of these arrangements were in 
 vain. The whole business is to be repeated, however, 
 when I speak here in St. Paul, which, if I go to the state 
 fair, will be the case later on. The preparations that 
 are being made for that occasion are being kept very 
 quiet. I am going up the Minnesota River today to 
 fill the appointments which remain on the old schedule. 
 
 One of the first men I saw on the street here after 
 my arrival was Rothe, 44 in the company of Judge Lar- 
 rabee. He [Rothe] had announced a meeting for last 
 evening and had allowed himself to be advertised as 
 4 'one of the most distinguished German orators." The 
 meeting, however, did not take place, for what reasons 
 1 do not know. I saw him here in the hotel in gloomy 
 
 44 Emil Rothe, referred to on p. 146. He was now a strong political 
 opponent. 
 
194 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 lonesomeness, sitting in the ladies' parlor with Mrs. 
 Larrabee. Whether or not he will get to speak I do not 
 know ; certainly the Germans here will give him a warm 
 reception if he should take it into his head to discuss me. 
 Probably he will leave again without accomplishing 
 anything. . . . 
 
 One more word about politics : while my non-nomi- 
 nation is universally regretted here, the matter has in 
 no wise injured me in public opinion. 45 On the con- 
 trary, the enthusiasm with which I was received ex- 
 ceeded my expectation. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Shaska, Minnesota, September 21, 1859 
 Today I am writing from a little tavern in a small 
 country place in the wilderness. What wilderness is 
 and what primitive places are and what wilderness roads 
 are we no longer know in Wisconsin. In St. Paul I was 
 furnished a wagon and two horses with which to make 
 the tour this week. Day before yesterday noon I got 
 under way. My road led past Fort Snelling, which 
 like the old castles on the Rhine stands on a high cliff 
 on the Mississippi, at the point where it receives the 
 Minnesota River. The view is magical. On the left 
 the Mississippi, about as wide as the Rhine at Bonn, 
 confined by high, steep, occasionally wooded cliff walls ; 
 on the right the Minnesota, with its hilly, gently de- 
 scending banks, not unlike the most beautiful parts of 
 the Rhine valley. Fort Snelling itself could pass for 
 an ancient knightly castle with its round towers and 
 
 45 Schurz expected the Republican nomination for governor of Wiscon- 
 sin in 1859, but it went to Alexander W. Randall. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 195 
 
 bastions. The whole view awakened in me recollections 
 of the fatherland. From there it is but one mile to 
 Minnehaha Falls. The way led first across a flat prairie, 
 bounded in the distance by a girdle of woods. This 
 prairie formed the plateau on the hills which rise from 
 the stream-bed. So you drive out on the prairie, on 
 which the last thing you expect to find is a waterfall. 
 Suddenly you encounter a bush-grown ravine. You 
 hear the rushing of waters without seeing anything; 
 you climb up and stand suddenly in view of one of the 
 most entrancing natural spectacles. A small streamlet, 
 no wider than our house with the veranda, falls from the 
 height into the rocky gorge. The water falls from a 
 bold overhanging rock roof, in the form of a wonderful 
 curve into the green gorge. You go behind the fall, 
 which is nearly sixty feet high, and stand as in a cave 
 closed by a curtain of falling water. Through this 
 curtain the lively sunlight plays and you find yourself 
 wrapped in the rainbow colors of the rising mist. You 
 too must see it as soon as an opportunity for another 
 western trip offers. It is just too beautiful. 
 
 I was able to spend only half an hour at Minnehaha 
 Falls ; then over the lifeless prairie to Shakopee, where 
 I was to make my first speech. It was here that, not 
 more than a year and a half ago, the Sioux and Chip- 
 pewa fought a bloody battle which ended with the death 
 and scalping of many, the butchering and roasting of 
 the Chippewa head men — a remarkable spectacle for 
 the whites, who had already been settled here for several 
 years. 
 
 The people had given up hope of my coming, and 
 my arrival aroused joyful surprise. Instantly a group 
 of farm wagons was set in motion, and the only musical 
 
196 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 instruments in the village, two small drums and one big 
 one, announced the coming meeting. In the evening, 
 accordingly, I found a densely crowded hall, Germans 
 and Americans. I spoke both German and English, 
 with the best results, and among the German country- 
 men there was no end of handshaking and of assurances 
 that now they would vote Republican. The Americans 
 were exceedingly enthusiastic. As they said, they had 
 never heard that kind of speaking, and I can assure you 
 that in Shakopee my reputation is made and firmly es- 
 tablished. 
 
 Yesterday morning the journey was resumed. We 
 drove through the lowlands along the Minnesota River, 
 through grass that was six to eight feet high, and crossed 
 the stream in a very primitive ferry boat. We went to 
 Waconia, twenty miles from Shakopee. Arrived there 
 about two o'clock, I found to my great astonishment 
 that the town of Waconia consisted of a tavern, a 
 steam-mill, and two frame houses in process of con- 
 struction. Moreover, we learned to our profound re- 
 gret that a report had come from St. Paul stating that 
 I had not yet arrived and so the meeting had been 
 called off. We therefore decided to eat dinner and go 
 on to the next appointment. In conversation with the 
 landlord and his father, in whom I found countrymen, 
 we fell to talking of the price of land and the like. The 
 landlord mentioned that his brother-in-law S check had 
 bought eighty acres quite near by, and so I suddenly 
 found before me the relatives, brother-in-law and father- 
 in-law, of our ever memorable doctor. 46 That they are 
 somewhat dissatisfied with their fate I can readily un- 
 derstand. They live in the densest woods, reached only 
 
 48 Possibly Dr. Tiedemann of Philadelphia is referred to here. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 197 
 
 by the worst possible roads, in winter almost wholly 
 cut off from all communication with the world. 
 
 The wife, in the rough, unfinished log house, had 
 prepared us a very acceptable dinner, and so about three 
 o'clock, without having accomplished anything and yet 
 in cheerful mood, we drove off to our destination ten 
 miles away. The weather was glorious, the woods 
 wondrously beautiful — but the roads! Newly-made 
 corduroy bridges of the most primitive type alternated 
 with bottomless mud-holes, and you fairly hold your 
 breath when you strike a piece of road on which the 
 stumps stand so thickly that you resignedly give up 
 trying to avoid them. 
 
 About six o'clock in the evening we were here in 
 Shaska, a new place of three hundred inhabitants. 
 Well, this is a real place in which to live: a German 
 tavern, beer, clean bed-sheets, good food, etc. About 
 two o'clock this afternoon I shall speak to the as- 
 sembled people; and my thunders will reecho through 
 the forests of Minnesota, and the Indians will lift up 
 their astounded heads to hear. All for the good cause ! 
 Oh, what will human beings not do and suffer for the 
 good, good cause! It is nine o'clock in the morning; 
 tonight I shall write more. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Shakopee, September 22, 1859, 6 a.m. 
 This is a great country. At four o'clock yesterday 
 I was through with my meeting at Shaska and set out, 
 by way of Shakopee, where I spoke two days ago, to 
 go to Lexington, where I was to meet Grow of Penn- 
 sylvania. One mile from Shakopee my companion 
 
198 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 asked me to stop at a brewery on the way, which we ac- 
 cordingly did. Suddenly we heard the "band" of Sha- 
 kopee, made up of the familiar drums, and behold! the 
 people of Shakopee were coming in nine wagons, with 
 flying banners, to give me a festive entrance to the 
 place. My recent speech had delighted them so that 
 they absolutely would have more. Thunder of a can- 
 non, a bonfire, a hall packed to bursting with people, all 
 the beautiful ladies of Shakopee sitting on the front 
 benches. The excitement was tremendous. I spoke as 
 never before, and all, male and female, were highly in- 
 spired. Today for Lexington. There goes the whistle 
 of the steamer which should take this letter. Adieu, 
 adieu. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Paul, September 27, 1859 
 This is what I call a campaign! This is what I call 
 life and travel in the West ! You received my last letter 
 from Shakopee. I wrote it shortly before our depar- 
 ture for Lexington. We got under way about eight 
 o'clock. At first the way led over the rolling prairie, a 
 healthful drive in the fresh morning air. At last the 
 road shifted into the woods, and we still had sixteen 
 miles to our destination. I spoke in my last letter about 
 the forest roads of Minnesota, but what we found be- 
 tween Belle-Plaine and Lexington surpasses the boldest 
 creations of fancy. Such corduroy bridges, such mud- 
 holes, such impenetrable thickets of stumps I have 
 never seen. We had to get down from the wagon al- 
 most a dozen times in order to pull the wheels, and oc- 
 casionally the horses, out of the mud. We made at 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 199 
 
 times not more than two miles per hour. The time 
 passed between laughing and cursing. Finally about 
 three in the afternoon we reached Lexington, a town 
 consisting of a tavern, a schoolhouse, and a store. Had 
 we not found en route an American farmer who served 
 us as guide, and loped steadily before our wagon at a 
 jog trot, we should never have found the place. 
 
 In Lexington I found Congressman Grow of Penn- 
 sylvania, with whom we enjoyed a festive dinner, con- 
 sisting of bacon, potatoes, beets, and an indescribable 
 pie of equally indescribable taste. After eating we 
 spoke in the schoolhouse to the gathering composed of 
 men, women, and babies, the latter more than half the 
 time at their mothers' breasts. 
 
 After we had exercised our oratorical proclivities 
 sufficiently, and the assembly had been dismissed, we 
 considered how we might contrive to obtain for break- 
 fast in the morning something besides bacon. Grow, 
 who is a capital fellow, hit upon the idea that we should 
 essay the noble art of fishing. So, we secured tackle, 
 procured a rowboat, and floated out at dusk upon the 
 near-by lake. In less than an hour we had a whole 
 pailful of fish, and looked forward proudly to our forth- 
 coming breakfast. We slept in the loft, seven men in 
 one room, made our morning toilet in the kitchen, dried 
 ourselves with our pocket handkerchiefs (since the 
 towels were scarce and the ones there had been previ- 
 ously used), ate our fish with extreme self-satisfac- 
 tion, 47 and after separating from Grow took the road to 
 Mankato, a town thirty-six miles from Lexington. My 
 companions were Scheffer, nominee for state treasurer, 
 a splendid young German, and Wilkinson, a very 
 
 "Compare statement in Reminiscences, ii, 151-152. 
 
200 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 pleasant American who will probably go to the United 
 States Senate. 
 
 I was astonished to find how well I was already 
 known. Everyone who met us, even in the densest 
 wilderness, exulted the moment he heard my name, and 
 there was no end of handshaking. Arrived in Mankato 
 I found a good hotel and excellent accommodations. 
 The house where the meeting was held was full to burst- 
 ing. The people came from a circuit of twelve to fif- 
 teen miles, with banners and drums, in order to hear 
 "that tremendous Dutchman." Everything went off 
 well — with three cheers, again three cheers, and once 
 again three cheers! After a good sleep we found our- 
 selves next morning on our way to Henderson, my next 
 appointment. In the midst of the open, lonesome 
 prairie we met a wagon with two gentlemen in it. In- 
 stinctively we stopped one another and after exchang- 
 ing the usual greetings the Honorable Frank Blair of 
 Missouri and the Honorable Carl Schurz of Wisconsin 
 recognized each other. A great introduction scene, con- 
 cluded in festive spirit by a drink from the brandy bottle 
 of the Honorable Frank Blair! After a pleasant little 
 visit we separated and drove off in opposite directions. 
 
 In Henderson, a place of one thousand to fifteen 
 hundred inhabitants, deep in the forest, we held our 
 meeting during a terrific storm which sent down its 
 lightning flashes right and left beside us. But the 
 people were enthusiastic, and even the ladies would not 
 be kept away by the down-pouring rain. The thunder 
 of heaven punctuated my periods. I received there 
 letters from the state central committee, who requested 
 my presence in Stillwater and St. Anthony Monday 
 and Tuesday. Accordingly, we left Henderson Sun- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 201 
 
 day morning to reach if possible the same day the sixty- 
 miles-distant St. Paul. But it was not possible. Our 
 fagged-out horses needed rest so badly that we had to 
 stop at a country tavern seventeen miles from St. Paul. 
 Yesterday afternoon at one o'clock we were as far as 
 Stillwater. I spoke in a big warehouse to a numerous 
 gathering. Last night — serenades with torches, etc. 
 This morning at five o'clock we left Stillwater, and I 
 am now writing you in the brief interval between my ar- 
 rival here and my departure for St. Anthony, where 
 there is to be a colossal mass meeting today. The news- 
 papers announce that the populations of five or six 
 townships are to meet me halfway and arrange for me 
 a triumphal entry into St. Anthony, with music, thunder 
 of cannon, etc. . . . From St. Anthony I shall go to 
 St. Cloud, and next Saturday I shall be back here again, 
 where a great torchlight procession and a demonstra- 
 tion as magnificent as possible are to be arranged for me. 
 The Germans here are very enthusiastic. . . . 
 
 Adieu for today. The music corps is here, and the 
 carriage waits before the door. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Paul, Minnesota, October 3, 1859 
 "Still in St. Paul?" you will ask. Yes, still here— 
 and I shall stay the entire week in Minnesota. Day be- 
 fore yesterday I was escorted to the German theatre 
 by a great torchlight procession, and yesterday morn- 
 ing I was already on the steamboat when a deputation 
 of Americans and Germans brought me back, almost 
 forcibly, so that I might speak in several other places 
 where I was vociferously called for. So, I had to stay. 
 
202 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 We have had glorious times. Last Tuesday I was 
 escorted to the meeting in St. Anthony by a procession 
 of wagons and mounted men which was a mile long. 
 In our meeting were between four and five thousand 
 persons, while the Democratic meeting, held at the same 
 time — and addressed by Rothe and Larrabee — counted 
 hardly four hundred. In the evening the discussion be- 
 tween Rothe and me actually occurred. I believe I 
 wrote you in my previous letter how the matter came 
 about. As I appeared in St. Anthony wholly contrary 
 to Rothe's expectations, we had various letters to ex- 
 change before Rothe was prepared to stand for a dis- 
 cussion. Finally his Democratic friends declared that 
 they would not permit him to speak any more if he de- 
 clined to accept my challenge. So he did it, and you 
 will see the result from the accompanying clipping from 
 the Minnesotan. 
 
 The affair of last Saturday was brilliant, but there 
 has not yet been an issue of a newspaper with a de- 
 scription of it. Next Monday I shall make my conclud- 
 ing speech in the vicinity of La Crosse, and then by the 
 very earliest train I shall go home. I am positively 
 homesick, and I left the boat yesterday with a bleeding 
 heart. . . . Kiss the children and greet my parents. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Milwaukee,, November 5, 1859 
 You must have been sad when I failed to come last 
 night. But what will you say if I do not come today? 
 I reached here last night about twelve, in a "propeller" 
 from Sheboygan. I found everybody here eager to 
 see me. Things are so confused here that, as they tell 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 203 
 
 me, I alone shall be able to help. In the expectation of 
 my arrival, they arranged for a meeting tonight and are 
 disposed to compel me to stay. I shall work at my 
 Schiller speech tomorrow, and should I not complete 
 it I must get sick on the day set for it. But I hope to 
 have everything ready at the appointed hour. . . . 
 
 Now for my experiences : Monday night I spoke in 
 Fond du Lac, with the happiest results. During the 
 night I went to Plymouth, twenty-eight miles, and next 
 morning to Sheboygan, where I met Harvey again, and 
 from there to Manitowoc. There I was received with 
 music and cannon, and found Hobart, 48 who could be 
 induced only with great difficulty to take up the de- 
 bate with me. . . . Then to Sheboygan, where before a 
 very large assembly I had the second debate with Ho- 
 bart. A greater triumph I almost never experienced. In 
 my hour-and-a-half speech, made in the best humor, I 
 left of him absolutely nothing, and the Democrats them- 
 selves testified that I treated their candidate quite too 
 roughly. A clergyman declared he had heard many 
 discussions, but he had never seen a man so flayed, 
 roasted, and carved up. The cheering was loud. 
 
 The following morning at ten I spoke to a German 
 gathering in Sheboygan and then took a special train 
 to Plymouth, where I spoke at two. In the evening I 
 returned to Sheboygan in order to take the steamer to 
 Milwaukee. But the steamer was delayed, and I had 
 to wait till yesterday afternoon for an opportunity. 
 That was the cause of my delay. Now I am here, and 
 the thought that I cannot get away oppresses me with 
 Alpine weight. But, having done so much, I must still 
 make this sacrifice. Nothing else will do. Do write me 
 
 48 Harrison C. Hobart, Democratic candidate for governor. 
 
204 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 so that I may have your letter Monday noon. I can 
 hardly wait as it is. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Nashua, New Hampshike, January 7, 1860 
 I have just reached here on my return from Con- 
 cord. Tuesday evening I gave my lecture in Spring- 
 field; Wednesday evening I made the speech about 
 Douglas which will probably appear tomorrow in the 
 Springfield Republican. Last night I lectured in Con- 
 cord and this evening will do the same in Nashua. To- 
 morrow morning I return to Boston. I had a cold 
 and was hoarse on leaving New York, but at this mo- 
 ment I am once more as well as usual. I have con- 
 sidered the matter and deem it best to return home at 
 the beginning of February, and place my Indiana and 
 Illinois lectures all at the beginning of March. 
 
 ... It is cold here in New Hampshire; the cold 
 has indeed been greater than we had it in Wisconsin 
 in the winter of 1856-1857. The snow lies two to three 
 feet deep and sleighing is splendid. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Boston, January 12, 1860 
 . . . Next Sunday I shall speak in Music Hall. By 
 dint of hard, persistent labor I have completed my 
 address on "America in Public Opinion Abroad," and 
 I believe it is going to please. I have labored unceas- 
 ingly and am somewhat tired. Last night I lectured 
 in Roxbury. The committee insisted on hearing again 
 the lecture on France. This evening I shall be in Bos- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 205 
 
 ton. I have a letter from Albany which makes it pos- 
 sible that I shall lecture there at the beginning of next 
 week, but the matter is still uncertain. I have nothing 
 thus far from New York, Hartford, and New Haven. 
 Not to have them would be a nasty loss. . . . 
 
 It is therefore uncertain when I shall come to New 
 York. . . . 
 
 My Douglas speech appeared in the Springfield 
 Republican today. 49 I am sending you a copy. I trust 
 other papers will copy it. 
 
 Next Saturday I am to take dinner at the Parker 
 House, probably with a small, select company. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Milwaukee, February 23, 1860 
 ... I must tell you also how things stand politi- 
 cally. The Assembly at Madison has in it a majority of 
 greenhorns who do not know how to do anything, but 
 require a great deal of time to do it. They have al- 
 ready sat for six weeks and so far have accomplished 
 nothing at all. At last a couple of young talents have 
 come forward among them, and I hope the rest of the 
 session, which will probably be drawn out to April 1 
 (at least so it seems to me) will be somewhat more 
 fruitful. People are generally very well satisfied with 
 Harvey and Howe, but Randall's popularity has de- 
 clined greatly. Many of his former adherents now 
 look upon him with distinct mistrust, and I fear there 
 are some things in his administration, particularly in 
 the land surveys, etc., which are not quite as they should 
 
 49 Speech on Douglas and popular sovereignty, delivered at Springfield, 
 Massachusetts, January 4, 1860. In Speeches, etc., i, 79ff. 
 
206 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 be. Besides, he takes a most equivocal attitude on the 
 states' rights question. He is both with us and against 
 us, and on the whole I believe these questions of prin- 
 ciple are to him indifferent. The people notice this, 
 and the dissatisfaction spreads more and more. The 
 question of who shall be chief justice is being sharply 
 discussed, and the opposition to the former judge, A. D. 
 Smith, who received La Crosse bonds, is taking effect. 
 On the one hand he has gained many friends by his serv- 
 ices, and on the other hand those who are opposed to 
 the bonds are also his opponents in a very determined 
 way. I belong to this latter group and shall oppose his 
 nomination to the utmost. "Relentless war on cor- 
 ruption" is my platform, and I shall nail the party to 
 it with iron rivets. The convention will be held on the 
 twenty-ninth. I hear I have been elected delegate in 
 Watertown. According to what I hear, there is no ques- 
 tion about my being sent to Chicago from the "state at 
 large." 
 
 My Douglas speech has naturally been spread 
 around here in uncounted copies, and has had an ex- 
 traordinary effect. Pamphlet editions, I am told, are ap- 
 pearing in various places. Lincoln writes that he has 
 become jealous of me. The greenhorns in the legisla- 
 ture at Madison gaze at me big-eyed. . . . 
 
 When we opened the session of the Board of Re- 
 gents, Barnard had not yet returned from Connecticut. 
 One of his children died and the others are sick. We 
 could accomplish nothing, so after hearing several com- 
 mittee reports we adjourned. The following night Bar- 
 nard arrived, and we are to have another session next 
 week. The prospect of the election of Dr. Fuchs as 
 professor is good. . . . 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 207 
 
 You now know all that I can tell you about politics. 
 One thing more : the Democrats yesterday elected dele- 
 gates to the Charleston convention — Barstow, Jackson 
 Hadley, and the whole clique of corruptionists. "There 
 it is again.". . . 
 
 You ask if, you being absent, the house impressed 
 me as unfriendly and lonesome. My dearest, it is just 
 the one place where I can least do without you. I do 
 not want to be there when you are absent. Last Mon- 
 day, in going to Madison via Watertown, passing 
 through the town after dark and noting behind the 
 scattered gas-lights the location of the house — where you 
 were not — I became downright sad at heart. I have a 
 strong attachment for the house. Looking back upon 
 the year that is past, how many happy days have we 
 enjoyed in the house! What changes of plans and of 
 moods have we not experienced there ! How much love 
 and loyal care have dwelt in that house ! That is what 
 makes the place so dear to me, but it is likewise the 
 reason why I do not want to be there without you. 
 Wherever the future may place us, near or far, high or 
 low, that house will continue to occupy a tender place 
 in our memories ; and when we shall contemplate the old, 
 beautiful days, and our children in the most charming 
 period of their development, the scene will be in the 
 precious old red room and upon the veranda. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 February 27, 1860 
 . . . Tomorrow morning I must go back to Madi- 
 son, where another meeting of the Board of Regents 
 is to take place. Wednesday is the state convention, 
 
208 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 which will select delegates for Chicago. I see by the 
 papers that various assemblies in the state have passed 
 resolutions demanding that I be elected delegate for 
 the state at large. The nomination for chief justice 
 will occur at the same time. I have thought out a 
 speech in opposition to the corruptionists, which if I 
 find it necessary to deliver, will ring in their ears. You 
 will be satisfied with me in that respect. I hear that the 
 A. D. Smith faction is pretty strong. But I shall not 
 depart from the principles which guide me in my politi- 
 cal life, even if I have to fight the whole Republican 
 party. Be assured you shall never be compelled to 
 blush for your husband. I am going to convince the 
 Republicans that my declaration of war on corruption 
 was meant seriously and that, in this fight, no quarter 
 will be given. The Americans are not accustomed to 
 that, but if they want to have the Germans who are 
 under my leadership they will have to become accus- 
 tomed to it. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Indianapolis, March 14, 1860 
 ... I can remove your worries about the Booth 
 matter. 50 Fortunately or unfortunately, the business 
 has come to an unexpectedly sudden end. The appli- 
 cation for a writ of habeas corpus was defeated by a 
 division of opinion in the Supreme Court which, under 
 the circumstances, was perhaps best. A final argu- 
 ment therefore becomes unnecessary. In this manner a 
 direct issue was avoided and the principle is saved, since 
 
 50 Sherman Booth, implicated in the rescue of Glover, a runaway slave. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 209 
 
 the majority of the Supreme Court adhere to their 
 former position. But other complications have entered 
 which will make necessary my early presence in Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 In the convention I secured the nomination, by a 
 great majority, of a man [A. Scott Sloan] for the chief 
 justiceship — almost single-handed, through my personal 
 influence. Now Judge Dixon, with whom the Republi- 
 can party was dissatisfied, has come out as an independ- 
 ent candidate and A. D. Smith threatens to do the same. 
 Doubtful rumors have been spread abroad about the 
 views of the nominee; they are ungrounded, but there 
 they are. There is a danger that through much split- 
 ting up of the vote Dixon may be elected, unless I unite 
 the states' rights factions and hold them together for 
 one candidate. I can do this, without making a public 
 speech, through my mere presence. The election is at 
 hand and the business presses. I have now filled my 
 appointments in Indiana. I found here a letter from 
 Governor Chase, who invited me to Columbus for Satur- 
 day evening, and a dispatch from Cincinnati with an in- 
 vitation for next Monday; at the same time various dis- 
 patches from Milwaukee, urging me to come back as 
 quickly as possible. I have telegraphed to Columbus 
 and Cincinnati and shall perhaps go there. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Milwaukee, March 25, 1860 
 I arrived here at precisely the right time. My Mr. 
 Paine 51 was nominated, and we must see that he is 
 
 51 Halbert E. Paine ; nominated for city attorney. Republicans gained 
 2,000 votes, says the Sentinel under the caption "All Honor to the Ger- 
 mans," who were influenced by Carl Schurz and the Atlas. 
 
210 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 elected. The election occurs on April 2 and the matter 
 is of so much general importance that we must not shun 
 some work. The Republican ticket for the city, in 
 general and in particular, is so unimpeachable and 
 strong that it seems very possible that we shall make 
 Milwaukee Republican this time. That would be the 
 most brilliant result of all this spring's campaigns. Mil- 
 waukee, the citadel of the Democracy, Republican! 
 That would give Douglas the coup de grace! Is that 
 not worth "sweat of the noble"? Will you be angry if 
 I give to this great and good cause some days of my 
 labor ? Where so much depends on me and my manipu- 
 lation, you would not wish me to let the thing fail 
 through negligence, would you? You can appreciate 
 the responsibility that goes with my leadership, a re- 
 sponsibility which, to be sure, is not signed and sealed 
 but is morally not less binding on that account. And 
 would you not be proud if, on the morning of April 3, 
 I should bring you news of a Republican victory in 
 Milwaukee and you could say: "I have a share in this 
 great outcome, too; I bought it with my sacrifice"? 
 That is the way wives, even those in the humblest sphere, 
 can make their contribution toward the victory of great 
 principles — a contribution all the higher and more 
 worthy of respect in that they do not have the stimulat- 
 ing excitement of active fighting. I know you live on 
 too high a plane to forget, in the commonplace desires 
 of life, the responsibilities of your position. Whatever 
 you may think or say in a moment of vexation or dis- 
 satisfaction, I have always recognized in you the un- 
 common, the foundation for greatness, and have ever 
 believed in it. And in this belief I have perhaps exacted 
 of you sacrifices which were hard, but these exactions 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 211 
 
 were directed to an unusual personality, inured to the 
 stormiest labors of life. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 New York, July 1, 1860 
 
 I have just come back from a session of the com- 
 mittee which has lasted the entire day. We worked 
 from morning until evening and have honestly earned 
 our rest. Our main problem is finished, the neces- 
 sary organization has been effected, and only the finan- 
 cial arrangements remain to be looked after. . . . 
 
 Tomorrow I must go to Hartford to see the chan- 
 cellor. 52 His wife wrote me that he was too ill to look 
 me up in New York, but desired greatly to confer with 
 me in Hartford. So I must go tomorrow. Tomorrow 
 night I shall be back here in order to meet the finance 
 committee Thursday morning. Then I go to Philadel- 
 phia to see on Friday the chairman of the Pennsylvania 
 State Central Committee and make arrangements with 
 him for the campaign in that state. Friday night I ex- 
 pect to leave there and possibly go only as far as Pitts- 
 burg. 
 
 From Thieme and several Americans I have the 
 most pressing telegraphic requests to speak en route 
 in Cleveland, where I shall probably arrive Monday 
 noon and address a gathering in the evening. I ex- 
 pect to leave that place in the night. . . . 
 
 The way my ratification speech takes is truly re- 
 markable. The people here are still quite enraptured 
 
 62 Henry Barnard, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin, of which 
 institution Mr. Schurz was a regent. See letter of Mrs. Barnard dated 
 June 29, 1860. MS in Library of Congress. Photostat copy in Library of 
 State Historical Society of Wisconsin. 
 
212 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 over it. Governor Morgan said he had read it aloud 
 at least twenty times, so that his wife makes fun of him. 
 Thurlow Weed and Horace Greeley have both printed 
 it in pamphlet form. . . . 
 
 The question came up in committee as to what would 
 follow upon the election of Lincoln. That I was to go 
 upon a European mission was treated as if it were a 
 matter of course. 
 
 So much about news. Now another matter : Doug- 
 las is here, and yesterday a demonstration was given 
 him which proved very lean. . . . 
 
 It is evening and the day's work is completed ; I am 
 at home for the night, and now the hours come in which 
 I can once more think of you much and undisturbed. 
 The period of rest is wholly devoted to you and the 
 children, and my fancy roams about in the well-trod- 
 den paths. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Philadelphia, July 6, 1860 
 . . . As you see, I have luckily escaped all the 
 dangers which threaten the stranger in the great city of 
 New York, the city where one can so easily lose him- 
 self and where there are so many bad men. Also, I have 
 survived the Fourth of July unshot, unburned, un- 
 stabbed, and unslain, and have arrived happily in the se- 
 cure haven of the doctor's home [Dr. Henry Tiede- 
 mann]. You will doubtless receive me like the sheep 
 that was half lost and was found again. On the Fourth 
 of July I left New York at eight o'clock in the morning, 
 just as the troops were gathering and Governor Morgan 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 213 
 
 was buttoning on his epaulettes in order to appear in 
 the parade with the greatest brilliancy. 
 
 I went to Hartford, one hundred and ten miles, to 
 look up Chancellor Barnard, found him better, as I 
 thought, but still not fit for work, remained three hours 
 with him, and returned in the evening to New York, 
 where I arrived about nine o'clock. New York pre- 
 sented an interesting sight. It seemed as if the chim- 
 neys were hurling rockets and the paving stones ex- 
 ploding with loud detonations. The city was like an 
 erupting volcano in whose crater a battle was being 
 fought. You may well suppose that I got home in the 
 speediest manner and listened patiently to the hellish 
 business from within the safe room, resting on my sofa 
 in Jacobi's parlor. 53 Yesterday morning I left New 
 York and came on here at four o'clock in the after- 
 noon. . . . 
 
 Today I am engaged in arranging my campaign for 
 eastern Pennsylvania, and Curtin has been advised by 
 telegraph to meet me at a point on the Pennsylvania 
 Central Railway in order to make the arrangements for 
 western Pennsylvania. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Quincy, Illinois, July 17, 1860 
 Just arrived. A deputation met me twenty-two 
 miles from here, at the depot — the Governor, a multi- 
 tude of people, music, cannon, etc. I had to make a 
 short speech in reply to a speech of welcome. I am now 
 at last left alone. It is scandalously warm, but still 
 endurable. At the evening meeting the Wide-A wakes 
 
 13 Dr. Abraham Jacobi. 
 
214 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 and accessories. I have already found letters which 
 suggest extra appointments. These will, of course, be 
 promptly refused. Of one thing you can be assured: 
 I shall undertake nothing that I cannot carry out. As 
 soon as I feel that the work is too heavy and is threaten- 
 ing my health I shall instantly stop. Rely upon that. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Peoria., Illinois, July 19, 1860 
 Today I am writing you surrounded by a multitude 
 of people who almost smother me with their friendliness. 
 The affair in Quincy was glorious: torchlight proces- 
 sion, music, serenades, etc. I was almost cheered, 
 drummed and trumpeted to deafness. Yesterday I 
 begged to be left alone and actually did have a quiet 
 morning. But when I got ready to leave in the after- 
 noon, the music and the crowd were again on hand and 
 I was literally drummed and trumpeted out of town. 
 That is terrible. It is warm here but endurable. Today 
 I spoke in the afternoon and shall have the evening to 
 myself. Things look well here. Success seems almost 
 certain. Accordingly it is easy to work. I must close ; 
 the people around me are becoming restless and are 
 bombarding me with questions of all sorts. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Peoria, Illinois, July 20, 1860 
 I am just at the point of leaving. A few hurried 
 words. The demonstration yesterday was magnificent. 
 The Germans are coming over in masses. The jubila- 
 tion is almost oppressive. I am very well, although it 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 215 
 
 is extremely warm. I am utilizing every possible mo- 
 ment for rest and was never in better voice. I believe 
 I am growing stout. Everything would be well if it 
 were not for the serenades which get one out of bed at 
 night. I have determined not to make another serenade 
 speech, and to that decision I shall remain loyal. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Havana, Illinois, July 21, 1860 
 Yesterday I left Peoria so hurriedly that I had no 
 time to post my letter. I went to Pekin and sent it 
 from there. Since then I have spoken three times, twice 
 in Pekin and once here in Havana. At that I am well 
 and cheerful as a fish in water. The weather is warm, 
 but we have a breeze which helps. I am not in the least 
 fatigued. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Beardstgwn [Illinois], July 23, 1860 
 Evening before last I went by train to Bath, slept 
 there, and yesterday came here across country. The 
 dust was frightful but the weather quite cool and 
 pleasant. I arrived here last night and was quartered in 
 the home of a German doctor who has been here for 
 thirty years, and figures as one of the most active mem- 
 bers of the party. I am uncommonly well and com- 
 fortable. Just now the farmers from the regions round 
 about are coming in with music and banners; they are 
 defiling past the house with hurrahs. It is the same 
 old racket. I shall speak at two o'clock, and at five 
 
216 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 drive to Meredosia, sixteen miles from here, to get the 
 Springfield train. Tomorrow I shall be with Lincoln — 
 in "Abraham's bosom." So far my activity has been 
 accompanied with uncommon success. The Germans 
 almost everywhere after my speeches have come over 
 to our side in large numbers. . . . 
 
 I am terribly overrun with callers. I am stealing 
 the minutes for this letter. Adieu for today. I hear 
 music again; the discouraging Bum! Bum! and in a 
 few moments I shall have to be in harness once more. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Belleville, Illinois, July 29, 1860 
 I wanted to write yesterday, but you have no idea 
 of the turmoil in which I live. I have scarcely a minute 
 to myself. With the greatest difficulty I have written 
 two-thirds of my St. Louis speech, and hope that to- 
 morrow, Sunday, I may be able to do the balance. But 
 I shall have to lock myself in. It will be the greatest 
 speech of my life, and I know you will not be angry 
 if my letters are somewhat briefer and my speech on 
 that account somewhat better. So I am using every 
 free moment for work. 
 
 Yesterday I went to see Hecker. He is just the 
 same as ever. . . . 
 
 Today a great demonstration takes place here; the 
 whole town is already bedecked with banners and 
 wreaths. Hecker will be here and will speak along with 
 me. The enthusiasm has everywhere risen to fever heat. 
 My success was at all points brilliant. The Germans 
 are coming over by hundreds and thousands. If it goes 
 everywhere as in Egypt, where in 1856 there were 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 217 
 
 hardly any Republican votes, then Lincoln's election is 
 unavoidable. . . . 
 
 Oh, dear! The cannon are thundering again, the 
 drums rattle, the marshals are galloping past my win- 
 dow. The thirty-four maidens in white are also on 
 hand. Here is the deputation to fetch me. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, July 31, 1860 
 Last night I came on to this place. Tonight I 
 speak German, tomorrow English. Oh, my! I am 
 working like a horse. My speech is not yet finished. I 
 am just laboring over the fireworks in my peroration, 
 but there I stick and perspire. So far as it is completed 
 I believe it to be my masterpiece. If I could only get 
 the right peroration ! I should like to write you a great 
 deal but cannot do it. I sit as if on revolving wheels; 
 the time for delivering the speech draws near, and clos- 
 ing thoughts worthy of the speech fail to come. I know 
 that all of a sudden they will be here. . . . Everything 
 goes wonderfully; the victory will unquestionably be 
 ours. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Terre Haute, August 15, 1860 
 I have been under a severe strain these days, but my 
 successes have been splendid. Day before yesterday I 
 came to Lafayette, where they had made great prepara- 
 tion for my reception, and that without distinction of 
 party. At the station I was handed a bouquet by one 
 of the leaders of the German Democrats which bore this 
 
218 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 card: "To the patriot Carl Schurz from the German 
 Democrats of Lafayette." That was nice, wasn't it? 
 It shows that men are not everywhere bad. Then fol- 
 lowed a series of welcoming speeches, bouquets from the 
 "Ladies of Lafayette," a very crowded meeting, and 
 lastly, a complimentary supper with torchlight proces- 
 sion and serenade. Well, I just escaped with my life, 
 but I dare say I have made a great many Republicans. 
 
 Yesterday I spoke here with equally good success. 
 But I will not tire you with descriptions. Today is a 
 free day which I shall conscientiously devote to rest. 
 As soon as the mail is gone I shall refresh myself by con- 
 tinuing to work on my Douglas speech. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Terre Haute, August 16, 1860 
 My train leaves for Vincennes in half an hour and 
 I have just time to write to you. Yesterday I had a 
 quiet day and enjoyed the rest profoundly. How beau- 
 tifully I slept, how gloriously I dreamed, and I wrote 
 only so much as I cared to write. My Douglas speech 
 is coming along; if I had two free days it would be 
 finished. It is going to be a fine specimen, in which 
 people are going to take pride. Terre Haute is the 
 first place where I have been treated with genuine con- 
 sideration. Last night the Wide-Awakes organized 
 to give me a special torchlight procession and make me 
 speak. I sent word that I would rather be left in quiet, 
 and the people were sensible enough to do it. So yester- 
 day I lived a godly life. I bowled almost an hour with 
 my German brothers. I am quite as good at it as I used 
 to be. You see, I am as cheerful as a fish in water and 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 219 
 
 go at the work again with genuine enthusiasm. We 
 have made tremendous gains here. A considerable 
 number of German Democrats yesterday announced 
 their change of party. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Pittsburg,, Pennsylvania 
 September 10, 1860 
 At last the bad men have left me for a moment and 
 I can tell you my experiences. I would have written 
 yesterday but feared to cause you unnecessary anxiety. 
 You will have received my letter from Detroit. Satur- 
 day morning I thought to go to Cleveland by steamboat 
 and then take the evening train to Pittsburg— which 
 would have been the most agreeable journey for me. 
 We left Detroit about nine o'clock in the morning and 
 after luncheon I lay down to catch up on the sleep I 
 had lost during the night in the hotel, where I was nearly 
 eaten up by mosquitoes. The water was a bit unquiet 
 when I lay down, and the wind was blowing pretty 
 strong. But being a born seaman I went to sleep peace- 
 fully, and on waking up after several hours and going 
 out to see how far it still was to Cleveland I learned to 
 my great astonishment that we had put about and were 
 steering for Detroit again. The captain had found the 
 storm so terrific that he did not dare to proceed farther 
 into the lake. So he prudently turned back. You can 
 imagine how vexed I was. Had we reached Detroit at 
 the right time I believe that, in my vexation, I should 
 have taken the Milwaukee train in order to be there at 
 the Seward meeting and to take you with me. But it 
 was too late. I therefore had to remain on the boat, 
 
220 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 where much out of sorts I went to sleep. Next morning 
 the captain approached very respectfully, hat in hand, 
 and requested a few words with me in private. He said 
 he had just learned who I was, and excused himself 
 copiously for not knowing at once. He then returned 
 my passage money, saying he considered it an honor 
 to have me on board; he would never accept pay for 
 such an honor. "Well!" thought I. He then prepared 
 for me his own cabin — a charming, elegant room, — 
 called the stewards together, and gave orders that what- 
 ever this gentleman might wish must instantly be done. 
 So I was lord on the vessel and enjoyed it pretty well. 
 My anger subsided and I worked the whole day on my 
 speech, which I already have largely by heart. 
 
 But toward evening word was passed around that 
 I was on board and then, pasha-like, I had a reception 
 in my cabin. We set out about seven o'clock, and this 
 morning I awoke, after a splendid night's sleep, in 
 Cleveland. The other passengers had long since left 
 the boat, but the captain had given orders that I was 
 not to be disturbed. A fine breakfast awaited me, a 
 steward was detailed to carry my baggage, and I went 
 to the railway after the captain had once more assured 
 me he would count it the greatest pleasure to entertain 
 me on his boat again. Fame is worth something, isn't 
 it? Fortunately I missed no appointment. At night 
 I spoke here, and my other engagements are along the 
 railway line. So far all is well. 
 
 Douglas will speak in New York on the twelfth, 
 and my thunderbolt will just strike him. That is 
 great. . . . 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 221 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 New York, September 14, 1860 
 Today I write you from the headquarters of the 
 national committee. I would have written yesterday 
 but I was busy with my speech the whole day. In the 
 morning I dictated it to the Tribune stenographer and 
 in the afternoon committed as much of it as was neces- 
 sary. Shall I say that I had some stage fright? I was 
 somewhat nervous all day, wholly absorbed in the 
 thought of the approaching evening, and would not have 
 been able to write to you in that frame of mind. But in 
 the evening when I saw the immense hall filled with 
 thousands — so filled that no one was able to move — and 
 when at my entrance during another speech I was 
 greeted with resounding applause, then was "Richard 
 himself again" and I felt once more the old self-confi- 
 dence. 
 
 I had hardly taken my place when a letter was 
 handed me. It was yours, and I took it as a good omen. 
 At last my part on the program was reached ; I was re- 
 ceived with endless cheering, and during my speech was 
 so frequently interrupted by applause that the hand- 
 clapping consumed nearly as much time as the speak- 
 ing. I have never spoken so brilliantly as last night. 
 The tremendous audience seemed as if electrified, and 
 as I closed there was a veritable charge toward the ros- 
 trum. Thre was no end of handshaking. I believe it 
 was the greatest, most sparkling success I have yet had. 
 I spoke more than two hours and was told that they had 
 never seen a speaker hold so great an audience for so 
 long a time. 
 
222 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Philadelphia, September 17, 1860 
 . . . You will have heard about my brilliant suc- 
 cess in New York, partly through my letter and partly 
 through the newspapers I sent you. Saturday I spoke 
 in Easton [Pa.] to a splendid audience and Sunday 
 morning Gopp drove me to Bethlehem, whence I could 
 take the train to Philadelphia. I had several hours in 
 Bethlehem during which I visited the places where we 
 were so happy together: the Yerkes' house, where an- 
 other now lives — but the little tree in the garden where 
 our little Hans [Agathe] first made out to stand on her 
 tender little legs, is still there. Then I went to the old 
 cemetery where we had dreamed away many hours, and 
 sat down on the old bench by the old graves and thought 
 of the olden time. Then, to the new cemetery, where is 
 the lovely esplanade along the overhanging cliff. Here 
 I used to carry Hans up and down the steep path where 
 I practiced pistol shooting; there on the bench we read 
 Bleak House and Nicholas Nickleby. The period lies 
 behind me like a remote youthful memory. At that time 
 the man in me was dawning, but only in desire and un- 
 certain presentiment. I sat down on one of the familiar 
 benches and read over the proof-sheets of the pamphlet 
 edition of my New York speech. What a change! I 
 may say that in those days I neither thought nor said 
 anything about myself which has not materialized. I 
 have kept the faith which in my inner being I pledged 
 to the world. 
 
 Yet I often yearn to relive those Bethlehem days. 
 Be patient. This strife also will come to an end and we 
 shall have peaceful years, years such as we once had of 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 223 
 
 quiet, innocent pleasure. Why should not the mature, 
 action-strengthened man enjoy these things just as 
 much? I am now in the fullness of my power which, 
 undiminished, unwasted, blossoms and brings forth 
 fruit. The period of action is come. Let me act, and 
 peace will come to us as a reward for the fulfillment of 
 duty. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Chambersburgh [Pennsylvania] 
 September 21, 1860 
 
 ... I have had hard days. Naturally, at every 
 place there is a tempestuous demand that in addition to 
 my German speech I should give an English one — which 
 I of course always decline to do. But I have the same 
 struggle to go through with every day. 
 
 The gathering in Philadelphia was a distinguished 
 one and I spoke in my best vein. The gathering in 
 Reading contained nearly six thousand, and they say 
 that through my speech several hundred votes were 
 gained. The demonstration in Lancaster was magnifi- 
 cent — thirty thousand people — tremendous enthusiasm. 
 Today I go to Carlisle. . . . 
 
 Yesterday I received a telegram from Indiana which 
 begged me, in God's name, to devote to that state every 
 day up to the state election on October 9. . . . 
 
 Now is the crisis of the campaign. The Democrats 
 are putting forth their final efforts in the state elections 
 of Indiana and Pennsylvania, and it is necessary that 
 we put forth all our power. The situation is good. The 
 victory is sure if everyone does his duty. . . . 
 
224 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Philadelphia, September 24, 1860 
 ... I have appointments in Indiana for the twenty- 
 eighth and twenty-ninth. We have come to the crisis of 
 the campaign. I have scored triumph after triumph 
 and achieved almost superhuman results. Yet a few 
 days' labor, a brief effort in Pennsylvania and Indiana, 
 then a successful state election on October 9 in both of 
 these states — and the battle will be decided. Being so 
 near the goal it would be sinful for me to spare any ef- 
 fort. I am standing in the very thick of the fight. The 
 blows I delivered in several places were glorious. Every 
 day I speak more effectively and my power grows with 
 the heat of the struggle. The old Pennsylvania Dutch, 
 who only half understand me, run after me like chil- 
 dren. The Democrats are beside themselves, and wher- 
 ever I have spoken they telegraph like mad in all direc- 
 tions for German speakers to neutralize my efforts. 
 But it is all in vain. The Democratic newspapers have 
 berated me wildly, with the result that even German 
 Democrats become angry and everybody is eager to 
 hear me. So all my meetings are crowded and I drive 
 everything before me. I have become as much the 
 subject of newspaper discussion as if I were myself a 
 presidential candidate. My printed speeches are being 
 distributed all over the country by hundreds of thou- 
 sands and are being called for more and more. I feel 
 better than ever in this turmoil. It seems as if victory 
 could not fail us and, by Jove, I have done my share 
 towards it. . . . You have been anxious about my suc- 
 cess in New York; you might have imagined that the 
 rapturous inspiration of the moment would have carried 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 225 
 
 me through. On October 18 I shall speak to the Ger- 
 mans there and will work out a speech for the occasion. 
 On this I am going to do my best and exceed everything 
 I have so far done in German. You distress yourself 
 over the insults of the Weltbilrger.^ Let the little curs 
 bark. Were you here you would feel that they are quite 
 too far beneath me. Now adieu for today. I am sorry 
 that you are not here, sorrier still that our reunion has 
 to be delayed. But this is the last fight; I almost feel 
 as if I could say: "This is my fight; when it is finished 
 there will be rest.". . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Indianapolis, October 2, 1860 
 ... I am so tired of this work, with all its noise and 
 show, that I should like to throw up everything and go 
 home. But when I reflect that on the decisive day we 
 might fail by just a few votes, and that with a little 
 more effort I might have added what was necessary; 
 that in the end I should have to confront myself with the 
 dire question: Why did you not do this thing more 
 since you might have done it? — how terrible that would 
 be not to me alone but also to you ! Is it not true ? And 
 when I consider the efforts I am making I find that they 
 tire me very much less than others. I am often very 
 tired, but a night's sleep brings me out again as bright 
 as a lark. Everybody else around me was exhausted — 
 Curtin, Corwin, Blair, etc. Their voices sounded like 
 cracked kettles, and mine still showed the old metal 
 unchanged. My lungs feel sound and light as ever. 
 Indeed, they seem to have acquired new power. INTor 
 
 54 A Democratic German newspaper in Watertown. 
 
226 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 does my throat suffer. I was hoarse only once. That 
 was in Reading after I had spoken to a gathering of 
 old Pennsylvania farmers. It was a mass meeting of 
 from five to six thousand. But it [the hoarseness] left 
 me the following day and since then I have felt no in- 
 convenience. . . . You see there is no call for anxiety 
 about me. My triumph in New York was colossal, was 
 it not? The rejoicing over it is tremendous; the speech 
 is spreading all over the country like a prairie fire. 
 
 A few days ago the New York Tribune printed 
 some correspondence about a conversation someone 
 had with Lincoln. The talk touched upon the party 
 campaigners and their achievements. And Lincoln, so 
 it was said, "named Carl Schurz as foremost of all." 
 You see now that Old Abe remembers me. The article 
 in the Freie Presse, of which you write, is by one of 
 my most enthusiastic admirers, Dr. Hering, as the 
 opening indicates. . . . 
 
 My dearest, a few days more and I shall be with 
 you, strong and well as ever and with a light heart ; for 
 I shall bring with me the consciousness of having done 
 my full duty. Whatever may happen, that will remain 
 — and it is worth while. My last appointment here is 
 next Monday, and on Tuesday evening I shall be with 
 you. Just a little more patience, a little more cheer, 
 and then "Hail to thee in victor's crown!" 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Lawrenceburg, Indiana, October 4, 1860 
 With each day which brings my departure nearer 
 my heart grows lighter, and I count the hours with 
 conscientious care. Last night I spoke here to a great 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 227 
 
 gathering ; tomorrow night I shall speak four miles from 
 here. ... In any event I shall be with you Tuesday 
 evening. Hallelujah! Thereafter we shall travel to- 
 gether. . . . 
 
 Oh, how glad I am that this business will soon be 
 over, and how I shall leap like a hart if the work bring 
 its blessing! Yesterday I wrote to Rublee about my 
 appointments in Wisconsin. You write that people are 
 angry because I have as yet done nothing in my own 
 state. They have no right to be angry. Our first care 
 must be to win for Lincoln the doubtful states. That 
 accomplished, we can, if we must, lose a Congressman. 
 ... I must be used where I can expect to make many 
 votes, which means at points where I can assemble the 
 largest number of Germans. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Milwaukee, October 25, 1860 
 I am writing you in great haste. The train is about 
 to leave for Oshkosh. I, of course, arrived here in good 
 condition. My reception was the grandest affair that 
 has ever taken place in the state. I was lodged in one 
 of the finest parlors of the Newhall House, spoke in the 
 afternoon, and in the evening at eight the torchlight 
 procession marched by me at the Newhall House, which 
 was illuminated from top to bottom. There were about 
 three thousand, the Milwaukee Wide-A wakes at the 
 head with a new banner which had upon one side, painted 
 in oil, my picture and on the other side a sentence out 
 of my ratification speech. Then came the citizens of all 
 classes — Mitchell, Crocker, Tweedy, and all the first 
 people of the city, carrying torches and marching in the 
 
228 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 procession. My picture and selected sentences from my 
 speeches frequently appeared on transparencies. In 
 marching by the Newhall House the whole tremendous 
 column, which was more than a mile and a half long, 
 fired off rockets and shouted hurrahs. The affair ended 
 at half past eleven. It was the greatest demonstration 
 Milwaukee had ever seen and far surpassed the Douglas 
 procession. 
 
 So much about glory. . . . The Wide- A wakes have 
 suddenly organized in Watertown also. Uncle is one 
 of them. [Illegible]. . . They are one hundred and 
 eighty strong, among them over forty Germans. They 
 propose to give me a brilliant reception on Wednesday 
 of next week. Day is suddenly breaking in Water- 
 town. Douglas made Republican votes here every- 
 where. The prospects everywhere are splendid. 
 
 How did you get to Philadelphia? Write me fully 
 about everything. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Milwaukee, October 29, 1860 
 . . . The work I have to do here is sheer sport in 
 comparison with that in Pennsylvania and Indiana. 
 They are making it as convenient for me as possible, 
 and I have cancelled all appointments which are in- 
 convenient. . . . 
 
 In Watertown, where the Wide- A wakes now num- 
 ber nearly two hundred, they have invited all Wide- 
 Awake companies for the purpose of giving me a great 
 reception. At the first Wide-Awake demonstration 
 there they had a fight. The Wide- A wakes were at- 
 tacked near Rieber's Saloon by the Rothe band, where- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 229 
 
 upon they formed for a regular attack, raided the sa- 
 loon, and caught Rothe, who begged for his life, was 
 then pardoned and dismissed. Various others received 
 serious blows. By this incident the Wide- Awakes have 
 won great respect, and since then nothing more has been 
 heard about any kind of disturbance. But it is said that 
 even the Democrats — that is, the decent ones — were so 
 angered by the conduct of their fellows that many of 
 them have come over to the Republican party. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 November 3, 1860 
 Will you believe that, since last Monday, I have 
 literally not been able to find a minute for writing a 
 line to you? It really is true. Monday I drove to Port 
 Washington, where I spoke in the evening. . . . Tues- 
 day I spoke in Milwaukee County in the afternoon and 
 in Watertown at night. Rain fell in torrents and the 
 mud was knee-deep, but the entire depot was filled with 
 Wide- A wakes and the spectacle was tremendous. Coles 
 Hall was jammed full, and the whole town appeared as 
 though transformed. It looked as if the Republicans 
 were in the ascendant. A couple of days before I spoke, 
 Senator Gill, Democratic state senator and president 
 of the Douglas clubs, who only two weeks ago intro- 
 duced Douglas to the audience in Watertown as the 
 "greatest living statesman," came out for Lincoln and 
 went over to the Republican party. He spoke at my 
 meeting amid great cheering. . . . 
 
 Yesterday morning I returned from Watertown and 
 spoke here in the county. The carriage now stands be- 
 fore the door to take me on a new expedition. Thus 
 
230 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 has every minute of my time been claimed and I hardly 
 know what I am about. The speaking is the least of it. 
 It is as if, in the hour preceding the battle, the general 
 staff rides along the front directing a few encouraging 
 words to the troops. The chief thing is the driving. It 
 demands more time than strength. I am perfectly well 
 and strong. . . . 
 
 Two more working days and the contest will be 
 over. Hosanna! I shall then be able to think once 
 more; be able to reflect that I do not belong solely to 
 the great cause. I shall instantly set my lecture en- 
 gagements in order and, as soon as possible, hurry to 
 you. . . . Pardon this foolish letter, I write in extreme 
 haste. Potter stands beside me, whip in hand — not for 
 me, but for our carriage horses. The trumpet sounds; 
 again to the field of battle. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Milwaukee., November 7, 1860 
 The election is over, the battle is fought, the victory 
 is won. I remained in the city in order to work at the 
 polls to the last minute. The day preceding the election 
 I spoke in various places and did my best. The cam- 
 paign was lively. Both sides took every precaution. 
 When the voting was concluded we gathered in the 
 Chamber of Commerce at Spring Street bridge to re- 
 ceive the telegraphic reports. The hall was crowded. 
 As the dispatches arrived the excitement mounted; and 
 when Lincoln's majority appeared ever to be growing, 
 the cheering was tremendous. Finally came New York, 
 the actual battle ground of the campaign. Early dis- 
 patches spoke of a majority of 40,000 in the city against 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 231 
 
 us. The stillness of dread among the Republicans ! Then 
 the telegrams came, stroke after stroke, and the formid- 
 able count melted away, first to 35,000, then 28,000, 
 and finally 25,000. Everyone breathed freely once 
 more. Then, like a veritable hailstorm, the Republicans 
 reported majorities from the western portion of the 
 state. The crowd went wild with shouts and cheering; 
 hats were flying to the ceiling, against the walls, and to 
 the floor as if they were worth nothing at all. Finally 
 at about two o'clock the telegraph announced: "Ac- 
 cording to reports received, New York is good for a 
 majority of 50,000." The cannon was now dragged out 
 and we woke up the Democrats, they having withdrawn 
 from the streets pretty early in the evening. And when 
 the first boom of the cannon announced that the great 
 work was finished, the great victory won, nothing was 
 lacking save that in this auspicious moment I should 
 have had you with me. The victory belongs to you also, 
 and I have not been able to separate my enjoyment of 
 it from the thought of you. Now, now the time of trial 
 is over. Love, peace, family, happiness! The future 
 threatens no further separation. I shall proceed at 
 once to get my lectures ready, and as soon as this work 
 is finished I shall take the train. A half-dozen letters 
 are still out which will bring certainty regarding the 
 dates of my engagements. When these come nothing 
 will delay me further. This afternoon I go to Water- 
 town to remain till next week Tuesday or Wednesday. 
 I am much wearied and require several days' "vegetable- 
 sleep." 
 
 I shall write promptly from Watertown. I am 
 happy in the thought of the future. We are to be one 
 
232 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 again, and unless I am greatly deceived we shall bring 
 back a part of the old idyllic life. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Watertown, November 10, 1860 
 . . . This week I shall spend one or two days in 
 Milwaukee to attend the jubilation meeting, where I 
 shall have to make a speech, 55 and to hold a conference 
 about the senatorial election with Doolittle, Potter, and 
 Judge Howe. It seems to be taken for granted that 
 my voice will be pretty conclusive in determining who 
 is to be Senator, and I am determined that Governor 
 Randall shall not be. 
 
 The South appears actually to want to kick over 
 the traces, and it will require all the discretion the Re- 
 publican party possesses to guide the ship of state safely 
 through the storm. I shall speak of this point at the 
 ratification meeting and I expect in my speech to lay 
 down several leading principles. I have sketched out 
 the speech during my days of quiet here and will send 
 it to you as soon as it is printed. I believe there is no 
 actual danger. A calm and firm attitude on the part 
 of the Republican party will probably suffice to lay the 
 storm, and in the extreme case a mere demonstration of 
 military preparation in the North will do the rest. So, 
 be not disquieted. We must give the Southerners time 
 to abate their passions. If we give the disunionists in 
 the South rope enough to hang themselves, they will 
 perform that necessary and praiseworthy task with 
 their own hands. . . . 
 
 85 The speech was printed in the Sentinel (daily) of November 20, 1860. 
 It contains views on secession which are similar to those expressed by 
 Lincoln in the first inaugural. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 233 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Aubu&n [New York], December 5, 1860 
 I have just arrived from Moravia [N. Y.], where 
 I lectured yesterday. There is a passably deep snow 
 and I made the journey in a sled. But there is still a 
 difficult problem to solve. It is noon; the committee 
 insists that this evening I shall give the lecture on 
 "American Civilization," and I still have a fourth of it 
 to write. Shall I be able to complete it? I have six 
 hours left, meal time taken out. I have a fine room, an 
 attractive writing-table, and am in good spirits. There- 
 fore, to work; nothing is impossible to the brave! For 
 this reason you must not be angry if today I write you 
 only a couple of crazy lines. My head is full and there 
 is not a minute to lose. ... 
 
 56 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Boston, December 11, 1860 
 I finally have a minute in which to write you. It is 
 late; I come directly from my lecture; the day's work 
 is finished and I can write you without interruption. 
 Yesterday I received your letter in Albany and would 
 have answered at once had there been time. When I 
 had finished my lecture on "American Civilization' ' (I 
 gave it in Auburn and the success was remarkable), I 
 read in the newspaper that a revolutionist gathering in 
 Boston was broken up by a band of Democrats and Bell- 
 Everetts. The thought came to me that a lecture on 
 freedom of speech would be very timely. Saturday I 
 
 M Letter originally written in French. This translation was made from 
 the German. 
 
234 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 began the work and today, five minutes before the lec- 
 ture, it was finished. The gathering (Tremont Temple 
 was quite full) received me with much applause and the 
 thing went wonderfully. Do you not see now why I 
 had no time to write you? I work continuously, paus- 
 ing only to sleep and eat. . . . My engagements in- 
 crease daily. I have enough to keep me going from 
 the twelfth to the thirty-first of December, and from the 
 first to the fourth of January. . . . (What shall I do 
 — give up my engagements and the money I could earn 
 and come to New York and Philadelphia, or assemble 
 riches for wife and child as becomes a good husband 
 and father?) I believe it would be better to postpone 
 the celebration of Christmas until after our return home. 
 It is very sad to be separated at such a time, but under 
 the circumstances it is our duty to submit to neces- 
 sity. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Boston, December 12, 1860 
 . . . This morning I received two letters from 
 Washington, one from Potter and one from Kreissman. 
 Both say I can have any position, but that the Sardinian 
 mission is generally regarded as suitable and that I 
 shall very certainly receive an offer of it. 
 
 My lecture of last night is in the papers. God be 
 thanked, I have now put behind me the most disagree- 
 able intellectual labor; I have only letters to write; 
 however, a pile of these lies before me. . . . 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 235 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Boston, December 20, 1860 
 ... I have received letters from Washington which 
 indicate that the compromise is very improbable. Wade's 
 speech defines the position of the great majority of 
 Republicans there, and this position admits of no humil- 
 iating compromise. Doolittle writes me that this speech 
 expresses the spirit which reigns universally among our 
 friends there, and nothing could be more satisfactory. 
 It seems, therefore, that this cup is destined to pass us 
 
 by 
 
 My lectures and the journeys I have to make require 
 almost my entire time and keep me moving constantly. 
 But it pays, and for that reason the effort does not 
 bother me. I have altogether twenty appointments in 
 New England, and I was obliged to decline several in- 
 vitations because I could not find the time to fill them. 
 When I get through here I have seven or eight in the 
 state of New York. . . . 
 
 These will keep me there probably until the four- 
 teenth or fifteenth of January. I am sorry not to be 
 with you Christmas Eve, but how can it be helped? 
 The consciousness of working for you will have to be 
 my Christmas cheer this time. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Boston, December 24, 1860 
 It is Christmas Eve and I sit here lonesome and 
 
 alone with my thoughts. . . . 
 
 Yesterday and today I rested and tomorrow I shall 
 
 get to work again. I can tell you with great pleasure 
 
236 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 that the danger of the degradation of the Republican 
 party is less than ever. Lincoln himself stands firm as 
 an oak, and his determination is imparted to the timor- 
 ous members of the party. The letters I receive from 
 Washington (and my correspondence with my friends 
 there is very lively) have in recent days been full of the 
 most encouraging reports. The spirit of our people 
 seems to rise in the same degree in which the embarrass- 
 ment of our opponents increases. So far as my oppor- 
 tunities have permitted, I have fired my charges into the 
 situation vigorously from a distance, and almost daily 
 I send over my views and suggestions about what ought 
 to be done. It seems as if matters in Congress would go 
 well. One thing, however, has become practically cer- 
 tain: there will be a struggle between the North and 
 the South whose duration will depend upon the determi- 
 nation with which it is conducted; that is to say, the 
 more vigorously the North attacks, the shorter will be 
 the crisis. It is a time for men of decision and resource, 
 and I should not be surprised if your husband would be 
 called into service again. . . . 
 
 I shall hardly carry the sword again, but it is very 
 possible that I may be active about organization and 
 such like in connection with the preparations for this 
 decisive struggle. As soon as matters are ripe for it, I 
 will send to the various Republican governors a plan 
 of organization which I sketched out during the last 
 few days. 
 
 We are living at a great time and we should not be 
 smaller than the requirements which the time makes on 
 us. If things do not deceive me, the end of the political 
 slave power draws near. The Republican party needs 
 only to understand its might in order to carry through 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 237 
 
 with one single stroke a reform which will be among the 
 most notable of our day. Why cannot I be in Congress 
 at this time ? I could say things there which would make 
 our fearsome brethren shake their heads. And by the 
 way, I am not so far removed from Congress as people 
 think. I am just now engaged in working out a speech 
 which is to be delivered by a Representative in Con- 
 gress. Is that not lovely? If I cannot be there in per- 
 son, my speeches nevertheless make themselves heard 
 there. I have already noticed traces of the letters I 
 have sent thither. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Boston, December 27, 1860 
 . . . The reports from Washington are excellent as 
 respects the firmness of our men. Lincoln has sent 
 letters which have given a new spirit to even the most 
 timorous. "Old Abe" so far is splendid, and it would 
 not surprise me if his administration were to determine 
 the future development of the Republic. The Seces- 
 sionists are proceeding further and further down their 
 mad path, and it almost seems as if plans were being de- 
 veloped in the South which must soon lead to a direct 
 conflict. 
 
 The Secessionists are trying to draw Virginia and 
 Maryland into the movement. Should that be accom- 
 plished, their next step will be to seize Washington, 
 which is chinked in between Virginia and Maryland. 
 Since this would take place during Buchanan's admin- 
 istration, or on the fourth of March, should the plan be 
 carried into effect military measures will have to be 
 taken not only to carry out the policy of the next ad- 
 
238 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 ministration but also, in advance, to secure for Lin- 
 coln the privilege of entering upon his office. This 
 whole complication, in my opinion, can be avoided only 
 if the northern states arm as quickly as possible and 
 show their determination to maintain the government 
 by force of arms and at every cost. Such preparations 
 and a practical proof of such a determination appear to 
 me the only things through which the southern despera- 
 does can be frightened away from their object. These 
 people rely upon their theory that the Northerners have 
 no desire to fight. Therein they are mistaken. As our 
 representatives in Washington become bolder the fight- 
 ing spirit among the people rises. In whatever manner 
 the war may break out I am convinced that it will not 
 last long. The helpless situation of the South will 
 quickly be apparent, and contingent slave uprisings, 
 which are not outside the range of possibility, would all 
 the more bring the business to a swift close. This morn- 
 ing I saw Senator Wilson, who was in complete agree- 
 ment with my views. I am writing today to Lincoln to 
 lay before him the basic ideas of a plan for arming the 
 free states. 
 
 You see what kind of things occupies my innermost 
 mind, and I must say that often, when I am giving a 
 lecture, I am thinking of things quite other than those 
 of the immediate lecture. This makes the lecture busi- 
 ness quite distasteful to me. But what is the use ? Money 
 has to be forthcoming and so I must stay at my post. 
 For the life of me, I should love to spend a few days in 
 Washington, but it cannot be done. On the other hand, 
 I am also restless about getting home, but my conscience 
 forbids me to give up any appointment. I do not yet 
 have the list of my engagements in the state of New 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 239 
 
 York; they will probably keep me every day up to the 
 fifteenth of January. . . . The owners of the Atlantic 
 Monthly recently asked me to see them. I went and 
 they asked me to write for that publication at five to 
 eight dollars per page. That will be a nice thing when 
 I settle down quietly once more. . . . They advise me, 
 for the time being, not to publish my volume of speeches 
 because there is at present no sale for books. . . . 
 
 57 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Toledo, January 29, 1861 
 The dangers of the railway, the unpleasantnesses of 
 a night journey, have been overcome and I am installed 
 in a fine room of a well conducted hotel. An excellent 
 breakfast is on the table before me and my only regret 
 is that I have to eat it alone. However, I hope that I 
 may not be discovered by my friends before two or three 
 o'clock this afternoon. The only persons who have 
 recognized me thus far are, first, the landlord; second, 
 the darkey who brought my breakfast and who claims 
 to have read my Douglas speech; and third, the barber 
 who saw me pass his shop and who was charmed to see 
 me here. The aforesaid darkey proffered me his pro- 
 tection, and when I told him I would be glad to be left 
 undisturbed during the early part of the day, he gave 
 me the most patronizing assurance that he would see to 
 it. I should comport myself wholly at my own discre- 
 tion. Everyone who might be inclined to disturb me 
 would have to see him ! Accordingly, I sit down to write 
 with a feeling of the utmost security. 
 
 87 See note 56. 
 
240 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 In a newspaper of this day which my darkey brought 
 me I read that Lincoln had declared in private conver- 
 sation he would rather die than purchase the presidency 
 at the cost of the surrender of a single plank of the 
 Chicago platform; because every concession on the part 
 of the Republican party in this respect would tend to the 
 ruin of the government, the beginnings of anarchy such 
 as prevails in Mexico, and would imply a retreat of the 
 conquerors before the conquered. Of such cowardice 
 he would not be guilty. 
 
 If the report is true, and I do not doubt it, our 
 victory is assured and the great struggle between slav- 
 ery and freedom is finally decided. Glory to him! 
 (Long live Lincoln!) We live in a wonderful time. It 
 is not merely an age of the adventurer and upstart whom 
 cleverness and favoring circumstances have raised up ; it 
 is likewise the age of conscience-ruled men who domi- 
 nate affairs by the force of honesty and shatter all 
 opposing obstacles. I often regret that I was too young 
 in 1848 to take a leading or even official part in affairs. 
 But now I thank fate that I am precisely at the right 
 age at a time when in Europe Garibaldi comes forth 
 as knight errant, fighting for an ideal; Garibaldi, man 
 of unshakable faith and determined will — a man who 
 has achieved greatness against forces that measured 
 their development by centuries. And if now, in Amer- 
 ica, the rise of a tyrannical party and the lawless at- 
 tempts of an antisocial element break down under the 
 honest will-power of a simple man [Lincoln], is it not 
 a proper ambition to want to be worthy of such a time? 
 Is it not worth sacrificing peace and comfort to perform 
 the duties which such a situation lays upon one? To be 
 compelled to live in a petty age and expend one's ener- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 241 
 
 gies upon trifling matters is but a sad fate. But if, liv- 
 ing in a great age, in the midst of mighty problems, one 
 yet disregards the exalted objects because of petty aims 
 and desires, would he not be a thousand times more piti- 
 ful creature? Whatever comes to you and me, we shall 
 at least live upon the heights of the time, shall we not ? 
 
 I understand your plaint. I too regret very often 
 that the necessity is so grim. But I know that your soul, 
 like my own, responds to the call of high duty and that 
 the heroism of your nature will lift you above all lower 
 duties when the higher duty calls. 
 
 I trust you much more than you trust yourself. For- 
 give me for writing merely of serious matters today. 
 The news of this morning gripped me powerfully. I 
 had to speak of it. 
 
 58 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Sandusky, January 31, 1861 
 . . . You see, I am traveling in comfort and do not 
 get too tired. All the same, it is no pleasure to repeat 
 a thousand times things which have been said about 
 France or about American civilization, particularly at 
 a time when the whole world is excited and great deci- 
 sions for the future are preparing; and when a main 
 issue may perhaps depend upon the occurrences of a 
 single hour. It is hard for a fiery soul and an active 
 mind to be condemned to think of earning money when 
 he might be acting publicly in the general interest. 
 Still, we have to yield to necessity. 
 
 In my last letter I spoke of the firmness and trust- 
 worthiness of Lincoln. Today I shall tell you some- 
 
 58 See note 56. 
 
242 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 thing which will not please you. You recall that Cas- 
 sius M. Clay requested me to write a letter to Lincoln 
 in furtherance of his ambition for a cabinet post. The 
 reason he gave me for it was the absolute need in that 
 body of a firm and energetic man to save the Republi- 
 can interests from the disturbance of the equilibrium 
 through compromise. This morning I read in the Trib- 
 une a speech of Cassius M. Clay delivered in Washing- 
 ton a few days ago. Therein he advised the Republican 
 party to make concessions to the South, etc.! My as- 
 tonishment was boundless. But the speech was there 
 and we can no longer have the slightest doubt about 
 his backsliding. What say you to that? It will not be 
 long until I shall be able to believe in no one but myself ! 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Hillsdale, Michigan, February 4, 1861 
 This morning I left Oberlin and reached here be- 
 tween three and four o'clock. . . . 
 
 I spent Sunday in the family of a pious doctor where 
 they cook no midday meal on the Sabbath. Think what 
 a situation that placed me in! At breakfast no meat, 
 at midday none, and at evening none. I will gladly be 
 pious, but I am not wild about traveling on an empty 
 stomach. But your poor husband has survived even 
 this, and he ate this noon in a Toledo hotel, where they 
 gave him meat once more. Hence, it is going better 
 again. 
 
 What do you think of Seward, my child? Have 
 you read or heard about his last speech ? The mighty is 
 fallen. He bows before the slave power. He has trod- 
 den the way of compromise and concession, and I do not 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 243 
 
 see where he can take his stand on this back track. This 
 star also paled! That is hard. We believed in him so 
 firmly and were so affectionately attached to him. This 
 is the time that tries men's souls, and many probably 
 will be found wanting. Lincoln still stands like a stone 
 wall. Every report from Springfield confirms my faith 
 in him. A great majority of the Senate are with him, 
 and between eighty and eighty-four members of the 
 House. This week and the next will decide. Some 
 great reputations will go down in this whirlpool and 
 possibly some new names will write themselves in his- 
 tory. Between us, it would not surprise me if Lincoln 
 should recall his invitation to Seward to head the cabi- 
 net. It would be a sharp, perhaps a dangerous, stroke 
 but a just one; for Seward, whatever he may think pri- 
 vately, has no right on his own responsibility to com- 
 promise the President's future policies against his will. 
 What has now become of our Chicago convention 
 Seward enthusiasm? Where are the lovely oratorical 
 bouquets with which we covered his defeat? 
 
 Governor Chase stands firm and true upon his old 
 principles. I wrote him yesterday and urged him 
 strongly not to decline the proffered place in the cabi- 
 net. He will be our staff and support there. I think it 
 not impossible that this week or next some sort of com- 
 promise may be brought forward in Congress. Still, I 
 have not abandoned the hope that things may take a 
 more favorable turn. The South will not be easy to 
 satisfy, and it is not unlikely that the shamelessness of 
 our adversaries [the Democrats] may influence our ene- 
 mies. It is well at times to have out-and-out enemies, 
 particularly when one belongs to a party which is tem- 
 porarily smitten with cowardice. The brutal aggres- 
 
244 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 sion of the one side sets bounds for the cowardice of the 
 other. 
 
 I shall see Lincoln next Saturday and will disclose 
 to him, in the fullest manner, my views relative to the 
 public interests. I do not believe that his own views 
 will be withheld from me. 
 
 Do you know that I came near making a side trip 
 to Washington this week? Today assembles the con- 
 ference called by the state of Virginia. At first the 
 northern states were inclined not to send delegates, but 
 finally thought better of it. Last Friday I telegraphed 
 Governor Randall to have the state of Wisconsin do 
 the same and to send me among others. It was probably 
 found to be too late to send delegates, and so the matter 
 failed to materialize. It is also possible that Randall 
 quietly pocketed my dispatch. I regret it, because I 
 believe I could have said and done various things in the 
 conference to blow up the "compromise" air-castle. I 
 gave Governor Chase my ideas on the subject in a letter. 
 Enough about the world history which is transpiring in 
 our day. 
 
 . . . Last night I spent in the tiresome parlor of the 
 tiresome doctor's family, and you know how stupid such 
 a Sunday evening can be for me. So, in thought, I 
 played with the children, heard you read them stories out 
 of Andersen's Fairy Tales, and longed with all my heart 
 to be with you. Well, the two weeks will soon be over ; 
 then the lectures will cease. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Detroit, Thursday, February 7, 1861 
 I am still in uncertainty. Yesterday I learned 
 through the newspapers that the Wisconsin legislature 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 245 
 
 would still send commissioners to the peace conference 
 in Washington and that my name was among them. 
 Whether or not the resolution on the subject actually 
 passed the Assembly I have not been able to find out. 
 At noon today I telegraphed to Randall and Harvey, 50 
 but no reply has come as yet. I am looking for it mo- 
 mentarily. If I find the resolution passed, I shall leave 
 Detroit by the next train and be in Washington early 
 day after tomorrow. Otherwise, I shall keep my lecture 
 appointments and be at Jackson, Michigan, tomorrow 
 evening and at Springfield on Saturday. 
 
 Should I go to Washington, I believe I shall be able 
 to accomplish at this time what there is to be done, so as 
 not to be obliged to go again on the fourth of March. 
 I would stay till the close of the peace conference, re- 
 turning home from there. 
 
 Whatever the probable results of the conference, I 
 do not believe that anything lasting can come of it. 
 Should an agreement be reached on the slavery question, 
 another question would instantly arise which for the 
 moment is of surpassing importance, namely: Shall 
 the laws be enforced in the seceded states and the Union 
 by all means preserved? This question the northern 
 states will answer in the affirmative, the southern in the 
 negative, and since this is a definitely practical question 
 it will lead to a new and final break however the ab- 
 stract question of slavery may be adjusted. I there- 
 fore look for no decisive result from the conference. 
 Anyway it will have no influence upon the cotton states, 
 and in the end the War of Secession will have to be 
 waged. You may ask : Why then go to the peace con- 
 
 89 Governor Alexander W. Randall and Secretary of State Louis Powell 
 Harvey. 
 
246 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 ference? It shows the South our desire to meet its 
 complaints. It enables us to cultivate good relationships 
 with the border slave states — Virginia, Kentucky, Ten- 
 nessee, etc., — to quietly discuss the causes of dispute, 
 tell them the truth, prolong the debate and, what on 
 our side is of critical importance, gain time. Let Lin- 
 coln once be inaugurated and things will look different. 
 Talk will end and action begin. The peace conference 
 will probably prevent uprisings in Maryland and Vir- 
 ginia, and the fourth of March will be here before we 
 know it. Above all, it is necessary, the northern states 
 having decided to send delegates, that they should be 
 represented as strongly as possible. 
 
 Here is the answer from Madison. The matter is 
 not yet decided. "The subject is before the legislature, 
 not acted on," telegraphs my "friend," the governor. 
 Good; I shall probably still have time to go to Spring- 
 field. ... 
 
 I am living along as one is bound to live on a lec- 
 ture tour, wearied a great deal by visitors, forced to 
 answer the same questions and receive the same compli- 
 ments a thousand times. Otherwise I am quite well and 
 cheerful. At Ann Arbor yesterday I had a great com- 
 pany in the evening, and a serenade. You see, I can 
 stand everything. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Springfield [Illinois] 
 
 February 9, 1861 
 
 . . . Because I had suggested the presentation of 
 
 Virginia's invitation to the legislature, together with a 
 
 recommendation, I telegraphed to Randall to inquire 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 247 
 
 what had become of that matter. Now what is the secret 
 of the bad use he has made of it? In the end it will re- 
 coil upon him, not upon me. I found here a letter from 
 Madison in which I am requested to clear the thing up. 
 I shall give the clarification at once, when it will appear 
 in its true light, and be terminated. Who would trouble 
 himself about such pettinesses? 
 
 . . . But I do not understand how the people in 
 Madison could have made so much fuss about it. I see 
 by the papers that the conference delegates have been 
 appointed. They will probably not accept because they 
 will not have time. And if I receive an offer from the 
 legislature I will [not] accept. The peace conference 
 will doubtless soon be over. 
 
 I had a conversation with Lincoln before my lecture 
 and he said he would visit me at my room tomorrow, 
 when we would discuss everything. He is a whole man, 
 firm as a stone wall and clear as crystal. He told me 
 that Seward made all his speeches without consulting 
 him. He himself will not hear of concessions and com- 
 promises, and says so openly to everyone who asks. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Burlington, Iowa, February 13, 1861 
 I reached the right bank of the Mississippi today 
 after a strenuous and eventful journey. I left Spring- 
 field Monday night. . . . 
 
 I expected to make Peoria in the night and Mon- 
 mouth in the morning. Toward midnight, about half an 
 hour before we reached the junction where I should have 
 taken the train to Peoria, our train broke down, the 
 coaches left the rails, and we were stalled. No one was 
 
248 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 hurt, and the accident was unpleasant simply in that it 
 compelled us to lay over the night in an open field. It 
 was nearly five o'clock in the morning when an engine 
 summoned by telegraph brought us to the junction 
 house of Chenoa, where I slept on the floor one hour. 
 Then, at eight o'clock, we went to Peoria by freight 
 train and at evening to Galesburg. But I was unable 
 to reach the place of my appointment and therefore lost 
 this lecture. I have now slept off all of these fatiguing 
 incidents and am as fresh as ever. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Ottawa, Illinois, February 15, 1861 
 Tonight my third lecture, and then three days more 
 and I shall be with you all again ! . . . This, by the way, 
 has been the hardest tour I have ever made ; a continual 
 succession of small accidents and disappointments! I 
 wrote you day before yesterday from Burlington. Yes- 
 terday morning at ten o'clock I was to give at Mon- 
 mouth the deferred lecture which could not be given 
 Tuesday evening on account of the railway mishap. In 
 order to do it I had to leave Burlington about half past 
 ^ve in the morning to cross the Mississippi and connect 
 on the other bank with the train which would carry me 
 eastward. I rose in time to be greeted by a raging 
 snowstorm which made travel difficult and unpleasant. 
 I took my seat in the omnibus in the expectation that, 
 as on the previous day, I should ride comfortably over 
 the ice of the Mississippi. But on reaching the bank 
 the driver said he could not risk driving the heavy vehicle 
 over the ice before daylight, particularly since on ac- 
 count of the snow he could not see the holes. So there 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 249 
 
 was no choice but, with the other passengers, to make 
 my way on foot across the Father of Waters. There 
 were about twenty of us. A man with a lantern took 
 the lead and we fell into the march. A raging storm 
 drove the snow directly into our faces. Water stood 
 about three inches deep on the ice, and since our leader 
 could not see five feet ahead of him, it was almost im- 
 possible for him to keep his course. So we wandered 
 some three-quarters of an hour on the Mississippi be- 
 fore reaching the opposite shore. In a sorrowful state 
 we arrived at the station, and you ought to have seen the 
 group which pressed around the stoves, emptied the 
 water out of their boots, and dried their socks. But 
 even that has been endured. I gave two lectures that 
 day and now feel as if nothing had happened. Yet I 
 do feel that I have earned my rest, and I will have 
 it. . . . 
 
 The latest reports from Washington show me more 
 and more clearly that I was right in urging the sending 
 of a delegation. The conference will probably pass the 
 resolution of Guthrie of Kentucky, and that could have 
 been voted down had all radical states been represented. 
 The governor of Michigan, who at first was strongly 
 opposed to the sending of delegates, yesterday sent a 
 message to the legislature recommending a vote on the 
 subject. The triflers at Madison, it appears, will do 
 nothing. I trust Lincoln will arrive in Washington be- 
 fore the Republicans shall have eaten dust. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, March 7, 1861 
 I have tried for two days to write to you, but this is 
 a frightful life. Not a moment's quiet. Last night 
 
250 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 Otterburg arrived and handed me your dear letter. I 
 thank you. 
 
 Yesterday I received congratulations from all sides 
 upon my appointment as minister to Sardinia. The 
 news was even telegraphed to the newspapers, but I 
 have had no official information. Yet I do know that- 
 evening before last Lincoln said to Horace Greeley and 
 Senator Grimes that he considered the appointment a 
 very fitting one and that he was strongly disposed to 
 make it. The only necessary preliminary would be a 
 consultation with Seward. He also told others that he 
 would give me what I desired. I learn that the Ver- 
 mont Senators are, with great urgency, presenting a 
 candidate for the same place, but I do not believe that 
 can change the result. Old Abe, speaking to Senator 
 Grimes, called me the greatest man in America and 
 said my wishes alone would command him without other 
 support. 
 
 Do not blame me for writing so briefly. I have to 
 call upon a dozen persons this morning and I am al- 
 ready surrounded on all sides. The matter will per- 
 haps be settled today. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, March 13, 1861 
 It is already Wednesday and still I cannot leave 
 here. The opposition to me continues, as it appears, but 
 the powerful defense of the New York Tribune has 
 aided much. Lincoln desires that I shall go to Sardinia 
 and has definitely promised me a mission of the first 
 class. There has been a rumor that Brazil would be 
 offered me. It is certain that those who want Sardinia 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 251 
 
 for another are pressing for this solution. So far I have 
 given my friends to understand that I should not accept 
 it. If Lincoln brings the matter up I shall insist upon 
 Sardinia, without however definitely refusing the other 
 mission. The salary is $12,000 and Rio de Janeiro is 
 said to be very beautiful. Still, I am sure that Lincoln 
 designs me for Sardinia. He will at least not dispose 
 of that mission without first consulting me. 
 
 Night before last I fell in with the Sardinian minis- 
 ter at the Postmaster General's. He declared himself 
 greatly pleased to have a man of my stamp in Turin. 
 He had written his government four months ago that I 
 would go there. 
 
 This morning your letter arrived. It was an oasis 
 in a desert, like a fresh drink on a hot, dusty summer 
 day. You have no inkling of the way things are here — 
 with all of these greedy men, who think only of them- 
 selves; this running and chasing of interests, this great 
 hunt in which the hunters shoot at one another. I am 
 on my feet the whole day, running from one department 
 to another looking after the interests of friends. Not a 
 moment's respite do I get except at night, when I lay 
 me down to rest and fall asleep with thoughts of you 
 and our little ones. 
 
 I cannot yet tell when I shall get away from here. 
 You will understand that I now have to fight this thing 
 through. I hope for complete success, for I know that 
 Lincoln will be true to me. So I must not neglect any- 
 thing. My mind is distraught and my whole being is as 
 if parched, especially when I am over-tired and cannot 
 obtain rest. I know what you are suffering in these 
 days, and the thought doubles the weight that oppresses 
 me. 
 
252 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 Adieu, my child. I am again surrounded by a com- 
 pany who are pressing upon me from all sides and 
 monopolizing me. How glad I shall be to be with you 
 once more! But I cannot desert this battle ground 
 until everything is settled. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, March 28, 1861 
 This is a day of triumph. Last night after twelve 
 I was awakened with the news that Cassius M. Clay 
 would accept the Russian mission ; that the dispatch had 
 reached the President about eleven and that he had ex- 
 pressed his pleasure. This morning I went to the White 
 House, was promptly admitted to his presence, and 
 Lincoln held up to me a paper on which I read: "I 
 nominate Carl Schurz of Wisconsin to be Minister 
 Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary to Spain. 
 Abraham Lincoln." Warm handclasps, etc. So Seward's 
 influence has been defeated, and I am master of the 
 battle field. There is rejoicing wherever the report has 
 gone. My nomination is now before the Senate and 
 I hope that even in the moment of writing the con- 
 firmation may be effected. I spoke to the President 
 about the appointment of Paine as secretary, 60 and the 
 idea seemed to be satisfactory to him. I shall probably 
 achieve this matter tomorrow morning. 
 
 A succession of calls will have to be made tomorrow, 
 among them one upon the Spanish minister, and then at 
 three o'clock I depart for New York to make the 
 necessary financial arrangements for our voyage. Mon- 
 day morning I shall set out from New York, traveling 
 
 00 Halbert E. Paine. He was not appointed. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 253 
 
 day and night. Now, my wifey, everything is all right. 
 Get ready for the voyage as soon as possible. Seward 
 desires that the ministers depart soon. 
 
 This outcome is better than the Turin mission would 
 have been. It is a victory. Next to Mexico, Spain is 
 the most important diplomatic post — and it is mine. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Milwaukee, April 17, 1861 
 It has been decided not to hold a mass meeting until 
 the regular levy of troops takes place. Yesterday all 
 military characters from this place were summoned to 
 Madison by the governor — in order to make more defi- 
 nite plans for the levy and organization. They are ex- 
 pected back about five o'clock, and probably then the 
 enlistment rolls for volunteers will be opened at once. 
 It is hoped this may begin tonight. I shall wait for it 
 and return home tomorrow. The war spirit is universal 
 — all the world wants to march — and I cannot. I almost 
 regret being a foreign minister. If I were only one of 
 the multitude who can follow their impulses! Excuse 
 me, wifey. I cannot get rid of these reflections, silly as 
 they probably are. Paine is trying to secure an offi- 
 cer's commission in one of the Wisconsin regiments, 
 and has asked me to remain here until the men return 
 from Madison in order to aid him. He has not yet men- 
 tioned the matter to his wife, nor will he until the com- 
 mission is secured. Then, he anticipates a scene at his 
 house, but thereafter he will not be able to withdraw. 
 
 Last Monday the excitement here was so great that 
 a movement to destroy the printing establishments of 
 the News and the Seebote was only barely averted. The 
 
254 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 News has already become distinctly tame and the See- 
 bote will hardly escape its doom unless it changes its 
 course betimes. . . . 
 
 Adieu until tomorrow night. My spirit is depressed. 
 But I believe I have to follow the fate that calls me 
 to Europe. Let us by all means be ready to depart on 
 Monday. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, April 29, 1861 
 A regular mail leaves today, at last, and I have the 
 hope that my letter will reach you. Saturday I gave a 
 gentleman a hastily written note; perhaps you have 
 seen it and been reassured respecting my safety and 
 health. Last night Otterburg arrived bringing me di- 
 rect news of you. So Henry has arrived and is with 
 you ! Please give him my heartiest greeting. 
 
 Washington is, without doubt, the quietest city in 
 the United States. Nowhere, I believe, is there so little 
 excitement. We have about 13,000 men here and every 
 day brings new regiments. The city is quite secure and 
 people sleep more quietly and longer than elsewhere. 
 It is as if we were here separated by a screen from the 
 universal excitement. . . . 
 
 I have just seen the President and received from 
 him the final decision about my three months' leave. 
 Seward was there also — and I have "leave" Hurrah! 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, April 30, 1861 
 Probably you have received by the post my letter 
 from Annapolis and two from here. I have "three 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 255 
 
 months' leave of absence" and the commission to or- 
 ganize a cavalry corps. All goes well here. Soon things 
 are going to happen. I am well and expect to leave here 
 tomorrow unless I am not wholly through with my busi- 
 ness. 
 
 I am writing these hasty lines in the bureau of the 
 Secretary of War. Schimmelfennig, who is to go to 
 Philadelphia and New York, is waiting for them. 
 
 With best greetings, particularly to our dear Henry. 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 New York, June 2, 1861 
 As you have doubtless learned from the papers, my 
 military activities have suddenly come to an end. I was 
 about to go with my brigade to Fortress Monroe when 
 dispatches from Spain made necessary my immediate 
 departure. This change in the situation is exceedingly 
 vexatious, but the necessity of my speedy appearance 
 at Madrid is so pressing that it really leaves me no 
 choice. And so I must leave this country at the very 
 time when I would liefest stay here. Thus it goes when 
 one is no longer his own master ; I have to put up with 
 it. We sail next Wednesday on the Persia,, the best 
 ship sailing between New York and Liverpool, and 
 hope to be in Madrid in twenty days. I had strongly 
 hoped that I might see you all before my departure, but 
 the compulsion of circumstances makes even that im- 
 possible. . . . 
 
 It would please me if the repairs to be made on the 
 house could be made promptly. It is probable that 
 my brother-in-law Henry, who intends to remain in 
 America a while, will visit you some day. 
 
256 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 Now I bid you good-bye, not for many years, and 
 perhaps for only a short time ; for it is possible that cir- 
 cumstances may require me, during my mission, to visit 
 the home government from time to time. Do not worry 
 about us ; we go in an unquiet time to enter upon a quiet 
 life, and it is my greatest happiness at least to be able to 
 shield you from all cares. Be assured I shall ever think 
 of you with undiminished affection. 
 
 Give my greetings to all relatives and friends. 
 
 To Adolf Meyer 
 
 Madrid, August 13, 1861 
 I thank you sincerely for your friendly letter. I 
 had hoped to be with you for several weeks in Ham- 
 burg and to come to know you intimately, but untoward 
 circumstances deny me this wish, so long entertained. 
 Still, I rejoice that Margarethe at least has seen you 
 once more and can be with you for a time. I am con- 
 vinced her sojourn in Reinbek will do her good. The 
 really unendurable summer heat of Madrid might have 
 prostrated her. . . . 
 
 It is hardly possible I shall be able to come to Ham- 
 burg to fetch her, much as I wish to do so. The condi- 
 tions in the United States make it my duty to remain at 
 my post, or at least not to leave it for long. What you 
 tell me of Hamburg prices and means of transporta- 
 tion makes it desirable to secure in Paris the things re- 
 quired for our house here, and I expect to arrange to 
 meet Margarethe in Paris as soon as I can leave here. 
 The repairs I ordered for our charming country house 
 here are finished, and the Quinta would now be ready to 
 receive its guests were it only possible for me to get 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 257 
 
 these guests together. Still, the "service" (as we would 
 say in Prussia) and the African heat do not yet permit 
 this. In a few weeks it will be possible. 
 
 The business connected with the letter has cleared 
 up in the most satisfactory manner. After receipt of 
 the opened envelope I directed a note to the head of 
 the Hamburg post office asking for an explanation of 
 the accident. Of the postal regulations I, of course, had 
 no conception. The general post office sent me a huge 
 envelope full of detailed statements concerning the facts 
 of the case, which tallied closely with what you say, and 
 I on my part directed a letter to the general post office 
 declaring myself wholly satisfied. The "worshipful" 
 general post office and the equally "worshipful" Ameri- 
 can ministry therefore parted in the most friendly 
 manner. 
 
 The report of the miserable affair at Manassas, as 
 you can easily believe, affects me most unpleasantly. It 
 might have had the most unthinkable results had the 
 Secessionists been in position to follow up their ad- 
 vantage. At best it will have the effect of prolonging 
 the war, without however changing the final outcome. 
 There will be no further talk of compromise, and finally 
 there will be an end of slavery. 
 
 You may imagine that at this time my thoughts are 
 in Washington much more than in Madrid. I would 
 give much for a day in the President's cabinet. Per- 
 haps things will shape themselves for the best. It al- 
 most seems as if we should never have quiet enjoyment 
 again. 
 
 At the close of your letter you promise me "more in 
 the next." I beg you to keep your word. Shall I per- 
 
258 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 haps meet you in Paris also? It would be delightful if 
 we could spend a few days there together. 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 Madrid, August 19, 1861 
 I have been waiting for a letter from you from day 
 to day and from week to week ; but in vain. We wrote 
 you on shipboard shortly before our arrival and mailed 
 the letter from London. Margarethe wrote you again 
 from Hamburg, and I would have written you promptly 
 from here had I not seemed to recall that in accordance 
 with an understanding made in Watertown I was to 
 wait for a letter from you first. Probably our mutual 
 silence is due to the same cause. 
 
 Margarethe has doubtless told you why we separated 
 in Paris. The experiences I have had since make it im- 
 possible for me to regret the step, unpleasant as it has 
 been. But let me narrate. I arrived here on July 13 
 and after a previous meeting with the minister of foreign 
 affairs was presented on the fourteenth at ten o'clock 
 p.m. to the Queen. The presentation of the letters of 
 credence was effected with the usual mumble- jumble. I 
 made an address to the Queen in English, of which she 
 understood not a single word, and she answered in 
 Spanish, of which I understood nothing, and we were 
 extremely satisfied with each other. Something else 
 happened at this audience which would not have been 
 thought possible in this stiffly ceremonious Spain. 
 Lacking a uniform, I appeared within the sacred pre- 
 cincts of the royal palace in a black frock coat, a pro- 
 ceeding so frightful that Madrid could not get over it 
 for a number of days. Several days ago, however, I 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 259 
 
 received from Paris my embroidered coat, and I believe 
 the European equilibrium is again restored. I lived in 
 a hotel about a week, paying six dollars per day for 
 two small rooms and very middling board. Then I 
 rented a country house directly in front of the Alcola 
 gate. The house has a fine suite of large rooms and 
 stands in a garden comprising about fourteen acres. 
 It is the property of Queen Christine, who lived there 
 several years ago with her husband, the count of Rian- 
 garez, the former guardsman Murioz. In the year 1854, 
 on the occasion of the revolution, the people of Madrid 
 took certain liberties with the property of the despised 
 Christine, and the last traces of these I am compelled 
 to efface at this time. It is too bad that in Madrid 
 furnished apartments are not to be had, so I am forced 
 to buy the furniture I need, and since everything of the 
 kind is horribly dear in Madrid I shall have to make my 
 purchases in Paris and import them here. 
 
 I can perhaps give you an idea of prices here by 
 saying that a man requires about three times as much 
 to live on as he does in New York, without living half 
 as well. My residence was secured on uncommonly 
 good terms. I pay $1,000 per year for house and lega- 
 tion offices, and am not held for the care of the garden. 
 Nearly all my predecessors had tp pay $2,000 to $2,500 
 for rent alone. For this advantageous arrangement I 
 have to thank Perry, my secretary of legation, whom 
 I have found to be an excellent man. 
 
 It is extremely difficult to run a household here. It 
 is assumed that the wife of a minister shall concern her- 
 self about nothing that goes on in the managerial de- 
 partment, and the Spanish domestics are so habituated 
 to stealing that one is not sure of the buttons on his coat. 
 
260 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 Unless careful supervision is exercised, you may expect 
 that half the household money, and at times more, will 
 find its way into the pockets of the help. This business 
 has developed to such a system that you cannot keep 
 domestics if they are not permitted to steal. Luckily, 
 I have the best support in Perry, who has lived many 
 years in Spain and whose wife is a Spanish lady. 
 Strangers who have no acquaintances here and are 
 obliged to submit to circumstances undergo the most 
 unheard-of plundering. Margarethe expects to bring 
 several members of our personnel from Hamburg. 
 
 It was a rare good fortune that I found the country 
 house with large garden. The environs of Madrid are 
 so dreary and treeless that the houses are more attrac- 
 tive than the landscape. The Manzanares, that cele- 
 brated stream that waters the capital, has just water 
 enough in summer to dampen the soiled clothes of 
 Madrid, so that the stream itself is hidden by shirts 
 and drawers. The city has about 300,000 inhabitants. 
 Several streets and walks are lovely, but in general this 
 capital, pronounced by the Spaniards one of the most 
 splendid in the whole world, does not exceed in magnifi- 
 cence a German princely capital of the second or third 
 rank. The people are at least a hundred years behind 
 the rest of the western Europeans in civilization. There 
 are, to be sure, highly educated people here, but on the 
 whole the ignorance of the lower and middle classes is 
 unbelievable. Even in the higher circles you stumble 
 upon a kind of superstition at which among us young 
 children would laugh. It is said that the Spaniards 
 have made great progress in the last ten years, and I 
 think that is true, but still it is certain they have much 
 more progress to make if they are to overtake the rest 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 261 
 
 of Europe. I have seen a bullfight at which the people, 
 which means all classes of society, were radiant in the 
 glory of their enthusiasm. This indicates in general 
 their plane of culture. 
 
 So much is said, written, and sung about "lovely 
 Spain." It is a fable, unless all beauty is concentrated 
 in the southern part of the country. On my way hither 
 I took the route from Paris via Marseilles and Alicante. 
 Alicante is a liarbor on the Mediterranean pretty well 
 toward the south. The road from there to Madrid leads 
 through one of the dreariest stretches of country that I 
 have ever seen — wild, rough mountain chains without 
 tree or shrub, or wide, bare plains with at best but scant 
 vegetation. The forests were destroyed in earlier times. 
 The part of Spain occupied by the Moors was once 
 carefully cultivated and well populated. Blooming 
 fields and fruitful gardens covered the plains. As the 
 Christians advanced, everything was destroyed. The 
 monks preached that trees were a dangerous luxury 
 promotive of sensuousness, and a belief spread among 
 the peasantry that a rich forest growth made the land 
 unhealthful. So the most fruitful regions were trans- 
 formed into desert steppes. Only in the most southern 
 part, particularly in the district of Granada, where the 
 Moors remained longest, does the old-time art of culti- 
 vation partially persist. There are still some forests in 
 that district, particularly in Estremadura, where the 
 cork-oaks cover broad plains and far-stretching ridges. 
 The population still retains the striking Moorish type. 
 It is impossible not to detect the African blood in the 
 physiognomy and the whole character of the people. 
 That is responsible for the chief difference between the 
 Spanish people, particularly those in the south, and the 
 
262 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 remaining Romanic stocks. The Basque province 
 throughout is occupied by a distinct aboriginal race and 
 is not considered in the above statement. It is thus not 
 wholly wrong to say that Africa begins at the Pyrenees. 
 It will take effort to make these people like the other 
 races of Europe. Up to now, the interior of the coun- 
 try has not been much traveled and for that reason re- 
 mains little known to outsiders. The opening of new 
 lines of communication, especially railways, will prove 
 a veritable lever of progress and civilization. 
 
 Of social life in Madrid I have as yet seen little be- 
 cause everybody is away during the summer. I must 
 say that I am not particularly curious. The diplomats, 
 by reason of their stations and their duties, come in con- 
 tact with the upper aristocracy, the dukes and counts 
 and whatever they may call themselves. Splendid titles 
 are here as abundant as blackberries, but usually there 
 is little to them. If the diplomats did not have social 
 life among themselves, things would be somewhat 
 gloomy for us. I cannot deny that I wish myself back 
 home again. I would ten times rather labor hard there 
 than sit idle here. I cannot endure people who abase 
 themselves as they do here, and I am ashamed when all 
 manner of honors and reverences are hurled at me. No- 
 where can I feel right save in a land where the people 
 stand erect in their own boots. It will still be a couple 
 of weeks before I can go for Margarethe. Tomorrow 
 I go to La Gran j a, a summer residence of the Queen, 
 to stay probably two or three weeks. So far I have had 
 enough to do. The uncertain state of our politics calls 
 for work which otherwise would be unnecessary. You 
 must fight better in America so that we in Europe need 
 not be ashamed. Ten times rather would I fight along 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 263 
 
 with the rest in America than explain our defeats in 
 Europe. It is a hateful business. 
 
 Now, leave me not without news of you. I have 
 hoped and hoped to receive an answer to our first letter, 
 but in vain. Write me in detail about your life, your 
 plans and your needs, and do not forget that I think of 
 you with faithful love. Write me without reserve what 
 your needs are and I will take care of them. Also let 
 me hear about Tony and Anna. 
 
 [Direction about the address.] Care of Department 
 of State, Washington, D. C. Letters will then cost 
 only one or two stamps. 
 
 To Frederick Althaus 
 
 Madrid, October 11, 1861 
 You will be surprised when I tell you that since my 
 arrival in Spain I have not written a single line about 
 the country, the people, and conditions. As often as I 
 formed the resolution to do so something always came 
 up which had to be done instantly. So, undoubtedly, 
 I have already lost the recollection of a great deal which 
 1 shall not be able to recover. However, I should have 
 been able to note very little that is agreeable. Spain, 
 in all respects, fails to come up to my expectations. A 
 desert land and an uncultivated people. In politics 
 every kind of corruption, which usually adheres to a 
 constitutional system devoid of constitutional freedom. 
 Among the upper classes a kind of culture which dis- 
 tinguishes itself by its vices as well as its superficiality; 
 in the lower classes much inherent brutal strength but 
 unexampled ignorance ; the crassest, blackest ignorance. 
 This picture may seem somewhat distorted, but it is 
 
264 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 on the whole true. I do not understand how this country 
 gained its reputation for beauty. Rough, desert moun- 
 tains only rarely wooded, wild and inhospitable ; treeless, 
 waterless plains: that constitutes the landscape. There 
 are, of course, exceptions, but only a few. I spent Sep- 
 tember in San Ildefonso, one of the summer residences 
 of the Queen, in the Sierra Guadarrama. The mountain 
 formations are here and there grotesque, most of the 
 ranges completely bare, some of them covered with pine 
 groves, very sparingly provided with streams, and from 
 the highest peaks you look far away upon nothing but 
 the yellowish earth color of desert plains. Thus far I 
 have seen no respectable trees in Spain except the elms 
 at the Escurial which Philip II received from England. 
 All the rest, with the exception of the pines, are dwarfish, 
 crooked stuff. It is said there are beautiful oak forests 
 in Estremadura. So much I know, that Mancha and 
 Castile are the most desert countries I remember to have 
 seen. 
 
 Thus far I have sought out company only to a very 
 slight extent. The conclusions I have drawn are all 
 derived from what I have seen and what has been told 
 me. The diplomatic circle, into which I am most thrown 
 for the present, is made up of a group of stiff aristocrats 
 inflated by the sense of their authority. 
 
 Perhaps, however, I may not be in the mood to ap- 
 preciate the good which offers. My thoughts are over 
 there on the other side of the ocean, and in the same 
 measure in which the situation there has become more 
 dubious I have regretted a hundred times my desire to 
 assume a diplomatic post. What I write about Ameri- 
 can affairs is for you alone, and you will of course re- 
 gard it as confidential. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 265 
 
 Unquestionably we now have a good and large army, 
 and probably also a capable and energetic leader at its 
 head. Likewise the fleet is in good condition, and it is 
 probable that our superiority at sea will bring great 
 distress to the South. But it will cost many a victory; 
 many forceful blows will have to be delivered in order 
 to make good the damage sustained in the unfortunate 
 Manassas affair. Had we gained a brilliant success 
 then, the rebellion would have been nipped in the bud. 
 The South would have given up its belief in the possi- 
 bility of success. A great number of people there 
 simply waited to be drawn to one or the other side by 
 the outcome of this battle. That class of people has 
 been lost to us. The rebellion has consolidated itself. 
 The people have become habituated to the idea of being 
 separated from the Union, and it is probable that the 
 war will assume the character which the Carlist war in 
 Spain had. 
 
 There is but one means of effecting a decided change 
 of trend ; namely, to proclaim the freedom of all slaves. 
 That, to be sure, is an operation which may have terrible 
 consequences ; it is a genuine Caesarian operation — but 
 I see no other way in which the situation can be relieved. 
 We must choke the sources of the secession movement 
 in order to master the movement itself. 
 
 Application of such means demands more spirit and 
 decision than the government possesses. You have 
 noticed the anxiety with which Fremont's proclamation 
 was qualified. That is the way to allow great popular 
 movements to disappear in the sand. Were I in Amer- 
 ica, I should make an attempt on my own hook to win 
 official favor for this radical cure. Possibly necessity 
 will compel the adoption of a measure which they have 
 
266 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 not the spirit to seize upon — but I fear it will then be 
 too late. You see I am not particularly sanguine in re- 
 gard to the future. When one looks at things from a 
 distance he is sometimes in better position to discover 
 controlling issues than when, near by, he is exposed to 
 the deceptive influence of seemingly favorable details. 
 
 I hope soon to be in position to free myself so far 
 from my work here as to be able to hunt up my family. 
 Possibly we shall see each other on this occasion. But 
 do not let that prevent you from writing me. 
 
 Above all, my regards to Charlotte. Also Herzen, 
 when you see him. 
 
 To Frederick Althaus 
 
 Madrid, December 9, 1861 
 Had I been able to find leisure for letter writing I 
 would long since have informed you that after the Bull 
 Run affair, and again about five weeks ago, I requested 
 the government to accept my resignation or, as an alter- 
 native, to give me an indefinite leave of absence. My 
 first letter was answered with new instructions for my 
 activities here ; my second was, however, so worded that 
 it was necessary to agree to one or the other alternative. 
 I expect the answer at the beginning of next week. The 
 reason for this step is my conviction that over there they 
 have no understanding of the true situation of affairs 
 and blindly run themselves into the most irresponsible 
 courses. It almost seems as if no one there knew the 
 truth — or no one who has the courage to speak it. The 
 one case is almost as bad as the other. Since I worked 
 so prominently for the election of Lincoln I feel, con- 
 cerning the manner in which the business there is con- 
 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 267 
 
 ducted, a personal responsibility which I cannot justify 
 in the quiet enjoyment of a diplomatic position. It is, 
 however, probable that the leave of absence will be 
 granted me. I hope to receive the answer next week 
 and shall depart immediately. Since the Prussian min- 
 ister here assured me that my journey through Prussia 
 will encounter no difficulties, I expect to go direct to 
 Hamburg. 
 
 Whether under these circumstances I can come to 
 London depends on whether, after the answer of our 
 government to England's demand [in the Trent affair], 
 it will still be possible for me to go to America by way 
 of England. If not, I shall take the Hamburg packet 
 boat to New York. Still, I hope that Adams' depar- 
 ture may not be hastened and that I can still visit you in 
 London. What the future may bring me is accordingly 
 uncertain. Certain it is the state of the country de- 
 mands the greatest exertions and the utmost sacrifice 
 of every good citizen, and I should be the last to with- 
 hold anything. I have suffered a great deal lately 
 through this perpetual worry. I shall feel better when 
 I swim in the middle of the stream. The beautiful 
 dreams of quiet happiness must for the present be given 
 up. 
 
 I wish much to be able to spend a day with you. Oh, 
 it is not a comfortable thing to bind one's individual 
 fate to the fate of a people ! 
 
 To Adolf Meyer 
 
 On Board the Bavaria, January 14, 1862 
 ... In another hour we shall see the cliffs of Dover 
 and shall be in Southampton tomorrow morning about 
 
268 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 six o'clock. Thus far the weather has been as quiet as 
 in midsummer. The waves of the North Sea were no 
 higher than those of the Alster. . . . 
 
 Thus the voyage up to now has been as pleasant as 
 could be, considering we have just taken our departure 
 from a place we were loath to leave and from friends 
 with whose company we could never be satiated. The 
 captain prophesies good weather for the entire voyage, 
 and we shall gladly believe him until bad weather comes. 
 Margarethe sometimes inquires about pirate ships, but 
 the wretched fellows keep refusing to come ; it seems you 
 cannot depend on anybody any more. The children 
 play and shout as if they were at home here. ... So 
 our situation is at present quite endurable. . . . 
 
 When, like ourselves, one swims upon the great 
 waves of life, which are not always peaceful, it is a 
 beautiful thing to know people somewhere to whom one 
 is attached, not by the bonds of a common interest or a 
 common struggle, but by the more disinterested bonds 
 of blood and of feeling. That is a haven which always 
 remains open if the others are blockaded. . . . 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 New York, February 2, 1862 
 The telegraph has probably notified you that we are 
 here, safe and sound. Our sea voyage was particularly 
 unpleasant. We saw the sea in its most threatening as- 
 pect and the storm in its most dreadful rage. The ship 
 lost four boats, the bulwarks were crushed in, sails 
 ripped to tatters, the yards torn down and broken, sail- 
 ors forced overboard, and the ship made to look like a 
 wreck. We stood it well and everything is all right now. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 269 
 
 We are here, well and cheerful as ever. I have leave 
 for three months and shall make good use of it. Today 
 I go to Washington, where we shall remain at least two 
 or three weeks. I believe I have come at precisely the 
 right time. You shall hear from me soon. Then we 
 will visit you in Watertown and I hope we shall find 
 you happy. In a few days I shall be able to write you 
 more at length. I am full of work. You will excuse 
 my brevity today. 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 Washington, March 13, 1862 
 Had I not expected that we should have been in 
 Watertown before this time I would have written you 
 long ago. But my business here is deferred from day 
 to day, so that I still do not know where I stand. The 
 political outlook is now such as to justify the best hopes, 
 but it will still cost heavy fighting to bring the revolu- 
 tion to an end that shall secure to the country lasting 
 peace and solid progress. 
 
 As for myself, I do not at this moment know in 
 what direction to turn my steps. A few days ago I had 
 a conversation with the President, from which it ap- 
 peared to me that he desired my presence in the country 
 in view of the political struggles which must come. I 
 gave him to understand that I was prepared for this, 
 whereupon he remarked that I must then take up a 
 position here corresponding to my previous position 
 over there. That could be only a position in the army, 
 for there are no more civil offices open. We have as 
 yet come to no decision in these matters. In a few days 
 
270 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 however a decision must come, since my leave will soon 
 expire. 
 
 The military situation is such that if the operations 
 were carried out energetically and the hot season did not 
 supervene, a definite decision might be reached soon. 
 But since they let the rebel army escape through Manas- 
 sas, and summer, which will set barriers to operations, is 
 at the door, the matter may still be expected to drag 
 along. . . . 
 
 I am so overrun here the entire day that I hardly 
 have time to write at all. All Germans having anything 
 to do with the government come to see me, so my room 
 has become a kind of headquarters where there is com- 
 ing and going as in a dovecote. . . . 
 
 To His Mother 
 
 Philadelphia, May 5, 1862 
 I am very thankful to S. for not giving you the first 
 newspaper report of my illness. You would have wor- 
 ried unnecessarily. I was actually quite sick for a 
 couple of weeks so that I had to keep to my bed for 
 about eight days. But the disease was not typhus fever. 
 I suffered from a very severe and continuous headache 
 and such great exhaustion that I could hardly stir. 
 Now I have had some perfectly quiet days here in Phila- 
 delphia and am again quite well. In a few days I shall 
 be as strong as ever. 
 
 We hope to be relieved of our uncertainty within a 
 short time. The President has not yet accepted my 
 resignation nor declared himself concerning my future. 
 Still, I shall hear something definite in two or three days. 
 This condition of uncertainty about the immediate fu- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 271 
 
 ture is decidedly unpleasant, but one must become ac- 
 customed to slowness of decision in our government. 
 
 I well know, dear Mama, that you could not rejoice 
 in the thought of seeing me in the army instead of in a 
 foreign country; but when a man has fought as I have, 
 for a good cause to which he is bound with all the force 
 of conviction, it is hard to desert it just at the moment 
 a final decision is pending. It is hard to sit inactive 
 and lazy abroad when the result of years of labor, nay, 
 the fate of the republic to which one has dedicated him- 
 self, hangs by a thread. I confidently believe that it 
 will not be necessary to secure much more help in a mili- 
 tary way. We know now that we are strong enough to 
 overthrow the rebels, and while I do not believe that 
 despite all of our victories the matter will end in a few 
 weeks, it does seem certain that two principal battles 
 will end the major operations, unless a great reverse 
 happens to us. But then will begin the most serious of 
 all undertakings ; namely, so to dispose the results of vic- 
 tory as to insure to the country a great, free, and peace- 
 ful future. And in this business I shall be in no sense 
 superfluous. In order fully to solve the problem that 
 will fall to me in this connection I must have secured a 
 footing in the army. The spirit of the army will be of 
 the greatest importance in the solution of the great 
 questions, and unfortunately (so far as the principal 
 leaders are concerned) it has not thus far been what it 
 ought to be. 
 
 When you examine the entire situation of affairs the 
 thought will come to you of itself that the cause is 
 worthy of a sacrifice. It is true I should often think 
 more of the question of personal advantage, but you 
 must pardon me if I cannot always do so. When one 
 
272 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 has done all he can for a good and great cause, the con- 
 sciousness of fulfilling one's duty in great measure is 
 also not without value. If the President shall now re- 
 fuse to accept my resignation, I shall have done my part 
 and we will go back, but in no case without seeing you all 
 again. 
 
 So, dearest Mama, write me quite fully how you are; 
 and whatever wishes you may have I shall be happy to 
 fulfill them. We are now all well. The children have 
 both had the measles but are now well again. Mar- 
 garethe is on the whole also well. 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 Mount Jackson, Headquarters of 
 the Mountain Army 
 June 12, 1862 
 We arrived here today on our retreat through Har- 
 risonburg [Virginia] and I utilize the first free moment 
 to write to you. Margarethe has probably informed 
 you that I left for the army on June 2 with my general 
 staff officers. Since the way by Harper's Ferry was cut 
 off we went via Pittsburg to Wheeling. On account of 
 the swollen streams which had carried away the railroad 
 bridges, we lay in the mountains two days, came finally 
 on the sixth to Cumberland, on the seventh to Win- 
 chester, where we found Banks and Sigel; the same 
 night rode on cavalry horses lent me by Banks to Stras- 
 burg and arrived at Harrisonburg after a two days' 
 ride. On the morning of the tenth, two days after the 
 encounter at Cross Keys, for which we were too late, 
 we started to go to Fremont's headquarters when on 
 the way thither we were notified of the retreat of the 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 273 
 
 army. The same afternoon the army reached Harri- 
 sonburg. The weather was bad, the roads were filled 
 with mud, and the men presented a pitiable appearance. 
 The army had suffered much : continued rapid marches ; 
 extremely inadequate provisions, at times absolutely 
 nothing to eat; shoes worn out, a large proportion of 
 the men barefooted; the horses through want of regu- 
 lar feeding worn down and decrepit ; the cavalry for the 
 most part beneath contempt. The men generally fought 
 well at Cross Keys, but the army had come so absolutely 
 in need of better provisioning, reorganization, and rest, 
 and in addition Jackson was so superior on account of 
 reinforcements, that Fremont decided to withdraw to 
 the strong position on Mount Jackson. We reached 
 New Market yesterday and arrived here today. We 
 are comfortably quartered and will enjoy some days of 
 undisturbed rest. As soon as the reorganization of the 
 army shall have been achieved I shall have a regular 
 command, probably of two brigades. I have very able 
 and agreeable staff officers with me: one Major Hoff- 
 man, formerly Prussian engineer officer, who later 
 served in the English-German legion during the Cri- 
 mean War, and then at the Cape of Good Hope, then 
 with Garibaldi in his Sicilian-Neapolitan campaign, and 
 finally in the Piedmont army; one Captain Spraul, for- 
 mer Badish Infantry officer, who also served in the 
 English-German legion and with Garibaldi; and Fritz 
 Tiedemann and Willy Westendarp. 
 
 We are all well and cheerful. Of myself I can say 
 that for years I have not been as healthy as now. The 
 country here is so wondrously beautiful, the mountains 
 so picturesque, and the valleys so luxuriant and fruitful, 
 that in peaceful times I could not live anywhere more 
 
274 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 gladly than here. But the way this glorious land suffers 
 is indescribable. Both armies have traversed it four 
 times; and four times has the march left behind it the 
 evidences of its devastation. But what a temper in the 
 population! Every drop of blood is secessionistic. Al- 
 though I had already so clearly seen the difficulties in the 
 way of ending the war and reestablishing the Union, 
 despite our victories, that for the country's sake I gave 
 up my diplomatic position in Europe, yet these difficul- 
 ties presented themselves with redoubled magnitude 
 when I had gained on the ground a view of the actual 
 situation of things. The women here in the South are as 
 if possessed, and that is one of the worst symptoms. 
 
 Now let me beg you, dearest parents, have no wor- 
 ries about me. I shall conduct myself with prudence; 
 I know my position, and I have luck. What I have done 
 was done out of pure desire and feeling of duty. This 
 is a hard time, but it also will pass. I shall do you 
 honor, and you shall not have cause to regret what I 
 have done. If you need anything, write me. My ad- 
 dress is: General C. Schurz, Headquarters of General 
 Fremont's Army. 
 
 Adieu for today. I will write as often as possible. 
 Keep well and happy. Hearty greetings to the entire 
 family. With the old affection. 
 
 Mrs. Schurz to Her Parents-in-law 
 
 Near Philadelphia, July 15, 1862 
 My last letter I sent you the evening before my de- 
 parture to see Carl; since then I have experienced and 
 endured much, and now that I have again come to rest 
 I am moved to write you at once. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 275 
 
 Carl was near Middletown in Virginia, very neatly 
 quartered in a farm cottage, and he wanted to see me 
 there. Since he only telegraphed, "Come immediately," 
 I was greatly frightened and was soon ready to depart. 
 The doctor's wife [Mrs. Tiedemann] and I started 
 Monday evening at eleven o'clock, were in Baltimore at 
 four o'clock in the morning, and at two the next day in 
 Martinsburg (via Harper's Ferry). We were met at 
 the train in Martinsburg by Fritz [Tiedemann], with 
 an ambulance. The bridge at Harper's Ferry had only 
 just been restored. We saw the ruins of the wrecked 
 and burned houses, burned-up locomotives, etc. With- 
 al, the region around Harper's Ferry is so romantic 
 that it reminded me of Switzerland. What pain it gives 
 one, this peace of nature and at the same time this 
 destruction caused by man ! In the ambulance we drove 
 comfortably and without worry to Winchester, which 
 was twenty-two miles away. We started off cheerfully, 
 for the impending meeting affected us powerfully. 
 
 In Winchester, where the secessionists treated our 
 leaders so abominably, we passed the night. One has no 
 conception of the foulness in the hotels if one has not 
 been there. You see only old men or boys, since the 
 others are all in the southern army. The harvest looks 
 fine, but they have no people to do the work, and the 
 wheat has already become quite brown and will doubt- 
 less mostly rot. 
 
 We drove from Winchester Wednesday morning 
 about eighteen miles, and then had only twelve miles 
 more to Middletown. On the entire route we met only 
 our own provision wagons and saw the horses of our 
 troops feeding in the high wheat fields. Several old 
 farmers stopped us and begged Fritz with quavering 
 
276 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 voices to forbid the men to burn the fences and destroy 
 the fields. I felt sorry, but Fritz has no pity for rebels. 
 
 Dead horses lay on both sides of the road, poisoning 
 the air ; fences were no longer to be seen ; men, old as the 
 hills, were in the fields putting forth their utmost efforts. 
 Here and there we saw a farmer on horseback who gazed 
 at us with uncanny looks and often caused me the worst 
 fright. But hurrah! Here we were! In Middletown, 
 before a nice house, Carl stood in front of Sigel's head- 
 quarters ; that blessed childlike countenance as he espied 
 us ! Oh, he has an innocent child's countenance when he 
 truly rejoices. Willy was also on his high horse and 
 hopes soon to be appointed engineer officer. 
 
 We greeted Sigel, who remembered me well, having 
 seen me in London; and then rode to Carl's lodging, 
 which is but a mile from Sigel's. Carl stands very 
 well with Sigel, and for Sigel's appointment we have 
 Carl alone to thank. He and the assembled officers 
 would have resigned if Ruf us King had been appointed. 
 This he telegraphed to the President, whereupon Sigel 
 was named. Carl and his staff live together in his cot- 
 tage, and the bureau was also there. You know Major 
 Hoffman is chief of staff, Fritz and Spraul adjutants, 
 Wermerskirch quartermaster, and Willy engineer. 
 Spraul and Hoffman are able leaders, from Garibaldi's 
 staff, and Fritz has become a spirited, energetic young 
 man. I am enclosing for Father the picture of Joe and 
 Fritz. We spent six beautiful days with Carl. One 
 day we ate with him at Sigel's headquarters at noon, 
 and on the Fourth of July Sigel ate with us. We hung 
 wreaths everywhere. We helped about the cooking, 
 and Carl and the whole staff felt themselves very for- 
 tunate. Carl looks very well and feels quite contented. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 277 
 
 His troops were encamped around his dwelling, and 
 the encampment in the woods with all of the old over- 
 grown huts looked extremely poetical. I often walked 
 with Carl through the camp, and when he offered a 
 "Good morning, men," a hearty "Good morning, Gen- 
 eral" resounded from all sides. He is already very 
 popular with his men. He immediately took care to 
 secure new clothing and new provisions, for the poor 
 fellows often marched twenty miles on a single cracker. 
 Now things are different, and that brings great content- 
 ment. 
 
 We had not even suspected that we should have to 
 go, when suddenly the order to march came. Oh, how 
 gladly Carl would have taken me along and how gladly 
 I should have gone, but Sigel considered it unadvisable, 
 so we had to pack up hastily and return. Oh, if only 
 the parting had not been necessary! Monday evening 
 at nine o'clock we started — Mrs. Tiedemann, Mrs. 
 Lyons, whose husband is on Sigel's staff, and I. Every- 
 thing happened so suddenly and Carl was so unhappy 
 about it that I hardly know how I was able to leave him. 
 We three women, alone with a young hostler, drove 
 through the night over that dangerous road where nine 
 bushwhackers had been captured that very day. In 
 Martinsburg General Sigel, who was on his way to 
 Washington, joined us. He was astounded that Carl 
 had allowed us to travel in that manner and said we 
 ought to rejoice that we got through so fortunately. 
 
 So now we are back again on this lonesome farm, 
 and the heat, as I know it must be on the march, causes 
 me much worry. I fear and now certainly believe that 
 the army is destined for Richmond, for McClellan has 
 shown his incapacity. We may daily expect reports 
 
278 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 telling us that Pope's army is probably already near 
 Richmond — and the climate and the water are both so 
 bad there! I wait with actual impatience for Carl's 
 letter and will give you the news immediately on re- 
 ceiving it. I pray you write at once. 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 Washington, January 7, 1863 
 At last a short respite in the bosom of my family has 
 been vouchsafed to me. I came here from the camp on 
 New Year's Eve. I had to spend Christmas Eve in my 
 little tent in the pine forest near Stafford [Va.]. That 
 is not exactly an amusing place, particularly at a time 
 which it is most delightful to pass in the home. But 
 enough of complaining. I have now enjoyed eight days' 
 furlough and must be content with that. 
 
 First of all, much happiness in the new year! We 
 all need it, and hence this wish is no empty form. For 
 you, dear Mother, I wish above everything that your 
 health may soon be restored. I wish for you both, dear 
 parents, that your children and grandchildren may soon 
 be gathered around you. When that may be I know 
 not, but it will perhaps come sooner than we expect. 
 Fortune has been favorable so far and I am accustomed 
 to count somewhat on its favor. We shall doubtless 
 meet soon again. Do not worry. And I am certain, too, 
 that Edmund and I shall come through this war with 
 honor. We are no cowards, and fortune will not desert 
 the brave. 
 
 I would have written earlier and oftener had not 
 the business of my command kept me steadily in action. 
 Even when the army is in camp there is work to do 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 279 
 
 every minute, and if one will have his affairs in good or- 
 der he must concern himself about every detail. Ac- 
 cordingly, I get at letter- writing only rarely; even here 
 in Washington it is not often that I have quiet for 
 fifteen minutes consecutively. 
 
 It is very doubtful when the Army of the Potomac 
 will resume operations. It has long since recovered 
 from the battle of Fredericksburg. Indeed the army 
 has never been in better condition. But we encounter 
 here a multitude of terrain difficulties which are absent 
 from the western theatre of war, and the impossibility 
 of provisioning so great an army from this completely 
 denuded country has hindered almost every movement. 
 Of course the thing must go, and if the ability of one 
 general proves inadequate he will simply have to give 
 place to another. 
 
 I must say my hopes have become lively again. The 
 government, having burned the bridges behind it by the 
 Emancipation Proclamation, comes daily to a clearer 
 realization of the necessities which control us. In the 
 bravery of the army I have more confidence than ever, 
 and I am sure we shall have great success once the gov- 
 ernment shall have restored harmony in the organiza- 
 tion. 
 
 As soon as I return to my command I may be able 
 to tell you something more definite about the possibility 
 of bringing Edmund 61 over into our army corps. 
 
 Once again, heartiest New Year's wishes. Do not 
 be aggrieved if I write but rarely, and do not think, on 
 that account, that you are the less in my thought. With 
 hearty greetings to the entire family. 
 
 81 Edmund Jiissen, Carl Schurz's cousin and the husband of his youngest 
 sister, Antonie. 
 
280 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 Camp near Stafford Couht House 
 March 26, 1863 
 
 I returned today from a short furlough granted on 
 account of illness (I had the jaundice). Margarethe 
 visited me here just as I began to feel sick. I then went 
 with her, spending several days in Washington and 
 some ten days in Philadelphia. I am now fully restored 
 and can again fulfill my duties in the army. 
 
 I am now actually major general, and during the 
 absence of General Sigel, who has an indefinite leave, 
 I shall have command of the Eleventh Army Corps. In 
 case Sigel should not return, which is quite probable, I 
 hope to have definite charge of the corps. They are 
 exceptional troops, and I believe I shall be able to do 
 something notable with them. The next campaign will 
 probably be a very lively one. The army is in good con- 
 dition and once more in the best of morale. General 
 Hooker, who has shown much energy and activity, 
 possesses the confidence of the troops in high measure. 
 He has what all commanders of this army who preceded 
 him lacked, the first element of military success — self- 
 confidence. So we look forward with hopefulness to 
 whatever may come. At present the roads are in such 
 condition that it is impossible for us to move. They will 
 doubtless continue so for a couple of weeks. Then, 
 however, I trust you will hear a good report of us — and 
 particularly of me. 
 
 Your first letter, dear father, I received just as I 
 became ill. . . . Margarethe and the children are well. 
 They live in Philadelphia and have very pleasant rooms. 
 You can imagine that the parting was exceedingly hard, 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 281 
 
 for the near approach of a new campaign makes it im- 
 probable that we shall see one another again soon. Pos- 
 sibly Margarethe will make a journey to you this sum- 
 mer, and I wish it sincerely. . . . 
 
 The political situation seems to me to have improved 
 greatly. In general there is more confidence, and de- 
 termination to bring the war to an end. Also, the fi- 
 nances of the government are distinctly better than 
 formerly. 
 
 Keep well, dear parents, and write to me often even 
 if, because of my many activities, I cannot answer as 
 frequently as I should like. I hope to do you honor. 
 Remain well, and think with love upon. . . . 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 Bethlehem [Pennsylvania] 
 September 10, 1863 
 I have finally succeeded in securing a couple of 
 weeks' furlough and have been able to spend several 
 days with Margarethe and the children. You can 
 imagine that we have been very happy together. I had 
 an attack of camp fever, and the rest in quiet Bethle- 
 hem does me good. . . . Of course I am still tall and 
 thin as formerly, but I am looking well and they say I 
 have become distinctly broader. This much is certain, 
 that the strenuous exertions of war have so far had no 
 unfavorable influence upon my health. On the con- 
 trary, I feel healthiest when we knock about most. I 
 would gladly have used my furlough for paying you a 
 visit in the West, but the time was so short that I 
 should have had hardly a day for rest. And since I 
 should have had to take the whole family the journey 
 
282 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 would have been more expensive that I could bear at 
 this moment. So I have had to defer it until winter, 
 when it can probably be done better. . . . My furlough 
 will be out on the seventeenth, when I must go back to 
 my command. Matters have finally come to a point 
 where we can have well-grounded hopes for an early 
 conclusion of the war. Our army, strengthened by the 
 draft, must finally give the coup de grace to the re- 
 bellion — but let us not set our hopes too high. 
 With the old love and with hearty greeting. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Camp at Catlett Station, Virginia 
 September 24, 1863 
 Nothing could have been a more joyful surprise 
 than your letter. I recognized the handwriting again 
 instantly. I should have discovered it among hundreds. 
 Far separated in space and time, we may have dropped 
 out of each other's life and sight; but the recollections 
 of the cherished days of youth, when we clung together 
 like brothers, nothing can destroy in me. I still see you 
 as I used to see you in our Gymnasium years in Cologne. 
 We were at an age when a couple of years' difference 
 means much. I was younger than you, bashful by 
 nature, with the budding consciousness of strength 
 which I did not yet rightly trust. You had already 
 ripened to a certain manliness which to me had some- 
 thing imposing about it. You spoke out with boldness 
 what I often thought but hardly dared to express. I 
 often wondered how you could become thus attached to 
 me, and did not understand it. When I now recall how 
 far ahead of me you were at that time I still do not un- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 283 
 
 derstand it. I leaned upon you with enthusiastic friend- 
 ship; you drew me out of the narrow sphere which my 
 circumstances and training built about me and gave me 
 a glimpse into life. You taught me first to overcome 
 my anxious bashfulness. I have to thank you for every 
 encouraging word, because you were the first to awake 
 in me the consciousness that I did not belong to the 
 commonplace. Then, when I had just gained courage 
 to stand on my own feet and the ability to be something 
 to you, the vortex of life seized us both and drew us 
 asunder. And only now do I receive a word from you 
 and you from me. 
 
 I cannot recall without emotion that time of enthu- 
 siasm which kept the heart so warm and so receptive to 
 the beautiful and the great. Men may laugh at ideals, 
 because they often contrast so strongly with reality. 
 Enthusiasm is, nevertheless, the finest thing in man; so 
 long as it lives Youth does not die. 
 
 You have told me about your history, and I re- 
 joice to see what was attainable to you in your sphere 
 of life over there. To that which you know about me 
 I can add but little. I ended my refugee life in London 
 in the year 1852 because I found its instability unen- 
 durable and longed for a productive activity. I lived 
 here in America for several years in quiet retirement in 
 the happiest family circle. I wish you knew my wife. 
 She is much better than I, and we have two precious 
 children. I studied, observed, and learned much. 
 
 Finally, in the year 1856, as the movement against 
 slavery spread tremendously, I found myself drawn 
 into public life. I knew that I could accomplish some- 
 thing worth while. America is the country for striving 
 talent, and the foreigner who studies conditions here 
 
284 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 fundamentally and knows how to appreciate them can 
 open for himself an even greater career than the native- 
 born. My success surprised even me. I saw my boldest 
 expectations exceeded. I suddenly found that I had 
 become a celebrity in America. I threw myself un- 
 reservedly into the antislavery movement and therein 
 showed the Americans something new. The broad 
 German conception of life which opened to them wider 
 horizons ; the peculiar speech of the foreigner which, al- 
 though modeled upon the best patterns of English 
 literature, still indulged in a multitude of unfamiliar 
 variations; the power of true conviction which is not 
 found too often in its purity, all of these things had a 
 rare attraction for Americans; and so I won, perhaps 
 more quickly than anyone here in this country, a con- 
 tinental reputation; a reputation which in many par- 
 ticulars exceeded my deserts. My activities were very 
 extended and had a large and direct influence upon the 
 political development of the country. I have been told 
 that I made Lincoln president. That is, of course, not 
 true, but that people say so indicates that I contributed 
 something toward raising the breeze which carried Lin- 
 coln into the presidential chair and thereby shook slavery 
 in its foundations. I devoted my whole strength to it 
 and became exceedingly wearied with the herculean 
 labor. 
 
 As happens in moments of exhaustion, I sought rest. 
 For that reason I went as minister to Spain, but I soon 
 found that rest at a time like this was for me the most 
 irritating exertion. The rebellion which is to decide 
 the future of this country quickly reached enormous 
 proportions. The noise of the struggle penetrated even 
 to my hermitage in Madrid. It became uncanny to me 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 285 
 
 in my quiet. The enforced apathy of insipid diplomatic 
 life was terribly oppressive to my temperament and my 
 conscience. Then the news of the first great disaster 
 to our army, the battle of Bull Run, came like a thun- 
 der-clap. I immediately begged the President to recall 
 me. I belonged to the party that had brought on the 
 crisis; I could not avoid the chances of the struggle. 
 Finally, in December, 1861, I received a leave of ab- 
 sence, returned hither at once, laid down my minister- 
 ship, made another effort to induce the government to 
 adopt the policy of emancipation, thus smoothing the 
 way among the people, and then entered the army. In 
 the course of the summer campaign of 1862 I was ad- 
 vanced to the position of major general, the highest 
 rank one can attain in the army of the United States. I 
 shall doubtless continue in service to the end of the war. 
 Then I will return to my old activities with the satis- 
 faction not only of having labored definitely for the 
 future of this country, but also of having loyally shared 
 its fate. 
 
 In the political phases of the new developments 
 which this revolution must produce, I shall undoubtedly 
 have an important part and my voice will be heard. 
 This is the bright external side of my life. I have la- 
 bored much, struggled much, endured much, and also 
 suffered much — so much that I needed strong convic- 
 tions to keep me upright. How often in moments of 
 irritation have I wished I could be one of those who, in 
 humble occupation, can eat their bread in peace with 
 their loved ones! The petty jealousy of the German 
 who would rather subordinate himself to natives than 
 to a fellow countryman who overtops him; the ambi- 
 tions of the native who begrudges the foreigner his in- 
 
286 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 fluence and his distinction; the poisonous slanders of 
 the political opponent to whom not even personal honor 
 is sacred, all of this has caused me many bitter hours. 
 I might have worked myself up to that sovereign con- 
 tempt of men which is said to make a man great, but 
 that is against my nature. I would rather remain insig- 
 nificant. I love people in spite of themselves and 
 possess that invincible confidence which, deceived a 
 thousand times, is also a thousand times revived. This 
 is perhaps artless but I cannot do otherwise, and that 
 keeps me young and cheerful and hopeful. 
 
 The main thing is this: that in a calling such as 
 mine a man should not permit himself to be ruled by a 
 false ambition. The ambition to do something can be 
 boundless, but it must free itself from the ambition to 
 be something. I am glad to have gained official posi- 
 tions which, according to the usual interpretation, are 
 brilliant. I have learned to recognize their worthless- 
 ness, for they have never contributed to my inner satis- 
 faction. I believe that I could now, without regret, 
 cast from me a crown if I had it. Such things are only 
 means to an end and as such are perhaps sometimes of 
 consequence. I have happily come to the point where 
 externalities no longer have any temptation for me. I 
 believe I am able to say that in practice I have become 
 a better Republican even than in theory. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Camp near Bridgeport, Alabama 
 October 3, 1863 
 My letter has remained untouched for several days 
 because I was suddenly interrupted by a marching 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 287 
 
 order. We had to be ready in twelve hours and then 
 two army corps made a twelve-hundred-mile journey 
 by rail. Rosecrans lost the battle of Chickamauga and 
 we came to his aid. Now the enemy cavalry has ap- 
 peared in our rear and threatens our lines of communi- 
 cation. That will delay my letter some days longer. 
 
 I suspect that some things in our military practices 
 must be inexplicable to you European soldiers. Our 
 armies can nowhere live off the country, and the dis- 
 tances we are obliged to traverse are tremendous. The 
 distance between the Army of the Cumberland and its 
 nearest depot is one hundred and eighty miles — a stretch 
 which, long as it is, has to be protected in the most care- 
 ful manner at every single point; for the burning of a 
 railway bridge might threaten the existence of the army. 
 Such circumstances change the whole manner of con- 
 ducting a war. Only think that since the outbreak of 
 the war, namely, since the summer of 1861, our armies 
 have seen no cantonment. The soldiers have been 
 obliged to bivouac summer and winter without the 
 slightest relief. That, of course, costs an enormous 
 number of men, the armies melt away with the greatest 
 rapidity, and it requires the highest tenacity on the 
 part of the government and the people to sustain the 
 conflict from year to year. There is perhaps no people 
 on earth who would not have been appalled by the 
 enormity of the misfortunes overtaking us and the 
 greatness of the sacrifices which had to be made. What 
 a tremendous problem and what a mighty cause ! I am 
 happy to live in this country at this time. In compari- 
 son with the splendid goal, what are our little suffer- 
 ings and our individual sacrifices! Slavery is being 
 driven out of its last citadel; the insulted dignity of 
 
288 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 human nature has been avenged. The people of the 
 new world are taking an immeasurable step forward in 
 its cleansing and ennobling. And out of this republic 
 we shall make an empire in relation to which, speaking 
 Carl Moorishly, Rome was a pre-school affair. In this 
 nation, the sum, the amalgam of all civilized nations, 
 there is a Titanic strength which will draw humanity 
 forward like a giant locomotive. Old Europe is going 
 to feel its power. 
 
 But let me return to ourselves once more. In read- 
 ing over what I wrote to you in Virginia I am almost 
 frightened at the amount I wrote about myself. But 
 it seemed to me I had to open my heart again in the old 
 confidential way. So you are really thinking of coming 
 over here to us? How delightful it would be; and my 
 first impulse was to write you, "Come at any cost." But 
 we have reached an age at which we cannot allow our- 
 selves to be carried away by pleasant wishes. We must 
 consider what you would have to give up and what you 
 might hope to find. 
 
 I believe it would be possible for me to secure for 
 you immediately an officer's commission in the volunteer 
 army. But the army here is not what it is over there. 
 Some day the war will end ; the army will disappear and 
 everybody will return to civil life. The so-called regu- 
 lar army will of course remain, but it is a small and ex- 
 clusive institution. It is hard for the foreigner to find 
 a place in it, and it would be foolish to build a plan of 
 life on this slight possibility. I do not know indeed 
 whether it would suit you here, for everything here is 
 different from Europe ; and however happy I should be 
 to see you here, what if I should see you unhappy? 
 
X 
 
 a < 
 
 < 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 289 
 
 But could not things be arranged so you could come 
 here without losing your position over there? To give 
 up for an uncertainty a position which you have built 
 up through the years with so much effort and pains — I 
 would perhaps advise you to do it if I were not so 
 warmly and sincerely your friend. I would, of course, 
 offer you whatever I possess in the way of influence, but 
 what does that amount to? Some day the government 
 will change, and who knows whether I shall have friends 
 in the new administration? 
 
 When you write me again, will you tell me what has 
 become of the friends who were with us in Cologne 
 and in Bonn? I am sending you my picture. We must 
 see ourselves bodily in order to revivify all recollections. 
 I am enclosing herewith the only one I could find here ; 
 one of my adjutants had it. Farewell, and let me hear 
 from you soon. My wife, who has read many of your 
 old letters of our delightful period — for I have pre- 
 served them — has become fond of you through them 
 and greets you heartily. 
 
 To His Daughter Agathe 
 
 Camp in Lookout Valley, Tennessee 
 November 9, 1863 
 
 This evening it is so delightfully warm and pleasant 
 in my tent; my fire burns brightly, and out yonder in 
 the camp I hear the retiring signal. Now I will answer 
 your dear letter. 
 
 I am very glad indeed that you wrote to me, and the 
 news which you give is exceedingly agreeable. It is 
 nice that you are once more going to school, and if you 
 will be industrious I do not doubt that you will soon 
 
290 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 overtake the big girls in your acquirements. I have an 
 idea that you are somewhat behind in your arithmetic, 
 and you should apply yourself particularly in that sub- 
 ject. Arithmetic must be practiced, and when you have 
 made some progress therein you will pursue it with 
 genuine pleasure. Geography will be particularly easy 
 for you. You have already seen many more strange 
 lands than most children of your age and you will be 
 able to find on the map many widely separated places 
 in which you have already been. You always enjoyed 
 world history, and that pleases me greatly. It is the 
 most educative and the pleasantest of all studies. I de- 
 sire also that you pursue your piano playing industri- 
 ously and that you learn to draw. That is an activity 
 which is equally pleasant and useful, and a source of sat- 
 isfaction throughout life. You have observed how much 
 pleasure Mama and I get out of music, and I have 
 often regretted that I did not learn drawing properly. 
 But now my youth is past. I am almost too old to 
 learn new things, and besides I have too many other 
 things to do. 
 
 I am sure, dear Hans, that you will do everything to 
 give your mother and me pleasure and cause to be 
 satisfied with you. We love you with all our hearts, 
 and you of course love your parents in the same way. 
 It is a great happiness to have good children, and this 
 happiness you will surely bestow upon us. Your good 
 mother suffers a great deal on account of my absence, 
 and you must make it as easy as possible for her to 
 bear her loneliness and her anxiety about me. Per- 
 haps you do not yet understand how much you can help 
 towards that end. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 291 
 
 I am engaged in a war for a very great and holy 
 cause, whose decision will have tremendous results for 
 the future of the human race. For that reason I am 
 bringing to it great sacrifice and often endure want and 
 weariness and danger. In all of this, the consciousness 
 of having in you a good child is a very great consolation. 
 I think of you often, every day, with much love and 
 much confidence, and I know you do everything to make 
 me proud of you. 
 
 You must not think however, my good Hans, that 
 things are going badly with us here. My little tent is a 
 genuine picture of comfort; it is as warm here as in a 
 stone house. Also, I have received a present of a feather 
 bed, so that I sleep as soft as a prince. We have plenty 
 of provisions, and though there is no great variety of 
 food there is also no deficiency. It is sometimes a good 
 thing to be obliged to give up things which one generally 
 considers necessary, for that gives us a satisfaction 
 which is a source of content for life. 
 
 Actually, we soldiers live much better than the na- 
 tives of the country. You have no conception of the 
 poverty which prevails here. The people live in log 
 houses in which the chinks between the logs are en- 
 tirely open so that light and air pass through. Natur- 
 ally our tents are much tighter and better. Women 
 and men are dressed in the most poverty-stricken way 
 and live almost exclusively on corn bread and pork. 
 Nearly all females smoke and chew tobacco. And then 
 they are so ignorant that the knowledge of reading and 
 writing is a great rarity among them. The difference 
 between this population and that which we see in the 
 North is tremendous. But there is a quite natural cause 
 for it. In this country, the state of Tennessee, which 
 
292 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 you can easily find on the map, slavery prevails. There 
 are here a few rich people who own many negroes. 
 These negroes do all the work for them and the rich 
 gentlemen therefore gain the idea that they themselves 
 were not born to work but rather to govern and rule. 
 They did not want to rule merely their negroes but also, 
 particularly, the poor white people who did not have 
 enough money to buy slaves and for that reason were 
 forced to work themselves. In order to rule them bet- 
 ter the rich people sought to keep the poor ignorant, and 
 so it came about that there are very few schools here 
 and most people have enjoyed no instruction whatever. 
 Since they know nothing of the many discoveries and 
 appliances which have been made during the past cen- 
 tury they remain poor and miserable. 
 
 For these people and their children the present war 
 is a genuine blessing, for it shakes them out of their 
 sleepiness and brings them in touch with keener and 
 more active people. They become aware how miserable 
 their condition is ; their indolent habits are interfered 
 with; they are compelled to help themselves and are 
 thereby forced to turn their thoughts toward new things. 
 They hear how very different life is in other sections of 
 the country, and later, when in the train of this war 
 other people come to settle here, they will be influenced 
 by the industry around them; for the country itself is 
 beautiful and fruitful, and an industrious people could 
 live happily and amass much wealth. That will cer- 
 tainly happen after the war, for the northern men who 
 came down here with the army already see what beauti- 
 ful regions there are in the South and what splendid 
 opportunities can be found here for human activity. 
 So you see how good can come out of evil. The war is 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 293 
 
 certainly in itself a very great misfortune and brings 
 frightful distress to large numbers. But some of its 
 results will be highly beneficial to mankind. 
 
 Now, my dear Agathe, I must say adieu for today. 
 Love me much; be good to our little Pussy [Marianna], 
 who, as you know, has not yet attained the age of dis- 
 cretion and must be gently dealt with ; be dutiful toward 
 Mama; and write me soon again. You will give me 
 great joy thereby. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Camp near Chattanooga 
 December 17, 1863 
 
 To the joyful surprise which your first letter gave 
 me you have now added a second. Just now I returned 
 from our Knoxville expedition, alighted from my horse, 
 and found your dear letter of November 29 in my tent. 
 It must have been here for several days. We marched 
 almost three weeks without any communication with the 
 main army in order to maneuver the enemy out of east 
 Tennessee, which was effectually done. During this 
 entire time we knew nothing of the world, and the world 
 knew nothing of us. We received neither letters nor 
 newspapers, nor could send any. Now at last we can 
 gaze beyond our outposts. 
 
 I received your first letter during October in Bridge- 
 port, Alabama. I answered it immediately and quite 
 fully, but the journey of my letter to its destination was 
 doubtless very slow. Perhaps it was forwarded to you 
 from Europe. 
 
 Weary and exhausted as I am, I can today only ac- 
 knowledge the receipt of your letter from Dorchester 
 
294 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 and bid you and your wife a most hearty welcome. I 
 shall be unable tonight to open up new prospects to you 
 or give any advice; for I have thus far not had time to 
 reflect and — pardon me — I must also get some sleep 
 first. So you must be satisfied with these few lines. 
 Tomorrow or next day I will write more. That you 
 can count on me in every respect goes without say- 
 ing. My wife is in New York with our children and I 
 know she would be infinitely glad to see you. She knows 
 you from my accounts of you and your letters — the old 
 ones, that is, which I still have. You can learn her ad- 
 dress at the mercantile house of Sinclair and Rose in 
 New York. I would gladly take a couple of weeks' 
 furlough if I could, but I fear that under existing cir- 
 cumstances it would be impossible. 
 
 You may expect another letter from me in a few 
 days, in which I will answer your questions fully, so far 
 as it can be done from here. By that time I shall per- 
 haps have some plan to suggest. For the present ac- 
 cept hearty, most hearty, greetings. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Lookout Valley, Tennessee 
 December 23, 1863 
 
 Finally I have achieved so much quiet that I can un- 
 dertake to answer your queries with a certain amount of 
 reflection. The problem is not as easy as it seems. 
 
 To secure for you an officer's commission would not 
 be so difficult, but I should not like to see you in the 
 army under the rank of major. Advancement to the 
 captaincy comes quickly; also sometimes from major 
 upwards; but whoever is the youngest of the ten cap- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 295 
 
 tains in the regiment must arm himself with patience, 
 and could I today offer you a captain's position I would 
 advise you not to take it but rather to wait patiently 
 until there shall be a vacancy in a staff officer's post. 
 The latter will probably happen in the near future on 
 my own staff. 
 
 Now I am going to give you something to consider 
 in connection with this business. The army as it now 
 exists is not a permanent institution, and a position in 
 it is only temporary. As soon as the war is over we are 
 going home. Since we want to act with prudent fore- 
 thought I suggest you consider the following : The time 
 you might spend in the army is wasted in so far as it 
 could have been turned toward seeking out a proper and 
 definite life position. On the other hand, your entrance 
 into the army would give you time and opportunity to 
 make yourself sufficiently confident in the use of our 
 language. Besides, it would guarantee your living 
 financially up to the end of the war. 
 
 Were I with you, or could I spend a couple of weeks 
 in New York or Boston, I could speak more responsibly. 
 But since my entrance into the army I have been con- 
 fined to the life of the camp and the campaign, and have 
 become unfamiliar with civil activities, their chances 
 and opportunities. . . . 
 
 I wish above all you could find it possible to go to 
 New York and visit my wife. She would at once gain 
 entree for you into an extensive circle of excellent, and 
 in some cases influential, friends ; and I know it would 
 give her the most genuine and great pleasure. Your 
 wife, who probably still feels somewhat strange here 
 in this country, would have in her a hearty friend and 
 find much encouragement and good cheer in her friends' 
 
296 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 company. I believe that to remove from Boston to New 
 York would under existing circumstances be the best 
 thing you could do. Boston, although it is my favorite 
 American city, is for the unknown newcomer a some- 
 what exclusive place. There are splendid people there, 
 but one has to know America in order rightly to find 
 himself there. 
 
 I wish heartily I might secure a furlough of some 
 weeks and assist you personally, but just at present I 
 cannot get away. The Eleventh Army Corps, to which 
 I belong, has shriveled up so much through a succession 
 of battles and hard campaigns — at Bull Run my losses 
 amounted to twenty-six per cent, at Chancellorsvilie 
 twenty-three per cent, at Gettysburg nearly sixty per 
 cent — that we are now to be strengthened and reorgan- 
 ized; since I am second in command in the corps and 
 have to assume a personal interest in it, I cannot leave, 
 at least not until the reorganization has been completed. 
 I regret this all the more because we shall probably lie 
 still for several weeks and camp life in this uninhabited 
 region, despairingly desolate, is monotonous and bore- 
 some. Besides, the condition of the Army of the Cum- 
 berland is one nowise to be envied. We have indeed 
 gained one of the most brilliant victories of the war, a 
 victory which you would find unbelievable could you 
 have seen the position out of which we drove the enemy. 
 But after this victory we are unable to move. Our lines 
 of communication are so long and our transport so in- 
 adequate that we have hardly been able to supply pro- 
 visions for our troops. The country within a radius 
 of twenty to thirty miles is totally desolated and affords 
 absolutely nothing more. We were forced to send back 
 our field artillery to the railway stations on the other 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 297 
 
 side of the Tennessee because we could no longer feed 
 the horses. . . . 
 
 Now let me hear from you as soon as possible. The 
 letter to the governor of Massachusetts I have cast in 
 such form that it alone should secure you the acquain- 
 tanceship of his and my friends. My heartiest greeting 
 to your wife. 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 Lookout Valley, Tennessee 
 January 24, 1864 
 
 Your dear letter of December 15 was received and 
 I thank you heartily for it. It was the best gift you 
 could have sent me. I wrote to you toward the end of 
 December and sent the letter by a soldier going on fur- 
 lough, who was to have posted it in Louisville — for our 
 postal arrangements are of the most miserable kind. 
 Have you not received it? 
 
 Then I must repeat my New Year's wishes. I have 
 no more eager wish than to be able once more to live 
 peacefully with you and my little family on the quiet 
 farm — and I hope indeed that this may come about in 
 the not distant future. Let us hope we shall all find 
 one another in good health. However great may be the 
 allurement of the wild military life, one never thinks of 
 his own dear ones without deep longing. I have a photo- 
 graph of the farm with portraits of all members of the 
 family, also yours and Tony's. You will remember the 
 picture. It now stands upon the mantle in my log 
 house directly before my eyes when I sit by the fire, 
 and you can imagine what thoughts and recollections it 
 awakens in me. Well, this wish also will be fulfilled. 
 
298 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 It seems to me that the war is rapidly nearing its 
 end. While our resources are fresh and unexhausted, 
 the enemy shows a lack of the most necessary things, 
 particularly men and horses. It is quite certain that in 
 the army which opposes us conscription does not suffice 
 to fill the gaps made by desertions. These have begun 
 on a vast scale. Transports are brought in daily. Such 
 armies are not of a character to offer a long and stub- 
 born resistance. The rebel army in Virginia must be 
 affected by the same spirit, and I think it is not impos- 
 sible that the whole cause may break down suddenly and 
 unexpectedly, like the Hungarian Revolution in Vila- 
 gos. Meanwhile we are preparing for a vigorous spring 
 campaign which shall carry us into the actual heart of 
 the Confederacy. This is the most vulnerable point, 
 and the decisive stroke will unquestionably be dealt in 
 the West. 
 
 In the last campaign we had to perform pretty 
 severe labor ; not so much with our weapons as with our 
 legs. We suffered little in actual fighting, but our 
 march to Knoxville and back was all the sharper for it. 
 Now we are lying in comfortable winter quarters. The 
 weather around New Year's was excessively cold for 
 several days; but now we are enjoying the most de- 
 lightful spring temperature. In the afternoons it is so 
 warm that one would find it pleasant to wear summer 
 clothes. I have been perfectly well all the time, and 
 the more madly things go the better I feel. The thing 
 that suits me least, physically, is the quiet camp life. 
 The thing I have to complain about most is bad luck with 
 my horses. My best campaigner died suddenly; another 
 is in such condition that I shall never be able to use it 
 again; a third is lame; and the fourth, a splendid Eng- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 299 
 
 lish stallion, is just now recovering from a long rail- 
 way journey of last August. Well, one must learn to 
 endure such things. . . . 
 
 Farewell for today. Whether or not I shall soon 
 have a furlough and visit you I do not know. I expect 
 in any event to take part in the approaching presidential 
 campaign, and then we shall certainly see one another 
 again. I long for you a great deal and I am certain I 
 shall see you again. Do not lose heart. Think of me 
 with the old love as I think of you. Greet the entire 
 family with heartiest greeting. 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 Lookout Valley, Tennessee 
 February 20, 1864 
 ... In the business about which the clipping from 
 the Illinois Staatszeitung treats, the case is this: 
 Hooker, who is a very equivocal gentleman, seems to 
 have intended to make my position under his command 
 as unpleasant as possible. So, in order to deal me a 
 blow, he put a remark in his report concerning the night 
 battle of Wauhatchie which intimated that I executed 
 too late an order he had given me to send forward a bri- 
 gade to the support of Geary. As soon as the report, 
 about which I knew absolutely nothing, became public 
 I demanded of General Thomas an investigation into its 
 truth by a court of inquiry. That took place, and I 
 proved before the court through a mass of witnesses 
 that General Hooker in his own proper person held up 
 the brigade which was to have come to the support of 
 Geary and brought it to another position ; while he sent 
 me an order to take and hold, with another brigade of 
 
300 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 which I was leader, a hill occupied by the enemy. The 
 latter order, as he himself testified, I fulfilled well, while 
 he made impossible the carrying out of the first through 
 personally holding back my brigades. Since this matter 
 was clearly proved the court naturally decided that 
 Hooker's statement was groundless, and Hooker fell 
 into the pit that he had dug for me. The decision is 
 now in the hands of General Thomas for confirmation 
 and will then be published. When Hooker comes to 
 read my defense before the court of inquiry he will be 
 convinced that it is dangerous to play with sharp instru- 
 ments. 
 
 I have news from Margarethe that she has been sick. 
 I plan to go on furlough as soon as General Thomas re- 
 turns — in whose stead I am now in command of the 
 corps. It is very doubtful if I shall be able to remain 
 away long enough to come West. I shall certainly be 
 active in the presidential contest and then spend a cer- 
 tain amount of time in the West. So our meeting, if it 
 cannot take place just yet, will not be deferred very 
 long. 
 
 Keep well and in good spirits, so it may be a joyful 
 meeting for us all. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 New York, February 29, 1864 
 I arrived here yesterday on my furlough. I re- 
 ceived your letter a few days before my departure from 
 the army. I did not answer it earlier because I hoped to 
 be able to get away at any moment and be able to 
 see you. I should be very glad to look you up in Boston 
 if it were possible. But my time is sharply limited. I 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 301 
 
 shall be able to be with my family only a few days and 
 then shall probably have to go to Washington once 
 more before I return to the army. You must set aside 
 one or two days to visit me. Do it as soon as possible. 
 I am counting upon it. 
 
 I live at the Prescott House, corner of Broadway 
 and Spring Street. Answer at once and decide soon. 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 Nashville, April 24, 1864 
 I write you today from Nashville, where I am wait- 
 ing for orders. When the Eleventh Corps was com- 
 bined with the Twelfth and placed under Hooker's 
 leadership it was self-evident that I would have to be 
 transferred. Accordingly I left my command last week 
 and reported to General Sherman. He has telegraphed 
 to Washington to learn what command I should have 
 and we expect an answer any moment. It is possible 
 that I may receive a district on the Mississippi, but I 
 think a transference to the East, perhaps in Sigel's de- 
 partment, is rather more probable. I must confess that 
 it is pretty much a matter of indifference to me where 
 I go. You can imagine that the separation from my 
 old division, which I commanded almost two years, was 
 very painful to me. But my relations with Hooker had 
 become so impossible, particularly after the well-known 
 court of inquiry, in which I attacked Hooker pretty 
 keenly, that no choice remained. And, everything con- 
 sidered, I am quite content with the change. Whatever 
 my command may be, in the matter of its size I can 
 hardly fail to be placed better than I was. As soon as I 
 
302 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 receive further orders I will let you know. I shall 
 hardly have to wait longer than two or three days. 
 
 I spent the month of March with my wife and the 
 children in New York. I would gladly have come to 
 you with the family, but it is time that something regu- 
 lar should be done about the children's schooling. . . . 
 My visit to you accordingly has had to be deferred until 
 summer, but then I shall certainly come. It is probable 
 that I shall do something in connection with the political 
 agitation of the presidential campaign, and in respect to 
 this I can make my preparations best at the farm. I 
 long to see you again, after so extended and stormy a 
 separation, and I hope that our meeting will be a happy 
 one to all. 
 
 You must write me fully as soon as you know where 
 a letter can find me. I shall also do my best. Adieu for 
 today. 
 
 To His Parents 
 
 Nashville, July 5, 1864 
 Your letter of the seventeenth of May has been re- 
 ceived. It arrived shortly before the first of July. I 
 would have answered several days ago had I not been 
 waiting every moment for certainty in regard to various 
 matters about which I wanted to give you informa- 
 tion. . . . 
 
 As you see, I am still here. I would have been glad 
 to spend the time of waiting elsewhere, but through 
 General Sherman's orders I am detained here. He 
 promised me a command when I reported to him in 
 April, but wrote later that as my instruction camp here 
 had to be broken up I should simply be patient; he 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 303 
 
 would remember me as soon as a command was open. 
 So, day after day passes without any particular change 
 in my situation. I am living with my officers in a nice 
 house outside of the city and we do our own house- 
 keeping as formerly. Inasmuch as I can have plenty 
 of books here it is not particularly difficult for me to 
 busy myself with studying and writing. A daily pleas- 
 ure ride keeps me in exercise so that my health is pretty 
 good. Should I receive advice from Sherman that I 
 cannot expect a command at the front for some time, I 
 will do what I can to secure permission to spend the bal- 
 ance of my waiting time at home. 
 
 That the Democrats in Watertown believe I have 
 resigned and come out for Fremont, and that in their 
 rejoicing they go so far as to want to feast me, is 
 wholly delightful. Do nothing to destroy their illusion. 
 
 The result of the political campaign will undoubt- 
 edly depend much upon the results of our military op- 
 erations ; and as respects these, they will probably come 
 more slowly than, in view of our first successes, many 
 were led to believe. Let us hope for the best. 
 
 The evening hour is here and this letter must go. 
 I beg you to write me often; also you, dear Mama, 
 if you have a desire to do so and find it not too tiring. 
 I long for you greatly and I hope our meeting is not 
 far off. Greet all relatives and friends. 
 
 I am sending you herewith a picture of myself. It 
 is pretty good. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Bethlehem, September 7, 1864 
 At last I have received your letter, but how and 
 when ! I was not in New York where you directed your 
 
304 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 letter; it was forwarded to this place, where I have en- 
 joyed several weeks with my family. When it came I 
 had just gone away to visit a friend near Philadelphia. 
 After a short rest in Bethlehem the letter was for- 
 warded again, but when it arrived I was gone. Now at 
 last the unlucky wanderer lies before me and looks at 
 me reproachfully. 
 
 Of course it is now too late to find something for 
 your sister to do ; she must already have been with you 
 for some time. I am terribly sorry not to have known 
 in time about her expected arrival. For, although I was 
 not in Xew York myself, I might have been serviceable 
 to her through friends. I hope everything came out 
 fortunately. I write today only to acknowledge the re- 
 ceipt of your letter, to tell you why it was impossible 
 to fulfill your wish in regard to your sister, and to wish 
 you happiness from my heart — from my whole heart — 
 in the arrival of your little daughter. Your letter con- 
 tains so much I should like to answer, that I cannot 
 undertake it tonight and must put you off with promises 
 for a few days. I have worked this entire day and feel 
 somewhat stupid. I have to play with the children a 
 little to freshen up. But you shall soon receive a fit- 
 ting, a human, letter. 
 
 My wife and the children, all of whom think of you 
 with the warmest friendship, desire to greet you — and 
 this in the most heartfelt manner. And I not less — 
 that goes without saying. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Bethlehem, October 12, 1864 
 You have reason for dissatisfaction with me. Let- 
 ters such as these and from a friend such as you are 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 305 
 
 deserved an answer long ago. And so I have been 
 somewhat conscience-stricken on account of the delay. 
 But at bottom I feel that I am not so greatly at fault. 
 In the last five weeks I was overwhelmed with the most 
 pressing business; my wife and my children complain 
 that my presence is only a half-way affair, and since they 
 finally had to be content I know you will not be less 
 just. You know how it is with letter- writing if one 
 does not want to put a friend off with a few words and 
 still has no leisure to express himself properly. Now 
 at last I have found a little resting place and it belongs 
 to you. 
 
 The account of your family happiness has enabled 
 us, my wife and me, to relive old times again and to en- 
 joy the present doubly. I understand your happiness 
 fully because I know it personally from experience and 
 meet it daily at my own family hearth. Therefore, we 
 rejoice doubly with you. I speak always of us, for your 
 letters belong to my entire family. I have of course 
 learned to see and to prize the family haven in another 
 light — as an always sure and peaceful haven in time of 
 storm. There is nothing in heaven or on earth that ex- 
 ceeds the feeling of peace and of loving understanding 
 in the midst of the home circle. I see in your letter a 
 suggestion of the question how one can desert such a 
 haven for the struggle of the elements. Like many a 
 seafarer I have often asked myself this question — but 
 one does it. That is life — fate, I had almost said, if it 
 did not sound too superstitious. One must not spurn 
 the demands which life makes. We owe to those who 
 have them not, that we use the abilities we possess. If 
 the fulfillment of this duty demands sacrifices, we must 
 make them. That is a matter of inner responsibility 
 
306 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 which can be felt better than described. I had hoped to 
 be able to visit you in the course of the fall, and your 
 letters have sharpened that desire. 
 
 What you say to me about the letter I wrote to you 
 in Europe is all shouted into the wind. Do not try to 
 talk me out of the feeling about the nature and effect of 
 our relationships in the beautiful days of our youth. I 
 myself know best what you were to me then and how 
 everything hung together, and I cannot permit the 
 recollection of it to be weakened. I know too that at 
 bottom it is the same with you. It was a precious time 
 of budding and blooming. 
 
 Now I shall have to schoolmaster you a bit. I can- 
 not share your opinion about what I ought to do or 
 not do in the present crisis. You certainly would not 
 have judged in this manner had you participated in the 
 great battle which lies behind us. Perhaps you were 
 surprised when I came out publicly for the present ad- 
 ministration. I believe, however, that a few words on 
 my view of things will make the matter clear to you. 
 Every crisis in human affairs has its main question to 
 which all side issues must unconditionally subordinate 
 themselves. We are engaged in a war in which the ex- 
 istence of the nation — and that means everything — is 
 involved. A party has arisen in the country which 
 threatens to throw away all the results of the war, and 
 this at a moment when by a firm adherence to the present 
 policy the outcome can hardly be doubtful. The gov- 
 ernment has unquestionably committed great errors; 
 the individuals who direct the affairs of the country are 
 doubtless not ideal statesmen, although not nearly so 
 undistinguished as people would like to represent them ; 
 but all this is incidental. The main thing is that the 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 307 
 
 policy of the government moves in the right direction — 
 that is to say, the slaveholder will be overthrown and 
 slavery abolished. Whether it [the government] moves 
 in that direction prudently or imprudently, slowly or 
 rapidly, is a matter of indifference as against the ques- 
 tion of whether a policy should be adopted which would 
 move in another, an opposite and destructive, direction. 
 Under such conditions my choice was easily made; 
 it was not doubtful for a moment. If Fremont and 
 McClellan had been my bosom friends and the members 
 of the present government my mortal enemies, I would 
 have come out for the latter without hesitation. The 
 counter arguments of a personal character which you 
 advance, such as base criticism, etc., could not enter into 
 the scale. If we want to accomplish something impor- 
 tant we must not let petty things disturb us. I have 
 long been beyond such things. People may say of me 
 what they please. I do not expect thanks, nor even 
 recognition. After all the only genuine compensation 
 one has is in himself. The satisfaction which I desire I 
 have every day, today just as much as formerly. It 
 consists in this, that the ideas put forward in my own 
 way are repeated by a multitude of other people in their 
 way, and thus spread. Whether or not my patent right 
 is respected is a matter quite indifferent to me. The real 
 purpose of the propaganda of ideas is better attained if 
 the origin of the ideas is forgotten. I have seen and 
 experienced many things of this sort which give me the 
 profoundest satisfaction. The signs of the time at this 
 moment are exceedingly favorable. The reelection of 
 the President is almost beyond question — it could be 
 prevented only if a tremendous reverse should occur 
 upon the theatre of war, and this is not to be expected. 
 
308 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 The outcome of the election will mean the end of the 
 war, and we shall be past the worst. 
 
 I am sending you one of my speeches issued by the 
 Congressional Committee, in which you, if you will take 
 the pains to read it, will find my views about the present 
 state and the real object of this whole struggle more 
 clearly expounded than I could give them to you in a 
 short letter. 
 
 On two other points I should like to clear your mind. 
 Your opinion of the President is too deprecatory. He 
 is indeed a man without higher education and his man- 
 ners harmonize little with the European conception of 
 the dignity of a ruler. He is an overgrown nature- 
 child and does not understand artifices of speech and 
 attitude. But he is a man of profound feeling, just and 
 firm principles, and incorruptible integrity. One can 
 always rely upon his motives, and the characteristic gift 
 of this people, a sound common sense, is developed in 
 him to a marvelous degree. If you should sometime 
 find opportunity to read his official papers and his politi- 
 cal letters you would find this demonstrated in a manner 
 which would surprise you. I know the man from per- 
 sonal observation as well as anyone and better than 
 most. I am quite familiar with the motives of his poli- 
 cies. I have seen him fight his way heroically through 
 many a terrible battle and work his way with true- 
 hearted strength through many a desperate situation. I 
 have often criticized him severely and subsequently have 
 not infrequently found that he was right. I also under- 
 stand his weaknesses ; they are the weaknesses of a good 
 man. That he has made great mistakes in the endless 
 complications of his office connot be denied but can easily 
 be explained. Other men in the same situation would 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 309 
 
 perhaps not have made the same mistakes, but they 
 would have made others. Lincoln's personality, how- 
 ever, has in this crisis a quite peculiar significance. Free 
 from the aspirations of genius, he will never become 
 dangerous to a free commonwealth. He is the people 
 personified; that is the secret of his popularity. His 
 government is the most representative that has ever 
 existed in world history. I will make a prophecy which 
 may perhaps sound strange at this moment. In fifty 
 years, perhaps much sooner, Lincoln's name will stand 
 written upon the honor roll of the American Republic 
 next to that of Washington, and there it will remain for 
 all time. The children of those who now disparage him 
 will bless him. 
 
 Another point about which I want to clear your 
 mind is this: You believe that this government has 
 treated me with great want of consideration. The mat- 
 ter stands thus: I had a particularly profound dif- 
 ference with my commander, General Hooker, who is a 
 man devoid of sound principles but a good soldier ; who 
 in addition has a talent for setting his achievements be- 
 fore the world in the most favorable light. Because of 
 an injustice he attempted toward me I demanded an 
 investigation, from which I got off very well and he 
 very badly. The natural result, however, was that for 
 my own security I had to give up my command under 
 him. Unfortunately, just at that time the reorganiza- 
 tion of the western army was completed and the cam- 
 paign ready to begin, so that Sherman was not able to 
 fulfill his promise to give me a new command imme- 
 diately. I decided then, voluntarily, during my wait in 
 Nashville, to take over a training camp in order not to 
 be idle. The government had absolutely nothing to do 
 
310 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 with it. When I finally requested permission to report 
 myself in Washington, a command was immediately 
 placed at my disposal which was much more important 
 than my former command. There were two reasons 
 which induced me to decline it temporarily: First, the 
 health of my wife made it desirable that I should spend 
 some time with my family ; second, the political situation 
 was such that I would be able to accomplish more here 
 than elsewhere. Accordingly I am where I am with 
 my own consent. 
 
 It is not strange that these matters should have been 
 otherwise represented in this or that German paper. 
 One must pay no attention to these things. It never 
 occurs to me openly to deny such statements. Besides, 
 if I really had had grounds to complain, that would not 
 have altered my course. In times like the present we are 
 concerned with weightier matters than the interests or 
 sensibilities of individuals. He who cannot rise above 
 them must shrivel to the point of "selling his cheese." I 
 feel so exalted by the great and hopeful change things 
 have assumed that I should be able to make much greater 
 sacrifices than those which fate has required of me. 
 This is a great people and the present is this great 
 people's time of greatest trial. We are in the melting 
 pot; the metal flows beautifully while the dross hardens. 
 We shall have a mighty future. But let me not enter 
 upon this chapter. I know that you do not yet value 
 America according to its true worth. You have not yet 
 worked your way through the hard, thorny crust, and 
 what I could say to you must be discovered itself in 
 order to be correctly understood. Here one sees hu- 
 manity as it is, with all its apparent faults and all its 
 hidden virtues. One must not allow the former to 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 311 
 
 frighten him away from the effort to understand the 
 latter. Then only will one find oneself. 
 
 You can imagine that I have enjoyed this reunion 
 with my family even though many a day was clouded 
 by the illness of my wife. . . . 
 
 What you write me about your external affairs is not 
 so good as I could have wished for you. Write me 
 about two points : first, how you are getting along with 
 the English language ; and second, how long your pres- 
 ent position is to continue. I will then send you a letter 
 to Senator Sumner, who will gladly oblige me and who 
 can use his influence during his frequent visits to Wash- 
 ington. 
 
 Adieu for today. It is late; I have worked the en- 
 tire day, and my wife asks me, begs me, urges me, orders 
 me, to go to bed. We both send our hearty greeting to 
 you and all your loved ones. Your sister will doubtless 
 remember your long, lanky friend. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Bethlehem, November 9, 1864 
 At last I am by myself again. Your letter had to 
 wait upon me here while I was engaged in a journey to 
 Illinois and Wisconsin, during which I saw my aged 
 parents again and found them in the best of health. 
 Since, as is well known, it is good to rest after labors 
 are ended, the unwonted luxury of rest tastes exceed- 
 ingly good to me. To be sure, it will not last long. 
 
 First now, your personal affairs. The news con- 
 tained in your letter respecting an insurance agency 
 pleased me greatly because it shows me that you are 
 getting around among people. To give you wholly re- 
 
312 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 liable advice in regard to the acceptance of the agency 
 would be difficult for me because I do not know the 
 Insurance Society of Maine; still, I know from what I 
 have learned, that such undertakings almost all go well. 
 The one to which I belong enjoys, as I recently saw in 
 Milwaukee, a very great prosperity. The chances, ac- 
 cordingly, are that the business will go. Of course you 
 must secure data which will confirm this to a certain ex- 
 tent. One thing should be considered: The German 
 element, to which your activities would be limited, is not 
 very numerous in Massachusetts and it would therefore 
 be very desirable if your territory could be enlarged to 
 include the other New England states, particularly 
 Connecticut, where there are more Germans. If reason- 
 ably favorable arrangements in this respect can be made, 
 I surely believe the position will be quite a profitable one. 
 The letter of recommendation from Mr. Wilson I send 
 you herewith enclosed. I do not remember his uncle at 
 all, but it is of course possible that we met at some time 
 in the Mutual Insurance office in Milwaukee. As to the 
 other letters of recommendation, they are of course all 
 at your service. The question is merely this: Have 
 you perhaps in view certain definite persons to whom I 
 could give you letters of recommendation, or should I 
 not rather give you a general letter of introduction 
 which would serve you with all men with whom I am 
 acquainted? In using the latter — and such an one 
 would probably be of most service to you — you would 
 merely have to be careful to determine in each individ- 
 ual case whether a given person is one whom a recom- 
 mendation from me would impress; for you will find 
 that the political party spirit plays into all possible situa- 
 tions. Since you are not in a hurry for these recom- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 313 
 
 mendations, you can doubtless let me know which sort 
 of letter would be most agreeable to you. One warning 
 permit me to repeat. Lose no opportunity to advance 
 your mastery of the English language. 
 
 The tones of your beautiful home life which all of 
 your letters waft to me make me very happy for you. 
 My family horizon is not quite so clear. My wife has 
 suffered a good deal in recent weeks and I fear there 
 will be no permanent improvement until what is usually 
 called a family increase shall have brought our anxieties 
 and cares to a fortunate termination. I hope to be able 
 to give you better news in some four or five weeks. The 
 assurances which our doctor gives me are such as bode 
 no evil. Both of my children are prospering splendidly. 
 
 You doubtless wonder why I have as yet said no 
 word about the presidential election. Only last night, 
 toward three o'clock, when we saw the streets lighted by 
 torches and heard loud hurrahing, my wife scolded me 
 for not being sufficiently eager to get up and learn what 
 victory was being celebrated. I was so certain that the 
 American nation would not abandon itself, that the elec- 
 tion victory surprised me no more than the rising sun 
 in the east. Since you have read my Philadelphia speech 
 you know my views on the subject. I would gladly have 
 sent you a copy of my Brooklyn speech but I have no 
 more. I am thinking of utilizing my present leisure to 
 prepare for the press an edition of the best speeches I 
 have made in the last six years. Now farewell. I must 
 be brief today, for my three weeks of wholly neglected 
 correspondence lies mountain-high before me. With 
 heartiest greetings from us all to you all. 
 
314 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Bethlehem, December 31, 1864 
 In haste I must announce to you that yesterday 
 afternoon my wife was delivered of a very precious off- 
 spring of the female sex. 62 Everything went well; my 
 wife is as well as can be expected under the circum- 
 stances. We had a very bad time in advance. My wife 
 was ill much of the time and could hardly walk during 
 the last few weeks. Naturally I was bound to the house, 
 and filled up my lonely leisure by assembling the best of 
 my speeches and preparing them for publication in a 
 volume which will appear in three or four weeks. The 
 new arrival gives us just as much joy as if it were the 
 first child. The entire family floats in happiness. 
 
 Why have you not written me for so long? I have 
 been uneasy about it. Write me soon. I am anxious to 
 hear from you. Greet your dear wife and your sister 
 heartily from us and accept our best wishes for the 
 new year. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, February 1, 1865 
 I cannot get away yet. Grant has been in North 
 Carolina. We hope for his return. You can imagine I 
 am perishing with impatience and weariness. Yester- 
 day morning I had a long conversation with Lincoln and 
 Stanton. Both were very friendly, particularly the 
 former, as cordial as ever; but as was to be expected, I 
 was given hopes that Grant would come and decide the 
 matter. . . . Yesterday I was in Congress when the 
 
 63 Emma Savannah, who died in 1867. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 315 
 
 amendment to the Constitution was passed which 
 abolishes slavery. The scene that followed the an- 
 nouncement of the result of the vote was worthy of the 
 great event. The galleries were crowded and even the 
 floor of the House was filled with spectators. All arose 
 as at a word of command. The ladies waved their hand- 
 kerchiefs, the men threw their hats into the air, they 
 embraced, they shook hands, and ten minutes passed 
 before the hurrahing and the enthusiastic racket ceased. 
 The House immediately adjourned and the news of the 
 event spread through the city. Meanwhile cannon were 
 brought out to greet with their thunder this great step 
 on freedom's path. It is worth while to live in these 
 days. I must confess to you that in the moment when the 
 enthusiasm broke forth in the House I did not join in 
 the shouting. I believe I should have been unable to 
 speak. In such moments one feels that he has his reward 
 for laboring in the interest of great ideas even though in 
 other respects one has ever so much to quarrel about 
 with his fate. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Metropolitan Hotel, Washington 
 February 24, 1865 
 I arrived here safely last night and reported to Gen- 
 eral Hancock, who received me with great cordiality. 
 We immediately entered on a long conversation about 
 our business concerns, in which it was disclosed that 
 matters relating to the Veteran Corps were less favor- 
 able than had been expected a short time ago. The War 
 Department has not yet done away with certain embar- 
 rassing regulations ; and although the recruits are com- 
 
316 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 ing in in growing numbers, the business is still going so 
 slowly that the completion of the Army Corps before 
 the opening of the spring campaign is improbable and 
 indeed impossible, unless uncommonly effective meas- 
 ures are taken leading to unexpected results. As things 
 now stand, it is probable, unless such a favorable change 
 takes place, that Hancock will give up the new organiza- 
 tion in a few weeks and request permission to go back 
 to the command of the Second Corps. I shall, neverthe- 
 less, make a journey to the West to see what can be 
 done there. If the recruiting is effective beyond expec- 
 tation, well and good ; if not, then according to General 
 Grant's promise I shall receive another command. . . . 
 Today came the news of the capture of Wilming- 
 ton, which, as you may suppose, caused great jubilation. 
 All signs indicate that the rebellion is hurrying to its 
 close, and even the most skeptical and pessimistic are 
 now forced to this decision. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, February 27, 1865 
 . . . However the thing may go, whether or not the 
 corps shall be completed, I have Grant's promise of a 
 command and he will not disappoint me. Meantime I 
 am doing my duty working for the corps as best I can. 
 Yesterday I wrote to Grant and we shall by and by get 
 the thing settled. . . . According to present prospects 
 I shall get away tomorrow. Please be so good as to put 
 all my campaign things in order so that I may find them 
 packed ready to take along. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 317 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Indian apolis, March 4, 1865 
 My business affairs naturally take up my entire time. 
 The original plan of organization was so completely 
 broken down that we have nearly all the work to do over 
 and have to struggle against many difficulties. But 
 when the matter is taken hold of with a measure of wis- 
 dom, it goes. I have already had pretty good success 
 in my operations. My recruiting officers have just ar- 
 rived and I must hasten to close. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Milwaukee, March 14, 1865 
 I arrived here yesterday afternoon and to my great 
 distress found that the recruiting officer whom I most 
 especially needed to see, who had come here in response 
 to the dispatch which had been sent from Washington 
 and was afterward countermanded, had gone away. I 
 telegraphed him again last Friday from Springfield 
 but do not know whether the dispatch reached him. 
 Yesterday we had a heavy snowstorm which disorgan- 
 ized the telegraph lines so that I am without the means 
 of prompt communication; so yesterday and today I 
 have been running around doing what I could, and have 
 decided to go to Madison tonight in order to see if my 
 man can be found there. If I do not find him there and 
 if I cannot reach him by telegraph (the rascal lives in 
 Mineral Point) I do not know what I shall do. ... I 
 cannot wait, for my appointments in Michigan are due. 
 What to do? I think I shall place myself under the 
 guidance of the higher powers. If I find things in any 
 
318 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 degree satisfactory at Madison I shall go forward in 
 God's name. . . . 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Bethlehem, March 22, 1865 
 Rightly considered, you are a very bad fellow to let 
 me wait so long for word from you! It was as if the 
 earth had swallowed you up, and I have often discussed 
 with my wife the question if it would not be best to write 
 to the police authorities of Boston to find out what had 
 become of you. On whatever theory we tried to explain 
 your silence, no hypothesis fitted the case and finally we 
 had to content ourselves with the thought that letters 
 must have been lost in a peculiar way. You see what 
 you have done. Now mark this : A half-dozen letters, 
 each of six lines, within a single month would satisfy me 
 better than one stately, voluminous epistle every six 
 months; although I also know how to appreciate the 
 latter — that is, the epistle. Now, let me beg of you, no 
 further testing of our patience. I had to read you a 
 little lecture. Your conscience will do the rest. 
 
 Greatly as the receipt of your letter pleased me, I 
 would not have answered so promptly except for a spe- 
 cial circumstance. Your letter just happened to find 
 me here. I am attached to Hancock's Veteran Corps 
 and was in the West three weeks to set the machinery 
 of recruiting in motion again. I returned last night, and 
 day after tomorrow shall have to go back to Washing- 
 ton, where I shall probably remain a short time. If the 
 chances of the early completion of the Veteran Corps 
 are favorable I shall remain with it ; if not, I shall go to 
 the army in a short time to take another command. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 319 
 
 This, at least, is my arrangement with General Grant. 
 So, if your business calls you to Baltimore, a side trip 
 to Bethlehem will be futile. Rather, you will probably 
 be able to find me in Washington at the Metropolitan 
 Hotel if you do not postpone your journey too long. 
 If you are going to Baltimore to get clients for the in- 
 surance company, it would be a good thing to extend 
 your operations to Washington even though I were not 
 there. I will not tell you today how greatly it would 
 please me to see you again, since your long silence de- 
 serves to be answered with conformable silence about 
 such things. 
 
 My family is well; the youngest is a heavenly crea- 
 ture, and whatever famous things you may say about 
 your own child I feel quite in the right when I give my- 
 self the illusion that there can be no more ravishing 
 creature in the world than my war child. That will be 
 understood, and my wife agrees with me on this point. 
 Of course you are not prohibited from having the same 
 opinion of your own offspring. 
 
 In your letter you say many nice things about the 
 excellence of my wife, but you must not nurse the illu- 
 sion that with such a wise "captatio benevolentiae" you 
 can always disarm a righteous wrath. Had my wife 
 been more indifferent to you, she would also have 
 thought more leniently about your long silence. You 
 have much to make good and we hope you will take the 
 matter to heart. We forgive such sins somewhat more 
 easily because we also cannot say, with a good con- 
 science, "We thank thee, O Lord, that we are not as 
 that man." 
 
 I had reached this point when a letter from Grant 
 arrived which makes it probable that I shall have to go 
 
320 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 to Sherman's army soon after my arrival in Washing- 
 ton. I have, therefore, deferred my departure from 
 here until next Monday. Meantime, I shall make ready 
 my field luggage. Let us rejoice that the war is now 
 hurrying with giant strides to its end — an end which 
 will stand as one of the greatest events of world history. 
 Then, looking back over the great achievement of the 
 war years, we shall enjoy life with greater comfort. 
 Greet your family heartily for us. We rejoice in 
 your happiness. . . . Letters will reach me care of the 
 War Department, Washington. 
 
 To Henry Meyer 
 
 Bethlehem, March 25, 1865 
 At last I come to answer your dear letter in quiet. 
 It had but just arrived when I was called to Washing- 
 ton and given charge of the volunteer Veteran Corps 
 then in progress of organization. Since the corps was 
 only at its beginnings I was obliged to visit the various 
 recruiting stations in the western states to give the cause 
 more vitality. I have just returned and have stolen a 
 few days to spend with my family. On the twenty- 
 eighth — that is, in three days — I go back to Washington. 
 Since this corps, which is to be made up of selected men, 
 assembles slowly while the army otherwise fills up 
 rapidly, it is probable that I shall return to my old com- 
 mand under Sherman. At least a letter from General 
 Grant presents this choice to me. 
 
 You have no doubt followed with interest the course 
 of events upon this continent. We have never before 
 enjoyed so uninterrupted a series of brilliant successes. 
 The glorious campaign of Sherman in Georgia and in 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 321 
 
 the Carolinas; the capture of the seaports Savannah, 
 Charleston, and Wilmington ; the destruction of the 
 great railway communications of the South have, so to 
 speak, sapped the veins of the Confederacy. What I 
 told you in earlier letters about the complete draining 
 of that region in men and material has all come true. I 
 believe the total strength of the rebels at this moment 
 does not exceed 150,000 effectives, of which, in the most 
 favorable situation, at most 120,000 — probably not more 
 than 100,000 — could be concentrated. Against this 
 number we have under Grant in front of Richmond and 
 Petersburg some 100,000; under Sherman directly, in- 
 cluding the cavalry, 75,000; under Scofield, who is 
 merely in communication with Sherman, 40,000; under 
 Sheridan, 25,000. All these are working together upon 
 the great eastern field of operations. In addition we 
 have under Thomas in Tennessee and Georgia at least 
 50,000, and under Canby on the Mississippi some 40,- 
 000 men. Besides, there are garrisons which lie dis- 
 tributed at various points. These are all old troops. 
 The levy of this year, which is going ahead satisfactorily 
 everywhere, will have given us before the first of May 
 at least 250,000 fresh troops, which are already for the 
 most part designated to the armies in the East and the 
 West. This colossus of at least 550,000 men will in the 
 spring hurl itself upon the remains of the Confederate 
 army in the East and West and, unless miracles happen 
 in favor of the South, the war must be concluded toward 
 midsummer. 
 
 I remember, to be sure, that Lee, with his main army, 
 has the advantage of a central position and, if he can 
 make up his mind to give up Richmond, may win from 
 us petty, temporary advantages. For instance, he could 
 
322 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 hurl himself against Sherman with all his troops, al- 
 though it would seem to be almost too late for that since 
 the latter, after his union with Schofield, would have a 
 force sufficient to parry all dangerous blows. But Lee 
 might move north again and make an attack upon the 
 free states which would perhaps be successful until our 
 armies could reach him. But, even in the most favorable 
 circumstances, this would only postpone for a brief time 
 the inevitable end. The losses which he suffers in 
 battle cannot be made good, for the fantastic plan of 
 arming negroes, even if it were practical for the South, 
 would now be too late. The negroes need months of 
 training and discipline to make them fighting soldiers. 
 Lee's resources are accordingly at an end. A victory 
 would but add to his difficulties while our means still 
 spring abundantly out of the earth. The London Times 
 recently defined the situation beautifully when it said: 
 "The South is already exhausted and the North is not 
 yet even weary." 
 
 Accordingly we see the end before us. It is possible 
 that there may still be a couple of battles. It is also 
 possible that the business will come to an end in great 
 measure without further fighting. The leaders of the 
 rebellion feel their weakness; that is manifested in 
 everything. It would therefore not surprise me if one 
 day Lee should be made dictator for the purpose of con- 
 cluding a capitulation; or, in the most extreme case, if 
 he should retire from the chief command, whereupon of 
 course the whole machine would collapse. Perhaps they 
 may also wage a final despairing fight, and then it will 
 depend upon their troops whether anything can be ac- 
 complished. The outcome in any event is no longer 
 doubtful, and the developments have been such that for 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 323 
 
 this great revolution results are guaranteed which the 
 most sanguine could not have painted more brilliantly. 
 It is truly the rebirth of the republic on a basis of full 
 freedom and a vastly augmented power. 
 
 In financial matters also things look more favorable 
 now. At the beginning of the war our financial ar- 
 rangements were of course hazardous enough, and we 
 could have saved hundreds of millions had we at that 
 time recognized the nature of the struggle and prepared 
 accordingly. But, assume that we emerge from the war 
 with a national debt of three billion dollars ; assume that 
 the interest rate for the consolidated debt is fixed at six 
 per cent, we shall then have to pay one hundred and 
 eighty million dollars interest. The internal revenue in 
 the next fiscal year will yield four hundred million dol- 
 lars. Our peace time budget will hardly exceed one 
 hundred and twenty millions, so that a hundred mil- 
 lions will remain over as an amortization fund. The 
 taxes are indeed heavy but not out of proportion to the 
 productive ability of the country. But it must not be 
 forgotten that the taxes at present are paid from only 
 a part of the country, namely, the North. As soon as 
 the South comes back the tax burden will be spread over 
 a much greater population and the pressure will thus 
 be lightened. With the taxability of this country a 
 public debt of three or four billion dollars is not ex- 
 cessive. Therefore, quietly buy United States bonds 
 over yonder. It is my firm conviction that for capital- 
 ists there is no safer investment. The new popular loan 
 here, the so-called seven-thirtys, the interest of which is 
 to be paid in currency and not in gold, goes forward 
 rapidly. Confidence is indestructible, and quite rightly 
 so. Gold fell in the last four weeks to about sixty per 
 
324 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 cent, and the farsighted policy of the new secretary of 
 the treasury will undoubtedly soon restore us to a specie 
 basis. We could carry on another war without seriously 
 affecting the material resources of the country. Had 
 the Europeans understood the situation they would have 
 sold all our gold interest-bearing paper. The best 
 chances are of course past, but great sums are still to be 
 made. Perhaps you have opportunity here and there 
 to get something about America into the press. To that 
 end you may use the notes I have given you, of course 
 without naming me. 
 
 With the close of the war there will come a great 
 change in our own living conditions. It goes without 
 saying that the uniform will then be taken off, the sword 
 hung upon the wall; and as this period is approaching, 
 we have spent many an hour in considering it. Our im- 
 mediate plan is for Margarethe to go to Europe this 
 summer, principally on account of the education of the 
 children. . . . Little Emmy is the most heavenly crea- 
 ture ever born. She is a genuine ray of sunshine. . . . 
 If Margarethe goes to Europe I shall come over to 
 fetch her as soon as I can get away. But about these 
 matters pertaining to the future it is not yet possible to 
 speak with certainty. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, March 28, 1865 
 To my great regret, I did not find General Hancock 
 here. He is in Winchester and thither I shall go in the 
 morning to report to him. But I have found out here 
 that the prospects for the corps look very dubious. The 
 recruiting has gone very badly in the East. Of course, 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 325 
 
 I cannot know what further arrangements can be made 
 until I have seen Hancock. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, March 31, 1865 
 . . . Day before yesterday I went to Hancock at 
 Winchester. He received me with great friendliness 
 and said it would please him greatly to have me remain 
 with his command. He would also gladly assign to me 
 all the troops which were organized under my auspices, 
 but he believed that the completion of that organiza- 
 tion would take a good while yet. Under these circum- 
 stances it was recognized as the wisest course for me to 
 go to see Grant at City Point in order to discuss the 
 matter with him. Grant's friendly letter really left me 
 no choice in the matter. From him I can ascertain what 
 they plan to do for the Hancock organization. If they 
 intend to support it properly I will remain with Han- 
 cock ; if not, it would be foolish to stay with him longer. 
 I will therefore do what Grant suggests. I go to City 
 Point tonight, returning probably not before Monday. 
 In City Point I shall also find President Lincoln, who, 
 it seems, is expecting peace offers from the rebels. Now 
 I can tell you, from all that I have ascertained and ob- 
 served in military circles, that the end of the war is ap- 
 proaching almost with mathematical certainty. Lee, 
 with his army, cannot last four — certainly not six — 
 weeks more; the surrender of Richmond is expected 
 from day to day; perhaps arrangements for peace are 
 already in process. It is becoming more and more prob- 
 able that the enemy will not fight another great battle. 
 
326 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, Sunday, April 2, 1865 
 I have just come back from City Point. I did not 
 find General Grant; he had gone to the front two days 
 before my arrival. But I found my orders ready. The 
 adjutant general, whom he left behind, told me that 
 Grant had discussed with Sherman the new army organi- 
 zation of Sherman's forces and he believed that the or- 
 ders for me were made in accordance with the results of 
 that discussion. I must therefore report to Sherman. 
 To try to make new arrangements at this time would be 
 impossible; it would look as if I were disposed to play 
 with them — that will not do. I therefore have no choice, 
 particularly since Grant unquestionably had the best in- 
 tentions in what he did for me. And properly consid- 
 ered, he could not have given me greater satisfaction 
 than to send me back to the command from which 
 Hooker separated me. . . . Reports about Grant, 
 which you doubtless already know, are very favorable. 
 Probably the decisive stroke is being dealt while I write 
 this to you. The end is certainly at hand, and when the 
 great war is over I will assuredly take the first favor- 
 able opportunity to leave the service and come back to 
 you forever. It will not be much longer now. . . . 
 
 I saw Lincoln for a few moments at City Point. He 
 was very hopeful and evidently awaited the hour when 
 the proposals of surrender should occur over yonder 
 [at Richmond]. I came hither from City Point on the 
 same boat with Mrs. Lincoln. The first lady was over- 
 whelmingly charming to me ; she chided me for not vis- 
 iting her, overpowered me with invitations, and finally 
 had me driven to my hotel in her own state carriage. I 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 327 
 
 learned more state secrets in a few hours than I could 
 otherwise in a year. I wish I could tell them to you. 
 She is an astounding person. Lincoln himself will re- 
 main some days longer at City Point, probably with 
 the secret hope of receiving there the capitulation of 
 Richmond, which indeed may come in a very few 
 days. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Monday, April 3, 1865 
 The news has just come that Richmond is ours. I 
 told you before that things would wind up quickly, but 
 it goes faster than I expected. Lee cannot have saved 
 many of his army. Probably he went to Danville to 
 unite with Johnston. ' He was foolish not to capitulate ; 
 it would have been more respectable. 
 
 I have just now received news that I may be able to 
 get away today. Good ; perhaps I shall be in at the last 
 scene of the last act. But you certainly can now feel 
 that you need no longer worry. There will naturally 
 be very little more fighting. The whole thing will con- 
 sist of marching and occupation. Then politics will 
 come into its own once more. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 GOLDSBOROUGH [NORTH CAROLINA ] 
 
 April 7, 1865 
 
 At last I can sit down quietly and tell you where 
 
 I am and what I have experienced. I left Washington 
 
 a few hours after the glorious news from Richmond. 
 
 Washington was, of course, in the wildest excitement 
 
328 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 when I left. On the morning of the fourth, toward eight 
 o'clock, we were in Fortress Monroe. From there we 
 went to Norfolk and then, by a small steamboat, through 
 canal and sound to Roanoke Island. The journey led 
 through desolate, wild, swampy regions — a corner of 
 the Great Dismal Swamp, which deserves its name 
 from every point of view — morasses with rank vegeta- 
 tion in which no human creature can live. The night 
 of the fourth and fifth we spent in a little tavern not 
 far from Currituck Sound, which you can find on the 
 map, and on the morning of the fifth another steamboat 
 received us and carried us to Roanoke Island, where we 
 arrived toward noon and remained until six o'clock in 
 the evening. I utilized my free time to visit one of the 
 negro settlements established on this island. The ne- 
 groes have built themselves little wooden huts. Every 
 family has enclosed its own little garden and in that 
 way those who are able to work gain their own support, 
 while the government supports those who are too old or 
 are otherwise unable to work. There are many thor- 
 oughly industrious people among them who, by sensible 
 and persistent activity, make much more than they 
 require. 
 
 I saw there a picture I shall not easily forget. Just 
 as we were getting ready to go to Newbern, I saw 
 approaching a little procession of negro women and 
 girls, singing loudly. At their head was a white woman 
 somewhat beyond the years of youth. As the group 
 neared the vessel a leave-taking scene of extraordinary 
 cordiality occurred. I then heard that the white lady 
 was a school teacher, naturally "from Massachusetts/ ' 
 who had just received orders from the missionary society 
 to go to a different post. It was a moving scene, this 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 329 
 
 demonstration of love and attachment on the part of 
 those simple natures for the person who had led them 
 within the portals of civilization ; and this young woman 
 behaved like a great loving mother who was parting 
 from her children. On shipboard I was introduced to 
 the young woman, who could not tell me enough of the 
 eagerness to learn and the loyal devotion of these black 
 children of nature; and also of the difficulties and 
 dangers which beset the women teachers. These are 
 truly missionaries, and indeed greater ones than many 
 about whom history tells wonderful and famous things. 
 Yesterday morning at six o'clock I reached New- 
 bern. The news of the capture of Richmond was not 
 yet known here and I had the satisfaction of being the 
 first to telegraph it to Sherman. Immediately after my 
 arrival in Newbern I found several of my old officers 
 who received me with great rejoicing. I came hither 
 by rail at one o'clock in the afternoon. Sherman re- 
 ceived me very cordially and I found many of my old 
 friends. The day was passed in excitement over the 
 good news and concluded with various festivities. To- 
 day the business of my command was taken in hand. 
 But am I not an unlucky wight? Three days ago a new 
 corps commander was appointed, a Major General 
 Mower. They had given up looking for me because I 
 stayed away so long. Now I shall have to be satisfied 
 with a division. I hope the matter will be settled to- 
 day. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Goldsborough, April 9, 1865 
 Since writing to you the reports have been more and 
 more favorable. It looks as if it would not be possible 
 
330 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 for Lee to form a respectable concentration. The busi- 
 ness will hardly end in a capitulation, but probably in 
 the dissolution of the southern army. In accordance 
 with these reports Sherman has modified his plan. He 
 will march from here to Raleigh, after which circum- 
 stances will determine his course. Probably local com- 
 mands will then be formed and the armies employed 
 for occupation. It is said indeed that Johnston is still 
 between here and Raleigh with some effective forces, 
 but it hardly seems possible to me; there is nothing he 
 can do here. I do not believe that this army will need 
 to fire another cannon shot. It would be madness for 
 the rebels to seek another engagement. I have received 
 an order to report to S locum, which I have done. Since 
 the allotment of one division makes necessary the deposi- 
 tion of one of the present division commanders, who in 
 the present situation can be spared (particularly since 
 the army in all probability will no longer have to fight) , 
 I have not insisted upon it [the division command] but 
 have declared myself willing to march to Raleigh with 
 the headquarters of the army of Georgia and then later, 
 as soon as the local commands shall have been formed, to 
 take one of them. I will hold this command a short time 
 and then leave the service. Perhaps in any event a large 
 portion of the army can be discharged within a short 
 time. 
 
 Yesterday I called on the general of the Twentieth 
 Corps and, as I rode through the camp of my old regi- 
 ment, I was received with loud cheers and much hand- 
 shaking. On the whole, however, the impressions I have 
 received in this army are of a depressing nature. The 
 wild manner of carrying on war which Sherman intro- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 331 
 
 duced must necessarily have produced an extremely de- 
 moralizing effect upon the troops. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Headquarters, Army of Georgia, Raleigh 
 April 14, 1865 
 We arrived at the capital of North Carolina yester- 
 day morning. Since the beginning of our march from 
 Goldsborough the previous Monday we continually had 
 enemy cavalry in our front, which made a stand here and 
 there and retreated as soon as our skirmishers fired upon 
 them. So the march had the aspect of a continual prog- 
 ress in the immediate presence of the enemy. We moved 
 constantly over bad roads, through swamps and dense 
 thickets. On the eleventh we came to a small place 
 called Smithfield on the river Neuse. Johnston's army 
 had camped in the neighborhood and several days before 
 had held a great review there. It was at that point that 
 the report of Lee's capitulation reached us. The re- 
 joicing of the soldiers was tremendous. We naturally 
 supposed that Johnston's capitulation would follow on 
 the twelfth; instead we again heard the accustomed 
 skirmish fire in our front as we moved in the direction 
 of Raleigh. In the evening, however, as we bivouaced 
 at Sully's Station, fourteen miles from Raleigh, the 
 whistle of a locomotive suddenly surprised us and soon 
 there appeared a small railway train under the white 
 flag. This did not, indeed, signify the capitulation of 
 Johnston, but it brought us, through a deputation, the 
 surrender of Raleigh. Accordingly, yesterday morn- 
 ing about nine o'clock we entered the city after a march 
 of fourteen miles. Kilpatrick's cavalry preceded us by 
 
332 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 a couple of hours and had already taken possession of 
 the city. It is a beautiful little place of not more than 
 seven thousand inhabitants. The fears of the people, 
 who had heard so much of robbery and arson, were soon 
 quieted. They became trustful, and before night the 
 inhabitants came out with great praise of the exemplary 
 order observed by the soldiers. 
 
 But I have not yet told you who and what I am: I 
 am chief of staff and second in command of the Army 
 of Georgia, which consists of the Twentieth and Four- 
 teenth corps and is commanded by Slocum. Slocum 
 has conceived a great partiality for me and so this posi- 
 tion suits me very well ; much better than a division com- 
 mand would have suited me. The staff consists of very 
 pleasant officers, and I have no one over me except the 
 army commander himself. 
 
 As to the immediate future, it is probable that John- 
 ston will follow the example of Lee. Some of his gen- 
 erals had already expressed themselves in the matter 
 before they left Raleigh. In the event he shall not 
 capitulate within the next few days, the army will oc- 
 cupy those points at which he must cross the streams if 
 he attempts to proceed southward. By very rapid move- 
 ments he might perhaps slip past us, but I do not think 
 it probable since he must realize the total uselessness of 
 a further continuance of the war. According to all re- 
 ports that we receive here, his army is hardly twenty- 
 five thousand strong and in a miserable condition in 
 every respect. ... In any case it will not be many days 
 before the complete dissolution of the last rebel army 
 occurs, and as soon as that takes place your husband will 
 immediately send in his resignation to the Secretary of 
 War, and as soon as the acceptance comes will make his 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 333 
 
 way to his wife and children. Then all dreams of cam- 
 paigns and battles will forever be past and I shall pillow 
 my head upon the bosom of my family. 
 
 While I am writing this, brigade after brigade is 
 marching past my headquarters. As far as eye can 
 reach is a sea of bayonets. This morning the Fifteenth 
 Army Corps arrived and defiled before Sherman, who 
 stood in front of the state capitol. There were several 
 generals with him, among them myself, to participate 
 in the review. The citizens of Raleigh, who appeared 
 in large numbers in front of the capitol, observed the 
 spectacle with curious glances. The troops looked 
 splendid and the corps seemed endless. Near me were 
 standing a gentleman and a beautiful young lady. 
 When the troops had already been defiling for a couple 
 of hours, and more and more came on, I noticed that 
 the young lady held her handkerchief before her eyes. 
 A staff officer who stood beside the pair told me later 
 that she tearfully spoke the words: "It is all over with 
 us ; I see now, it is all over. A few days ago I saw Gen- 
 eral Johnston's army, ragged and starved; now when 
 I look at these strong, healthy men and see them coming 
 and coming — it is all over with us !". . . 
 
 That represents the universal feeling among the 
 rebels here. Of course the numerous Union men one 
 finds in North Carolina are in ecstasies. I have seen 
 old, snow-white men take off their hats to the troops 
 and hold them in their hands until the columns had 
 moved past. 
 
 I am very well. The weather is wonderfully beauti- 
 ful, and we are environed by the glory of the southern 
 springtime. The trees are already in full bloom and 
 the gardens are gay with flowers. Do you know the 
 
334 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 beautiful song "Now all, all must change" [ Jetzt muss 
 sich alles, alles wenden] ? This is my mood. For when 
 I see anything that pleases me I always think the best 
 is that the war is coming to an end and I may go to my 
 home. . . . 
 
 Mrs. Schurz to Her Husband™ 
 
 Bethlehem, April 21, 1865 
 Now you know all and I see you sitting still and 
 alone, thinking, thinking, thinking. All that Lincoln 
 ever said to you, the little differences which you and he 
 had, and the great hours ; everything goes through youi* 
 mind now and makes you alternately glad and sorrow- 
 ful. Now he is laid away, and yesterday all the people 
 of our little city went in a long procession to the ceme- 
 tery, where we heard a beautiful speech by Dr. F., and 
 then to the church, where there was splendid music. It 
 was my first long walk; I went with the children. We 
 were all dressed in black and it seemed to me as if I 
 were following the corpse of a faithful old father. I 
 wept to my heart's content, and Dr. F.'s address was 
 extremely moving to all. All is quiet again, and in my 
 soul a raging, piercing sorrow has been quieted and I 
 say to myself: "He could not have died more happily 
 than now; without pain, in sight of his victories, to fall 
 like a hero!" And what you have always said is true; 
 that, after Washington, he is our greatest president and 
 the greatest emancipator. How happy I am that you 
 served him so loyally ! . . . 
 
 63 Cf. Schurz's letter of April 18 to his wife. Speeches, etc., i, 252ff. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 335 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, May 1, 1865 
 I have just come in and hasten to give you notice of 
 the fact before the mail closes. I shall report to Grant 
 today and probably resign my commission tomorrow. 
 It will probably be a couple of days before everything is 
 arranged. Naturally in view of the great changes which 
 have taken place I must also look about me a little in 
 the political world. Now for an early, happy reunion ! 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, May 4, 1865 
 Bad luck would have it that Grant had gone to Phil- 
 adelphia, wherefore my resignation could not be carried 
 through the proper tribunals. . . . 
 
 I am now impatient to withdraw from soldiering 
 and begin a regulated activity in which there is a future. 
 That we shall arrange for together, with pleasure. I 
 have seen Andie Johnson. He invited me to a long con- 
 sultation in which I was to lay before him my views on 
 the present situation and the policy to be pursued. So 
 far he seems all right ; there are no longer any traces of 
 bad habits, and the hints he gives in regard to policy 
 permit us to hope from him on the whole an energetic 
 and at the same time discreet use of his executive powers. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, May 19, 1865 
 I had paper on the table and was about to sit down 
 comfortably when General S locum arrived with his 
 
336 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 staff, thus for several hours making it impossible to 
 think of writing. Yesterday I had an interview with 
 the President concerning the Davis case, and he ap- 
 peared to take up with much satisfaction the idea that I 
 should participate in it. But inasmuch as other things 
 relating to this matter are still all in the dark, particu- 
 larly as it is not yet known whether the case will be tried 
 here or in Richmond, I have naturally been unable to 
 reach a decision as yet. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, May 21, 1865 
 My relations with the President [Andrew John- 
 son] are improving steadily. I saw him yesterday in 
 order to talk over the business of Texas and Mexico and 
 to impart to him my fear that an understanding existed 
 between the rebel leader Kirby Smith and the Emperor 
 of Mexico. Such an understanding, in its consequences, 
 might involve us in difficulties not alone with Mexico 
 but also with France. I therefore suggested to him to 
 cause immediate steps to be taken by our minister in 
 Paris which might lead to the clarification and strength- 
 ening of our relations with France in certain eventuali- 
 ties. He answered me with the request that I should 
 go over to the State Department and say to Mr. 
 Hunter, who is momentarily in Seward's place, what I 
 thought of the posture of affairs and what he ought to 
 write to our minister in Paris concerning it. I replied 
 that I should hesitate to do this, that it was Seward's 
 department and I did not like to climb over Seward's 
 fences. He had better give his direct orders in the mat- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 337 
 
 ter, since he alone could give instructions to his secre- 
 tary of state. He laughed and said I was right, but he 
 would do what I had advised. This incident shows that 
 I am in a good way to acquire here a personal influence 
 which, in certain contingencies, may prove of great sig- 
 nificance. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, Friday noon, May 26, 1865 
 Only a few words, as I shall probably leave at the 
 same time that this letter goes — at least possibly. This 
 morning I had a long conversation with the President 
 about the entire situation. He seemed uncertain and 
 perplexed. I offered several suggestions which to all 
 appearances made an impression upon him. At the end 
 of the conversation he asked me (since I had told him 
 I wanted to leave today) whether I would return at 
 once if he should telegraph me. I said I would, and he 
 answered he would require my presence again next 
 week. So we parted. Afterwards it occurred to me 
 that if he wanted me back at the beginning of next week 
 I might just as well stay here. I wrote him as much, 
 with the request that he let me know something definite 
 before five o'clock this afternoon. I am now awaiting 
 his answer. 
 
 To Henry Meyer 
 
 Bethlehem, June 15, 1865 
 First let me thank you for the beautiful present, 
 The Life of Caesar } which arrived while I was in North 
 Carolina to help catch Johnston's army. We are now 
 
338 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 through, at least with the war, and can give ourselves 
 quietly to the problems of peaceful development. The 
 uniform has been laid aside, the sword hangs on the wall ; 
 the children play with the riding- whip and spurs. I left 
 the army immediately after the surrender of the rebel 
 armies and am sitting happily in the midst of my family. 
 We would already have gone West had it not been so 
 difficult to undertake the long journey with our baby 
 in this summer heat. Besides, I have certain literary 
 labors in hand which I can finish here as well. With the 
 end of the war new ways naturally open for me — but 
 of these I will write you later when I see somewhat more 
 clearly. . . . 
 
 Whether or not I shall go back into public service I 
 do not yet know; I fancy not, although I could do so. 
 Unless one gets into a position in which he can accom- 
 plish something special it never pays. A man loses in- 
 fluence — for the most independent man always has the 
 greatest influence upon public opinion — and one gains 
 nothing in a material way. The President has tele- 
 graphed me and in response to his invitation I shall go 
 to Washington within three days. I do not know what 
 he wants of me. Probably I am to help about recon- 
 struction. You will receive a copy of my speeches with 
 this letter. The edition has been on the market for some 
 weeks, but the printer has delayed sending me well- 
 bound copies. . . . 
 
 To Frederick Althaus 
 
 Bethlehem, June 25, 1865 
 I now write again, and with the full consciousness 
 of how inexplicable my long silence must seem to you 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 339 
 
 and how inexcusable it appears to me. The period we 
 have just completed concentrated the mind with such 
 inexorableness upon immediate problems that it was 
 difficult to keep up a correspondence with those who 
 were not, like ourselves, under the direct influence of the 
 same events. And once you get out of epistolary con- 
 tact with even the dearest and most trusted friend, the 
 resumption of relationships becomes more difficult day 
 by day. You understand that and will forgive me. 
 
 At last we are past the time of trouble, storm, and 
 stress. The thunder of the cannon has ceased, the dead 
 have been buried, and we begin again to make plans for 
 the future without the stipulation: "Provided, that 
 until then the bullet shall not have found me." The 
 perplexities into which the war cast us are disappearing 
 and the problems of the immediate future begin to pre- 
 sent themselves more clearly. I see that Europeans 
 know how to appreciate the value of our victory, and 
 inasmuch as I have observed things directly and have 
 occasionally gained insight into hidden causes, I can say 
 to you it is impossible to speak too highly of the Ameri- 
 can people. In tenacity, readiness to sacrifice, con- 
 tempt of danger, moderation in victory, loyalty to pur- 
 pose, no nation of the world has ever exceeded them. 
 In Europe you know only the externals of our affairs ; 
 you have an approximate idea of the battles we fought, 
 the numbers of killed and missing, of the taxes we paid, 
 and the tremendous sums we expended. But you know 
 nothing of the voluntary efforts put forth or the volun- 
 tary sacrifices made by private individuals who simply 
 followed the impulses of patriotism. You do not know, 
 over there, how in everything that was done and sacri- 
 ficed the spirit of the people outran the government, and 
 
340 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 with what stoic resolution the masses went to the ballot 
 box in the last presidential election to vote upon them- 
 selves taxes, conscriptions, and battle fields. 
 
 Lincoln's strength consisted not in his genius, for 
 he did not possess actual genius. He was strong because 
 he was the living embodiment of the popular will. He 
 felt instinctively the convictions and determination of 
 the people because these went through the same course 
 of development in him as in the masses; and what he 
 said and did was the popular opinion expressed in the 
 popular speech and fulfilled in the popular manner. 
 For this reason he was slow in taking steps, and never 
 stepped backward. Also, that is the reason why the 
 assassination of Lincoln affected the popular heart so 
 deeply. Never was the sorrow of a nation more univer- 
 sal and more sincere. It was a genuine family sorrow 
 freed from official affectation. The people never had a 
 more loyal representative. For the moment, his death 
 did not indeed change the political situation, but I fear 
 the development of things will teach us to mourn him 
 doubly. Lincoln indeed was not the enlightened mind 
 who could instantly grasp the whole tendency of a 
 period; but through clear observation and slow decision 
 he always at last came to the right view. Besides, he 
 was definite and inflexible. Johnson, I fear, is a nar- 
 rower mind. He is not devoid of talent, but we shall 
 have to see whether he possesses clearness and decision. 
 The problem which remains for us to solve is in one 
 respect more difficult than those problems already 
 solved. To restore the Union in political form is a 
 trifling matter. The former rebels are taking the oath 
 of loyalty with pleasure and are eager to come back into 
 the old rights of self-government under the constitu- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 341 
 
 tion. But our aim is not fulfilled by that means. The 
 Union must be reconstructed upon the basis of the re- 
 sults of the great social revolution brought about during 
 the war in the South. A free labor society must be es- 
 tablished and built up on the ruins of the slave labor 
 society. 
 
 Now, the difficulty lies here: The Southern people 
 have not abandoned their proslavery sentiments. They 
 accept the abolition of slavery because they must. As 
 soon as the former slave states shall have achieved 
 state autonomy the status of the former slaves will be 
 fixed in a way as near slavery as possible. And then 
 the central government will no longer have the right to 
 interfere. That is to say, the development and promo- 
 tion of a great social revolution would be confided to a 
 population which is thoroughly hostile to the tendencies 
 of this revolution. The problem is how to obviate this 
 danger. For the present, so long as the states are not 
 restored to their constitutional relations with the central 
 government, that government has the power in its hands 
 and can find the means through which the results of the 
 revolution can be so fixed that thereafter the southern 
 population can no longer alter them. 
 
 The question is now being agitated with great 
 energy; the next Congress will have to decide it for the 
 time being. A particularly important role has been 
 assigned to me in this business. President Johnson, 
 whose confidence I possess to a considerable extent al- 
 though I do not share all his opinions, asked me to make 
 a journey for him into the southern states to study the 
 conditions and make reports and recommendations to 
 him as to the policy that should be pursued. My report, 
 which will probably be laid before Congress, can per- 
 
342 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 haps be so shaped as to play a distinctive role in this 
 weighty business. I shall probably start out in a few 
 days to perform this duty. 
 
 This journey will naturally defer by two or three 
 months the fulfillment of my favorite wish to live 
 quietly with my family. But the posture of affairs so 
 imperatively demands the service which I can give to 
 the country, that I cannot decline and must submit with- 
 out murmur. Aside from this, I have no intention of 
 remaining in public service, although favorable oppor- 
 tunities for it stand open. I shall preserve my inde- 
 pendence at this time and thus assure to myself a direct 
 influence upon public opinion. 
 
 I would tell you much about our family affairs, but 
 Margarethe has anticipated me therein. The entire cast 
 of our life is so bound up with public interests that when 
 I have told you of the latter I have at the same time 
 described to you something of the former. I must tell 
 you, however, that our youngest, who is not related to 
 political questions otherwise than that she is named 
 Savannah because her birth occurred contemporane- 
 ously with the capture of the city, a genuine war child, 
 is the most heavenly creature you can imagine. There 
 is nothing more charming. 
 
 I am aware that it is shameless in me, after so long 
 a silence on my part, to demand that you should write 
 me very soon and very fully about yourself and yours. 
 But you will do it, quite fully, will you not? 
 
 To His Wife 
 Hilton Head [South Carolina] 
 July 26, 1865 
 Last week, the day after I wrote you, I went into 
 the interior as far as Columbia, the ruined city, in which 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 343 
 
 eleven hundred houses were burned during the presence 
 of Sherman's army. Had you been with me you would 
 have had to laugh at your earlier worry about travel in 
 this region being insecure. It is not more peaceful in 
 any quarter of the world. There is not the slightest 
 trace of guerrilla warfare. Our military commanders no 
 longer think of surrounding themselves with the slight- 
 est protective measures. The people here are glad that 
 they are alive from one day to the next and that the 
 government gives them rations if they have nothing to 
 eat. 
 
 I went from Charleston to Orangeburg by rail at 
 the rate of about ten miles per hour in a heat of ninety- 
 five degrees; and from there to Columbia during the 
 night in a wagon drawn by four mules. I got into com- 
 munication with the leading inhabitants, made my ob- 
 servations, and then, after a stay of two days, drove 
 during the night of Friday to Saturday back to Charles- 
 ton. The return journey was adventurous to this ex- 
 tent, that the wagon broke down five miles from Colum- 
 bia, whereupon we had to take horses and ride the re- 
 maining thirty-five miles, which brought us to Orange- 
 burg before seven o'clock Saturday morning. Then 
 again by rail to Charleston with the same slowness and 
 in the same temperature. . . . 
 
 There is no visible trace of contagious diseases, and 
 according to official reports the entire coast is free from 
 them. There is a very strict quarantine which renders 
 it probable that we shall get over the summer and fall 
 smoothly. Yesterday I came to this place from Charles- 
 ton and shall remain with General Gillmore today and 
 tomorrow for the purpose of working out my report to 
 the President, at least so far as it relates to South Caro- 
 
344 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 lina. I have come to the firm conviction that the policy 
 of the government is the worst that could be hit upon. 
 At this moment it is impossible to calculate the results. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Savannah, July 30, 1865 
 ... I reached here day before yesterday. Gen- 
 eral Gillmore, who has treated me in the most amiable 
 and obliging manner, accompanied me hither. Every- 
 thing is made as pleasant and convenient as possible for 
 me, and since it is my problem to see and interrogate all 
 the people within my reach from whom any real enlight- 
 enment can be derived, I am active from morning till 
 night and can hardly find the necessary time to make my 
 notes ; and I am heartily tired when, at retiring time, I 
 take leave of my last guests. Then I have to write my 
 report and newspaper correspondence in the night, or 
 whenever a favorable interval of rest offers during the 
 day. I have to wait here for the next steamer going to 
 Augusta. The water in Savannah River is very low; 
 they can use only boats of less than three feet draught. 
 
 Savannah is a beautiful country town of twenty to 
 twenty-five thousand population, in times past the win- 
 ter home of rich planters. There is no special elegance 
 about the houses, and what make the city actually 
 pretty are the beautiful shade trees along the streets 
 and the multitude of small parks and squares which one 
 finds almost every three blocks. My investigations are 
 making good progress. I see many a new thing which 
 strengthens me in the conviction that the restoration of 
 civil government is not yet possible. To be sure, there is 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 345 
 
 profound peace; of the predicted guerrilla war there is 
 no trace. Our officers go hither and yon through the 
 country without the slightest danger, but it is only a 
 passive submission. The new labor system is nowhere 
 taken up with eagerness, and they are unquestionably 
 thinking of subjecting the negroes to some kind of slav- 
 ery again after the restoration of civil government and 
 the withdrawal of our troops. There is the greatest con- 
 fusion of ideas about what is to be done, and if the 
 people here shall now be permitted to make their own 
 laws the confusion will be worse confounded. In my 
 report about South Carolina I advised the President to 
 suspend the reconstruction movement until later because 
 the people are becoming more and more confused. 
 
 There will always be postal connections with the out- 
 side ; that is to say, military posts, so that my letters can 
 reach you. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Atlanta, Georgia, August 9, 1865 
 I have allowed several days to pass without writing 
 because there was no direct communication. I left Sa- 
 vannah last Wednesday on a river steamboat and only 
 reached Augusta Saturday evening. The voyage up Sa- 
 vannah River was extremely tedious, the region ex- 
 tremely monotonous — nothing but forest, of course a 
 splendid vegetation, but interrupted only here and there 
 by a few miserable plantations. For two days we saw 
 no houses. The accommodations on the steamer were 
 bad, the company indifferent. Besides, we made only 
 about five miles per hour and lay-to at night. 
 
346 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 In Augusta it was daylight again. I was received 
 in the pleas ant est manner by General Steedman, who 
 commands in Georgia, and I conducted my inquiries 
 with the greatest success. While I made many discov- 
 eries which throw new light upon a nmnber of things, 
 I found more and more that the opinions concerning 
 the state of affairs which I brought with me were cor- 
 rect on the whole and even in particulars. Augusta 
 is a pretty fine town with some twenty thousand inhabi- 
 tants; wide streets, some planted with quadruple rows 
 of trees. The place suffered not at all from the war, 
 since Sherman's army did not touch it. 
 
 Yesterday morning I left Augusta in the railway 
 coach originally equipped for General Thomas, consist- 
 ing of a small salon with four sofas, a bedroom, a dining 
 room with table and armchairs, and a kitchen. So I 
 came to this place in a comfortable manner. But who 
 should greet me here at the railway station? Prince 
 Salm, who is commanding here! He has done every- 
 thing to make me comfortable. The Princess is also 
 here, but sick. Atlanta may have been a more beautiful 
 place formerly. Sherman burned about three-quarters 
 of the city. The main streets, especially the whole busi- 
 ness section, he in ruins. They have just begun to erect 
 small one-story buildings out of the bricks of the ruins. 
 The whole makes a sorrowful impression. The popula- 
 tion is as bitter as ever. This is the only place in whose 
 neighborhood there is still something like guerrilla war- 
 fare, which however is directed only against negroes. 
 Almost every day some are brought in with gun- and 
 knife- wounds. The planters of the neighborhood ap- 
 pear to have organized themselves for the purpose of 
 compelling negroes to work as they formerly did in 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 347 
 
 slavery, and when a negro dares to leave he is shot. 
 Only yesterday a negro was shot in the stomach here on 
 the street. I visited him in the hospital. This evening 
 he died. The assassin was arrested and will soon get his 
 deserts at the hands of the military commission. They 
 will doubtless hang him as an example. . . . 
 
 Georgia has cost me more time than I expected on 
 account of bad connections. I hope it will go faster 
 now. I have to endure a good deal of heat but do not 
 suffer from it. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Macon, Georgia, August 14, 1865 
 My last interviews have been held. My report on 
 the status of things in Georgia is ready and tomorrow 
 I shall leave the city to go to the capital of Alabama. 
 When I reached here last Friday Governor Johnson 
 was gone to Milledgeville, whither I was obliged to fol- 
 low him. I ordered a special train immediately and 
 went the same evening. Milledgeville, the capital of 
 Georgia, is a miserable little place about which there 
 is nothing more remarkable to tell than that a remote, 
 miserable place can be the capital of a state. I passed 
 the night with Governor Johnson and am glad to be 
 able to say that I found in him the kind of man we need. 
 He recognizes fully the significance of the problem 
 we have to solve and the magnitude of the difficulties by 
 which it is surrounded. He is willing to go hand in 
 hand with us in regard to all regulations we may find 
 necessary for introducing a general system of free 
 labor. Of all men with whom I have come in contact in 
 
348 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 the South, he is the clearest, most resolute and de- 
 termined. If the accident which made him provisional 
 governor were to give us similar men for the other 
 states, matters would stand much better. 
 
 Saturday morning I went back to Macon and am 
 here with General Croxton, a young man from Ken- 
 tucky, a splendid fellow who has kept himself entirely 
 free from the demoralizing influences of his home insti- 
 tutions. Although the son of a slaveholder I found in 
 him an abolitionist of the most radical sort. He is an 
 eager advocate of negro suffrage and I fear that I 
 seem to him rather too conservative than too radical. 
 I also found here Major-General Wilson, who com- 
 manded the last great cavalry expedition and distin- 
 guished himself particularly in the capture of Selma and 
 the organization of the forest corps. His is a frank, 
 lively, youthful nature and he overwhelmed me with 
 civilities. 
 
 Macon is a nice place with broad, airy streets which 
 would leave with me very pleasant memories if it had 
 not been so infamously hot. The days I spent here 
 were the hottest and most debilitating of my entire 
 journey. It is said that in this respect Macon is worse 
 than any other place in the South. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 New Orleans, September 2, 1865 
 I arrived here last night, and this morning on visit- 
 ing General Canby, sure enough I found four letters 
 all at once. . . . 
 
 I spent two days in Vicksburg with General Slocum, 
 who being in conflict with the governor of the state re- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 349 
 
 ceived me as a real help in time of trouble. Slocum is 
 fully in the right when he opposes the organization of 
 a state militia, especially to the extent proposed by the 
 governor. If the government disavows him and sus- 
 tains the governor, it will be the most irresponsible trick 
 so far enacted in Washington. I have done everything 
 that was possible through reports and telegraphic dis- 
 patches. If it fails to help, it will not be my fault. If 
 the President persists in pursuing a false course he must 
 not be surprised if, later, I bring into the field against 
 him all the artillery I am assembling now. He will find 
 the armament pretty heavy, but I continue to hope it 
 will not be needed. . . . 
 
 I went to the St. Charles Hotel, at one time one of 
 the best in the country, now however in a greatly deterio- 
 rated condition. This morning General Canby quartered 
 me in his house, a house of course that belonged to a 
 wealthy rebel and which was commandeered by the gov- 
 ernment. I am therefore nicely fixed, have my private 
 bathroom and all imaginable conveniences. New Or- 
 leans, to judge from what I have thus far seen, has quite 
 the character of a great city in contrast to the places I 
 have so far visited in this section of the country. The 
 French element is much more numerous and prominent 
 than I had supposed. There are multitudes of French 
 business signs and you hear the French tongue on all 
 sides. A large section of the city is almost exclusively 
 occupied by French inhabitants and has all the distinc- 
 tive peculiarities that meet us in the cities of France. 
 
 I found a genuine mine of information here in the 
 headquarters and in the Freedman's Bureau, and in 
 order to cover it properly I shall have to stay here 
 several days. Besides, conditions here, by reason of the 
 
350 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 long occupation, are more developed than elsewhere and 
 I have a multitude of persons to see. We have recon- 
 struction and civil government in all stages of develop- 
 ment here. Probably in the course of the week I may 
 go for a couple of days to Mobile, where the commander 
 of the department of Alabama has his headquarters ; in 
 that department there is much rottenness. On my re- 
 turn I shall visit a couple of places in the interior of 
 the state and then ascend the river to St. Louis. I am, 
 moreover, expecting a dispatch from the President 
 which may call for the investigation of one or another 
 specific matter. . . . 
 
 Keep cheerful and well. We shall soon be together 
 again. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 New Orleans,, September 12, 1865 
 My stay here drags out longer than I had originally 
 expected. Political conditions are much confused and 
 it is necessary not only that I see and listen to the 
 classes of people with whom I sympathize, but especially 
 that I get in touch with the constituted authorities. It 
 was unfortunate that Governor Wells went to his own 
 home on the upper Red River a couple of days prior to 
 my arrival and has not yet returned. He is expected 
 today or tomorrow and it is absolutely necessary that I 
 see him. . . . 
 
 You have doubtless heard of the conflict between 
 General Slocum and General Sharkey and the subse- 
 quent decision of the President. Nothing could have 
 been more unfortunate than this decision. To withdraw 
 the troops now and organize the militia means to re-arm 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 351 
 
 the rebels. The result will be a sharp and perhaps 
 bloody persecution of the negroes and the Union men. 
 It is now my function to investigate the results of this 
 unfortunate policy, and I am unable to forecast how 
 long that may delay me. At all events, the inquiry 
 must be thorough to the end that it may yield depend- 
 able results. The developments here on the whole are 
 bad. The proslavery element is gaining the upper hand 
 everywhere and the policy of the government is such as 
 to encourage this outcome. . . . 
 
 I had a peculiar experience today, which made a 
 deep impression upon me. An old gentleman was in- 
 troduced to me in the office of former Governor Hahn. 
 He was dressed with the simple elegance of the cosmo- 
 politan person of taste, and was so fluent and versatile 
 in conversation that I was forced to recognize in him a 
 man of more than ordinary talent and of varied expe- 
 rience. In the course of the conversation he thanked me 
 for my efforts in behalf of the colored race and remarked 
 that he did it with all the more warmth since he had a 
 strong personal interest in the matter. I did not under- 
 stand the remark until he told me that he was himself a 
 colored man. There is no country of the world, save 
 this, in which he would not be received as a gentleman 
 of the upper class. I cannot describe the impression I 
 received. But I shall give expression to it when I begin 
 speaking again. There are twenty thousand of these 
 old "free colored" persons in this state, many of whom 
 are wealthy (they represent a capital of more than thir- 
 teen million dollars) and are among the most cultivated 
 people of the country. . . . 
 
 I am very weary of this separation. It shall truly 
 be the last. 
 
352 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 New Orleans, September 20, 1865 
 ... In the state of Mississippi I have to investigate 
 the effects of a stupid military policy and then my labors 
 will be ended. It will probably require a journey into 
 the interior unless adequate reports shall have come in 
 from all counties, which is hardly to be expected. I 
 wrote the President in my last letter that I would con- 
 sider my duty discharged as soon as the three months 
 I promised him I would devote to it should be passed. 
 I expect to receive the last dispatch from him in Vicks- 
 burg. 
 
 My journey into the interior here was not unin- 
 teresting. I went by rail to Brashear and from there 
 by government steamboat up the Teche Bayou to 
 Franklin and New Iberia. The voyage on the river 
 was very fine. The most magnificent plantations on 
 the river banks are varied with wild, half -tropical, primi- 
 tive forests ; the air is full of rare birds, and the water is 
 alive with uncounted alligators. Upon our return jour- 
 ney we provided ourselves with rifles and from the lower 
 deck of our steamboat were entertained by a lively alli- 
 gator hunt in which at least four were killed and eight 
 or nine wounded. 
 
 But the people, the people! Without strength, 
 without energy, without will! Hardly a single planta- 
 tion is being worked. The most fertile soil in the world 
 lies fallow. Nothing but murmuring and complaining. 
 Nothing will come of this country unless the ownership 
 of the land passes into new hands. The ruling class is 
 rotten, and the sooner it is gone the better. In two years 
 not five out of a hundred planters of this state will be in 
 possession of their lands. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 353 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, November 24, 1865 
 I only completed the copies of my report Tuesday 
 and delivered the document Wednesday morning. 64 At 
 the same time I caused to be made a request for permis- 
 sion to print my report. Today I learned from the 
 President's secretary that the President had not yet had 
 time to read the report and come to a decision regarding 
 it. He wants to see it tonight. 
 
 I also made out my expense account, which has to be 
 presented to the War Department and, indeed, to a 
 special functionary to be audited. This gentleman, at 
 last, after I had recast the account twice, completed the 
 audit but has to wait for an opportunity to lay the 
 account before the Secretary of War for " approval/ ' 
 That has not yet been done, and since there is a cabinet 
 meeting today it will probably not be done today. The 
 result is, I cannot get away today and probably not to- 
 morrow. Here is another of those incidents "which 
 justify suicide." Naturally, however, I cannot leave 
 until the entire business which called me hither shall 
 have been finished. 
 
 Yesterday I received a letter from the New York 
 Tribune proposing that I take over the Tribune office 
 here in Washington. The great papers of course main- 
 tain offices here in which news is assembled, correspond- 
 ence prepared, and the interests of the papers in gen- 
 eral represented. The position has a certain importance, 
 but the letter says nothing about the duties to be ful- 
 filled nor about the question of compensation. I shall 
 write about these matters today. . . . 
 
 w The comprehensive Report on the Condition of the South. See 
 Speeches, etc., i, 279-374. 
 
354 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 The political temper among the Congressmen who 
 have arrived is remarkable. The President, as it seems, 
 has become timid but fails to bear his defeat with good 
 humor. Today I had a long conference with Howard, 
 who agrees with me in all the impressions he brought 
 away from the South. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, December 5, 1865 
 I arrived here in good condition yesterday morning 
 about six o'clock and plunged at once into the whirl- 
 pool of affairs . There is a great deal to be done at the 
 outset. It is necessary to familiarize myself with the 
 details of my duties, which is no small task. Yesterday 
 I had to be at the office until eleven at night and today 
 the same. . . . 
 
 Sumner tells me the President is not at all favorable 
 to me on account of my report. He wanted to use me 
 as the official support of his policy and he is now angry 
 that the results of my journey are a hindrance to him. 
 Yesterday I learned he had given Howard my report 
 to read and that he [Howard] was enchanted with it. I 
 shall try to see Howard tomorrow. The action of Con- 
 gress so far is sharp and decisive and the spirit of our 
 party fine. The message of the President is openly 
 calculated to avoid a struggle with Congress — and Con- 
 gress will do as it pleases. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, December 17, 1865 
 . . . Since you wish it so much we shall spend Christ- 
 mas in Bethlehem. It is annoying indeed that I have no 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 355 
 
 house as yet. I certainly hope to have one before the 
 session of Congress reopens after the holidays. When 
 we once can be together here in the home, many things 
 can be arranged better. It looks as if the President 
 were beginning to grow tame. The determined attitude 
 of the majority in Congress must have convinced him 
 that he is not "head of the house." I am told that he 
 says he is going to let Congress do as it pleases. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, December 21, 1865 
 I have a couple of lecture engagements during the 
 vacation of Congress, which however are not yet defi- 
 nitely fixed — with the exception of one in Boston. I 
 have had to work very hard today, for I had to examine 
 and correct the assembled copies of my report and the 
 documents. Probably you will already have seen my 
 report in the Tribune before this letter reaches you. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Bethlehem, December 27, 1865 
 Only a few words today. I have received your 
 letter. I shall be in Boston January 2 for the purpose 
 of speaking the same evening before the "fraternity." 
 I do not yet know when I shall arrive in Boston; pos- 
 sibly in the afternoon or evening — and a hard fate de- 
 crees that I must leave there again on the third. You 
 see how closely my time is limited. Under the circum- 
 stances we must make the best possible use of our time. 
 I shall go to the Tremont House. Could you find it 
 possible to look me up there? 
 
356 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 I and mine wish you and yours all good things for the 
 new year. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Boston, January 2, 1866 
 I looked for you here but did not find you. I am 
 staying at the Tremont House. I shall be there until 
 two o'clock and then be engaged until after the lecture, 
 about nine o'clock. I shall then be yours until tomorrow 
 afternoon. If you can do so, please let me see you at the 
 Tremont House before two o'clock. We can then make 
 our plans. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, January 12, 1866 
 The success of my report appears greater from day 
 to day. Every mail brings letters of congratulation. 
 Grant feels very bad about his thoughtless move and has 
 openly expressed his regrets for what he has done. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, January 17, 1866 
 For three days I have devoted every minute which 
 could be spared from my work to the hunt for rooms. 
 I am no longer house hunting; that I gave up last 
 week. In a word, there are no houses, and since I ap- 
 preciate the necessity of living close to the office I have 
 restricted my search for rooms to districts within half 
 a mile from here. . . . 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 357 
 
 I am truly a hunted puppy. While I sit here and 
 write, a tiresome fellow plants himself on a chair oppo- 
 site and tells me all kinds of silly stuff. If I had you 
 here I would be willing to submit to all these annoy- 
 ances. ... In other respects I am quite well; only, I 
 must say, on account of these plaguey things I am in a 
 detestably bad humor. Today my report was issued in 
 pamphlet form as a congressional document. If I only 
 had you here! And this must be brought about, if I 
 have to wear my legs down to two stumps [room hunt- 
 ing]. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, January 19, 1866 
 Yesterday we gave the right of suffrage to the ne- 
 groes in the District of Columbia. How does that suit 
 you? The men in Congress begin now to cite my report. 
 The seed is coming up and we shall complete a great 
 section of world history this winter. Today Colonel 
 Johnson, son and private secretary of the President, 
 stopped me on the street to ask when he could have a 
 long talk with me. I told him next week. There seems 
 to be something wanted up yonder. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, January 23, 1866 
 
 Though it is nearly midnight, I must write to you 
 
 yet today. A proposition was made to me yesterday 
 
 which may prove important to us. A large capital has 
 
 been assembled in Detroit, a joint-stock company organ- 
 
358 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 ized, and all arrangements made for establishing a new 
 newspaper. Everything is completed up to the selec- 
 tion of the head. A deputation from the board of direc- 
 tors came here yesterday to propose to me the accept- 
 ance of the editorship. I told them I was negotiating 
 with parties in St. Louis and that I could not accept 
 another proposition until the St. Louis undertaking 
 should be proved impracticable. It was then stated 
 under what conditions I might accept the Detroit offer 
 should I withdraw from the St. Louis aggregation. . . . 
 
 Detroit is a fine city of some seventy-five thousand 
 inhabitants and one of the cheapest places to live in 
 which the country affords. The undertaking, as stated, 
 is ready; press, types, a business site — all have been 
 bought and paid for and sufficient cash capital is on hand 
 to carry on the business. The undertaking stands on 
 the solidest basis, and from the way it is organized I 
 do not doubt it will be successful. That is the bright 
 side. The unfavorable side is that, although in compari- 
 son with St. Louis my compensation and circle of ac- 
 tivity would truly be surer, it would be a distinctly 
 more limited one. Social relations in Detroit would be 
 just as pleasant, if not pleasanter, than in St. Louis. 
 
 I have written to Governor Fletcher at St. Louis 
 requesting a telegraphic answer concerning the status 
 of things there. If I can reckon with certainty upon 
 that undertaking, I shall prefer St. Louis. If that is 
 not the case, I believe the Detroit offer to be an accept- 
 able one. If I take Detroit we shall have to be there by 
 March 1. In about a week the matter ought to be 
 settled. 
 
 My report has had great success among the Con- 
 gressmen. Sumner moved in the Senate for the publi- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 359 
 
 cation of a hundred thousand copies. The House also 
 has demanded it. The President expressed himself as 
 follows to a Senator: "The only great mistake I have 
 made yet was to send Schurz to the South." I believe 
 it! 
 
 I must confess that my longing for a settled house- 
 hold has almost determined me to accept the Detroit 
 offer at once. To be sure, a conference with the board 
 of directors would still be necessary. Think the matter 
 over, talk it over, and write me your views about it. . . . 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Washington, January 25, 1866 
 I received your letter last night and am hurrying 
 the application along. I gave my residence as Water- 
 town, Wisconsin, because what is here called my "legal 
 residence" is there. I shall, however, before the expira- 
 tion of six months establish myself permanently either 
 in St. Louis or in Detroit, where extremely enticing 
 propositions have been made to me. I hope the appli- 
 cation is properly drawn up. I leave the arrangement 
 of the payments to you. Send me the notes with the 
 amounts inscribed, so that I shall need only to sign them. 
 Semi-annual payments would be the most agreeable to 
 me. For the sum now due draw on me a draft payable 
 by Jay Cooke and Company, Bankers, Washington, 
 D. C, where I have my account. As I understand you 
 the first cash payment will amount to $96.68, and since 
 the payments are to pass through your hands I shall 
 rely on you to notify me regularly in time; otherwise 
 they will be forgotten. You silly, give yourself no 
 scruples for having called the matter to my attention 
 
360 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 again. I would have done it anyhow, and to insure my- 
 self with you is a quite particular pleasure. 
 
 I believe Philadelphia would be a very good place 
 for you. You would also find in my old friend Dr. 
 Tiedemann (with whom you must refrain from quar- 
 reling over spiritualism) an excellent examining physi- 
 cian. You could transfer again when the Pennsylvania 
 field has been exploited, and finally we should come to 
 live in the same place. 
 
 Here, naturally, I am over ears in politics and am 
 hardly able to spare a quarter of an hour. You must, 
 therefore, excuse the brevity of this letter. I shall 
 doubtless not come to Boston this winter, but have re- 
 ceived an invitation from Worcester which I may pos- 
 sibly accept. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, January 26, 1866 
 The news from St. Louis must come soon and then 
 I shall have to decide one way or the other. At the be- 
 ginning of February I have three lectures: one in 
 Poughkeepsie, one in Jersey City, and one in Brooklyn. 
 I am to speak about conditions in the South and have 
 as yet written hardly anything. Life is so giddy here 
 and there is constantly so much to do that one accom- 
 plishes nothing. ... If the Detroit business comes to 
 nothing; that is, if the St. Louis offer comes in such 
 a form as to be preferable and I decide to remain here 
 a while longer, I will certainly find a dwelling place. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 361 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Detroit, March 3, 1866 
 I have just arrived here. ... It is evening and I 
 am very tired. I have, however, already seen the presi- 
 dent of the newspaper company. Of course, nothing 
 can be done tonight, or tomorrow, because it is Sunday. 
 As far as I have now learned, everything is pretty well 
 in order. Monday I shall go over the contract with a 
 lawyer and then go more fully into details. I expect 
 to finish my business here quickly if everything goes 
 right, and come at once to bring you and the children. 
 Tomorrow I shall give myself to quiet meditation and, 
 if the weather is good, shall look over the town a bit in 
 order to select a little place where we can set our four 
 stakes. This much I have already learned, that houses 
 are pretty scarce because the city is extraordinarily full 
 of people ; this may be looked upon as a sign of healthy 
 growth. . . . Now we shall make ourselves comfortable. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Editorial Rooms of the Daily Post 
 Detroit, Michigan 
 April 23, 1866 
 I received both of your letters today. I had none 
 from you since coming here ; that is, since the week be- 
 fore the last week of March. Possibly some are still ly- 
 ing in Washington. 
 
 It is great that you want to come here. You will 
 probably find this a good field. The German popula- 
 tion of the city amounts to nearly 20,000 and it is very 
 numerous in the vicinity. The climate is changeable 
 
862 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 but it has the reputation of being healthful. Rents are 
 high; that is, the rental of an entire house. Board is 
 cheaper than in the East — I believe decidedly cheaper. 
 I know a small family which secures very good board 
 for sixteen dollars a week. Clothing is dearer here than 
 in the East, but foodstuffs are cheaper. The total popu- 
 lation of Detroit amounts to about 70,000; of the state 
 of Michigan nearly 1,000,000, including fully 200,000 
 Germans. The state has great resources and the popu- 
 lation is "doing well." Detroit is a decidedly flourish- 
 ing city. 
 
 Let there be no doubt about your coming. I am 
 writing in all haste to help you make up your mind 
 promptly. My wife and children greet you and yours 
 heartily. Let me soon hear from you again. 
 
 To His Father [and Mother ] 
 
 Detroit, May 11, 1866 
 My heartiest good wishes upon your birthday. It 
 is unnecessary for me to recount all that I wish you. 
 The recent years have been hard; full of uncertainty, 
 worry, and excitement. Now that peace has returned 
 and everything swings back into the ways of customary 
 life, a quieter time will return for us also, and in a few 
 months I hope to see fulfilled a great wish which I have 
 carried about with me for years and which you have un- 
 doubtedly shared : the wish to live once more under the 
 same roof with you. At last the outlook is becoming 
 more favorable. I have found a field in which I can 
 establish for myself a secure living, and next fall will 
 doubtless find us all united. Then you shall spend the 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 363 
 
 evening of your lives in the midst of the family which 
 loves you. Keep well and active, that our life together 
 may be untroubled. I would gladly come over to see 
 you one of these days, but the duties of my present posi- 
 tion hold me so fast in my newspaper office that I dare 
 not take a day off. I have a great deal of work, and 
 having decided to spare no pains to make our present 
 undertaking successful I naturally cannot take it 
 lightly. So far the auspices are good. Of course one 
 must not expect too much the first year. . . . 
 
 The loss I suffered through the burning of the depot 
 affected us all seriously. I would have borne everything 
 else gladly had not my letters been among the articles 
 destroyed. Well, we must regard the loss as a pledge 
 demanded by fate for future good fortune. . . . 
 
 We are now firmly resolved that Margarethe shall 
 visit you in Watertown with the children as soon as 
 possible. If I can anywise get away, I shall bring them 
 over and arrange matters so I can remain over Sunday. 
 I shall in any case telegraph you at the proper time so 
 that you may know exactly when to expect us. Nothing 
 would give me more pleasure than to find you all quite 
 well and cheerful. . . . Once more, my heartiest good 
 wishes. I hope my dearest Mama has been restored to 
 full strength in the fine country air. May you all be en- 
 joying good health. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Detroit, July 21, 1866 
 . . . How do the reports from Europe suit you? 
 The operations of the Prussians are beyond all measure 
 brilliant. Prussia is in the way to swallow up the 
 
364 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 greater part of France, and it would not surprise me if 
 within no long time a war should break out between 
 this new great power and France. . . . 
 
 There is nothing new here except that I must work 
 like a horse ; and that is old. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Detroit, July 24, 1866 
 I hope to get away from here Friday night at all 
 events. . . . But it is doubtful if I can remain longer 
 than over Sunday. None of my associates are able to 
 handle the European questions which are now of such 
 extraordinary interest, particularly in these days when 
 the relations between France and Prussia are tending to 
 a crisis. I should be very glad to be able to spend a 
 week or two on the farm but do not see how it is pos- 
 sible. . . . 
 
 The development of affairs in Europe is surprising. 
 I hope it will result in a decided limitation of the Napo- 
 leonic influence, whether with or without a war. And, 
 since the attainment of these results depends wholly 
 upon the energy and the success of Prussia, my sym- 
 pathies are naturally on the Prussian side. At present 
 it is all off with the revolution ; and the attempts at revo- 
 lutionary organization which are still under way here 
 and there are supremely absurd. Bismarck can now be 
 more useful to Germany than any other man if he can 
 only be forced into the right track. . . . 
 
 My eyes are drooping and I will say good-night. It 
 is after twelve and D. has just now interrupted me by 
 bringing in a dispatch containing the last silly message 
 of the President. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 365 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Detroit, August 2, 1866 
 . . . Naturally I found my hands full here. Have 
 you read of the disturbances in New Orleans? Several 
 of my friends and acquaintances were killed or severely 
 wounded in them. Isn't it frightful to think that the 
 President himself should have encouraged such mis- 
 deeds? And yet there are men who force their way in 
 to kiss his hand! The federal officers are attempting 
 here also to organize a Johnson party. It is somewhat 
 lonesome here, but since I have a couple of campaign 
 speeches to work out, which absorb my free time, it goes 
 well enough. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Detroit, August 4, 1866 
 Your last letter arrived here during my absence, 
 which will explain and justify the delay in answering. 
 I have enjoyed several days of country life with my 
 people upon my old farm in Watertown, Wisconsin. I 
 am now once more in harness, and indeed very much so. 
 What do you say to the occurrences in Germany? 
 Peace came a little too quickly to suit me. I had hoped 
 for an embroilment between Prussia and France, out of 
 which Germany would certainly have emerged as a 
 unity. I now fear that victorious Prussia will be too 
 Prussian and too little German. 
 
 How are your family getting along? Mine are 
 all well. 
 
366 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Detroit, August 6, 1866 
 . . . We are having here the convention of the 
 Western Associated Press, whose meetings are being 
 held in our building. So my office is constantly full of 
 newspaper men, who will hardly permit me to get at the 
 most necessary work. The principal subject of dis- 
 cussion is concerning arrangements with the Atlantic 
 Cable. The reports (which, incidentally, have thus far 
 been extraordinarily meager) are transmitted to us by 
 the Associated Press and naturally make us extra ex- 
 pense. The Press convention will probably remain in 
 session tomorrow and the day following. So long I 
 shall be besieged. I have already discovered the sweet- 
 ness of it today. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Detroit, August 15, 1866 
 My banker here tells me he has notice from a Boston 
 banker that my check for $99.56 has been sent from 
 there; and since no return followed, it is supposed that 
 it was lost. I am accordingly sending you a duplicate 
 which must go through the same business channel in or- 
 der to be honored here. Should the lost check come to 
 light meantime, the duplicate will simply be cancelled. 
 When are you coming? 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Detroit, August 31, 1866 
 My speech is not yet quite finished. I shall be 
 obliged to prepare the peroration in Philadelphia. The 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 367 
 
 material has become too bulky. We are leaving tonight, 
 quite a numerous company. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 [Philadelphia] September 5, 1866 
 I arrived Sunday morning and only now find a little 
 quiet for writing. Of all political demonstrations in 
 which I have ever participated, this is the most magnifi- 
 cent. When the delegations assembled Monday morn- 
 ing in Independence Square to go to the Union League 
 House, the streets through which the procession moved 
 were filled with a crowd such as I have seldom seen. 
 There was no end of cheering when a well-known per- 
 sonality showed himself, and your husband too was 
 greeted now and then with many shouts. The main 
 streets were decorated with banners and the windows 
 crowded full of heads. The delegations were received 
 ceremonially at the Union League House, and since 
 then the Southern Convention has been in session. We 
 Northerners have actually done nothing so far except to 
 confer with the Southerners. 
 
 The people in Philadelphia appear to have organ- 
 ized themselves in permanent mass meetings. From 
 early morning till late at night — at least till after sunset 
 — some thousands of men are assembled before the 
 Union League House to listen to speeches. Aside from 
 this there are meetings with speeches every evening 
 in the National Hall. But orderly speaking is hardly 
 possible. The people simply want to shout, and if this 
 thing continues several days longer all Philadelphia will 
 be hoarse. I have not spoken yet at all, although I am 
 called for several dozen times every day. In the open 
 
868 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 air I cannot and will not speak, and in National Hall it 
 is so hot that no speaker can hold out longer than twenty 
 minutes. They want to arrange for an assembly solely 
 for me next Saturday, but I am not sure I ought to 
 agree to it. Unless the weather changes it will hardly 
 be possible. The Southern Convention is dragging out 
 considerably and they will hardly get through before 
 the end of the week. If I do not accept the Saturday 
 meeting I shall speak in New York before my return. 
 
 The campaign is in good shape. I consider our vic- 
 tory practically certain. Public sentiment is quite as 
 it was in 1860. . . . Adieu. I must go to another con- 
 ference with our Southern friends. This evening there 
 is to be a great torchlight procession, and a mass meeting 
 of a hundred thousand people is expected. 
 
 Next week, then. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Detroit, September 11, 1866 
 At last I am back. Just arrived by steamer from 
 Cleveland and have only a few minutes to write before 
 the mail goes out. I spoke in Philadelphia on Saturday 
 evening before a great assembly in National Hall. The 
 matter was put off so long partly because the Pennsyl- 
 vania newspapers were not able to publish my speech 
 sooner, and partly because they didn't want to sandwich 
 it in between the deliberations of the convention. It 
 was a great success. I have not spoken with so much 
 applause since my Douglas speech. Next morning, 
 Sunday, the speech was in the Press, and is now being 
 printed as a campaign document. I left Philadelphia 
 on Sunday and reached here safely. . . . 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 369 
 
 The political campaign is in Splendid shape. I 
 consider our victory certain. The demonstration in 
 Philadelphia last Wednesday evening was the most mag- 
 nificent I have ever seen. Broad Street was packed full 
 from Arch to Spruce streets. The damage which the 
 fire did to the Union League House was not as serious 
 as had been supposed. The League will not have to 
 abandon the house at all. It [the fire] was probably in- 
 cendiary. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Detroit, September 12, 1866 
 . . . During B.'s absence I am naturally over- 
 whelmed with labor. In addition, I must make some 
 preparations for the campaign speeches which I still 
 have to deliver. I shall now go after Johnson hard. 
 The speeches he made in St. Louis are no longer 
 "funny." We no longer know whether we are dealing 
 with a sane person. Fortunately, the people appreciate 
 him at his true worth. In every place where he has 
 spoken he has made votes for the Republicans, and 
 where he has not been personally the published speeches 
 are accomplishing the same result. Maine gives the 
 proof of it. 
 
 I found here a stack of letters containing invitations 
 to meetings. Of course I shall accept only a very few. 
 There are several which I cannot decline; for instance, 
 from Colfax and from Ashley, who represents the 
 Toledo district of Ohio. Come and let us be together 
 again soon. Come on Monday. You ought to have 
 locked up your beautiful Hamburg chest by this time. 
 My Philadelphia speech is beginning to take in wider 
 
370 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 circles. The newspapers are already talking about it 
 and the State Committee has ordered twenty-five 
 thousand copies in pamphlet form. The Union League 
 in Philadelphia has likewise printed it. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Detroit, December 16, 1866 
 At last I have the long-wished-for letter, so every- 
 thing is all right and I need not defer my good wishes 
 longer. 
 
 You are a fine comrade to ask me if I will "permit' ' 
 the youngster to be named after me ! That is fine ! If 
 between you and me such a thing is not a matter of 
 course, what ought you to think of me and I of you? 
 Shame on you, old Peter ; and do not do the like of that 
 again. You must have felt yourself that it would have 
 pleased me particularly to see that you had settled 
 everything yourself without thinking of any of those 
 formalities one observes in relation to the "rich uncle," 
 but not in relation to an old and true friend. And do 
 not forget to tell this to your wife. Her scrupulousness 
 in this regard is really the first difference of opinion 
 which has arisen between her and me. But everything 
 is all right now and we shall all rejoice in the little 
 stranger — and may I make myself worthy of the god- 
 father ship. My wife just as heartily wishes you and 
 your wife happiness, and begs you to accept from her 
 a little piece of embroidery that will arrive by express 
 soon. She is just now busied with arrangements about 
 Christmas, which in our family is the greatest event of 
 the entire year. Our rooms have for several days looked 
 like a factory, and since my wife has to lead and con- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 371 
 
 stantly cooperate in the whole business, you will excuse 
 her for not writing at this time. 
 
 I, poor chap, naturally have to work like a cart- 
 horse. Besides my newspaper, which keeps me busy 
 from early morning until late at night, I also have to 
 write a lecture on Germany which I am to deliver this 
 winter in some thirty places. Besides, Ticknor and 
 Fields in Boston have done me the honor to request an 
 article for the Atlantic Monthly, which must be ready 
 by January 20 in order to appear in the March num- 
 ber. 65 So I have to regret that the day has not more 
 hours, and that the brain will not remain always fresh 
 and clear. 
 
 Now, dear Peter, let us hear soon that everything is 
 again normal with you, and accept heartiest friendship 
 greeting from my wife and me for all of you, particu- 
 larly however for the little one whose name I am too 
 modest to utter in full. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Detroit, January 12, 1867 
 I have just now arrived from a lecturing trip and 
 find your letter here. I am very sorry not to have re- 
 ceived it immediately. I send you at once a check for 
 the cash amount indicated on the card — and the notes. 
 I am immensely sorry not to have learned of this earlier. 
 I am pained still more to learn that things are not 
 going better with you ; yet I am certain that the spirit of 
 old Peter will keep itself fresh. 
 
 65 "The True Problem," Atlantic Monthly, xix, 371-378 (March, 1867) 
 The theme was reconstruction, and Schurz's proposal was a fifteenth 
 amendment which should enforce upon the rebel states the necessity of ad- 
 mitting negroes to the right of suffrage and the necessity of providing a 
 system of common school education for all. 
 
372 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 Since I do not want to let the next mail pass I must 
 be concise. I am just preparing for another journey. 
 You will hear from me again as soon as I return. We 
 are all well. Only, I am so overloaded with work that 
 I hardly know how to get through. 
 
 Greet yours most heartily for us all. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Rock Island, January 31, 1867 
 I arrived in Chicago Tuesday morning between two 
 and three in this infernal cold, and about one o'clock 
 left for Peoria. In Chicago I saw the clerk of the lec- 
 ture agency, who told me that one of my lectures had 
 gone by the board because of the short notice; this was 
 the more disagreeable since I was early for it. I 
 wrote at once to Rublee in Madison, Wisconsin, saying 
 I would have time to speak there Monday evening, and 
 yesterday I received from there a telegraphic invitation. 
 . . . But learning meantime that I would have to drive 
 nearly thirty miles by sleigh, a thing I did not care to do 
 in this severe cold, and receiving also an invitation from 
 the Turner Society in Davenport to speak to them 
 Tuesday evening, I accepted the latter. This saves me 
 a disagreeable journey. And so my program is full. 
 On the train I also wrote a couple of newspaper articles. 
 This evening I shall be obliged to speak in German 
 and as yet I know not one word of what I shall say, 
 though it will be necessary to begin in an hour. How 
 am I going to get on ? I must depend upon the inspira- 
 tion of the moment and the adroitness with which I can 
 translate my English manuscript into German. I am 
 hoping to get through. That I am well and cheerful 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 373 
 
 goes without saying, but this journey is not a pleasure 
 trip. The sole delightful moments are those in which 
 I put the money earned into my pocket and think: 
 "Something more for wife and child." The Mississippi, 
 seen through my window, is frozen over solidly, and 
 vehicles of all sorts are upon it. I shall soon take the 
 sleigh ride to the opposite bank — my second ice tour on 
 the Mississippi, which however, thanks to the steady 
 cold, will surely be drier and pleasanter this time than 
 it was seven years ago. Adieu for today. I must think 
 of the German lecture. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Princeton, Illinois, March 4, 1867 
 I left St. Louis yesterday afternoon after having 
 lectured there and in Jefferson City with notable suc- 
 cess. 
 
 I was somewhat disappointed not to find a letter 
 from you in St. Louis. . . . As a punishment I shall 
 withhold all the news I could tell you at this time until 
 my arrival in Detroit — and among this is some very 
 important news. It relates to nothing less than the 
 purchase for me of a half -interest in a St. Louis news- 
 paper business and the advance of the purchase price 
 in, such manner that I can repay it out of the business 
 itself in three years. 06 So, now I have spoken in dark 
 mysteriousness and you shall receive not another word 
 until I am with you again. Still, I will say this much 
 more, that the outlook for the success of the plan is good 
 if we, upon mature family discussion, decide to take it 
 up. 
 
 w His partner was Dr. Emil Preetorius. Schurz actually paid his share 
 in two years. See letter of August 10, 1869, to Adolf Meyer. 
 
374 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 In St. Louis as well as in Jefferson City they were 
 very friendly to me, and expressed the wish that I move 
 to Missouri; and I believe they will do a great deal for 
 me. However, more about this later. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, April 17, 1867 
 We arrived here safely yesterday and I went im- 
 mediately into my business affairs, which detained me 
 until late in the evening. I write you this morning 
 while I am waiting for Preetorius, who is likely to come 
 in at any moment. We established the main points of 
 our contract yesterday and it is to be drawn up today. 
 The conditions are in every respect acceptable and it 
 was not difficult to come to an agreement. Today, as 
 soon as the contract shall be drawn up, I shall go over 
 it in detail with an able lawyer, and possibly we shall 
 next day be able to conclude the business definitely. 
 We have also talked over the future organization of the 
 business and the division of work, and I find I shall have 
 a surplus of free time as soon as the proposed reforms 
 have been regularly initiated and properly set going. 
 The men meet my views in all points. I have not yet 
 presented our European plan, but in the discussions I 
 have suggested the necessity of a large amount of war 
 correspondence, and it seems to me from what was said 
 that the proposition of my going across will be well re- 
 ceived. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 New York, June 16, 1867 
 Since I shall not be in St. Louis in time to write 
 from there by the next Hamburg post, and since I 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 375 
 
 know how you will long for a word from me after your 
 arrival in the old home, I sit down this morning to talk 
 with you. I can think of nothing else. Yesterday noon 
 we 67 remained standing on the dock until the ship which 
 bore you away from us faded from our sight. Then 
 we went back into the city and took a somewhat taciturn 
 gloomy luncheon in a restaurant. Today it is very lone- 
 some here. . . . Toward noon I shall go to Kapp's to 
 see his literary acquisitions and get a couple of books 
 for the journey, and then eat my noon meal at Wesen- 
 donk's. I leave at 6:30 in the evening and hope to be 
 in St. Louis Wednesday morning to begin my custom- 
 ary day's work. Since your departure Chittenden and 
 I have considered the weather a dozen times an hour and 
 wondered how it was with you at the particular moment. 
 
 . . . Now let me say once more that you are not to 
 give yourself any concern on my account. I promise 
 you faithfully to take good care of myself so as to avert 
 any injurious influences. You know I have an excel- 
 lent constitution and can stand any climate without diffi- 
 culty. Be assured that if the health conditions in St. 
 Louis should become bad I would betake myself out of 
 the danger. . . . 
 
 Now you be good and go at the fulfillment of your 
 problem, the recovery of your strength, with hope and 
 energy. Once more, be good and brave. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 St. Louis, June 27, 1867 
 As you will have heard, I was in New York two 
 weeks ago to put my family on board the Hamburg 
 
 6T He and his friend Chittenden, whose wife and daughter sailed in the 
 same ship. [A. S.] 
 
376 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 steamer. Naturally I looked for you at once but 
 learned in the office of the company that you were in 
 Boston. I had forgotten your home address. Nobody 
 in the insurance office knew it, and no one of the ac- 
 quaintances I happened to meet could give it to me. 
 So I passed along Fourth Avenue in the hope of re- 
 membering the place, for I wanted very much to see 
 your family and to rejoice in the little boy. But I saw 
 no house which resembled the one I had formerly visited, 
 and for want of time I was obliged to give up the search. 
 I was in New York two days, and you can imagine how 
 we all regretted our failure to see you. 
 
 Since the death of our little darling my wife has been 
 ailing a great deal and has been restless, as can be easily 
 understood after such a bereavement. At first we de- 
 cided to get ourselves fully established here. But the 
 prospect of a hot summer, which really means something 
 here, the uncertain health of my wife, and the desire to 
 give my eldest daughter the advantage of a higher type 
 of instruction, which can be found only in Europe, de- 
 cided me to send my family back to the old home for 
 several months, which may indeed easily be extended to 
 an entire year. So I have been left behind here all alone. 
 It is possible I too may go to Germany for a month 
 this winter. 
 
 I think I indicated to you some time ago my decision 
 to come to this place. I have purchased a business inter- 
 est in the Westliche Post, through which I have come 
 into a circle of activity which, although at the moment 
 it does not particularly meet my fancy, promises never- 
 theless to expand and above all to secure me, according 
 to my notion, an abundant living. The business is ex- 
 traordinarily good and a few years will suffice to make 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 377 
 
 me wholly independent in my finances. That would 
 have given me more satisfaction at an earlier time than 
 at present, but, as the old saying goes, it is still a con- 
 sideration not to be set aside. 
 
 I hope these lines will find you with your family 
 again. I beg you to write me soon and fully. I wish 
 I could have you here. Possibly in the course of the 
 summer I shall be in New York again. Write me soon 
 and greet yours heartily. With never-changing friend- 
 ship. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, July 2, 1867 
 The telegraphic dispatch announcing the arrival 
 of the Allemania at Southampton after a voyage of be- 
 tween ten and eleven days brought me the glad certainty 
 that you have now reached the old home safely, and I 
 hope after a comfortable voyage. I am also hoping for 
 a letter from you soon and look forward to it with great 
 longing. 
 
 I can tell you very little about my life here. There 
 is actually nothing new. I live in my regular occupation 
 after the fashion which you know. Preetorius has been 
 here again since last Tuesday, and our bachelor house- 
 keeping is as peaceful and simple as you can imagine. 
 In about two weeks he will spend a week or two in 
 Madison with his family, and after his return I may 
 take a short vacation. Where I shall go and what I 
 shall do is as yet uncertain. Probably I shall spend 
 several days with Tony and my parents. Meanwhile 
 we have in mind to make little tours every Sunday to 
 near-by places in the state of Missouri or to Hecker's. 
 
378 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 Next Sunday we are going to Augusta, an old settle- 
 ment of educated Germans some fifty miles from here 
 which dates from the thirties. 
 
 The health situation of the city could not be better. 
 There is no trace of cholera and no perceivable symptom 
 of an epidemic. So far as I know the cholera has not 
 shown itself anywhere in the United States. . . . 
 
 I am likewise now freed from the only annoyance 
 which has pursued me here for several days. That is to 
 say, I have found a worshiper — a man from Texas 
 named Wagner. Now, you know that nothing in the 
 world is more tiresome to me than a worshiper, and this 
 good W. worshiped me altogether too much. He as- 
 sured me that no one could make him believe I did not 
 know everything much better than other men. Accord- 
 ingly he wanted to learn of me and be my pupil in mat- 
 ters of living and of statecraft. I must permit him to 
 take lessons from me. He merely desired to be with me 
 as much as possible. So, at table I regularly found him 
 by my chair, and when I got up he also arose and ac- 
 companied me. And when I went home I always en- 
 countered him and he always insisted on escorting me 
 to my door. For a couple of days I bore this sort of ad- 
 miration like a lamb, but at last it became too exasper- 
 ating and I decided to be so tiresome that even my stiff- 
 necked worshiper would not be able to hold out long. 
 You know, when I apply that means it always takes, 
 and the Wagner boy soon smelt a mouse and freed me 
 from his admiration. He finally said that I must have 
 much to think about since I was sometimes so absent- 
 minded and laconic. Peace to his memory ! . . . 
 
 Let the children write to me often. They will all 
 give me hearty pleasure. And you — you must be 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 379 
 
 courageous and think about winning back your former 
 strength and more than your former health. I am gain- 
 ing for you a good living and you must gain for me 
 health, and the courage to face life. Let us make such 
 use of this (may we hope) last separation, that we shall 
 always remember it with satisfaction. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, July 8, 1867 
 This afternoon Preetorius and I returned from our 
 excursion to Augusta. I wrote you last week about 
 our expectation of enjoying country air for a couple of 
 days, and that we have done to our hearts' content. 
 Saturday afternoon about four o'clock we boarded one 
 of the pleasant, slow, safe Missouri steamboats and 
 ascended the Mississippi. The weather was glorious 
 and we had decided to leave all business and business 
 cares behind, so we had eyes and ears for everything. 
 The Mississippi immediately above St. Louis, as soon as 
 one has sufficiently observed the mighty plain of waters, 
 is in no way interesting; the banks are elevated but 
 slightly above the water level, wooded, and here and 
 there broken by clearings. Nevertheless, the point 
 where the Missouri joins the Mississippi presented an 
 impressive sight. Evening had come and the flaming 
 sunset mirrored itself in the water, which at the point 
 of junction of the two streams spreads out wide like a 
 sea. As the dark mass of the Missouri hurries forward 
 broad and majestic out of the woods, it looks as if it 
 would take forcible possession of the entire Mississippi 
 bed. 
 
380 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 One could almost believe that it presses the Missis- 
 sippi waters back and dams them up ; for, one sees where 
 in long streaks the two unite, an apparent elevation of 
 the Mississippi water, past which the Missouri pushes 
 with seeming impatience. And for many miles you ob- 
 serve an actual division of the waters. As we steamed 
 into the mouth of the Missouri, evening had already 
 come. Only the pale reflection of the western sun was 
 still to be seen upon the mighty water, and in the gloomy 
 shadows of the forest on the banks were thousands of 
 restless, flickering fireflies. Only here and there a small 
 and lonesome farmhouse light glinted homelike out of 
 the woods. Finally, upon the eastern horizon appeared 
 summer lightning. The heavens clouded over, and be- 
 fore the rain began to fall we went back into our cabin. 
 Morning brought us to Augusta, a little place some 
 fifty miles above the mouth of the Missouri. I think I 
 wrote you that several educated imniigrants of the thir- 
 ties had settled there, who were conserving in that neigh- 
 borhood, in their own way, the best features of German 
 life. Augusta is a small town of not more than three 
 hundred inhabitants, built upon hills which fall away 
 steeply toward the Mississippi [Missouri]. 
 
 We were received by an old Mr. Munch from Darm- 
 stadt, a sometime theologian and professor who has been 
 in Missouri for thirty-four years. He is a brother of 
 the well known "Far West," Frederick Munch, who has 
 developed such a useful literary activity in the German 
 press. Our host, after an enthusiastic greeting, took 
 us to his house, which of course lay on one of the many 
 hills, and from which one has a view across the vine- 
 yards for many miles along the Missouri. These old 
 German patriarchs do not live elegantly, but cleanly, 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 381 
 
 neatly, and if one does not demand too much, comfort- 
 ably. There are no carpets, but beautifully scoured 
 floors; no upholstered furniture, but tables spread with 
 fresh white covers, with books upon them. Our host 
 had children also, of whom the eldest son was at least 
 thirty-five years old, while the youngest was hardly 
 more than eight or nine. 
 
 After breakfast we were of course hustled around 
 over the other hills and joyfully introduced to all friends 
 and acquaintances; and nowhere must we omit to taste 
 the wine which every family produces on its own hill and 
 presses in its own cellar. So it went, from house to 
 house, until finally through the sheer weariness of 
 friendship we were glad to take our return journey to 
 home and dinner table. Meantime our honored friend 
 "Far West," who knew about our visit, arrived on horse- 
 back the same morning from his eight or nine miles' 
 distant farm to fraternize with us. Our host brought 
 him to us with the words : "Here comes the old Munch ; 
 I am the young Munch." The old Munch is nearly 
 seventy years old and the young one some two years 
 younger. Dinner went off with lively and loud philo- 
 sophical discussion. 
 
 After dinner, however, came the great event. Our 
 arrival had become well known in the town; and the 
 population of Augusta, old and young, male and female, 
 gathered together in a small grove to welcome us. They 
 brought along their band, which was made up wholly of 
 amateur musicians, but not at all bad. There was plenty 
 of Augusta wine. Quite naturally speeches had to be 
 made. First I had to talk to the men, then to the 
 women, then to both. Following this, Preetorius came 
 on; then the old Munch; until we all declared it was 
 
S82 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 enough of a good thing. Of course all the speeches 
 were in German, for in Augusta there are no Americans 
 except the shoemaker's apprentice, who has recently ar- 
 rived and who is learning German, and several negro 
 families, among whom the children can already speak 
 German. An evening meal at the home of a German 
 doctor concluded the delightful affair. About eleven 
 o'clock we went up and down the hills until we reached 
 the home of the sixty-eight-year-old "young" Munch, 
 that offered us a welcome bed. 
 
 This morning at eight o'clock another steamboat 
 received us for the return journey, and we saw in bright 
 daylight the Missouri, which two nights before we had 
 passed through in darkness. The banks are not uninter- 
 esting ; in many places indeed they are very picturesque. 
 Boldly rising cliffs — as Spielhagen would say, "cozy 
 glens" — alternate with something more uniform, with 
 stretches of woodlands overgrown with tropical vegeta- 
 tion. I saw many a spot at the sight of which I thought : 
 "If you only had a little country house here and all of 
 your own around you!" 
 
 The little German colony in Augusta certainly gives 
 the impression of prosperity. The old people have 
 preserved the tradition of the German spirit and Ger- 
 man training, but they are unable to bequeath this tra- 
 dition to their children. It is an observation which I 
 have made almost everywhere, that here in America, 
 perhaps with the exception of individual cases in the 
 great cities, the children of educated Germans contrast 
 strikingly with their elders. The German spirit fades 
 away. If the training remains wholly German and all 
 contact with Americanism is avoided, a stupid Pennsyl- 
 vania Germanism results. Where that is not the case, 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 383 
 
 the waves of Americanism soon overwhelm the second 
 and third generations. "The mission of Germanism" in 
 America, about which some speak so loudly, can con- 
 sist in nothing other than a modification of the Ameri- 
 can spirit, through the German, while the nationalities 
 melt into one. In a few years the old patriarchs in pleas- 
 ant little Augusta will be dead and their successors must 
 be carried away by the universal movement. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Tuesday, July 9 [1867] 
 
 Today, once more, the regular routine. Congress 
 has assembled and so we have at least some incidents 
 whose discussion looks new even if it is not. Johnson 
 has again bungled reconstruction, and Congress is busy 
 clearing up and confirming the meaning of earlier en- 
 acted laws. Affairs in the South, by the way, are going 
 fairly well. . . . 
 
 I am somewhat lonesome. Aside from the people 
 who visit me in the office I see hardly anyone. I have 
 had our old Watertown pictures hung up in my office 
 because I can see them there most. Immediately before 
 my desk hangs your drawing of Maison-aux-Bains in 
 Montreux, the view of which always calls to mind those 
 beautiful times. Only the picture of our little angel 
 stands on the chimney piece of my bedroom, and to it 
 belong my last gaze at night and my first in the morn- 
 ing. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, July 16, 1867 
 . . . Life goes forward with peaceful uniformity. 
 The business makes the same demands every day and so 
 
384 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 I work away quietly. We are now engaged in reorgan- 
 izing our editorial personnel. . . . 
 
 You will laugh when you hear that with all my good 
 nature I pass here for a hard man ; but it is really true. 
 I am the only one who when our men fail to do their 
 duty, which is not seldom the case, now and then gives 
 them an energetic dressing-down. Accordingly, they 
 say it is no longer pleasant in the office of the West- 
 liche Post since I came in. . . . 
 
 Moreover, journalistic work at present is in no way 
 interesting. The great fight is over; our opponents are 
 powerless, and momentarily there is nothing left to do 
 except to consolidate the results gained. As soon as 
 that shall have been done, new party divisions will oc- 
 cur and new questions come into the foreground. Then 
 a new political life will begin. At present one works 
 along without enthusiasm or fire simply because it is 
 necessary to keep the machine going. Were it not re- 
 quired as a matter of business for me to participate — 
 and you know that I am needed — I would much rather 
 be silent. 
 
 I know not why it is, but the picture of our child will 
 not fade from my mind. A hundred times during the 
 day while I am writing or conversing, her image crosses 
 my thoughts. I cannot observe a bit of shaded turf 
 without feeling that all this is of no value any more 
 since she cannot play on it ; nor can I make any plan for 
 the future without a sensation of desolation. It has 
 constantly grown worse even though, when I have 
 people about me, I force myself to seem cheerful and 
 can also for brief periods forget myself. I shall have to 
 struggle against it in order to recover my equanimity. 
 I suppose that everyone who has a heart must endure 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 385 
 
 pain for a season after such a bereavement, and if I set 
 myself strongly against it I shall finally master it. . . . 
 I hope that you are now pleasantly installed and that 
 you will take every advantage of the environment, ac- 
 cording to your strength, to regain your health. Have 
 no concern about me, but think more about yourself, and 
 do not let your stay in Europe be in vain. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 St. Louis, July 28, 1867 
 I have just received your letter and am sending the 
 check immediately without writing a long letter, since 
 the mail leaves at once. The note which you return to 
 me cancelled is dated January 27, 1866. I think that 
 must have been a mistake. 
 
 Greet your wife heartily and kiss your little chil- 
 dren for me. It is very doubtful if I shall come to New 
 York this summer, but I hope to come at the beginning 
 of winter. You poor fellow, how are things going with 
 you? Receive my hearty greeting. ... I have just 
 noticed that I foolishly made the check payable to the 
 company; but since it is also in favor of bearer you can 
 cash it just the same. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, July 29, 1867 
 
 My life goes quietly along on its even path. I have 
 
 recently gone often to the German outdoor theatre, 
 
 which is indeed very good considering the conditions 
 
 here. One sits under a roof borne upon stone pillars, 
 
386 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 otherwise quite airy and free, smokes his cigar, and 
 watches some performance. That occupies one or two 
 hours immediately after dinner, if one is weary from 
 the day's work and does not feel quite ready to go to 
 work again. In this recreation I regularly, during 
 Preetorius' absence, have had the company of a certain 
 Dr. B., a very agreeable and sensible person, who how- 
 ever has the fixed idea that he belongs to a secret so- 
 ciety which is developing a world government and which 
 is soon to bring about a great reversal of affairs in Ger- 
 many. I am to have the not unenviable position of 
 prime minister. Besides this doctor, I have with me 
 also a German writer named Udo Brachvogel, who is 
 a very spiritual young man. That is about the only di- 
 version I have, but it suffices. 
 
 I have word from Monee 68 that my parents are very 
 well. Last Saturday they celebrated St. Anne's Day, 
 to which Tony invited herself. I would gladly have 
 gone but did not have the time. So I sent them in 
 addition to my congratulations, a basket of fruit and a 
 case of wine. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, August 12, 1867 
 Your last letter notified me of your departure from 
 
 Hamburg, and since you must have been in great haste I 
 
 will pardon you for failing to give me any details of 
 
 your arrangements and plans. 
 
 Today I am writing you in the actual sweat of my 
 
 face. This noon the thermometer indicated 99 degrees 
 
 88 Monee, Illinois, where his parents now lived with their daughter Anna 
 and her husband, August Schiffer. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 387 
 
 and around two o'clock it must have reached 100 de- 
 grees or over. It is now nearly six o'clock in the even- 
 ing and the drops of perspiration roll quietly down my 
 face. Still it is much cooler than it was two hours ago, 
 and I hope the night will be quite endurable. 
 
 Last week I took an outing for a day anoT a half. 
 The Germans here have the custom of celebrating par- 
 ticular incidents of the war. So the farmers of St. 
 Charles County celebrated August 6, the day on which 
 they first armed themselves in the year 1861, and took 
 up a position near Cottleville, ten miles from St. 
 Charles, in order to hold in check the rebel population of 
 northern Missouri. They gave me a pressing invitation 
 and I attended, going from here to St. Charles by train 
 and from there through a very fertile region to Cottle- 
 ville, where the celebration occurred in a little grove. I 
 made a speech, suffered the customary attentions, slept 
 in St. Charles, and returned hither the next day. The 
 more I see of the Germans in Missouri the more they 
 please me. They are really a fine breed. The general 
 level is higher than in Wisconsin, and one feels quite at 
 home among this sort of people. If the Missourians 
 boast a little of their German nationality there, they are 
 not far wrong in doing so. 69 
 
 You must already have passed two or three weeks 
 in Switzerland. How anxious I am to receive your next 
 letter so that I can once more imagine your surround- 
 ings! 
 
 M The exceptionally high proportion of Forty-eighters and of Repub- 
 licans, together with the unconscious effect of the prosperity they were 
 bringing him, doubtless colored Schurz's estimation of the Missouri Ger- 
 mans in contrast with those of Wisconsin, among whom he spent some 
 lean years. 
 
388 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, August 20, 1867 
 Your last letter was dated Baden-Baden. You told 
 me of your glorious Rhine trip. Why could I not have 
 been with you ! How much I could have shown and told 
 you : the house in which I lived in Cologne, the schools 
 I attended, the places on the Rhine which I enjoyed as 
 a student, in Baden the field where I fought the first 
 time, and in Rastatt the hole through which I was able 
 to make my escape! How splendid that would have 
 been! Yet I will not give up the happy thought that 
 sometime we shall make this trip together. How we 
 shall enjoy it! I rejoice greatly to know that you are 
 at a place where you can do something effective for your 
 health. With all that you do you will certainly not lose 
 sight of that object. . . . 
 
 It is becoming somewhat lively in politics again. 
 After the adjournment of the last session of Congress 
 Johnson seemed disposed to make a last attempt to 
 carry through his plan. He drove Stanton from the 
 cabinet and removed Sheridan from his command in 
 Louisiana and Texas. The country is greatly excited 
 and the impeachment of the President next winter be- 
 comes daily more probable. Grant was made interim 
 secretary of war, thus taking the only step which could 
 prevent him from becoming president. He has allowed 
 himself to be imposed upon and placed in a false posi- 
 tion. Everything depends on how he is going to get 
 out of it. Stanton, Sheridan, and Chase are now in the 
 foreground as presidential candidates, but things change 
 so rapidly that no predictions can be made. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 389 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, August 23, 1867 
 I was in the midst of a leading article when, quite un- 
 expectedly, I received your dear letter written from 
 Ragatz. The pictures you send me are wonderfully fine, 
 not only as to the landscapes but especially in their ar- 
 tistry. You forgot, however, to indicate upon the pano- 
 rama of Ragatz the house in which you are living. . . . 
 You suggest that I should be in Europe by the end of 
 September and take you back in October. That is not 
 according to our understanding, and much as I long 
 to surprise you in Europe I cannot think of it in the 
 least. ... It is absolutely necessary that I be here at 
 the beginning of November, and to go to Europe prior 
 to that in the expectation of being back here Novem- 
 ber 1 would be a very uncertain program. It will not do. 
 But when I shall have taken care of my November busi- 
 ness I will watch for chances. ... It would be lovely 
 for us to spend Christmas together in Hamburg, if I 
 were in position to give myself a couple of weeks' vaca- 
 tion. 
 
 I have an invitation from the Equal Rights League 
 in Washington to deliver a lecture there next winter, 
 and have accepted the invitation on the condition that 
 the time be early in the season — somewhat prior to or 
 about the middle of November. I have several good 
 things to say and shall utter them on that occasion — as- 
 suming I can find sufficient leisure properly to work out 
 my speech. 
 
 Among Germans the enforced observance of Sunday 
 and the temperance business are making quite a disturb- 
 ance; that is, not here in Missouri, but elsewhere, par- 
 
S90 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 ticularly in Chicago and Milwaukee. This naturally 
 causes much rumpus in the party; it begins once more 
 to crack in every joint, but Johnson's doings, the de- 
 position of Stanton, Sheridan, etc., have once more so 
 excited the popular mind and so united all independent 
 elements that the party will doubtless hold out through 
 the next election. . . . 
 
 The picture of Kinkel which you sent me pleased me 
 greatly. I should hardly have recognized him. The 
 countenance has in it something quite strange. I can 
 imagine, however, that this impression would disappear 
 as soon as one heard him speak. I will write him 
 as soon as possible. 
 
 You write me that Adolf will visit his wife in Mon- 
 tr eux and then come to Ragatz for some days to see you. 
 How the name awakens precious memories! Do you 
 recall that night when I carried our child up the stone 
 steps of the still house and we looked back upon the blue 
 lake and the Savoy mountains, as they shimmered in the 
 white moonlight ! And how we then lived like children 
 in the full, joyous appreciation of wonderful na- 
 ture! But those were golden days; that was youth! 
 In this country I was still an unknown, unrecognized 
 man. The newspapers knew nothing of me and I had 
 not yet heard the applause of assembled thousands. But 
 how much happier were we, and with what carefree souls 
 did we enter into the joy of living! That is over now. 
 The sunshine now has a different tinge for us, and when 
 we consider our lives we think not alone about what is 
 to be but also about what has been. The time is gone 
 when we could separate our future from our past. And 
 yet I know that if we were to find ourselves together 
 again as at that time in Montreux, we could be very 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 391 
 
 happy — a happiness indeed of a different kind, less 
 driven by the winds of hope, and more peaceful in the 
 enjoyment of what has been vouchsafed us. I have at- 
 tained this and that in life, and how often have I found, 
 upon attaining it, that it was a chimera! One mourns 
 his lost illusions as he regretfully remembers beautiful 
 dreams. But every illusion lost is fundamentally a gain. 
 There will always be enough left to keep our blood 
 warm. But after experience has taught us to trust them 
 less, the deceptions will prove less painful because they 
 will contain less of the element of surprise. When one 
 has gone through this process of development, then in- 
 deed the goblet of life does not effervesce so much ; but 
 the wine is still there, only it is quiet. Assuredly we 
 can be happy again and we shall be when we get our 
 little flock peacefully under a single roof and have the 
 means of a pleasant life. Our hearts will never be so 
 shriveled as to be unable to raise a shout of joy at a 
 view like that in the night upon the steps in Mon- 
 treux. . . . 
 
 Be as glad and happy as you can. I am rejoiced 
 that you are to be so near Adolf. His is a noble na- 
 ture. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, August 27, 1867 
 . . . Politics would be terribly stupid if Johnson did 
 not entertain us with his capers. He is a madman. 
 Now that Congress is not in session he carries on as if 
 he would stick the world in his bag; yet he knows that 
 the game will last only a couple of months. He will 
 possibly cause a little confusion in the South, but aside 
 
392 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 from this his doings can have no practical result. Even 
 the most moderate Republicans now speak of impeach- 
 ment, and if Johnson goes on like this for a while longer 
 the stream cannot be dammed up after the reassembling 
 of Congress. Sheridan, who hereafter will have his 
 headquarters in Leavenworth, must pass through here 
 on his journey thither, and it is intended on that occa- 
 sion to make a great demonstration for him which shall 
 ring in the President's ears. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, August 31, 1867 
 The political situation becomes more interesting 
 every day; I might almost say more threatening. The 
 way Johnson is carrying on with his creatures raises 
 the fear that he may be thinking of a coup d'etat. It is 
 not impossible that he is preparing to resist the impeach- 
 ment with force. That would lead to new confusion 
 which, however, considering the universal detestation in 
 which Johnson is held, could end only in his swift over- 
 throw. He now bites at all about him like a wounded 
 and anger-crazed boar. And so long as Congress is not 
 in session there is no means of chaining him unless Grant 
 should give him formal notice that he will no longer obey 
 and should refuse to carry out his orders. Grant, in my 
 opinion, made a bad mistake in accepting the secretary- 
 ship of war and thereby rendering easier the removal of 
 Stanton. Since then, he has conducted himself as well 
 as his embarrassing position permitted. Naturally he 
 immediately came into violent conflict with the Presi- 
 dent, whom he sought to restrain by protest from sup- 
 planting Sheridan and Sigel. Of course that had no 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 393 
 
 effect. Stanton's method of crossing the President's 
 plans is foreign to Grant. So the tussel goes on, but it 
 is to be expected that Grant will resign from the War 
 Department or that the President will put in some other 
 man. Sheridan will probably come through St. Louis 
 on his way to the scene of the Indian war, and we are 
 engaged in preparing a great demonstration which will 
 reveal to the President the temper of the people. The 
 affair will probably come off toward the end of next 
 week. ... 
 
 You should see my office as it generally is now. The 
 Secretary of State sent us two great upholstered rock- 
 ing-chairs made in the state prison by the prisoners. 
 One is for Preetorius and one for me. They are won- 
 derfully comfortable and I wish you could see me lux- 
 uriating in mine. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, September 10, 1867 
 I can write you only a little today because I can take 
 hardly half an hour for it. Sheridan reached here Satur- 
 day night, or rather Sunday morning about one o'clock. 
 A committee, of which I was the head, received him at 
 the station and accompanied him to his hotel. Besides 
 that I have had to be on my feet constantly to manage 
 the preparations for the whole demonstration, and in 
 addition had to make a speech, since the official recep- 
 tion in the name of the city and of the state was left 
 to me. That filled my time Sunday and yesterday. 
 The whole business came off last night, a demonstra- 
 tion never surpassed in St. Louis. There were thou- 
 sands in the torchlight procession ; it was about three or 
 
394 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 four times as long as the distance between the Southern 
 Hotel and Washington Avenue. Before the Fourth 
 Street front of the hotel men stood shoulder to shoulder 
 for almost three blocks. There were many thousands. 
 I gave my speech of welcome from the great balcony, 
 which also was crowded full of gentlemen and ladies. 
 My speech, of which I am sending you a printed copy, 
 received much applause and I believe you will like it. 
 After these ceremonies were over I took Sheridan 
 to the German summer theatre, where Der Freischiltz 
 was being given and there was a brilliant illumination 
 in honor of the general. At first, when we went in, the 
 people did not notice that Sheridan was there. He is 
 very short and disappears in a crowd. By and by, dur- 
 ing the play, the fact was whispered around. When 
 finally the curtain fell, hurrahing and handshaking be- 
 gan. It is a wonder that we were able to get out. Sheri- 
 dan, who held closely to me, lost my arm a couple of 
 times and was almost smothered. We finally got out of 
 doors and wanted to hurry back to the hotel, but that 
 was not so easily accomplished. A large division of old 
 soldiers of the Grand Army was there with torches 
 and music. The horses were taken by the bridles and 
 the carriage was escorted ceremoniously to the Southern 
 Hotel. Now the whole business broke out again, music 
 corps, etc. We did not get to bed until one and summa 
 summarum — the business has been a genuine hardship 
 for me. I am very glad that Sheridan is leaving today 
 and that my old-time habits are to begin again. My 
 speech will probably go through the entire Republican 
 press, because everybody has been awaiting with eager- 
 ness the great welcoming demonstration in St. Louis. 
 I translated the speech myself into German for our 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 395 
 
 paper, and so my own German version will doubtless be 
 the current one. 
 
 Sheridan naturally has become more prominent in 
 St. Louis on account of his recall than he was on account 
 of his good administration. His is a simple nature, and 
 he looks at things with clear and true eyes and bases his 
 opinion upon these observations. In relation to our 
 political questions he is radical through and through, and 
 what he thinks of Johnson can be easily assumed in view 
 of the treatment he received from him. It would not 
 surprise me in the least if his name were to appear on the 
 list of presidential candidates, although he declares he 
 has no political ambitions and wants to remain a soldier. 
 I wish you could have seen the affair too. It was the 
 first great stroke in the present year against the John- 
 son policy. 
 
 Yesterday I received your dear letter in which you 
 described your little tour to Pfeffer's. I thank you for 
 the charming description. You ask if I know the 
 scenery from personal observation. No, that part of 
 Switzerland I have never visited and everything is new 
 to me. I was only in the Basel land, Thurgau, Zurich, 
 Berne, and in the Vaudois. The rest of Switzerland 
 would be new to me, and sometime when we have leisure 
 we shall see it fully together. How I hope that your 
 provisional cure in Ragatz has had the wished-for re- 
 sults ! 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, September 17, 1867 
 Yesterday I returned from a little excursion which 
 I had undertaken Sunday. I went with my young 
 
396 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 friend, Udo Brachvogel, a very lovable and talented 
 literary character, to the farm of his brother at Vine- 
 land near De Soto. This brother is already an elderly 
 man, who was a considerable property owner in Europe. 
 Last year he bought a large farm of upwards of six 
 hundred acres, laid out vineyards, built mills, and is now 
 in an active and promising business. The family lives 
 in a large log house with rather extensive outbuildings. 
 One sees everywhere the hand of the busy housewife, 
 who understands how to arrange things tastefully even 
 when luxury is absent. I felt in this home the true Ger- 
 man comfort. Mrs. Brachvogel is also elderly, with a 
 good education and accustomed from youth to the com- 
 fortable and rich living of the well-to-do class in Ger- 
 many. Now she has taken hold courageously to make 
 for her family a pleasant home, even though her heart 
 still yearns for Europe. On the other hand, the old 
 gentleman Brachvogel has already become an enthusias- 
 tic American, who is quite charmed with his new activi- 
 ties ; and when I heard this couple so eagerly discussing 
 the relative merits and advantages of America and 
 Europe, there came to my mind many a conversation 
 which you and I have indulged in with each other. The 
 son of the family, a splendid young man of about 
 twenty, was formerly with the Prussian Marine. He 
 has now taken hold of his new calling with full vigor 
 and has become quite an American farmer. I spent a 
 very delightful day there. We walked about the place, 
 enjoyed the fine forest air and much agreeable conver- 
 sation. Yesterday morning I returned by railway, quite 
 refreshed. Here I found your dear letter written upon 
 your birthday. . . . 
 
 Last week we had a visit from a great German liter- 
 ary man, Frederick Gerstacker, who is on a journey 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 397 
 
 through the continent and to South America. We ate 
 together regularly at Buhler's and attempted to extract 
 from him, conversationally, some of the Munchhausen- 
 like stories in which he so excels. But he seemed to 
 smell a mouse and we were able to get absolutely nothing 
 out of him except one single hyena that he claimed to 
 have shot during a night hunt in Africa. It was delicious 
 to hear one of his acquaintances, with whose brother in 
 Arkansas Gerstacker formerly lived for nine months, 
 tell us that they had tried at that time in vain to induce 
 this man, who has given to literature such tremendous 
 hunting stories, to undertake one single hunting expedi- 
 tion during the whole time he was there ; and yet some of 
 the most remarkable of his stories were written after 
 that very period. When he left here for the Indian 
 country he enveloped himself in a gray hunting-coat 
 trimmed with green and equipped himself with a double- 
 barreled gun and a powerful stag hunter as if to indi- 
 cate that now things were going to happen. We shall 
 doubtless read wonderful adventure stories by him. We 
 had a delightful time with him and he promised to come 
 again after having seen the Indian gatherings near 
 Fort Laramie, which probably will not take place. 
 
 Hecker also was here one day during the Sheridan 
 demonstration. He is quite cheerful and kept us laugh- 
 ing for hours. Suddenly, after having eaten with us in 
 the evening at Buhler's, he disappeared among the 
 crowds of the Sheridan demonstration and the next day 
 we heard that he had promptly retired to his farm. He 
 is still the same: astonishes one occasionally with his 
 abundant knowledge and keen mind, and then again 
 gives himself over to the wildest and craziest narrations. 
 
 I am just now writing an account of the Eleventh 
 Corps in the battle of Chancellorsville, which is to be 
 
398 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 printed in the New York Tribune, I can work only 
 slowly because I have little time. I will send you the 
 article as soon as it comes out. I believe it will please 
 you. Now I must take my leave of you for today; in 
 the composing room they have been calling for copy 
 this quarter of an hour. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, September 21, 1867 
 . . . When the family of Preetorius was coming 
 back home, I said to him that I would immediately 
 rent an abode for myself. He answered that he and his 
 wife would feel injured if I did so; that his wife had 
 particularly charged him not to permit me to leave, 
 but to prepare for me a room upstairs in the house. 
 This they have done and I have had to submit. They 
 are certainly very friendly and obliging. Preetorius 
 himself is helpful to me in all matters and is always 
 ready to make my situation here as agreeable as pos- 
 sible. . . . 
 
 My speech to Sheridan has been much read and 
 much admired. It was telegraphed entire by the As- 
 sociated Press all over the Union, and I have received 
 letters from various persons expressing themselves on 
 it very enthusiastically. Today I am sending you my 
 letter about the temperance question and the attitude 
 of the Germans in the Republican party. This letter 
 has been issued only five days but has already made the 
 round of all the great political papers of the West, which 
 express themselves very appreciatively on it. I shall 
 soon find it also in the Republican papers of the East, 
 and I hope that it will have a good effect generally. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 399 
 
 You will observe that it is intended especially for the 
 Americans. The temperance movement has begun 
 again almost everywhere, and in the party we observe 
 the most disquieting symptoms of disintegration. Now 
 the reaction caused by the temperance people has set 
 in strongly and the Republican state conventions in the 
 West are hastening, one after another, to accept the 
 demands of the Germans. My letter is calculated to 
 give this reaction a new impulse, and from what the 
 press says I conclude that it will not fail of its object. 
 
 Still I think that, whatever efforts we may put forth, 
 the Republican party will suffer distinct losses in a 
 number of states. The party organization has in too 
 many places fallen into the hands of genuine wire- 
 pullers, which has naturally discouraged the best ele- 
 ments. My table is covered with telegraphic dispatches 
 and letters, particularly from Pennsylvania and Ohio, 
 in which I am appealed to, in God's name, to come and 
 help. But I shall not go. Where the local party leaders 
 have drawn their carts into the mud they may pull 
 them out themselves. I am weary of bothering myself 
 to make good the foolishness of other people. I shall 
 speak in only three or four places, where the party has 
 conducted itself relatively well, and there only shortly 
 before the election. A few stabs this fall will not injure 
 us if they do not come too strong. On the contrary, 
 they will help the best elements, and particularly the 
 well-disposed Germans, to unite next year in the presi- 
 dential election. With the party united once more, it 
 will not be difficult to arouse the old enthusiasm and the 
 old hatred of traitors like Andrew Johnson. 
 
 I have been approached from many directions on 
 the subject of accepting the nomination for Congress, 
 and am always told that if I would accept it the matter 
 
400 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 would take care of itself. The so-called Missouri Demo- 
 crat, the leading English Republican organ in the state, 
 has asked me if it would be agreeable that my name be 
 brought out now; if so, it should be done at once. The 
 paper would stand wholly at my disposal. I always 
 answer that for the present my name is not to be used in 
 comiection with a nomination and that I shall have to 
 decide when the time is ripe. I mean this honestly, 
 for although my election in this strong Republi- 
 can district would be certain, I must first see how politi- 
 cal forces shape themselves and whether I might be able 
 to accomplish more in a free, strong, private position 
 than in Congress. . . . 
 
 I am now gradually beginning to discover excellent 
 educational opportunities for the children, among others 
 very good music teachers and a splendid school for 
 drawing and painting, headed by German teachers. I 
 hope very much that when the children come back here 
 they will at least speak French in a reasonably finished 
 way; that they are not wasting their opportunity. . . . 
 
 Next week I shall make a short journey to a fair 
 in Booneville, to which I have been invited with very 
 great cordiality. I am not particularly pleased over it, 
 since I do not care much about such things, but it is good 
 for the business that I let myself be seen here and there. 
 I am doing it for that reason. Since the end of August 
 we have had much cool weather. Naturally all danger 
 of cholera has now disappeared. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, September 23, 1867 
 I returned from my excursion to Booneville at two 
 o'clock this morning. I left Wednesday morning at 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 401 
 
 eight o'clock over the Pacific Railroad, accompanied by 
 my loyal squire Schinkowski, an old Polander whom I 
 made one of my adjutants in the Grand Army. At 
 seven o'clock in the evening we reached Tipton, a small 
 prairie village from which place we had to make the re- 
 maining twenty-five miles by wagon. A couple of 
 Booneville gentlemen were waiting for us, and after a 
 frugal supper such as we are accustomed to in the 
 country hotels here, we took our seats in the carriage. 
 The night was wondrously fine; no moon, but bright 
 starlight. So we rolled along cheerfully over the prairie 
 and through stretches of woodland, and made light of 
 the jolty road until one of my Booneville friends hit 
 upon the unlucky idea of taking a "better" way, which 
 ran parallel to the main road. We did so. Suddenly we 
 found ourselves on the open prairie, and the trail on 
 which we were driving began to look very blind. But 
 we did not want to turn back. We looked at the stars 
 and found that the track ran in the right direction, so 
 we followed it with confidence. It led us into the woods, 
 which became very dense and dark and, as it seemed to 
 us, had no end. In addition the trail was so narrow that 
 the limbs of the trees constantly scraped the carriage on 
 both sides. Finally two of my companions got out. 
 Luckily they had a box of matches with them, which 
 they lighted one after the other and in this manner il- 
 luminated the trail. The scene reminded me strongly of 
 my trip in the Alabama woods in the year 1865, when a 
 young planter's boy had to light me through the forest 
 with a tallow candle. In this manner we finally reached 
 a fence, hunted up and found the farmhouse pertaining 
 thereto, and the farmer directed us back to the main 
 road. We were glad to reach it and did not any longer 
 yearn for the "better way." About two o'clock at night 
 
402 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 we finally reached Booneville. They put me up at the 
 City Hotel, the nicest country hotel I have found in 
 America — and how I slept in the soft, wide bed after my 
 severe ordeal! 
 
 Next morning after breakfast the deputations be- 
 gan to wait on me, both Germans and Americans, who 
 declared they had not invited me to torture a speech 
 out of me, but in pure friendship, to enable me to pass 
 a couple of pleasant days. That was good to hear. So 
 I was packed into a handsome carriage drawn by two 
 splendid horses, and was driven at a good clip through 
 the town and the vineyards surrounding it. 
 
 Booneville is a pretty little place of some four thou- 
 sand inhabitants, located between lovely bluffs at the 
 middle point of the state on the banks of the Missouri. 
 A large proportion of the population is German. There 
 are no really educated people there, but very good 
 middle-class folk. After dinner they took me to the 
 fair grounds. The county fair was being held and I 
 was received by the directors, who insisted on my ex- 
 amining a portion of the exhibits. There was a tourna- 
 ment quite in the southern style, and tilting at the ring, 
 such as was customary in Europe at the end of the 
 Middle Ages. There were many former rebels present 
 but they received me with much politeness. Then we 
 had a little lunch at the Booneville battle ground, where 
 one hundred and fifty citizens of Booneville, organized 
 as a Union home guard, repulsed an attack of fifteen 
 hundred rebels and slew their leaders. Almost every 
 small town in Missouri has its history, but that of Boone- 
 ville is particularly honorable. And, as everywhere in 
 Missouri, it was the Germans who in the midst of the 
 rebellion and of the enemy population held aloft the 
 banner of the Union. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 403 
 
 The principal event came at night. The Turners 
 had arranged a ball, and a table abundantly supplied 
 with Booneville wine was placed upon the stage for me 
 and my company. The men desired me to dance with 
 their daughters and wives, but, as you know, that could 
 not be. At last, when I returned to my hotel, came the 
 inevitable serenade arranged by the Booneville amateur 
 brass band. It was not quite unendurable. I thanked 
 them in a little speech and thought that now I could 
 betake myself to my bed and peacefully give myself 
 over to sleep. But I had hardly got under the coverlet 
 when I heard another noise. It was, as my Squire Schin- 
 kowski reported, the American Glee Club, made up of 
 several singers, two violins, one bass viol, and one bass 
 horn. The singing was introduced with a sort of prelude 
 in which every instrument seemed to amble quite at will 
 through all possible keys. Then a tenor voice struck 
 in and sang a song whose refrain was: "Mother, kiss 
 me in my dreams!" The climax of the song was the 
 following voice and instrumental effect : tenor voice in 
 highest pitch, and piano, "Mother"; violins, very softly, 
 "Diddle dee"; tenor voices pianissimo, "Mother!" 
 violins, still softer, "Diddle dee"; chorus, in thunder 
 tones and crashing bass horn, "Kiss me in my dreams!" 
 So it went through an endless succession of strophes. 
 "Well," thought I, "now I can sleep." But hardly had 
 I got ready for it again when a Turner Singing Society 
 appeared and sang several really pretty songs in front 
 of my window. Schinkowski came to get me out for 
 another speech, but I was determined not to let myself 
 be disturbed again and so my squire went down and told 
 the Turners that I had got into a perspiration; if I 
 Were to get up I might take cold and become ill and die, 
 
404 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 and the loss would be too heavy. The good Turners ap- 
 preciated this and left me in peace. But the American 
 Glee Club (incidentally, as I heard later, made up prin- 
 cipally of former secessionists) had bewitched me. In- 
 stead of being kissed by mother in my dreams, I 
 dreamed I belonged to a robber band of skinners and 
 was being followed by the police with abominable yell- 
 ing. 
 
 Next day we cheerfully took our departure, abun- 
 dantly supplied with wine, cakes, grapes, and roasted 
 chickens. I arrived here at two o'clock in the morning 
 and my friends said that I looked quite fresh after my 
 three days' excursion. Next week, probably day after 
 tomorrow, I shall start off again. Thieme, whom 
 you know, has invited me urgently to make a speech in 
 Cleveland. I shall stop over one day in Chicago, at 
 Tony's, then go to Cleveland, and spend the rest of 
 the week in Monee. In this manner I shall rest up a bit 
 from my office work. That is what you wish and so I 
 will do it. But I can assure you the work is not too 
 heavy. Somewhat monotonous it is, but it demands no 
 very great exertion. . . . 
 
 I am very glad you are coming to know beautiful 
 Switzerland so well. Could I only have been with you, 
 how we should have enjoyed it together ! When you are 
 in Vevay, greet for me beautiful old Montreux with its 
 happy memories. I would write to the children today, 
 but having returned at two o'clock in the morning I feel 
 somewhat worn and tired. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Cleveland, October 4, 1867 
 Yesterday I made a speech here before a great and 
 very enthusiastic gathering. It went beautifully. After 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 405 
 
 the meeting a torchlight procession and a great serenade 
 were given me. To please the Americans, who were 
 present by thousands, I had to make a short speech from 
 the balcony of the Weddell House. The whole thing 
 went off in the most satisfactory manner. 
 
 This afternoon I shall return to Chicago and go 
 from there to Monee, where I intend to spend several 
 days with my parents. And since I can get free a 
 little this morning and can be alone I will use this pleas- 
 ant hour to talk with you, although this letter cannot 
 go for several days. 
 
 I reached Chicago day before yesterday morning 
 about six o'clock and went to Tony's, where I spent the 
 day. She is quite the old Tony, bright and cheerful as 
 ever. ... In Chicago spiritualism now prevails fright- 
 fully in German circles. B. is an enthusiastic follower 
 and is said sometimes to do the most comical things at 
 the spiritualistic seances. Br., also a believer, is still in 
 the first stage of enthusiasm and could not resist bring- 
 ing out a little table while we sat at dinner. When the 
 noon meal was over the matter was continued. ... I 
 think about spiritualism just as I used to. The phenom- 
 ena are, to be sure, exciting and interesting, and where 
 they become personal they touch the heart. But what do 
 they prove? I have seen nothing which cannot be ex- 
 plained on the theory of animal magnetism, just like the 
 other magnetic phenomena which people tell about. B. 
 became enthusiastic to the point of laughableness. He 
 told me that when the name of a certain Irishman was 
 initialed he would set a glass of whiskey on the table; 
 and when V., who is a heavy smoker, made himself 
 known, he offered him a cigar. This beats everything. 
 R. also takes part in the seances, which are now being 
 
406 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 held weekly in Chicago with considerable regularity; 
 but he has not yet been able to come to any decision. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Chicago, October 7, 1867 
 I am going back to St. Louis tonight. I am in some- 
 thing of a hurry because I want to do personally the 
 leading article concerning the results of the election 
 which is to take place tomorrow in several states. These 
 results will probably not be very brilliant for us, with 
 the effect, as I said before, that we shall have to bestir 
 ourselves again next year in comiection with the presi- 
 dential election. I feel it already. 
 
 The letters and dispatches I am receiving, the way 
 men — and indeed, the most leading characters — are 
 seeking me out, give me the feeling that I am once 
 more in the ascendant. Next year I shall of course not 
 have the allurement of novelty, but something much 
 more substantial: a well established influence, an ex- 
 tensive acquaintance, and an independent position. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, October 12, 1867 
 I received yesterday your letters which contain 
 the beautiful description of your journey to Lake 
 Lucerne, and the lovely photographs. I have followed 
 you step by step and have heartily rejoiced in all the 
 beauty. . . . 
 
 I wrote you earlier that the results of the October 
 elections seemed to me quite doubtful and that I did not 
 expect any particularly favorable results for the Repub- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 407 
 
 lican party. This prediction was fulfilled somewhat too 
 completely. In Pennsylvania we have probably lost 
 our candidate for the supreme court. The matter is not 
 wholly settled. In Philadelphia the Democratic ticket 
 was elected with an appreciable majority; and in Ohio 
 we lost the legislature but saved our gubernatorial can- 
 didate by a very narrow margin. In a word, the Re- 
 publican party has suffered a reverse, and the Democrats 
 with President Johnson at the head are raising wild cries 
 of rejoicing. These incidents have no immediate prac- 
 tical significance since the work of reconstruction so far 
 as concerns its completion remains as it was, in the 
 hands of Congress. But the thing has given Johnson, 
 the northern Democrats, and the old rebels of the South 
 new courage, and it is feared that Johnson will attempt 
 to hinder by executive means the carrying out of the 
 congressional policy. It is indeed not improbable that 
 in case of an impeachment and his suspension during 
 the trial, Johnson would resist. The confusion which 
 would result from such a step cannot be reckoned in 
 advance. While it is certain that the northern people 
 would soon put down any attempt at a coup d'etat, 
 nevertheless such an event might lead to all kinds of 
 complications. Towards the end of November the busi- 
 ness will clear up, for Congress is to reassemble on the 
 twenty-first. 
 
 During the first two days after the election the re- 
 ports from Washington were very threatening. It was 
 then thought we had lost the governor and the whole 
 state government of Ohio. Later reports, that this was 
 not the case, seem to have cooled the ardor and enthu- 
 siasm of the Johnson people to some extent. The elec- 
 tions in New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Kansas 
 
408 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 will take place at the beginning of November. If these 
 yield a good result I do not believe that Johnson will 
 venture anything; but I have some fears about New 
 York. 
 
 In any event the presidential campaign of next year 
 will require on our part a genuine effort, even with 
 Grant, whose nomination for the presidency appears to 
 have been rendered practically certain by the October 
 elections. I am not in the least disquieted about the 
 results of the next presidential election if the business 
 is carried on with moderate wisdom, but the Republican 
 party now needs to have its best men at the wheel, and 
 I have suggested to some of our keenest leaders the de- 
 sirability of holding a conference within the next few 
 weeks concerning the course to be followed. The re- 
 verses we have suffered may very well turn to our ad- 
 vantage. They must free the party from the mischief 
 of side issues such as temperance, and force the wire- 
 pullers and speculators out of their positions of leader- 
 ship. For the rest, Johnson will doubtless do what is 
 necessary for his own ruin. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 October 19, 1867 
 Your last letter, of September 22, describes the 
 glories of the Rigi, and I rejoice heartily in all of the 
 wonders you have seen. Yes, it is too bad that we could 
 not have enjoyed it together. But I console myself 
 with the thought that you at least have seen it, and when 
 I look upon the promising and consistent prosperity of 
 our business, which answers all my expectations, I hope 
 confidently that the time is not far distant when we can 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 409 
 
 give ourselves a good time in all comfort. ... It is a 
 sort of profanation to associate a paragraph about 
 money matters with talk about the Rigi ; but you under- 
 stand the relationship. 
 
 I am so glad that you have again taken up your 
 drawing. I know how much satisfaction it will be to 
 you now and with what pleasure we shall sometime go 
 through your sketches and riot in delightful recollec- 
 tions. Cultivate the talent industriously. It yields pure 
 joy, secure against any unpleasant after-taste. Our 
 fall weather is very fine, but warmer here again the last 
 few days than we could wish. Still, the evenings and 
 nights are splendid. . . . 
 
 There has been little change in the political situation 
 since I wrote you of the partial defeat of the Republi- 
 cans in Pennsylvania and Ohio. The Republican press 
 generally manifests a good spirit, and it has every 
 reason for doing so. I now regard the nomination of 
 Grant for the next president as quite certain unless he 
 makes very serious blunders before next spring, which 
 is not probable. But there will be a lively campaign, 
 and that is well. There is indicated a general disposi- 
 tion in the party to throw the temperance business and 
 political speculation overboard. Horace Greeley alone 
 in the New York Tribune appears cracked as usual. 
 He has already done us great harm, but I hope that by 
 the beginning of the presidential campaign we may be 
 able to tame him. So much will be at stake then, and 
 the lessons the party received this year are so significant, 
 that he will finally be obliged to accept the inevitable. 
 Johnson is of course considerably encouraged, yet I 
 hardly believe he will attempt positive opposition to 
 Congress unless in the impeachment they supersede him 
 and suspend him from office during the trial. Whether 
 
410 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 or not Congress will go forward with the impeachment 
 has become somewhat doubtful since the Ohio and Penn- 
 sylvania elections. The majority will possibly lack the 
 courage. 
 
 But it is getting lively again in Europe. For two 
 days the Atlantic cable has been telling us about the 
 design of Louis Napoleon to send an army of interven- 
 tion to Rome to the support of the Pope, and we can 
 see the near approach of the outbreak of a European 
 war. In any case, you will be quietly secluded in Swit- 
 zerland, and if it should come to a general conflict we 
 can observe the great spectacle in pleasant security. If 
 Napoleon intervenes and the Italian kingdom resists, 
 there will be a glorious opportunity for Germany to 
 complete her unification and have a reckoning with 
 French shamelessness. 
 
 I can tell you nothing new about my life. It flows 
 on quietly and harmlessly in regular activity, one day 
 practically like another. I am not overworking but have 
 always plenty to do. My quiet pleasure is to think of 
 you and the children, and to this I devote all my leisure 
 hours. Be of good courage and let me hope to see you 
 stronger and more cheerful; so much depends on that. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, October 26, 1867 
 I just now received your letter from Gersau, the 
 satisfactory tone of which has done me much good. 
 
 Your plan to go to Wiesbaden satisfies me 
 thoroughly. The climate of Wiesbaden is mild and I 
 believe that a winter's stay there will answer every ex- 
 pectation. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 411 
 
 I am now engaged in putting my financial affairs in 
 order as far as they can and must be brought in order 
 at the end of the first half-year. . . . Then I expect to 
 make my preparations for the Christmas journey to 
 Europe. ... I had intended to do nothing more be- 
 fore the election, aside from the speech which I am to 
 deliver in Cleveland. But a cry of distress came from 
 the state committee of Wisconsin which I could not re- 
 sist. They said that only I could save the state, so I 
 weakened and took on six appointments at Racine and 
 elsewhere. I was unable to refuse the old friends, and 
 inasmuch as the Republicans of Wisconsin have con- 
 ducted themselves well in all things, they deserve my 
 aid. Grant's nomination for the presidency is as good 
 as certain, but even his popularity will not make all 
 efforts superfluous. Before going to Europe I must 
 spend some days in Washington. A meeting of party 
 leaders is planned there which I should not miss; sec- 
 ondly, I must secure a passport and learn through the 
 Prussian minister whether it will be viseed for the 
 Prussian states — for Wiesbaden also is now Prussian. 
 I shall also approach Bancroft and Bucher about this 
 business, for I should not like to encounter inconven- 
 iences. I do not believe that I am among the number 
 of the amnestied, and while it is improbable that they 
 will think of incarcerating me, it is nevertheless better 
 to have previous assurances in such matters. . . . 
 
 I am greatly pleased to know that the children are 
 regularly in school. Will they learn French decently 
 in Wiesbaden? I would look to that particularly. Now 
 is the time and opportunity for it. . . . Be strong and 
 happy, and remember when you think of me that every- 
 thing is going well with me. 
 
412 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Milwaukee, November 3, 1867 
 
 Today by way of exception I can write you only a 
 few words. I am in the midst of the Wisconsin electoral 
 campaign and am staying here in the hotel with Gover- 
 nor Fairchild in a single room, since all other good 
 rooms in the house are let. 
 
 I have delivered some speeches in the interior of the 
 state and shall speak here to the Germans tomorrow 
 evening, the eve of the election. Then I shall go home. 
 What the result of the election will be I dare not pre- 
 dict. The Democrats are making extraordinary efforts 
 and are spending great sums of money. The Germans, 
 to a considerable extent, have been rendered skittish by 
 the old temperance humbug, but still I have everywhere 
 had good success. My meetings are crowded and enthu- 
 siastic. But on the whole the wind this year is adverse 
 and one cannot see what the result will be until he has 
 the count before him. 
 
 Naturally I have found everywhere many of my old 
 friends, and they all tell me that so far from having 
 aged I look younger than formerly. From this you can 
 see that I must certainly be very well. I have indeed 
 never been fresher or more vigorous. My voice is 
 stronger than ever. . . . 
 
 When I arrived here I received your short letter 
 from Frankfort, which had been forwarded to me from 
 St. Louis. I am glad to know that you succeeded in 
 securing a permanent, quiet place in Wiesbaden. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, November 9, 1867 
 At last I am again sitting quietly and securely at my 
 writing-table. My letter from Milwaukee must have 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 413 
 
 seemed to you short and hurried, but I was so be- 
 leaguered that I could not possibly command a quiet 
 hour for writing. You know how it goes in an election 
 campaign. My journey in Wisconsin was indeed a 
 pretty strenuous one, yet on the whole quite pleasant. 
 
 I was in Watertown too. When I reached Fond du 
 Lac I found a letter from old Uncle Jacob, who urged 
 me strongly to stop in Watertown with him on my way 
 from Portage City to Janesville, since it would perhaps 
 be the last time we should be able to meet there. Of 
 course I decided to go. I visited him the very next day 
 on my way from Fond du Lac to Portage City, re- 
 mained two hours and then went on. The following 
 morning I left Portage City at two, reached Watertown 
 at five, and was received at the station by Uncle carry- 
 ing a lantern. I found my room in the house heated, 
 my bed for a morning sleep in order, and there made up 
 honestly the sleep I had lost during the night. The old 
 people were very happy. Aunt prepared me a splendid 
 breakfast and dinner, and so we enjoyed ourselves 
 greatly. They are both well. 
 
 I remained there until two o'clock in the afternoon 
 and was accompanied to the station by Uncle and Miller. 
 I saw no one else in Watertown except the brewer B., 
 whose business is so good that he has built for himself a 
 house costing ten thousand dollars. Unquestionably 
 Watertown has improved much. They say it has twelve 
 thousand inhabitants, but that is of course mere boast- 
 ing. There is much building (and I am convinced the 
 place would become important if there were a better 
 class of people there). 70 Twice I passed through the 
 
 70 This thrust savors of an attempt at self-justification. Schurz in 
 1855 selected Watertown in competition with Milwaukee as a place in 
 which to make himself financially independent. He hoped to do this 
 
414 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 farm on the Northwestern. You can imagine what 
 pensive thoughts of home the view of the house brought 
 me, and what recollections arose in me. An American 
 lives there now, and the flower beds are planted to 
 potatoes and onions. 
 
 I was in Milwaukee from Saturday evening until 
 Tuesday morning. Monday evening I had the largest 
 and most enthusiastic German meeting which had ever 
 been seen in Milwaukee. Also, I have never spoken 
 better. I am now beginning to find the right tone for 
 extemporaneous speaking, a tone which carries an au- 
 dience along irresistibly. . . . 
 
 Now you have a full news bulletin from Milwaukee. 
 Milwaukee has improved greatly. The population is 
 said to be seventy-five thousand. There is an extraordi- 
 nary amount of building and of a very high order of 
 beauty. Certain portions of the city you would hardly 
 recognize. On my return journey I visited Tony in Chi- 
 cago, as I had also done on my way out. Both times I 
 found our parents there, and as you can imagine we had 
 some very enjoyable hours. Papa and Mama are both 
 right well. . . . 
 
 We have been victorious again in the Wisconsin 
 election, with a somewhat reduced majority but yet 
 sufficiently decisive. The Republican majority in the 
 state will be between six and eight thousand. But in 
 New York we were badly beaten; also in New Jersey, 
 while Massachusetts and Minnesota remain loyal with 
 
 through a real estate business, of which the principal feature was the 
 purchase of the John Jackson farm and its conversion into city lots. But 
 he had miscalculated the city's prospects, just then inflated because it was 
 temporarily a railway terminus. He agreed to an excessive price for the 
 farm. The panic of 1857 and the deflation due to the terminus moving 
 westward left him stranded, with a debt he could not pay; and in Janu- 
 ary, 1867, the farm was taken from him on a judgment in foreclosure of 
 mortgage. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 415 
 
 strong majorities. I had long foreseen the defeat in 
 New York. It was brought about principally by the 
 Sunday law and the corruption of the last legislature. 
 In Massachusetts the temperance people within the 
 Republican party have suffered a decided overthrow, 
 which together with the backfire against the Sunday 
 law in New York will have the effect of finally putting 
 an end to both of these things which have already given 
 us much trouble. 
 
 In so far as the results of the election shall free 
 us from certain encumbrances which heretofore have 
 constantly irritated us, I am satisfied with it. Our 
 way will thereby be rendered clearer next year, and the 
 sense of danger will spur the Republicans to greater 
 efforts. At the moment, however, the Democrats are 
 setting up a tremendous jubilation and President 
 Johnson is growing arrogant. He has ordered the 
 dissolution of the militia companies in the District of 
 Columbia, Washington and its environment, because 
 these were holding with Congress. Whether he really 
 has in mind a coup d'etat we shall have to see. It must 
 be decided shortly after the assembling of Congress. 
 Whether they will risk impeachment is again very un- 
 certain. I hardly think they will. The fall elections 
 have given Congress much else to think about. At all 
 events they will have to go to work with utmost pru- 
 dence. There is so much at stake that they will not 
 want to risk more than is necessary. I consider it there- 
 fore not improbable that an open conflict will be avoided, 
 unless Johnson has in mind a deliberate violation of law 
 and a coup d'etat. . . . 
 
 I am much pleased to know that you are happily 
 settled in Wiesbaden and I do not doubt you will make 
 
416 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 things comfortable for yourself. You have done right 
 to set up a small establishment. It will afford you 
 pleasant activity and entertainment. When I am once 
 there, what charming times we shall have! . . . Pree- 
 torius will move into his new house next week. I wanted 
 to rent a place, but he protested most energetically 
 against it. . . . He said that a room in the new house 
 was set aside especially for me. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, November 15, 1867 
 Before my departure I shall have to spend a couple 
 of days in Washington. Naturally I shall provide my- 
 self with a passport. You think nothing more will be 
 needed and that we shall be able to travel about quietly 
 in Prussia, but for better security I will do something 
 more. I am writing today a letter to Bancroft and one 
 to Bucher asking that they secure for me, from the 
 ministry, unlimited freedom of movement. I shall ask 
 them to send their reply to Hamburg addressed to H. C. 
 Meyer, Jr., so that I may find it there on my arrival. If 
 you are then in Wiesbaden I shall have no cause to delay 
 and can go right on in order to be with you at all events 
 by Christmas Eve. Be so good as to advise Adolf or 
 Henry about it, so that the letter may not be forwarded 
 here through mistake. . . . When I am engaged in 
 packing it seems as if I must be starting tomorrow. . . . 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 St. Louis, November 22, 1867 
 I shall leave here next week, spend a couple of days 
 in Washington, and then on December 5 go aboard the 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 417 
 
 America bound for Europe for a few weeks' visit with 
 my family. I do not as yet know how long I shall be 
 in New York. Possibly I may arrive on Tuesday, De- 
 cember 3, possibly Wednesday evening, and naturally 
 want very much to see you. All other matters I shall 
 save until then. Do not premium payments become due 
 during the next couple of months ? In that case, may I 
 ask you to have the notes ready for me to sign? For the 
 cash payments I will make arrangements here. You 
 will find me at the Astor House. Greet your family 
 heartily. In haste. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, November 23, 1867 
 I have taken my passage on the America, one of the 
 best ships of the Bremen line, and shall sail from New 
 York on the fifth of December. Probably I shall touch 
 German soil just one week after this letter. I will not 
 undertake to describe my joy. You will see for your- 
 self when I arrive. From Bremen I shall of course go 
 direct to Hamburg by rail, without delaying en route. 
 If we are to celebrate Christmas together in Wiesbaden 
 I shall leave Hamburg at once and shall apparently 
 have more than time enough to reach Wiesbaden before 
 Christmas Eve, unless the Prussian government places 
 difficulties in my way. I have written to Bancroft and 
 Bucher, and hope to find letters from both in Hamburg 
 giving me certainty about the matter. I really have 
 little desire to write much, for I already see myself with 
 you. I busy myself, aside from my current editorial 
 labors, with nothing except preparations for the jour- 
 ney, and my thoughts are always on it. However, I 
 
418 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 have been to the theatre three times lately and have 
 seen Edwin Booth as Hamlet, as Richard III, and as 
 Iago in Othello. He deserves his fame. Of all Ameri- 
 can actors I have seen he is the greatest. His Hamlet 
 is remarkable. For Richard III he is lacking a little 
 in the power of a commanding personality. But his 
 Iago is not easy to beat. It approaches perfection. I 
 distinctly prefer it to Hamlet. But why describe theat- 
 rical doings? I can tell them to you so much better. 
 
 To Henry Meyer 
 
 Wiesbaden, January 9, 1868 
 I certainly ought to have written to you earlier. I 
 well realize that and must ask a thousand pardons. But 
 you know how it is when one has not seen his own family 
 for a long time and then is with them once more for a 
 short period. Under such conditions one neglects many 
 things for which he must later reproach himself. But 
 I know you will find my long silence excusable. I 
 count upon your forbearance. First of all, let me thank 
 you for the beautiful Christmas gift. . . . 
 
 Our Christmas celebration was very lively and joy- 
 ful, so that the sad memories which accompanied us — 
 and you know well how sad they are — were always 
 forced into the background. Aside from Adolf and 
 Marie, Mathilde and Falke with the children and 
 Therese with her Hugh were here. Only you and 
 Amelia were missing, but we thought of you affection- 
 ately. Now it is quiet here once more. Adolf is about 
 to leave and we shall probably go too, spending several 
 days in Weimar with Amalie, and in Berlin. Mar- 
 garethe's physical condition, which at first did not suit 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 419 
 
 me very well, seems nevertheless to be somewhat im- 
 proved. Dr. Genth, a well and favorably known phy- 
 sician, expresses the hope of being able to arrive at 
 the cause of her illness through a summer cure, and to 
 send her back to me next fall with restored health. The 
 children are as well and as good as I could wish to see 
 them. 
 
 I shall hardly be able to stay much longer because 
 my presence in America will soon be required. Next 
 fall we have the presidential election, and the prepara- 
 tions for it will begin promptly in the spring. The 
 situation of affairs has become very difficult and it will 
 cost the Republican party much pains and labor to bring 
 the campaign to a fortunate issue. Naturally I shall 
 have to take part in it and be on the ground betimes. 
 Also my newspaper will soon make demands upon me. 
 I have finally, after long and varied misfortunes in my 
 financial undertakings, made a great stroke with it [the 
 newspaper]. ... It is an old, well-established busi- 
 ness which goes its regular gait and has not the usual 
 competition to fear, as an experience of eleven years 
 shows ; and it is little affected by changes in the general 
 business situation. So I have well-grounded prospects 
 of ultimately clearing away all my difficulties. . . . 
 
 Since in all probability I shall go back to America 
 by way of Hamburg, I hope still to see you and dear 
 Amelia before my departure, to rejoice in your good 
 fortune and to thank you for all good gifts. 
 
 To Adolf Meyer 
 
 Wiesbaden, February 3, 1868 
 Yesterday we were finally restored to our quiet 
 family life. We left Berlin Saturday evening and 
 
420 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 came through without change. The tour was indeed a 
 little strenuous, but Margarethe held out bravely and is 
 feeling very well. . . . The short stay in Berlin was of 
 incalculable value to me. I could not have regretted 
 anything more than the fact that you were not able to 
 stay a couple of days longer. Of course I was able to 
 see almost nothing of the sights in Berlin that are worthy 
 of being seen, except the worth-while people ; and even 
 of these I could see not nearly so many as I ought to 
 have seen. I should have required at least two weeks 
 more in order to do the task as it deserved. Still the 
 single week which was vouchsafed gave me quite a deep 
 insight into the state of affairs here. Naturally I came 
 to know a group of the most distinguished members of 
 the Chamber — but to my deepest regret Schulze- 
 Delitsch escaped me ; and you will have learned through 
 the papers that I met Bismarck. It came about at his 
 own request. He sent word through our secretary of 
 legation, Bucher, that he wanted to see me. After our 
 first meeting he invited me to dinner, on which occasion 
 I had him to myself almost two hours ; and afterwards I 
 saw him once more. 
 
 I have reason to believe that it was his idea in the 
 beginning to attract me into the Prussian state service. 
 On his question whether I designed to remain in Ger- 
 many I declared without hesitation that I had no idea of 
 leaving the United States. What, indeed, could he 
 have offered which would have answered my expecta- 
 tions or furthered my interests? Otherwise my long 
 and rapid conversation with Bismarck was of extraordi- 
 nary interest. He expressed himself with complete 
 frankness on all possible situations, even the most deli- 
 cate, which astounded me; and he displayed a knowl- 
 edge of men and conditions which I have not found in 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 421 
 
 any other statesman of my acquaintance. When one 
 has learned to know Bismarck, one thing becomes quite 
 clear. When this force which clearly knows what it 
 wants — and then wills with its whole energy — meets 
 another force that does not clearly know what it wants 
 and which lacks unity and sustained energy, the com- 
 petition for power will not long remain doubtful. Bis- 
 marck is an individuality strong in himself, who has im- 
 pressed upon current affairs, against all parliamentary 
 opposition, the stamp of his superiority. This superior- 
 ity as against the Chamber makes itself felt particularly 
 where he is obviously in the wrong ; for example, in the 
 debate over the endowment of the dispossessed, which 
 we see going on. I could tell you very interesting things 
 about our conversation which have given me the key to 
 many a matter hitherto dark. Perhaps I shall have op- 
 portunity to do so before my return. 
 
 During the last days of our stay in Berlin, to our 
 great delight we had opportunity to become acquainted 
 with Stockhausen and to spend some time with the two 
 Misses Toberentz. We were with them at the Patti 
 performance, spent Friday evening with them, and on 
 Saturday just before our departure took the noon meal 
 with them. I cannot tell you how much pleasure it gave 
 us. With them one feels himself in a charmed atmos- 
 phere. Stockhausen made a very agreeable impression 
 upon me. One cannot get enough of his voice. I truly 
 hope he will sometime make an artist's tour of America. 
 Since hearing him I have no doubt about his success. 
 The hours passed with the Toberentz sisters were for 
 me hours of genuine rest and reflection. 
 
 All in all our journey will remain unforgettable, 
 and I only regret that we could not have had you with 
 
422 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 us throughout. For the days you devoted to us we can- 
 not sufficiently thank you. I only wish we could be 
 something to you sometime. Now to business. . . . 
 
 To Henry Meyer 
 
 Wiesbaden, February 3, 1868 
 Your letter reached us in Berlin. I would have 
 answered immediately, but the calls we received and had 
 to make left me so little leisure that I could hardly 
 think quietly, much less write. I therefore saved all 
 letters for quiet Wiesbaden. Yesterday we came back 
 here to our children, and here we have leisure enough. 
 . . . Nothing could have been more regrettable to me 
 than the unfortunate miscalculation which prevented 
 our meeting in Frankfort. ... It pains me greatly 
 that I was unable to see you at least for a few hours, 
 even though at that time I could not join you in the 
 journey to Pesth, because Berlin was where I most 
 wished to go. . . . 
 
 My stay in Berlin was a very hectic one. I naturally 
 became acquainted with a multitude of distinguished 
 persons and I found several old acquaintances in Par- 
 liament. Adolf had but just left us when I received a 
 letter from one of the subordinate officers of the foreign 
 ministry notifying me that Bismarck wished to see me, 
 and if agreeable to me I should let him know. Of course 
 I did it, and Bismarck appointed a time for the next 
 evening. I went and had an hour-and-a-half interview 
 with him. He invited me to dinner next day, where I 
 encountered some dozens of bestarred and becrossed 
 private counselors, judicial counselors, and other coun- 
 selors. After dinner Bismarck dismissed the company, 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 423 
 
 except me, and we had nearly two hours together. Fri- 
 day evening I saw him again. 
 
 You can imagine how interesting this was to me. 
 In a few hours I secured a deeper insight into the opera- 
 tion of the government machine than otherwise could 
 possibly have been secured even with long study. What- 
 ever evil characteristics he may have, Bismarck is at all 
 events an extraordinary person. I have seen many 
 statesmen, but none who speaks his mind on all matters 
 with such complete freedom. Facts which are little 
 or not at all known, the most compromising assertions 
 concerning the motives of his policies, even his relations 
 to the king and his opinion of the "old gentleman," all 
 of this flows from his lips as freely as if he were talking 
 to a confidential person from whom the rack would be 
 unable to force the secret. I think there was hardly a 
 Weighty question of foreign or domestic policy about 
 which we did not converse, and on all he expressed him- 
 self with the same freedom. Naturally I cannot here 
 go into particulars. I could talk to you for hours about 
 it, and it would convince you that we have in him an 
 extraordinary brain which has a thorough knowledge 
 of men and affairs, especially the Germans, their weak- 
 nesses and bad habits ; and whose despotic inclination is 
 strengthened mainly by the fact that he so far sur- 
 passes all with whom he comes in contact. I shall have 
 much to say to you about this matter when we meet. 
 
 Nothing could have been more comical than my ap- 
 pearance at the ministerial table. Of course in the be- 
 ginning nobody knew me, nor did I know anyone. 
 Afterwards, when we were just ready to sit down, Bis- 
 marck introduced me to several persons. A flutter now 
 went round the table and the astonishment appeared to 
 
424 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 be great. Steadily the old and the young perukes be- 
 came more confidential and we amused ourselves very 
 well. When we finally gathered in the salon for coffee 
 and cigars I became the center of quite a group. Bis- 
 marck himself seemed conscious of the comical situa- 
 tion, for when he had dismissed the others and we were 
 alone he said: "It is really funny that we sit together 
 here so peacefully and smoke cigars. Fifteen years ago 
 neither of us would have dreamed of it." And im- 
 mediately after this he expounded to me his policy for 
 the future of Germany. 
 
 In Berlin I saw so many people that I really saw 
 nothing else. With the exception of the synagogue, a 
 very hasty walk through the museum, a little ballet, and 
 one opera, I really did not get around to anything. I 
 would gladly have remained a couple of days longer, but 
 we were both anxious to get back to the children. I shall 
 have to leave everything else for my next trip to Europe. 
 At most I shall go to Cologne for a day and see a 
 cousin and a favorite companion of my youth. I hope 
 that later you and I may make a journey together. 
 
 To Gottfried Kinkel 
 
 Wiesbaden, February 24, 1868 
 About ten days ago I heard from an apparently 
 trustworthy source that you were to come to Frankfort 
 in a short time, on which occasion I hoped to see you 
 and talk with you. Now I hear that this was a ground- 
 less report. The matter has resulted only in delaying 
 my writing to you. How gladly I would have sought 
 you out in Zurich, but I was unable to do so. Now my 
 departure for America draws near. We expect to go 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 425 
 
 to Hamburg day after tomorrow, and I sail on the 
 steamer Germania from thence for the United States 
 on March 4. 
 
 I know that I have been owing you a letter for a 
 long time and can only ask your friendly indulgence. 
 You know yourself how it sometimes is about letter 
 writing when the spheres of activity lie so far asunder 
 and one is excessively busy. Even here I have been able 
 to breathe freely only during the past ten days and to 
 enjoy the quiet of my home life. So I hope you will 
 forgive me. 
 
 Through my wife I have the most favorable reports 
 about you, your family, and your situation. With 
 modest pretensions I also can report favorably after the 
 many struggles through which I have passed. My ac- 
 tivity in America goes pretty far beyond my immediate 
 business, and I have opportunity not infrequently to 
 make myself useful. The temptation to return to the 
 old fatherland has this time been particularly enticing. 
 But I cannot decide to do so ; not that I hold the present 
 situation of affairs to be incapable of development. I 
 am glad to learn that you see many a hopeful germ in 
 recent occurrences. But I have already struck root 
 deeply in America. The activities of my best mature 
 years have identified me with the reform movements 
 there, and I cannot leave the ranks of the fighters while 
 so much still remains to be done to which I can con- 
 tribute. Besides, with my views and my manner of 
 working, I should not feel at home here. In America 
 we can see promptly the results of a wise and energetic 
 effort. Here one has to have more patience than I can 
 trust myself to manifest, and this defect, I fear, would 
 hamper activity. 
 
426 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 You have doubtless heard that I had several long 
 conversations with Bismarck in Berlin. He received me 
 in the kindest manner. He is unquestionably a very 
 able man. Although his antecedents are not pleasing, 
 one may still gather hope from the circumstance that 
 he is one of those energetic, impulsive characters whose 
 acts, when they are once engaged, extend beyond their 
 original plans. In his efforts at unification he will go 
 straight ahead, and unless I am mistaken he will under- 
 mine the bureaucracy because it is too ossified and too 
 stupid to be a sufficiently flexible and effective instru- 
 ment of his plans. These are two important things. 
 Perhaps the feudal ideas inculcated in him persist. That 
 is not so very dangerous, for in our industrial age the 
 attempt to bring about a feudal reaction would be 
 merely quixotic. He has been considered a frivolous 
 person. According to my opinion he is not that, or, if 
 he has been, he is so no longer. For the rest, the Prus- 
 sians seem so instinctively and universally to feel the 
 necessity of having this man at the head of the govern- 
 ment, that with the exception of a few individuals no one 
 of the existing parties would assume the responsibility 
 of deposing him. 
 
 In America conditions are a little confused. But 
 after effecting such a great social revolution as the eman- 
 cipation of the slaves, one cannot expect to bring about 
 a perfect calming of the waters the very next day. The 
 presidential election this fall will materially aid to clear 
 up the situation. 
 
 Shall I hear from you soon again? My wife and the 
 children unite with me in heartiest greetings to you all. 
 In the old loyal friendship. ... I was in Spandau and 
 saw some of the old friends again. We had several de- 
 lightful hours. All are getting along well. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 427 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 Hamburg, March 1, 1868 
 Before my departure from America I promised to 
 let you know in advance on what ship I would return 
 to New York. This promise two words will now fulfill. 
 I am leaving from here March 4 on the Hamburg 
 steamer Germania, and will thus probably be in New 
 York on the sixteenth or seventeenth and will go to the 
 Astor House immediately upon my arrival. Shall I see 
 you there? With hearty greeting. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 On Board the Germania, March 5, 1868 
 Let me send you one more greeting before I leave 
 the soil of Europe. We have now been on the way a 
 day and a half, hope to reach the Channel tonight, and 
 to be in Southampton tomorrow morning. It has rained 
 and blown practically all morning, so that the sea is agi- 
 tated and the ship rolls in lively fashion. Consequently 
 I cannot write with great comfort. But it is growing 
 lighter, the wind is falling, and the sea is becoming 
 quieter. . . . 
 
 Hard as it is to be separated from you and the chil- 
 dren some months longer, I yet take my leave with a 
 feeling of great satisfaction. What a delightful time 
 we had together! How many hours of genuine happi- 
 ness! How splendid our children were! What love 
 was shown us by the brothers and sisters! And with 
 what well-grounded hopes I now go forth after seeing 
 your old doctor ! It was an actual ray of sunshine, and 
 though such days come only now and then, we still have 
 
428 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 light and warmth enough for many which have gone 
 before and which may follow them. Let us be thankful 
 for them and not let our reflections be troubled by the 
 complaint that they were so short. Have we not reason 
 to look more cheerfully toward the future ? May we not 
 hope to be more free and to sweeten our labor now and 
 then with self -elected pleasures ? And how many hands 
 are extended to us with warmest affection! Surely 
 we should look to the future in a contented mood, and 
 not complain too much about the few bitter drops which 
 flow into the goblet of life now and then. 
 
 You were quite cheerful when we separated; do re- 
 main so. If you sometimes feel lonesome, fill your 
 lonesomeness with hopes and pleasant memories instead 
 of with dark images of possible evil. Your physical 
 cure will be much prompter and more complete if your 
 mind keeps itself free and healthy. Let me feel when at 
 my work, to which I shall now have to give myself and 
 which perhaps will be somewhat strenuous, that you are 
 living and working cheerfully alongside of me. You 
 do not know how much that will mean to me. . . . Now 
 farewell. Greet all heartily. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 New York, March 20, 1808 
 At last I am here. The Germania reached her dock 
 at five o'clock this evening. Between Hamburg and 
 Southampton we already had unpleasant weather, but 
 hardly had we left Cowes when a very bad wind began 
 blowing from the west directly against us, and so con- 
 tinued for almost nine days and nights without inter- 
 mission. It was indeed not quite so bad as we experi- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 429 
 
 enced in January, 1862, but sometimes there was not 
 much difference. The sea which opposed us was colossal 
 and the vessel labored through it with great difficulty. 
 On the ninth day our voyage was hardly half completed, 
 but on the tenth day the weather suddenly changed and 
 we shot forward on a quite sea with great rapidity. The 
 Germania is a splendid ship ; I believe there is not one 
 afloat which in the heaviest weather would be safer or 
 steadier. I would entrust myself to it at any time of 
 year. Our voyage from the Needles to Hoboken lasted 
 thirteen days and twenty hours. 
 
 How splendidly my good seaman's qualities served 
 me! I had always my godly appetite, which made me 
 look forward with eagerness to every meal. And sleep ! 
 I slept like a dachshund. In Southhampton we received 
 on board the cabin passengers of the Hammonia, which 
 as you have probably heard broke its screw in the 
 middle of the ocean and was forced back to Southamp- 
 ton by opposing winds. So the cabins, if not full, 
 were at any rate pretty well occupied. Of course, I re- 
 tained my cabin wholly for myself alone. Naturally 
 also we saw little of our company during the period of 
 storm, but when quiet came it appeared we had some 
 very pleasant people among them. During the voyage 
 I read much and wrote my letter about Bismarck, which 
 I believe was very good. On my arrival here I received 
 today's Tribune in which, translated into English, was 
 given back to me a long piece of my last correspondence 
 concerning the Chamber and the King of Prussia. . . . 
 
 The impeachment goes along slowly. The whole 
 Republican party is now united in favor of the measure. 
 We have gained a victory in the New Hampshire elec- 
 tion, which naturally makes a very favorable impres- 
 sion on the party. . . . 
 
430 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 Our ship had hardly reached the haven before it set 
 in to storm and snow again. The snow now lies several 
 inches deep. God be thanked that we are here! 
 
 This letter will probably find you back in your peace- 
 ful home in Wiesbaden. We enjoyed some beautiful 
 days together, did we not, my dearest ? And why should 
 not similar days come to us frequently? Have we not 
 every reason to look toward the future with confidence 
 and good cheer? How many hours on shipboard, with 
 waking eyes, did I not dream of you and the children; 
 and I thought out so many lovely plans ! Have courage 
 and we shall be very happy. Now adieu. From weari- 
 ness my eyelids are drooping, and the letter must go 
 in the morning in order to give you notice as soon as 
 possible of my arrival. In my thoughts I kiss you and 
 the children a thousand times. Think of me with the 
 old love, as I do of you. Greet all. 
 
 To Theodore Petrasch 
 
 New Haven, March 25, 1868 
 They have loaded upon me here one more meeting 
 than originally had been planned. In consequence, I 
 shall not come to New York Friday, but Saturday. I 
 do not yet know whether I shall go to the Fifth Avenue 
 Hotel. In any event I shall go to Kapp's house at 
 twelve o'clock noon and you will most surely find me 
 there. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, March 29, 1868 
 Greatly as many things in Germany pleased me I 
 am bound to say that this country seems home to me. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 431 
 
 How fresh and hearty life is here and how one feels at 
 every step that he can accomplish something! This is 
 a great cause. You recall that I described to you the 
 political situation which I left here in December as very 
 unsatisfactory and even doubtful. All of our friends at 
 that time felt depressed and it was believed that only 
 with the most strenuous exertions could the Republican 
 party guarantee its success in the presidential election. 
 That situation has suddenly become quite different. I 
 have rarely seen so quick and complete a change. Every- 
 thing now is hopeful. . . . 
 
 In Connecticut, where the campaign of the Republi- 
 cans is being carried on with great eagerness, the Demo- 
 crats are hardly stirring at all, and everywhere their 
 heads are drooping. Tomorrow the real "trial" of the 
 President begins. Butler will make the first speech for 
 the prosecution, which I shall hear. In two, or at most 
 three, weeks it is thought the whole business will be 
 finished, and I cannot see what good end a longer pro- 
 traction would serve. The conviction of Johnson is cer- 
 tain and I am convinced that his removal would have a 
 very wholesome effect. There are still rumors that he 
 intends to resist. But since the army is in Grant's hands 
 an attempt of that kind would be truly childish. I do 
 not believe it. Even if Johnson has had such ideas he 
 certainly would be deterred from this step, which with 
 a turn of the hand might bring him under the knife. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, April 4, 1868 
 I arrived here yesterday morning after a wearisome 
 railway journey. . . . About ten o'clock I went to the 
 
432 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 office and was received with genuine pleasure by all. 
 That did me much good. . . . Preetorius especially re- 
 ceived me with the most friendly heartiness. . . . 
 
 I began writing for the paper again yesterday. 
 Today — on Saturday I never have much to do — I spent 
 in answering a mountain of letters which had piled up 
 on my writing-desk during my long absence. Consider- 
 able time was also wasted in handshaking, for my 
 "friends" came one after another to pay their respects. 
 I can inject here one good piece of news. Despite the 
 fact that all about us there are complaints of bad times, 
 our business has gone on splendidly. . . . 
 
 The political world here is naturally kept breath- 
 less over the impeachment of Johnson. Possibly you 
 may have received the results of the trial before this 
 will reach you. Last Monday I heard the opening 
 speech of General Butler, with which the prosecution 
 began. What an opportunity that would have been 
 for a great orator — an opportunity such as will not come 
 again in generations! . . . 
 
 The material would have been so potent for one who 
 knew how to utilize it not only as jurist but also as 
 statesman and citizen of this republic. Butler made a 
 commonplace lawyer's speech out of it, strong in its 
 arguments to be sure, but without any higher implica- 
 tions — about such a speech as has been heard a hundred 
 times before the higher courts in important criminal 
 cases. I sat there filled with impatience over the lost 
 opportunity, which demanded a great effort, while But- 
 ler labored one point after another with uniform aridity. 
 It is to be hoped that Bingham and Boutwell, whose 
 speeches will bring the trial to a close, may understand 
 how to give the case a higher sanction. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 433 
 
 I think I told you in my last letter that so far as 
 the popular mind is concerned a complete change has 
 occurred. Everything goes along peacefully and we al- 
 ready look upon the result of the presidential election as 
 certain. Grant's nomination, unless signs and wonders 
 occur, is assured. There is really no serious opposition 
 longer and the other candidates have quietly withdrawn 
 — even Chase, although he hoped the impossible to the 
 last and resents the preference of a new man as against 
 an old antislavery leader. I pity Chase truly, but noth- 
 ing can be done for him. He has an unhappy way of 
 too plainly exhibiting his presidential aspirations, so 
 that those who really mean well by him are denied the 
 privilege of warming up to him. I fear he will have to 
 spend his days in his judicial chair, like a wounded lion. 
 His position of chief justice, which to another would 
 be the fulfillment of highest ambition, merely makes 
 him a martyr. The presidential fever is a deadly 
 malady. And now enough of politics. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, April 12, 1868 
 I have again worked myself into the situation and 
 things are as I could wish, at least so far as my private 
 concerns go. The elections, however, have not gone 
 according to the indications I observed on my arrival 
 in the country. . . . 
 
 In one respect I am very well satisfied with the out- 
 come of the spring elections. While they do not in any- 
 way lessen our chances of victory, yet on the other hand 
 they show that we must work for it and that the mere 
 nomination of Grant, which is expected on all hands, will 
 
434 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 not suffice to make it absolutely sure. We shall have an 
 active campaign, and that is exactly what I want. 
 Nothing could be more dangerous to the party than lazy 
 self-confidence. The impeachment will probably come 
 to an end in eight or ten days and you will have the re- 
 sult before these lines reach you. I hope we shall then 
 have a Republican administration once more and go 
 forward under full sail. ... I am already beginning 
 the preliminary preparations for my forthcoming cam- 
 paign speech. I have several excellent ideas which can 
 be worked out very nicely if the newspaper work does 
 not split me up too much. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, May 11, 1868 
 Tomorrow the vote on the impeachment charges will 
 occur in Washington. It will be a decisive day and we 
 look forward to the result with throbbing hearts. Last 
 week all kinds of disquieting rumors were sent out about 
 the desertion of several Republican Senators, but most 
 of these appear to be unfounded. For several days 
 those who desire Johnson's conviction have been much 
 more confident. On the whole the trial was conducted 
 in a very weak manner on the side of the prosecution, at 
 least so far as the arguments went. Bingham's speech 
 alone was in any way adequate. But even it was not 
 what could have been desired on so great an occasion. 
 There are so few American speakers who have learned 
 that the greatest effect will be produced by illuminating, 
 simple strength and not by rankly abundant speech. 
 Fortunately the case of the prosecution was so strong as 
 to compensate for the defects in its presentation. In 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 435 
 
 forty hours we shall know the final result. Let us hope 
 for the best. 
 
 Yesterday we celebrated the anniversary of the cap- 
 ture of Fort Jackson. All the Germans were in Union 
 Park, with wives and families; the German section of 
 the city was covered with flags and we rejoiced once 
 more in a demonstration of patriotism. Of course I was 
 again required to "glorify" the celebration with a speech 
 and I did it with all brevity but with good success. You 
 will remember that I had to drink the same bitter cup 
 last year. While appreciable gaps have been made in the 
 ranks of the German Republicans in other states, here 
 the German column still stands fast and I hope it will 
 remain so until the results of the war shall have been 
 guaranteed. This fall we shall have to fight through 
 the negro suffrage matter, and on this question there are 
 still many prejudices to overcome among the Germans. 
 But we shall make a strong attempt, and as I hope not 
 in vain. 
 
 To His Daughter Agathe 
 
 St. Louis, May 24, 1868 
 I have rejoiced heartily over your letter. It is in- 
 telligent, in correct style, and I find no extravagant 
 expressions in it. I now believe that you will learn to 
 write very well if you keep on in the same way. Let me 
 give you a principal rule: One should write precisely 
 as he thinks and express fittingly what he wants to say. 
 One must not admit any artfulness of expression nor 
 use figures of speech, particularly adjectives, without 
 knowing exactly what is intended to be expressed 
 thereby. One must not involve sentences too much but 
 
436 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 arrange his thoughts simply, one after another, just as 
 they naturally follow one another. That is the whole 
 art of style. The simplest and clearest is always the 
 most effective and best. Young persons always try to 
 express beauty in high-flown superlatives. They think 
 it sounds well, but what signifies a good sound if what 
 one has to say doesn't mean anything? By the way, 
 that is a stage of diseased taste which almost everybody 
 has to pass through. It does not do much harm provided 
 one gets done with it promptly. Having once catered to 
 a false taste and gained a better one, one needs to be 
 careful not to fall back into the old errors. If you de- 
 velop your present manner of writing you will save 
 yourself this transition period, which would be much 
 better. Do write me frequently, every week or every 
 two weeks, about what goes on around you, and I will 
 give you other hints from time to time. 
 
 With me, my dear child, everything is as well as it 
 can be in your absence. I was in Chicago this week as 
 delegate to the national convention. Now the presiden- 
 tial campaign begins, which will give me plenty to do. 
 But I cannot tell you how I long for the time when I 
 shall have you all with me again. Without you there is 
 only half a life. I hope you will do all you can to cheer 
 Mama and advance her cure. You know how greatly 
 her condition depends on her surroundings, and you 
 have become wise enough to understand how much in- 
 fluence the conduct of children has upon the sensibilities 
 of a mother. Adieu, my Handy. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, May 24, 1868 
 At last I am in peace again. I returned yesterday 
 from the Chicago convention, the results of which you 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 437 
 
 have undoubtedly learned already, through the tele- 
 graph. The business went off very well. I had a little 
 triumph there too. They made me temporary chairman. 
 I opened the convention with a short speech which 
 pleased so extraordinarily well that I was almost smoth- 
 ered with congratulations. The newspapers are full of 
 praise. I also presented a couple of supplementary 
 resolutions which were accepted with the greatest 
 unanimity and brought me almost as much recognition 
 as the resolutions themselves. The convention was held 
 in Crosby's Opera House and presented a very impres- 
 sive spectacle. The city was so full of strangers that 
 at certain times one could hardly get through the main 
 streets. At first the whole affair was a bit tame, but 
 the enthusiasm rose little by little. When the nomina- 
 tion of Grant was completed, after the call of the states, 
 the whole great assembly broke into never ending ap- 
 plause. The scene was so moving that one of the Prus- 
 sian ministerial secretaries, Von K — , who was present 
 and who wrote me his impressions, found the tears 
 streaming down his cheeks. The election of Colfax 
 also aroused much enthusiasm. Along with most of the 
 Missouri delegation I voted for Wade, although I soon 
 became convinced that he could not be nominated. We 
 had to give him a large vote on account of his peculiar 
 position in the impeachment trial. Colfax is a very 
 popular man and on that account a strong candidate. 
 His abilities are not distinguished but are just sufficient 
 to make him acceptable to the masses. They are fond 
 of happy mediocrity. 
 
 On the whole I think, if good work is done, we can 
 be pretty sure of success. Something, it is true, depends 
 on what kind of candidates the Democratic party will 
 
438 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 nominate July 4. If an extreme Copperhead is chosen 
 the game will be easy for us. But if a man like General 
 Hancock shall be nominated we shall have to work very 
 hard. Nevertheless I think that even in that case the 
 old forces can be led to victory once more. 
 
 In Washington people are still deceiving themselves 
 with the thought that the impeachment can be effected 
 after all. I do not believe it. Indeed I fear the matter 
 will endanger us if it is dragged out much longer. They 
 think proof has been found that Ross of Kansas, one of 
 the Senators who voted for acquittal, allowed himself 
 to be bribed, and as I understand the circumstances the 
 thing does not seem improbable. 71 Could it be proved 
 by wholly incontrovertible evidence, that would surely 
 be of the highest importance. Otherwise they would 
 probably do better to let the whole trial drop overboard 
 and devote themselves unreservedly to the election con- 
 test. 
 
 You see I am head over ears in politics again and I 
 am already being overwhelmed with invitations to meet- 
 ings, especially since the role that was assigned me in 
 the convention has brought me once more prominently 
 into the foreground. . . . Uncle Jacob and Papa were 
 in Chicago during the convention. Both were pleased 
 with what went on, each in his own way. Papa is quite 
 well. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Lafayette, Indiana, August 2, 1868 
 From the date of this letter you will see that I am 
 in the midst of the campaign. I left St. Louis last 
 
 71 This was one of the partisan rumors for which there was no founda- 
 tion in fact. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 439 
 
 Wednesday, spoke in Bloomington, Illinois, in the 
 evening; spent Thursday in Chicago with Tony and 
 Mama; spoke Friday evening in Indianapolis, and last 
 night here. Today I succeeded in keeping my enthu- 
 siastic friends away for several hours. Oh, the whole 
 business is on once more: ceremonial receptions at the 
 stations, processions, serenades, and this frightful 
 noise, which in 1860 was already so hateful to me, and 
 which now again follows me even into my dreams. In 
 Bloomington my friends thought they ought to do some- 
 thing special for me. So, secretly, they telegraphed to 
 Mr. Olshausen asking what kind of wine I preferred — 
 just imagine — and when I came to my hotel I found 
 in my room an entire case of bottles of fine Rhenish 
 wine together with boxes of cigars, etc. I, poor man, 
 was to help drink all of this, but at last I had to call in 
 my German brothers to assist, which they did, and before 
 I left at midnight the bottles were actually empty. And 
 the serenades! The meeting was German, but the 
 Americans insisted that I speak in English for a few 
 minutes from the hotel balcony. I finally succumbed 
 to my fate and agreed. When I had finished and re- 
 turned to my chamber, imagine my fright — for, while 
 the "brass band" was still working away madly with 
 tremendous noise out in the street, a Mannerchor sud- 
 denly cut loose on the gallery in front of my chamber 
 door. The good Germans had written a poem about me 
 and set it to music, in which I was described as God 
 knows what kind of hero and champion of liberty in 
 two hemispheres, and this hymn was being chanted be- 
 fore my door by the Mannerchor, whose tenors tortured 
 their voices into a ghastly falsetto. I finally took myself 
 in hand, stepped out among the terrifying singers, told 
 
440 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 them how deeply I was touched, and asked them to enter 
 and carouse over the remainder of my gift wine. They 
 did so ; but I was not to get off so easily, for afterwards 
 the worthy singers bade me a good-night tunefully. 
 
 To cap the climax, I had with me a doctor who had 
 back-slidden from the Republican party and whom I 
 had reconverted by my speech ; and who was explaining 
 the whole matter to me mid continual sniffling, weeping, 
 and handshaking. Oh, a man can endure unbelievable 
 things! I felt that once more when I stretched out on 
 my bed in the sleeping-car, became oblivious to my 
 frightful popularity, and rolled quietly into Chicago. 
 But so it goes all the time. In Indianapolis I had to 
 endure a torchlight procession, and here they had a 
 ceremonial reception at the station, with music and a 
 feast. God be thanked, the beginning has been made 
 and my nerves are becoming steeled to it again. But 
 if this thing continues I shall once more send the com- 
 mittees my edict against serenades and big noises. 
 
 Here the campaign is in good swing. I would not 
 have gone into it in this manner were it not so important 
 for us to carry, with good majorities, the state elections 
 in Indiana and Pennsylvania, which occur in October. 
 If we do that, we shall be quite certain of the result of 
 the presidential election. If we fail in that, the whole 
 business will be doubtful. The signs of the times are 
 indeed favorable, but the results of the spring elections 
 taught us not to place too much reliance on appearances. 
 It requires steady, energetic work to change good pros- 
 pects into certainties. So I put my shoulder to the 
 wheel once more. . . . 
 
 This week I had a very pressing invitation from 
 Grow, former speaker of the House of Representatives, 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 441 
 
 whose sister you like so much. Grow is now chairman 
 of the state central committee of Pennsylvania and he 
 begged me most pressingly to speak there at eight or 
 ten meetings. I have consented and will go there after 
 filling my engagements here. Probably, on the same 
 trip I may give a great speech in New York. Then, in 
 the first or second week of September, I hope to be in the 
 West again and spend the last month of the campaign 
 in Missouri. 
 
 Do not be angry with me for assuming so much work. 
 I have already for twelve years fought for the good 
 cause according to my strength. I must not and cannot 
 let anything stand in the way of a last great effort which 
 will bring the work to completion and guarantee us 
 against a reaction. If we are victorious now, it will be 
 the final act of the great drama and we shall enter upon 
 a period of quiet, peaceful development. Here is a sec- 
 tion of my life work which I cannot leave unfulfilled 
 without being untrue to myself. 
 
 Keep well and cheerful, and improve the fine days. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Madison,, Indiana, August 9, 1868 
 This letter will probably arrive by your birthday; 
 at least, so I calculate. And here I sit in a pleasant 
 little town on the banks of the Ohio, in Indiana, and my 
 thoughts are all with you. They have been so for several 
 days. I wanted to make a poem for you on your birth- 
 day — but God knows the rhymes will no longer come 
 properly. Also, the poetical efforts were constantly 
 crossed by all kinds of prosaic matters — Grant and Sey- 
 mour, reconstruction, the national debt, the greenback 
 
442 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 or gold question, etc., etc. Poetry cannot thrive in such 
 company. So I got only a fragment done, and since the 
 letter must go now in order to reach you on your birth- 
 day I cannot wait longer for poetic inspiration. . . . 
 
 Since writing you a week ago I have been quite ac- 
 tive. I am speaking with the old fire once more. I have 
 touched some of the places visited in the campaign of 
 1860, and the people find that I have lost none of my 
 old vigor. My meetings are always crowded, and almost 
 every time I hear of conversions which I have brought 
 about. And so my work is truly beneficial. Since 
 Wednesday I have traveled only on the great, safe mail 
 steamers on the Ohio, and with glorious weather have 
 had really wonderful trips. How often I have thought, 
 were you with me, how much you would enjoy it ! Along 
 the lovely river, between the wooded hills, I can occa- 
 sionally forget politics and let my fancy rove. When 
 I see a specially fine country house on the shore I ask 
 myself — "How would it be if I lived there with her?" — 
 and I paint the picture. Or, I paint a fancy sketch of 
 Schwalbach as I reconstruct it from your descriptions. 
 
 As regards your return home, let your health be the 
 first consideration affecting the decision. I have told 
 you so much about my prospects and future plans that 
 there is hardly anything to add. . . . But if the doctor 
 decides it is desirable, for the sake of your health, to 
 remain through the entire winter, I will consent to it; 
 that you know. . . . 
 
 My engagements run to election day, with some in- 
 terruptions for rest. The last five or six weeks of the 
 campaign will be devoted entirely to Missouri. I have 
 several reasons for that, one of which I have not yet 
 given you. It is this: This winter the legislature of 
 Missouri will elect a new Senator in place of Henderson. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 443 
 
 The latter would have been reelected had he not ren- 
 dered himself impossible by his attitude in the impeach- 
 ment. Some voices have already been raised in the state 
 in favor of sending me to the Senate. The main argu- 
 ment against it is that the holdover Senator, Drake, is 
 from St. Louis and they never like to take both Senators 
 from the same place. Usage has long been against it. 
 For this reason I shall not become a candidate. But 
 inasmuch as there are several candidates from the rural 
 sections and the probability is that they will neutra- 
 lize one another in influence, it would still be possible 
 that in the end I could be elected, particularly if I make 
 a strong impression throughout the state by my speeches 
 before the presidential election. I do not speak to any- 
 one about it and also restrain my friends who want to 
 bring my name forward. But if, in the course of events, 
 the election should come to me wholly without effort 
 on my part — a thing I do not regard as probable nor yet 
 as impossible — I would accept it. I certainly would not 
 come out as a candidate in the way the others do, because 
 I wish to avoid unpleasantnesses. I shall wait quietly 
 and see what fate may decide. If it does not come I 
 shall have the advantage of not being disappointed, be- 
 cause I did not count on anything and the newspaper 
 always remains to me. . . . 
 
 A thousand greetings for you all, and for yourself 
 in particular for your birthday. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Valparaiso, Indiana, August 16, 1868 
 . . . Preetorius writes me that the Americans in 
 Missouri are talking more and more about putting me 
 
444 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 in Henderson's place as Senator and that several papers 
 have already formally placed my name at the heads of 
 their columns. He asked me what he should say and I 
 answered, "Nothing at all." I shall not be a candidate, 
 but if the thing settles itself, as is not wholly impossible, 
 it would not be so bad — what do you think? 
 
 To His Daughter Agathe 
 
 Valparaiso, Indiana, August 17, 1868 
 Your letter about the Luther celebration gave me 
 much pleasure. The description is simple and yet per- 
 spicuous. You, of course, tried to present only the out- 
 standing features of the celebration. Usually, descrip- 
 tions of this kind are made very attractive and interest- 
 ing through the emphasis of traits and contrasts which 
 are peculiar and characteristic. I believe you under- 
 stand what I mean when I say that a picture appeals to 
 the eye and arouses interest chiefly through its strong 
 lights. 
 
 Mama writes that you have read much lately. I 
 wish you would give me an outline of your literary 
 studies with an account of those which appeal to you 
 most. . . . 
 
 I am much pleased that you have a taste for histori- 
 cal studies. If you want to read, for yourself, world 
 history to the Reformation, take the old Becker's gen- 
 eral history; or, if you can find it there in the library, 
 Schlosser's. I believe Becker's is the better. It is 
 written more attractively for beginners and is less diffi- 
 cult to understand. It is important at present that you 
 acquire a regular survey of events and an approxi- 
 mate notion of each historical period. Becker's world 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 445 
 
 history is very good for this purpose. If, later, you wish 
 to study some historical situation seriously, I will cite 
 you other books. Much stress is laid in the schools on 
 names and dates. These are valuable only as providing 
 the "framework" into which the weightier matters — 
 the development of events and characters of different 
 periods — are fitted. The great point is to secure an 
 understanding of the latter, and if you would have his- 
 torical matters impress themselves upon your thought, 
 you must not lose sight of the important things through 
 attention to incidentals. The books of Freitag which 
 we bought last winter are on this account of very special 
 value. They impart to history dramatic life and color. 
 It does us little good to know that Alexander, king of 
 Macedon, overthrew Porus, the Hindu king, if we do 
 not know what kind of men Alexander and Porus really 
 were, under what conditions they lived, and what their 
 deeds actually signified in that age. . . . 
 
 This "stumping" would not be so bad if one were 
 only better fed. But the leather beefsteak and the fried 
 potatoes of the country hotels irk me so that I always 
 feel like getting up from the table when I see them 
 coming. But what can I do? Eat I must, and so with 
 deadly contempt I day after day choke down the leather 
 beefsteak and in doing so frequently recall the ideal 
 beefsteak with eggs which Mama used to provide for me 
 on the farm. When we shall be together once more you 
 will spoil me a bit, will you not? And now, in the 
 thought of this beautiful future I will go on, patiently 
 swallowing whatever is set before me. 
 
 Write me soon again, dear Handy, and give Pussy 
 a kiss for me. With heartfelt love. 
 
446 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Albany, September 7, 1868 
 I am sitting here in the same elegant room in which 
 we stayed two years ago when you made the trip to New 
 York with me, and everything about me is alive with 
 memories. In a few hours I go to Syracuse. . . . Next 
 week come my engagements in Illinois and the week 
 after next I shall be in Missouri. One week from Sat- 
 urday I am to give my big campaign speech in Chicago 
 — one of the best, as I think, that I have yet produced. 
 My journey through Pennsylvania was a genuine march 
 of triumph. Saturday evening I spoke to the Germans 
 at Cooper Institute in New York. It was a colossal 
 meeting. The joyful applause which greeted me when 
 I arose was such that for several minutes I could not 
 utter a sound. My heart was in my throat. I am used 
 to such things — possibly a trifle blase — but it was too 
 overpowering. Several hundred of my old soldiers had 
 reserved for themselves the place immediately opposite 
 the stage, and as they leaped to their feet and swung 
 their hats and reached out their hands and gave the 
 general one "lebe hoch" after another, so that the thing 
 seemed endless and incited the whole vast assemblage, 
 I almost lost my grip on myself. Finally, however, I 
 took myself firmly in hand and made a speech which 
 even the critical New York Germans appraised as the 
 most classical and striking I had ever made. . . . 
 
 My health is splendid. I have recovered my real 
 campaign voice and could, so to speak, make a speech 
 in my sleep. It is easy to fight in the feeling of victory. 
 I am happy over the news you give me concerning 
 your health. You have no doubt gone over everything 
 with Adolf and in one of your next letters I hope you 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 447 
 
 will give me the result. Until then I will take no part 
 in the matter. . . . My best greetings for you loved 
 ones. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, November 2, 1868 
 Today is the day preceding the election. Day before 
 yesterday I returned from my last trip in southeastern 
 Missouri. This evening I am to speak once more in the 
 manner in which an officer rides along the battle front 
 before the engagement, giving final instructions and 
 words of encouragement to the troops. Then my duty 
 will be done. 
 
 My last tour was quite wearying, less by reason of 
 the distances covered than because the horses which drew 
 me were so horribly slow. Give me rough roads, a 
 miserable carriage, but not slow horses. Were I obliged 
 to travel three months continuously in the way I did the 
 latter part of last week I should develop nervous fever. 
 But now everything has ended fortunately and I have 
 the feeling that I have performed my duty. The Re- 
 publican press, too, has extended to me full recognition 
 for what I have done. Our papers have been full of 
 my doings, and the demand for me to become Senator 
 grows daily. The matter begins to trend toward a 
 higher probability. What is said and written about my 
 entrance into the cabinet is nothing but empty rumor. 
 Grant certainly has given no intimation himself and he 
 will doubtless go his own way. It would be strange if 
 other people knew the least thing about it. It is, to be 
 sure, not impossible that Grant should fix upon me, but 
 I do not consider it at all probable. He is too little 
 acquainted with me and will scarcely be disposed to treat 
 
448 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 the matter in a hit-or-miss way. I certainly do not be- 
 lieve he would proffer me the one portfolio in which I 
 could achieve something ; namely, that of foreign affairs. 
 The circumstance that I am foreign born operates 
 strongly against me. I should prefer the senatorship to 
 any other place in the cabinet. I could accomplish more 
 there ; it would be more advantageous for me financially 
 inasmuch as my connection with the business could be 
 continued, and it would leave me much more freedom. 
 More than that, it is the only position through which it 
 might be possible, sometime, for me to attain the secre- 
 taryship of state. Do you recall that a seat in the Sen- 
 ate was from the first the highest position we desired for 
 me ? If that should now come of its own accord we must 
 not be so ill-bred as to want something else. Let us 
 wait patiently for the good things fate may present to 
 us. 
 
 Your anxiety about me, which expresses itself in 
 your letter, has fortunately been quite unnecessary. 
 During the entire campaign I was everywhere treated 
 with the greatest friendliness, and even the abuse of 
 the Democratic press has been far less virulent than upon 
 earlier occasions of the kind. By several opposition 
 papers of this state I was treated with actual distinction. 
 The tone of things in Missouri has definitely improved. 
 Here and there the two parties still confront each other 
 with virulence, but on the whole such localities are very 
 few. Night before last both parties held their final 
 demonstrations, torchlight processions, etc. here in St. 
 Louis. No excesses whatever occurred. Once the two 
 processions met, but the Democratic parade stood still 
 to let a division of the tanners pass by obliquely. A 
 few weeks ago such an occasion would have led to shoot- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 449 
 
 ing and stabbing. But that is past. So we are looking 
 forward to a peaceful election day. We are having 
 glorious Indian summer weather and I sincerely hope 
 it will continue until tomorrow night. The result of the 
 election you will have received through the telegraph 
 long before this letter reaches you. At present we can 
 speak only of hopes, but they are very dependable. . . . 
 I am expecting that the electoral college of this state, 
 whose head I am as the first elector-at-large, will send 
 me to Washington to deliver the electoral vote of Mis- 
 souri in favor of Grant. That will be toward the 
 beginning of January and will give me some days in 
 Washington. 
 
 Aside from this I shall not get away from here save, 
 at the utmost, for a visit to Monee, which I shall prob- 
 ably make in a week or two. The rest will be peaceful, 
 quiet, regular work. Should I be elected Senator I 
 would have to go to Washington for the inauguration 
 of Grant and the beginning of the senatorial session. 
 But that will be decided only after the meeting of our 
 state legislature, probably toward the middle of Janu- 
 ary. Up to then the future will remain uncertain. This 
 is the program as far as I can sketch it. . . . Adieu. 
 My best greetings to you all. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, November 9, 1868 
 Now the election has happily passed and I rest on my 
 laurels. Everything went off splendidly; only here in 
 Missouri we lost the amendment giving negroes the 
 right to vote. This type of reform, however, comes 
 about only step by step, and a temporary failure is but 
 
450 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 a step toward final victory. The election went off, as I 
 predicted, in perfect quiet and now the prof oundest con- 
 tentment prevails. I had hoped my labors would be 
 over, but so it goes. The Republicans of St. Louis have 
 decided to hold a ratification meeting next Tuesday and 
 naturally I was again asked to present in a speech 
 my views on the present situation. Just as naturally I 
 was unable to decline. "We want to hear you," it was 
 said again; "the people will come to hear you," etc. 
 And inasmuch as the matter is of some importance, so 
 shortly before the senatorial election, the speech being in 
 a sense my program for the future, I am once more at 
 my writing-desk, as if the campaign had just begun. 
 Of course this speech must be short, but I have only 
 three days to prepare it and that time is largely filled 
 with the regular newspaper work. But I have made a 
 vow that for several months to come this is to be the last 
 extraordinary labor, for I am actually tired of the exer- 
 tion. . . . 
 
 The election being over, new sorrows have come for 
 me: First, the office seekers who want my support — 
 and you know the bedbug-like stickiness of many of 
 these. I keep them away as much as I can, but it is a 
 constant fight. Then comes the senatorial election. On 
 the one hand, I have to listen to my friends, who insist 
 on telling me fully what they are going to do for me, 
 and who also tell me about every conceivable kind of in- 
 trigue which is being concocted against me, and give 
 the best-meant advice. Naturally, I have to listen to all 
 this with deadly contempt but without moving a muscle, 
 and it is hard for me to convince the people that I 
 cannot and will not be active in the matter myself. Next 
 come the friends and agents of my rivals, who offer me 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 451 
 
 every imaginable office, or at least their support for it, 
 in order to get me out of the way so far as the senator- 
 ship is concerned. These people again are hard to con- 
 vince that I do not want any office under the adminis- 
 tration, and that if I did want one I would not require 
 their assistance. Of course all kinds of levers are 
 worked and I tell you I wish the time of the senatorial 
 election, which is fixed for the twentieth of January, 
 were past. I would rather, if it were possible, go away 
 from here in order to avoid being worried by this busi- 
 ness. If I had you here everything would be much 
 easier, for together we can make light of many things. 
 However, my old equanimity, which as you know never 
 forsakes me, comes to my support here too. My chief 
 opponent is Drake, the Senator who holds over until 
 1872. He knows that if I am elected and there are 
 then two Senators from St. Louis, his place would be 
 vacated at the end of his term. But since he has already 
 lost much of his influence in the state, his opposition, al- 
 though not to be despised, will in no way be decisive. 
 So there are plenty of things, as you see, to occupy me, 
 though not precisely in the pleasantest way. . . . 
 
 Now I must go at my speech and my leading article. 
 Next week I shall be able to write you with more quiet, 
 perhaps from Chicago or Monee. What you have to 
 tell me about your health is splendid. Oh, if it could 
 only be my privilege once more to have you thoroughly 
 well and vigorous in my arms. What would not that be 
 for me! 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, November 16, 1868 
 That your life in Wiesbaden is now more lively and 
 pleasant in a social way pleases me much. That is nee- 
 
452 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 essary for you. I hope that the people with whom you 
 associate will continue thoughtful as they are at present. 
 That is the best help toward your cure. If I could only 
 be with you for a couple of weeks ! How it would thaw 
 me out ! But I am obliged to banish the thought from 
 my mind because it is impossible. 
 
 In my last letter I told you about a speech which I 
 would have to give at the ratification meeting. Well, 
 nothing came of it. I had my speech ready when we — 
 that is to say, my closest political friends here and my- 
 self — came to the conclusion that it would be better for 
 me just now to discuss no questions of the future pub- 
 licly. My name, my reputation, it was said, are stronger 
 at this moment than they could be made through any 
 speech. It would be better if I allowed my name to go 
 before the legislature at the senatorial election just as it 
 stands at present, and discuss future problems only 
 when they come up for practical solution. That was 
 good sense and I agreed. ... 
 
 General Loan, who feels himself threatened by my 
 popularity, has begun a very active effort to gain 
 friends. In this quest he came here last week, but left 
 much disappointed, having observed that my election is 
 regarded here as a certainty and that the great Ameri- 
 can newspaper, the Democrat, is coming to my aid 
 most warmly. Besides, my friends out in the state are 
 not indolent either, and every day I receive assurances 
 of support from this and that member of the legislature. 
 In the press my name has been mentioned so far only 
 out in the state, and that is true policy inasmuch as 
 my nomination should not come from St. Louis but from 
 the rural population. . . . 
 
 Last week I had a charming letter from Papa. He 
 has made a speech. Here is what he says : "I helped in 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 453 
 
 the preelection work. One night an American made a 
 speech here and there was no German present. I went 
 to the platform and made a speech with the greatest 
 applause. A serenade was given me, of course a Monee 
 serenade. Schiffer and Anna were present at the 
 speech. They said they sat there in the greatest anxiety 
 and were afraid I would get stuck. Mama wept and 
 feared I would not live long. I was also elected chair- 
 man. But everything went well." I anticipate much 
 pleasure in hearing from Mama about it. I think of 
 going there next week. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Chicago, November 23, 1868 
 My chances for the senatorial position seem to grow 
 better constantly. Shortly before I left St. Louis very 
 favorable reports were given me from various parts of 
 the state. The newspapers are coming out for me in 
 considerable numbers and with great enthusiasm. If 
 the matter actually goes as it promises it will be a great 
 triumph. If I am elected, ought you not to be in the 
 gallery when I am sworn in? This affair, which marks a 
 new point of departure in my career, will not have the 
 same charm for me if you are not present. After shar- 
 ing so many a bitter hour we ought also to experience the 
 triumphs together. But let me not speak of it with so 
 much certainty. I shall not take it as assured until the 
 election is past. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, November 28, 1868 
 In half an hour I shall have to go to our Saturday 
 dinner, and in order to mollify the premonitory stirrings 
 
454 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 of my stomach, which are already lively, I will tell you 
 about this new arrangement. Inasmuch as I am now 
 really a kind of orphan boy, the idea came to me of 
 bringing about a somewhat more social relationship be- 
 tween the Germans and the Americans here in St. Louis. 
 To that end, shortly after the election I suggested to 
 several of my German and American friends that we eat 
 together every Saturday in a perfectly informal manner 
 and without any sort of organization. The suggestion 
 was taken up eagerly and two weeks ago today we be- 
 gan with seven, all men of consequence — journalists, 
 advocates, and a couple of merchants, all congenial 
 people. I did not attend the second dinner because I 
 had gone to Chicago, but today there will probably be 
 eighteen or twenty. We eat at the Planters House, 
 where they serve a very fine dinner — of course in a 
 private dining room. We begin at three o'clock and 
 separate about seven. There we assemble the ablest 
 men of St. Louis, and I am convinced that in a short 
 time the Saturday dinner will exert a decisive influence 
 upon the politics of the state. Has not your husband 
 here again had a happy inspiration? He has to amuse 
 himself now as best he can, and in this business he is 
 trying to combine the useful with the pleasant. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Sunday, November 29, 1868 
 I was interrupted yesterday and then had to go to 
 the Saturday dinner, which was very pleasant. . . . 
 
 As to the hope you continue to harbor that I may be 
 with you at Christmas time, that is quite impossible. It 
 is not alone the newspaper. As elector of the state, I 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 455 
 
 must day after tomorrow be in Jefferson City, where 
 the electoral college assembles to cast the vote of Mis- 
 souri. And it is probable that I shall be sent to Wash- 
 ington to deliver the vote to the president of the Senate. 
 Besides, I must be here on account of the senatorial elec- 
 tion. Were I to leave now it would cost me perhaps 
 twenty per cent of my chances and that cannot be ven- 
 tured. The Republican papers in the interior of the 
 state are now coming out for me one after another, par- 
 ticularly those in northern Missouri, where I expected 
 to find the strongest opposition. My attitude is of 
 course quite passive, but I have to be here. Every mo- 
 ment members of the legislature come who at least want 
 to see me and ask my opinion on this or that question. 
 And I have to be accessible. Is not that so? You see 
 that yourself, do you not ? My chances, indeed, seem to 
 be improving constantly, and unless a decided reaction 
 sets in against me before the twentieth of January, we 
 can consider my election almost assured. While I do 
 not count upon anything with certainty, still I cannot 
 resist now and then allowing myself pleasant dreams of 
 how, during the next six years, we shall install ourselves 
 comfortably in Washington and for the most part live 
 pleasantly in an environment which I know you will 
 prefer to St. Louis. And I can very nicely retain my 
 connection with the newspaper, to which, as Senator, I 
 can be of the greatest advantage and so be splendidly 
 situated, socially as well as materially. . . . 
 
 How I rejoice over what you tell me about your 
 health ! You will now at last be perfectly well ; be sure 
 to bring back your second youth unharmed. We shall 
 then strive to retain it. I also am quite well. The labors 
 of the presidential campaign have left no traces what- 
 
456 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 ever upon me, and the abundance of office work affects 
 me just as little. I was made to be a regular work- 
 horse, and should I enter the Senate this working power 
 will make itself felt in a worthy field. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, December 6, 1868 
 The business of the senatorial election presents itself 
 constantly in a more favorable light. There are now 
 in all twenty-two of the state newspapers which have 
 come out for me, while all other candidates together 
 have hardly half a dozen. . . . 
 
 Today we receive the presidential message — John- 
 son's last, which we shall have to translate. Much snow 
 fell last night ; the telegraph is disorganized and we shall 
 have to work until late tonight. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, December 20, 1868 
 I found your letter on my return from the soldiers' 
 reunion at Chicago. On the whole this was a confused 
 and somewhat tiresome affair. The first evening there 
 was a meeting with endless speeches. The only thing 
 which actually thrilled the gathering was the reveille 
 which was performed at the beginning of the business 
 by the trumpet corps and which brought back a very 
 vivid recollection of the camp and campaign life. The 
 first stirring notes were greeted with a genuine explo- 
 sion of cheers. On the second evening we had a great 
 banquet in the hall of the Chamber of Commerce. 
 There were over fifteen hundred officers at table. But 
 the hall was so large and there was so much noise that 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 457 
 
 the toasts and responses could hardly be heard. Ac- 
 cordingly, there was much confusion and on the whole 
 the affair was not very satisfactory. I responded to the 
 toast, "The Loyal and Patriotic Press." I was listened 
 to with greater attention than anyone else, but I spoke 
 only a few minutes. On such occasions one performs 
 a distinct service by being brief. 
 
 Grant, Sherman, Thomas were all there together 
 with a long series of distinguished generals. I had a 
 conversation with Grant in which he expressed himself 
 quite freely about several things. Among others, we 
 touched upon our two reports on the situation in the 
 South which in the winter of 1865 were laid before Con- 
 gress, and he avowed very freely: "I traveled as the 
 general-in-chief and people who came to see me tried 
 to appear to the best advantage. But I have since come 
 to the conclusion that you were right and I was 
 wrong." 72 I believe we shall have in him a good, wise 
 president, true to Republican principles. The views he 
 expressed on several political questions were very clear 
 and sensible. But it is remarkable how little enthusiasm 
 the sight of him arouses in the masses. At the soldiers' 
 assembly and the banquet he sat in his quiet way, with 
 his impassive, stony countenance, and it seemed almost 
 as if the people did not trust themselves to cheer for him 
 in his presence; while Sherman, and particularly 
 Thomas, were immediately in magnetic rapport with the 
 assembly. When Grant is not present the announce- 
 ment of his name always brings a cheer, but his presence 
 chills. And still, he can let himself go in private con- 
 versation, and can be talkative and even pleasant. 
 Whether or not I got closer to him I do not know. It 
 
 73 This important admission on Grant's part stands, in Schurz's German 
 letter, as a direct quotation in English, just as it is here printed. 
 
458 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 is said he relies a great deal upon me; Sherman, for 
 example, says that, and consequently it must be true. 
 Who shall be taken into the cabinet, who shall fill the 
 higher offices, is still all in doubt. Grant, naturally, is 
 dumb as a fish. Supposition exhausts itself; the most 
 varied combinations are being made, but at the end 
 we know as much as at the beginning. 
 
 My expectation concerning the senatorship was 
 much discussed among the generals and I received 
 dozens of congratulations because, as it appeared, the 
 matter is regarded as settled. The press outside of the 
 state begins to interest itself warmly, and I believe the 
 legislature will be under strong pressure from public 
 opinion. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Loins, December 26, 1868 
 Christmas is now past and I am again sitting at 
 my writing-table. For me the celebration was not par- 
 ticularly exciting. I indeed helped to arrange the 
 Christmas tree in the Preetorius home, but it would not 
 do. The spontaneous interest was lacking for the most 
 part and my thoughts wandered in the distance and in 
 the past. Last year it was so fine. And this year I en- 
 livened my lonesomeness with all sorts of fantasy pic- 
 tures about the Christmas tree in Wilhelmstrasse. . . . 
 The next few weeks will be very heavy ones for me. 
 The struggle over the senatorship is now going on in 
 good earnest. Congress has adjourned, and my oppo- 
 nents and their helpers — Henderson, Loan, Drake, and 
 others — are on their way hither to conduct the campaign 
 against me personally. . . . 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 459 
 
 The newspapers of Illinois, Wisconsin, Kansas, 
 Iowa, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan are coming out 
 for me one after the other, and soon New England and 
 Pennsylvania will also be heard from. Quite apart 
 from the fact that this pressure of public opinion must 
 have an effect upon the legislature, I must confess that 
 the general cordiality with which my candidature is 
 greeted in all parts of the country is very grateful to 
 me. I believe that a greater interest has very rarely 
 been taken in a senatorial election. Nevertheless, the 
 struggle will be a pretty hot one ; for Drake and Hen- 
 derson, the present Senators, will do everything possible 
 to defeat me. Those newspapers which are under their 
 influence have kept up a lively fire against me for some 
 time, but their attacks thus far have only had the effect 
 of arousing indignation against themselves and of 
 making my popularity still greater. As early as next 
 week my friends from here go to Jefferson City in order 
 to be there betimes. The session of the legislature be- 
 gins on the sixth and the election will take place on the 
 nineteenth or twentieth. I at first intended not to go 
 up during the session, but it is probable that the Repub- 
 lican members of the legislature will send me an invita- 
 tion to address them. That could not be declined, and 
 for other reasons my presence may become necessary. 
 You see my life is a continual battle and will doubtless 
 remain so. Perhaps — yes, very probably — this fight 
 will end with a victory. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, January 3, 1869 
 Now we are in the new year. How I should have 
 liked to give you and the children the New Year's greet- 
 
460 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 ing and kiss personally! But I was obliged to content 
 myself with the lovely home pictures which my fancy 
 painted! May the new year bring us many blessings; 
 above all, meeting and reunion! Everything else will 
 then be easy to bear. 
 
 I am beginning the new year with a regular battle. 
 Drake, Henderson, Loan, and their gang have lined up 
 and are moving heaven and earth to defeat me. Then 
 organs among the newspapers attack me most bitterly, 
 but in a manner which has thus far done me more good 
 than harm. Following these attacks, more and more 
 newspapers throughout the state have come out in my 
 favor. There are now thirty-eight English and ten Ger- 
 man papers, while my strongest opponent has only thir- 
 teen. Besides, the Republican press outside of Mis- 
 souri has come out strongly for me so that as far as pub- 
 he opinion goes there can be no possible doubt. That, 
 however, does not suffice to decide the matter. My op- 
 ponents omit no intrigue which may produce an effect 
 upon the public mind. You have no idea of the things 
 they tell and the rumors they circulate. Henderson 
 causes telegrams to be sent and written daily to the 
 Democratic papers here, stating that General Grant is 
 strongly for him and very decidedly against me. Nat- 
 urally the whole story is made up, and denial follows 
 these reports immediately. I have letters from a mem- 
 ber of Congress, E. B. Washburne, Grant's most 
 trusted friend, which speak of my election with genuine 
 enthusiasm. Such lying reports as are mentioned above 
 recoil with full force upon the originators. The rumor 
 has also been started that I have taken my family to 
 Europe because I do not intend to remain in Missouri, 
 and that I will leave the state permanently after the sen- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 461 
 
 atorial election. You see that even you have to be 
 brought in; and so it goes to an unbelievable extent. 
 
 These matters require me to be in Jefferson City 
 during the senatorial election for the sake of contradict- 
 ing the lies, and I am going down there this afternoon. 
 I do it reluctantly; it is most disagreeable to me, but 
 there is no way out of it. Naturally it will not be hard 
 for me to keep my opponents within proper bounds, and 
 I hope to extract from the attacks made upon me a defi- 
 nite advantage. But is it not sad that a man who feels 
 he has the stuff in him to accomplish important things 
 must contend for the place which will afford him a 
 worth-while field of endeavor, with all sorts of rabble 
 who have nothing but petty interests in mind and can- 
 not see beyond the commonplace? And I cannot deny 
 that it always pains me to see baseness, particularly if 
 this baseness proceeds from men who belong to the 
 same party with me. On the whole, things are favor- 
 able. But, as I have always said, I count on nothing 
 with certainty, and if intrigue should defeat me I would 
 not be surprised. That success would be much more 
 agreeable to me than defeat, you can well suppose. But 
 even the latter could be endured. Therefore, do not f ear 
 that even in the worst case I would stand whining like 
 a water-soaked poodle. I have you to love me, I always 
 have good friends, I shall maintain my reputation, and 
 I have an assured living. A defeat would amount to 
 one less success, but it would not be a disaster. I am 
 what is called "in splendid fighting trim," and in that 
 condition I am going to the theatre of war. The election 
 occurs on the nineteenth of this month, but the matter 
 will probably be decided in ten or twelve days through a 
 caucus nomination. Therefore, good luck! You see 1 
 
462 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 am full of politics, which you will doubtless find very 
 natural. . . . 
 
 My health is splendid and I also have good reports 
 from my parents, at least up to shortly after Christmas. 
 Since then I have not heard from them. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Jefferson City, January 10, 1869 
 I have been here for a week. The battle in which I 
 am engaged does not turn solely on the senator ship. It 
 involves the leadership of one or the other element, the 
 narrowly despotic or the liberal people in Missouri. 
 Senator Drake came hither from Washington to lead 
 the fight against me. I took up the gauntlet. Last 
 Thursday I made a speech to the Republican members 
 of the legislature which dealt a terrific blow to the op- 
 ponents. I will send it to you. Loan and Drake will 
 answer Monday and Tuesday, and I shall follow with a 
 closing speech. The matter has aroused the greatest in- 
 terest throughout the state and in many portions of the 
 country. Here it is called the "battle of the giants." 
 Mass meetings are being held and addresses circulated 
 in many portions of Missouri, in which the attacks upon 
 me are condemned in the strongest terms and members 
 of the legislature are instructed to vote for me. It is 
 causing unexampled excitement in the whole state. So 
 far I have enjoyed a brilliant success. I have driven my 
 opponents out of every position. Last night my oppo- 
 nent Loan and I talked before a gathering of south- 
 western delegates on the subject of the railway interests 
 of the state, and I swept Loan so absolutely from the 
 field that his friends were ashamed of him. I already 
 have a majority of the radical members of the legisla- 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 463 
 
 ture on my side, and I believe my victory is assured un- 
 less wholly unforeseen circumstances intervene. The 
 debate Monday and Tuesday evening will be decisive. 
 I am in good spirits, have hosts of friends, and was 
 never in better "fighting spirit." If I win, as I prob- 
 ably shall, my victory will be an event not only for me 
 but for the state and the entire party. 
 
 Today you must be satisfied with a few words. I 
 am terribly overwhelmed with work; in fact, so much 
 so that I require every minute. Long before you receive 
 this letter the battle will be over. 
 
 To Emit Preetorius 
 
 Jefferson City, January 13, 1869 
 Before you receive this letter you will already know 
 whether I have been nominated or not. At all events, 
 I had one of the greatest triumphs of my life last night. 
 Drake was completely crushed. The party despotism 
 is ended for all time and the liberal element is more 
 powerful than ever. The radicals here, with few ex- 
 ceptions, congratulate one another as if they had thrown 
 off the yoke of a tyranny. 
 
 If I am nominated tonight, I shall perhaps come 
 home Saturday unless a bolting movement breaks out, 
 which I do not expect. If it does, I shall of course re- 
 main here to hold our forces together. If I am not 
 nominated tonight the battle will probably continue 
 through several caucuses. 
 
 Drake charged last night that I personally election- 
 eered against Hilton at the voting place of the fifth 
 ward. The assertion was based on a letter from Hilton. 
 Cannot you, since you were constantly with me on elec- 
 tion day, testify in case of necessity that I did not in- 
 
464 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 fluence a single voter against Hilton ? I do not remem- 
 ber a single such case and I believe I am certain of it. 
 I therefore denied the charge. I believe, however, the 
 intrigue is played out. 
 
 I am well and everything looks promising. With 
 hearty greeting to the whole family. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, January 16, 1869 
 The battle has been fought. It is the greatest 
 triumph of my life. The opposition was powerful. 
 Senator Drake came to Jefferson City from Washing- 
 ton to prevent my election in order to make sure of his 
 own reelection four years hence. Drake was the actual 
 dictator of the party. My speech on Thursday of the 
 previous week enticed him out into the open. He took 
 up my challenge and announced that he would answer 
 it. He took a day to prepare. Last Monday the de- 
 bate began. Loan spoke first, weakly and tediously. 
 Then Drake began his attack upon me. He had spoken 
 about half an hour when I asked him certain questions 
 about his attitude in the constitutional convention of 
 Missouri, which so completely unnerved him that he did 
 not regain his composure the rest of the evening. At 
 half past ten he broke off to resume again another day. 
 Tuesday night he came and made a deliberate attack 
 upon the Germans. Now he was in my hands. When 
 he had spoken two hours the crowd which jammed the 
 assembly hall became impatient and called for me. 
 As I ascended the platform I was greeted with enthu- 
 siastic cheers. With a single sentence I demolished 
 Loan's speech. Then I went for Drake. Never in my 
 life have I spoken better, perhaps never with so much 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 465 
 
 fire and instant effect. My defense of the Germans was 
 greeted with enthusiastic cheers. Drake interrupted 
 me several times, but my answer always came stroke 
 upon stroke, throwing him back into his seat shattered. 
 The excitement of the people rose to fever heat and 
 Drake remained in his seat a pitiful picture of defeat. 
 Next day a Democratic Senator remarked: "When- 
 ever that German drew his shining rapier the blood of 
 his antagonist seemed to shoot up to the ceiling. In 
 thirty years the legislative halls of Missouri never wit- 
 nessed anything so brilliant. Even Benton in his best 
 days never equaled it." The victory could not have 
 been more complete. Immediately after the adjourn- 
 ment Drake hurried to his hotel, recovered his laundry 
 from the laundress, packed it, wet, in his trunk, and 
 started off. It was a genuine flight. The one-time 
 dictator of the party ran away from it, followed by the 
 laughter and hisses, not only of his opponents, but even 
 of those who up to that time had remained his friends. 
 My nomination had been very probable before ; now 
 it was a certainty. In the evening after the great debate 
 the caucus of radical members of the legislature as- 
 sembled and I was nominated on the first ballot, and 
 before the result of the ballot was announced one of my 
 former opponents arose and upon his motion the nomi- 
 nation was made unanimous. The jubilation now was 
 unbounded. My rooms at the hotel were crowded 
 until three o'clock in the morning. They sang the John 
 Brown song and shook hands as if the yoke of a tyrant 
 had been loosed from the people. After the first hour 
 my right hand was so crushed that I had to use the left. 
 Toward one o'clock at night a music corps was as- 
 sembled and I was given a serenade. Musical organi- 
 zations paraded the streets until daybreak. Next morn- 
 
466 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 ing telegraphic congratulations arrived from all parts of 
 the country. I started back here about four in the 
 afternoon and arrived at midnight. Yesterday and 
 today I have been stopped on the street by dozens of 
 men whom I have never known and who desire to con- 
 gratulate me on the great victory. I believe I can tell 
 you without exaggeration that I am today the most 
 powerful man in Missouri. 
 
 Tuesday the formal vote will occur in the legislature 
 and I shall go back to Jefferson City Monday after- 
 noon in order to receive my certificate from the legisla- 
 ture and, according to custom, make a short speech in 
 which I shall set forth the significance of the result of 
 the victory. That significance does not consist in a 
 mere personal triumph. It means the disappearance 
 of that dour party zealotry which has dominated under 
 Drake's dictatorship, and its replacement by a liberal 
 policy. It is the substitution of a friendly, forgiving 
 future policy for the bitter feeling of hatred which 
 originated in the war and has characterized the spirit of 
 the party struggle up to this point. On that account 
 all parties in the state are pleased over my triumph. 
 You can imagine how proud the Germans are since last 
 Tuesday. They now swear by nothing higher than me. 
 Of course, they have never been as powerful in the state 
 as at this moment. I shall try in every possible way to 
 suppress torchlight processions and the like, but I doubt 
 if I shall succeed. . . . 
 
 I have not heard from my parents since New Year's 
 but I can imagine how happy they must be. I am 
 already making all sorts of lovely plans for having them 
 come to us several weeks next winter when we have a 
 house in Washington, in order to let them, in their ad- 
 vanced age, have the extreme pleasure of witnessing the 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 467 
 
 success of one of their children. My heart warms when 
 I think of it. How I should like to take my old mother 
 and my father to the gallery of the Senate and let them 
 look upon their son in the highest position which a 
 foreign-born person can reach in this country, and which 
 no German before me has attained ! This pleasure they 
 shall enjoy before they die. And the manner in which 
 the success was gained should double their pride. 
 
 You see I am swimming on the crest of the wave. 
 Only one thing was lacking : that you were not there to 
 see my victorious fight and that you cannot be in the 
 capitol when I take my seat in the Senate. Your bril- 
 liant eyes would make my triumph doubly sweet. I 
 shall see them in my dreams. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, January 24, 1869 
 The formal election is over and I am duly appointed 
 Senator of the United States. There is nothing left but 
 to be sworn in, which will take place on March 4, the 
 inauguration day of General Grant. Last Monday 
 evening I went to Jefferson City. Tuesday was the 
 official canvass in the legislature, at which I received the 
 entire Republican vote. Wednesday at twelve the re- 
 sult was announced in the joint session of the senate and 
 the house, and I gave a speech which received enthu- 
 siastic applause not only from the Republicans but also 
 from the Democrats. At night I returned to St. Louis 
 greatly pleased, with the certificate of election in my 
 pocket. Last night they gave me a great torchlight 
 procession here, which I look upon as the closing inci- 
 dent of the senatorial election. The business went off 
 very well; my words of appreciation were properly 
 
468 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 cheered, and I was glad when it was all over. You have 
 no conception of the interest which the election has 
 aroused throughout the country. The newspapers were 
 full of it and the whole Republican press of the land 
 was on my side. This time the German Republican 
 press also was unanimous in its recognition and its 
 joy. I know of no exception. Even the Democratic 
 papers with a few exceptions conducted themselves be- 
 comingly. Only Heinzen scolds away lustily in the old 
 manner. My good friends consider my election the be- 
 ginning of a new era for Germanism in America. From 
 all parts of the country, north and south, east and west, 
 congratulatory letters are flowing in. Every mail 
 brings fifteen or twenty. You could see a confusion 
 of papers on my writing-desk now such as was never be- 
 fore seen there. Several of the most distinguished men 
 of the country have sent me their congratulations. The 
 telegraph has earned a nice sum of money on my ac- 
 count. For me to answer all letters is impossible. Still 
 I shall have to acknowledge some forty or fifty of them. 
 My success aroused great enthusiasm in Washington. 
 Grant is said to have expressed great pleasure over it. 
 I have received invitations to dinners from Boston and 
 from New York. It is possible I may accept the latter. 
 You see I have been celebrating a regular triumph, 
 which will perhaps be renewed when I go East. 
 
 But now comes the work. I have decided to be a 
 distinguished Senator, and that involves a great deal. 
 Even at this moment my correspondence along with 
 my regular editorial duties leaves me no free time. I 
 have a couple of letters from my parents which brought 
 tears to my eyes. My success has made them more 
 than happy. When I go to Washington I shall make 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 469 
 
 a side trip to Monee and spend a day with them. It 
 does my heart good to witness their pride. 
 
 And here are my voiceless friends — at last the bag 
 with my Christmas gifts has arrived. How beautiful it 
 all is ! How many dear gifts ! You have indeed thought 
 of everything. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, February 16, 1869 
 I arrived here this morning after a pretty hard trip. 
 I am very tired, but before I go to bed I must write you 
 at least a few lines because the letter must go tomorrow. 
 Before I left St. Louis I received your letter and 
 the children's letters written after the receipt of the news 
 of my election. I saw your joy over my success shin- 
 ing out of every line. And I thank you heartily for it. 
 The thought of how you would rejoice in my victory 
 was with me throughout the fight. It was the source 
 of my inspiration, and I have enjoyed it all again in the 
 reading of your letter. Do you recall how occasionally, 
 in a moment of depression, you gave me to understand 
 that you felt as if I were losing my grip ? When I tried 
 to cheer you up you would shake your head and believe 
 me to be mistaken in saying that my best days were not 
 yet past. I was right, was I not? If one has talent, an 
 honest will, and energy, he does not easily succumb, and 
 those days on which a cloud shadow overspreads the way 
 of life merely serve to make the returning sunshine all 
 the brighter. 
 
 For the first time since my election I was in the 
 Senate and in the House of Representatives. You can 
 imagine how I was greeted by my old friends. For 
 about half an hour I was the center of a veritable crowd 
 
470 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 in each house. Even the doorkeepers insisted on shak- 
 ing hands with me. Involuntarily the recollection of my 
 first visit in Washington comes back to me. 73 It was 
 just fifteen years ago. At that time I made the ac- 
 quaintance of two Senators, Brodhead of Pennsylvania 
 and Shields of Illinois. Of these the first has long since 
 died. The second is now a contestant for a seat in the 
 House. With what a feeling of reverence I approached 
 the great men, and how I prized the honor when one of 
 them invited me to the floor of the Senate chamber dur- 
 ing a session ! Thus times change. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 February 17 [1869] 
 I had got this far last night when my eyes drooped 
 shut. This morning I had visitors in my room before 
 breakfast. I intended to write you more but I reckoned 
 without the honored public. Even these closing words 
 are being written in the midst of a great company. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 U. S. Senate Chamber, Washington 
 March 10, 1869 
 Today, for the first time, I write you from my place 
 in the Senate. I sit in the front row, in the second seat 
 from the wall, to the President's left. My right-hand 
 neighbor is the former governor, Brownlow, of Ten- 
 nessee, and my left-hand neighbor is Senator Poole of 
 North Carolina. Brownlow is a half-paralyzed old 
 man, who shakes constantly; while Poole is classed as 
 
 73 Described contemporaneously in two letters dated March 23, 1854. 
 Speeches, etc., i, 8-14. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 471 
 
 one of the "clever fellows." My place I think is very 
 good for speaking, but for the present I shall aim at 
 modest silence. 
 
 This has been an eventful week. Last Thursday 
 was the inauguration — a magnificent affair, well carried 
 out. The new Senators were sworn in in the presence 
 of the diplomatic corps and a great crowd, as soon as 
 Colfax had taken his seat as vice-president. Then came 
 the inaugural address, which you have undoubtedly 
 read in the newspapers. The crowds were greater than 
 I have ever seen them in Washington. It was almost 
 impossible to get through on Pennsylvania Avenue. 
 Then came the cabinet, which the Senate was to con- 
 firm the day following the inauguration. We gave the 
 confirmation without discussion, but it became clear at 
 once that General Grant had had every reason to keep 
 his selections secret, because the most decided opposi- 
 tion would have arisen against several of the leading 
 men on the list. Though the Senate showed a willing- 
 ness to let things take their course, the matter was not 
 ended with the confirmation, and the administration un- 
 expectedly found itself in a cabinet crisis. A law was 
 discovered which makes it impossible for a merchant, 
 particularly an importer, to be secretary of the treasury. 
 So A. T. Stewart had the alternative of divesting him- 
 self of his great business in New York or resigning the 
 secretaryship. Grant, indeed, sent a message to the 
 Senate asking Congress to repeal the troublesome law. 
 But Congress showed itself so little disposed to do it 
 that Grant quickly saw his mistake and recalled his 
 message. As I write, the crisis is not fully passed. 
 A. T. Stewart offered to place his business in the hands 
 of trustees to be administered in the public interest. 
 
472 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 But it seems that is not satisfactory. We shall prob- 
 ably hear tomorrow or the next day how the matter 
 has been concluded. 
 
 Grant received a most salutary lesson in this connec- 
 tion. He seemed to imagine that the republic could be 
 governed somewhat like an army. His error was 
 promptly revealed to him, and his ideas of parliamen- 
 tary government have materially cleared up in three 
 days. I have already had several conferences with him 
 — the last, and a pretty long one, this morning — and he 
 is becoming steadily more cooperative. Confidence in 
 his good will and honesty is universal and great, but it 
 is recognized that he has much to learn in the field of 
 politics and consequently such lessons as this first one 
 are very beneficial. The matter looked quite threaten- 
 ing for some days. Had he been stiff-necked like An- 
 drew Johnson we should already be in full tilt against 
 him. But he is honest enough to see his mistakes and 
 manly enough to correct them at once. I therefore be- 
 lieve we shall get along well together. I think he has 
 already come to the recognition that a too personal man- 
 ner of governing will not do. 
 
 Tomorrow it will be a week since I entered the 
 Senate. And, though nothing has yet been done in the 
 way of law-making, I have nevertheless been over- 
 whelmed with work, almost more than ever before in my 
 life. Almost every night I sit at my writing-table till 
 one or two o'clock, merely to prevent my correspond- 
 ence from swamping me. Before ten o'clock in the 
 morning I sometimes receive twenty-five to thirty 
 callers ; then come the visits to the departments, and the 
 session. Evenings after supper I begin at once to 
 write. 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 473 
 
 Of course, this is just the worst time. At the begin- 
 ning of an administration the whole civil service has to 
 be taken care of, and that makes more real drudgery 
 than anything else. My letters always come in heaps, 
 three times a day, and there are callers who cannot be 
 shaken off even by means of incivility. Next winter, 
 after the offices have been parceled out, it will be better. 
 I sometimes get very tired, but am quite well. I go 
 to bed exhausted but rise fresh in the morning. This 
 much is certain, there is no parliamentary body in the 
 world which has to work harder than the Congress of 
 the United States. When I look back over the past 
 week it seems as if I had been here an entire year. . . . 
 
 To Emit Preetoritcs 
 
 Washington, March 12, 1869 
 You will think me a very lazy correspondent, but 
 if you could see how I am plagued your anger would 
 soon turn to sympathy. Every night I work till one or 
 two o'clock, and when my eyes through weariness close 
 involuntarily or when my back is ready to break there 
 always remains a mountain of letters to be answered. It 
 is a horrible business. People come to me from every 
 part of the country. Sometimes I receive twenty-five 
 to thirty calls before ten o'clock in the morning, and 
 throughout the day I run around among the depart- 
 ments during the intervals between sessions, so that I 
 am sometimes ready to sink down from exhaustion. I 
 have hardly time to read the newspaper, let alone to 
 write for it. The few reports I have written had to be 
 prepared in the middle of the night. If I have ever 
 been convinced of the necessity of civil service reform, 
 I am so now. It is positive drudgery. Of course it 
 
474 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 will be better when the patronage shall have been par- 
 celed out, but at present it is hardly endurable. . . . 
 
 You will have observed that I am not on the com- 
 mittee of foreign affairs. The reason is that, although 
 all wanted me on that committee, no vacancy could be 
 brought about except the one caused by the retirement 
 of Bayard, which had to be filled by the appointment 
 of another Democrat. Every effort was made to bring 
 about the retirement of one of the old members, but in 
 vain. And since the striking-out of a name from the 
 leading committee is held to be a disgrace, they did not 
 want to remove anybody. The next vacancy, according 
 to the common understanding, will be mine. . . . 
 
 Good-night. With hearty greetings to all your dear 
 ones and to Mrs. Pfeil. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, March 20, 1869 
 This is the first time I have allowed a post to go 
 three days overtime without writing. But it is literally 
 true that I was too overloaded to be able to talk with 
 you in reasonable quiet. First, there are the office seek- 
 ers, who continually swarm around me like grasshop- 
 pers; second, my correspondence, which it is hardly 
 possible any longer to take care of ; and third, the study 
 of a problem about which I made my maiden speech in 
 the Senate yesterday. It relates to the repeal or sus- 
 pension of the law fixing the duration of terms of office, 
 which makes the removal of officials dependent upon the 
 approval of the Senate. I spoke some twenty-five 
 minutes after an earnest debate had already been going 
 forward for a long time. No one in the Senate was 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 475 
 
 listened to with better attention ; and when I closed, the 
 Senators, particularly the old ones, pressed about my 
 seat to shake hands with me. My little speech could 
 not, considering the subject, be especially important, 
 but it contained thoughts which were still new to the de- 
 bate and it scourged in a few striking sentences the syc- 
 ophants who now beleaguer the White House and try to 
 seize possession from Grant. My success was perfect 
 and my marquis, who of course looked on from the gal- 
 lery, was wholly satisfied with me. I am sending you, 
 by this same mail, the number of the Congressional 
 Globe which contains my speech. You will see from it 
 how I handled the question. 
 
 Not much can be said as yet about Grant's adminis- 
 tration. He has so far gained but little credit through 
 his appointments, for he shows a disposition to give 
 offices to all his relatives and to a great number of old 
 personal friends, and in these instances to consult the 
 members of Congress very little. That makes bad blood 
 here and there. As regards the greater political ques- 
 tions, he shows a tendency to hold with great loyalty to 
 the program of the Republican party, and that of course 
 is the main thing. Everything indicates a determination 
 at all costs to avoid a conflict with Congress, and so we 
 shall doubtless get along well with him. Following 
 my speech yesterday I was made a member of the joint 
 committee on retrenchment, to which will fall the duty 
 of dealing with the principal questions of reform. That 
 is exactly what I wanted, and I shall make civil service 
 reform, one of the weightiest questions coming before 
 us, my specialty. It was unpleasant for me not to get 
 on the committee of foreign relations, on which no va- 
 cancy occurred. It was generally recognized that I be- 
 
476 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 longed on that committee, and there is no doubt that as 
 soon as a place is open I shall be given it. 
 
 Otherwise my life is as I described it in my earlier 
 letters. It is to be hoped the pressure of office seekers 
 will soon abate. But the mass of correspondence always 
 remains the same. How nice it will be when Handy 
 [Agathe] can help me with it. . . . With the old and 
 ever young love. 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 Washington, April 12, 1869 
 At last there is a little respite. The first session of 
 the Forty-first Congress closed last Saturday, but the 
 Senate was immediately called into executive session 
 for the purpose of confirming appointments, and so we 
 shall be here another week or two. But at least we have 
 no law-making to do. Before the adjournment we had 
 a night session which lasted till four-fifteen in the morn- 
 ing. We are still frightfully overrun, although the num- 
 ber of office seekers in the city has lessened. But those 
 who remained here have become all the more nervous 
 and give us no peace. Never have I been more strongly 
 convinced that an end must be put to the present sys- 
 tem of appointments. I am very glad to have been 
 made a member of the committee on retrenchment, 
 which will have the civil service question in hand. I 
 have several good ideas which I shall incorporate in one 
 or more bills and get them adopted in the next session 
 of Congress. Here is a great field and I hope to become 
 the leader of reform in the Senate. The sort of talent 
 I have is as if ready-made for this problem. Civil 
 service reform will be one of the most hotly contested 
 of the coming discussions, and I have some eight months 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 477 
 
 before me to prepare for it. The success of this move- 
 ment will be a greater blessing for the country than 
 the discovery of the richest gold mines. It is "worth 
 the sweat of the noble." On that subject I shall prob- 
 ably deliver two long speeches which I hope to make 
 among the best achievements of my whole life, and I 
 shall have you and the children in the gallery to listen 
 to me. In that I rejoice most heartily. . . . 
 
 To His Wife 
 
 St. Louis, May 30, 1869 
 . . . The draft of my civil service reform bill is al- 
 most finished, and also the rough sketch of a portion of 
 the main speech on this business. I expect to find suffi- 
 cient leisure to work the thing through properly. Then, 
 I am studying several questions of international law 
 in order to prepare myself for the discussion of our re- 
 lations with England, which undoubtedly we shall have 
 next winter. But the civil service reform is closest to 
 my heart. The main point I want to establish by my bill 
 is to avoid the quadrennial scandal of universal office 
 hunting, to deal out the offices according to ability and 
 deserts instead of political and personal favoritism, and 
 thus provide for the republic an honest and economical 
 administration and cleanse our political life of the cor- 
 rupting element of office seeking. The method through 
 which I wish to obtain this object consists in this: that 
 every candidate for an office, before he shall be ap- 
 pointed, must submit to a test before an examining com- 
 mission, and that during the term of office (which is to 
 be lengthened) no officers are to be removed except for 
 inefficiency, neglect of duty, or violation of law. The 
 means which I have formulated in my bill will, as I be- 
 
478 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 lieve, fully suffice to root out the scandal and make the 
 official business of the republic respectable once more. 
 If I succeed in getting this bill through, I shall have 
 performed an important service to the country. . . . 
 
 To Adolf Meyer 
 
 St. Louis, August 10, 1869 
 I ought to have written to you long ago, but unless 
 one corresponds regularly there is a temptation to wait 
 for an opportunity, although such ought not to be nec- 
 essary. But I have found such an opportunity, namely, 
 a commission which I beg you to have executed by Ilen- 
 ning. Since we took leave of each other on the steamer 
 Germania, which, as I learned today by telegraph, has 
 suffered shipwreck, I have lived through a good deal. 
 I am sure my election to the Senate pleased you. I am 
 not ashamed to say the career which has thereby opened 
 to me has for years been the object of my ambition. 
 The American Senate is a field in which every ability 
 can be employed and something solid can be accom- 
 plished for this country and for the world. No parlia- 
 mentary assembly in the world offers more brilliant op- 
 portunities, a nobler incitement, and more extended 
 power. If I do not accomplish something there it will 
 be my own fault, and I can go back home in shame. 
 
 Moreover, I have entered upon this career under 
 particularly favorable circumstances. My newspaper 
 business has answered all my expectations. In two 
 years' time I have paid off all of my original investment 
 and have a surplus for wiping out old debts. My sena- 
 torial duties do not affect my business, and so I find 
 myself in possession of a very honorable and influential 
 position and at the same time for my needs an abundant 
 
INTIMATE LETTERS OF CARL SCHURZ 479 
 
 income from which, beginning next winter, with ap- 
 propriate living I can lay by a nice sum yearly. This 
 summer our newspaper is indeed somewhat affected by 
 the universal dull times, but only to the extent that our 
 annual return will still show more than fifty per cent 
 of our capital as profit — and these dull times are only 
 temporary. I certainly have cause to be satisfied with 
 my fate. 
 
 Of course, my new position lays upon me new duties. 
 I am obliged to work pretty hard, not only to be pre- 
 pared for the problems of the day but also to bridge 
 over old gaps. If I had a son I could give him very 
 proper preachments about the value of youth time for 
 learning. My active life has often prevented me from 
 making fundamental studies and, to use a university 
 expression, I have to cram to make up and, in fact, cram 
 with the examination constantly on my neck. I have 
 accomplished a good deal already this spring and sum- 
 mer, but the deeper I go the more clearly I see the ex- 
 tent of the gaps. The enclosed sheets contain lists of 
 books which for the most part are no longer to be had 
 in regular book stores and which I have taken from the 
 catalogues of antiquarians. When you look them up 
 you will doubtless wonder about the subjects. Aside 
 from general historical works they are mostly works 
 with a national economic and diplomatic content, and 
 books about East India, China, and Japan. Questions 
 of political science will now play a particularly im- 
 portant role in our politics. Our diplomatic affairs, 
 with which the Senate has much to do, naturally be- 
 long to my special field, and since through the rapid 
 development of our Pacific coast we shall soon have 
 very definite and important diplomatic and trade re- 
 
480 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 
 
 lations with Asia, I want to make particularly intensive 
 studies of those countries, for which I shall require all 
 the material I may be able to collect. I will, therefore, 
 ask you to place the enclosed slips in the hands of Hen- 
 ning, who is a great book lover and has had much to do 
 with such things. . . . 
 
 I had almost forgotten that you do not like to read 
 long letters. This is (with the exception of my letters 
 to Margarethe) the longest I have written for years, 
 and unless it is all read I would have to say, "Love's 
 labor's lost." When shall I hear from you again? I 
 will answer regularly, as long or as short as you like. 
 But rather, far rather, would I see you here in your own 
 person. Talk it over with Marie, and both accept heart- 
 iest greeting from your brother-in-law and friend. 
 
INDEX 
 
INDEX 
 
 Acosta, Uriel, 36. 
 
 Adams, Charles Francis, in England, 
 
 267. 
 Althaus, Charlotte, 188-189. 
 Althaus, Frederick, letters to, vi, 
 
 113-116, 159, 162, 171, 188, 263, 
 
 266, 338. 
 Althaus, Mrs. Frederick (I), death, 
 
 162. 
 Anneke, Fritz, 189; wife, 72. 
 
 Ashley, , 369. 
 
 Atlantic cable, service, 366, 410. 
 Atlantic Monthly, contributor, 239, 
 
 371. 
 Augusta (Mo.), described, 380-383. 
 
 Ballert, Dr. M., 86. 
 
 Bancroft, George, 411, 416. 
 
 Banks, Gen. Nathaniel P., 272. 
 
 Barnard, Henry, University chancel- 
 lor, 206, 211; Schurz visits, 213. 
 
 Barnard, Mrs. Henry, letter, 211. 
 
 Barstow, William A., at Charleston 
 convention, 207. 
 
 Bath (111.), Schurz visits, 215. 
 
 Bayard, Sen. Thomas F., 474 
 
 Beardstown (111.), Schurz visits, 
 215-216. 
 
 Belle-Plaine (Minn.), Schurz visits, 
 198. 
 
 Belleville (111.), Schurz visits, 216. 
 
 Berlin (Germany), Schurz visits, 
 419-424, 426; early impressions, 
 87-90. 
 
 Bethlehem (Pa.), Schurz family at, 
 222, 281, 354; Schurz visits, 222. 
 
 Bingham, John A., at Johnson's im- 
 peachment trial, 432, 434. 
 
 Bismarck, Prince Otto von, inter- 
 views Schurz, 420-421, 422-424; 
 characterized, 364, 421, 423, 426. 
 
 Blaine, James G., Schurz opposes, ix. 
 
 Blair, Frank P., meets Schurz, 200. 
 
 Block, , 26. 
 
 Bolton, Nathaniel, at Indianapolis, 
 124. 
 
 Bolton, Sarah, home, 124. 
 
 Bonn University, Schurz at, 20-22, 
 25-56, 108. 
 
 Booneville (Mo.), in Civil War, 402; 
 Schurz visits, 400-404. 
 
 Booth, Sherman, case against, 208- 
 209. 
 
 Boston (Mass.), Schurz speech at, 
 191. 
 
 Boutwell, George S., at Johnson's 
 impeachment trial, 432. 
 
 Brachvogel, Udo, at St. Louis, 386; 
 brother, 396. 
 
 Brocklemann, , aids Kinkel, 142. 
 
 Brodhead, Sen. Richard, 470. 
 
 Brownlow, Sen. William G., 470. 
 
 Bruchsal (Germany), Schurz at, 60, 
 71. 
 
 Briining, Baron von, 177-178. 
 
 Buchanan, President James, admin- 
 istration, 184, 237. 
 
 Bucher, Lothar, 411, 416. 
 
 Bull Run. See Manassas. 
 
 Burschenschaft Franconia, at Uni- 
 versity of Bonn, 20-21; "social 
 work," 45; described, 30-32. 
 
 Butler, Gen. Benjamin F., at John- 
 son's impeachment trial, 432. 
 
 Canby, Gen. Edward R. S., troops, 
 321 ; Schurz visits, 348, 349. 
 
 Canitz, Count, 24. 
 
 Chancellorsville (Va.), battle at, 
 296, 397-398. 
 
 Charleston (S. C), Democratic na- 
 tional convention at, 207. 
 
 Chase, Salmon P., Ohio governor, 
 243, 244; presidential possibility, 
 388; characterized, 433. 
 
 Chicago (111.), in 1854, 128-134; 
 Schurz speech, 186; 1868 Republi- 
 can national convention, 436-438; 
 solders' reunion, 456-457. 
 
 Chittenden, , 375. 
 
 Cincinnati (O.), in 1854, 124-126. 
 
 Civil service, Schurz's reform bill, 
 476-478. 
 
 Civil War, Schurz in, 272-338; 
 Grant, 314, 316, 319-321, 325-326; 
 battle at Chancellorsville, 296; 
 Gettysburg, 296; Manassas, 265- 
 266, 270, 296; Eastern campaign, 
 272-279 ; Army of the Cumberland, 
 
484 
 
 INDEX 
 
 287, 296-297; Sherman's campaign, 
 320-321, 343; Western army re- 
 organized, 309, 321; in Missouri, 
 387, 402, 435; North Carolina, 327- 
 334; Tennessee, 289, 291-300; Vet- 
 eran Corps, 315-316, 318, 320, 324- 
 325; Confederate army, 321-322, 
 327; Sigel's headquarters, 276-277; 
 draft, 282; finances, 323-324; 
 ended, 327, 339-340; soldiers' re- 
 union, 456-457. 
 
 Clay, Cassius M., 242, 252. 
 
 Colfax, Schuyler, 369, 437, 471. 
 
 Cologne (Germany), Gymnasium at, 
 1-25, 42, 282-283; riot, 22-24. 
 
 Columbus, land near, 149-150. 
 
 Crocker, Hans, Milwaukee resident, 
 227. 
 
 Croxton, Gen. John T., 348. 
 
 Damm, , 165. 
 
 Democratic party, at St. Paul, 202; 
 Charleston convention, 207; in 
 1860 national election, 207-231; 
 
 loses Germans, 214, 216-218; in 
 
 1860 state elections, 223; at 
 
 Watertown, 229, 303; Boston, 233; 
 
 in 1867 state elections, 407, 409, 
 
 412, 414-415; in Connecticut, 431. 
 Detroit (Mich.), in 1866, 361-362; 
 
 newspaper, 357-359, 361-362; fire, 
 
 x. 
 Detroit Daily Post, Schurz edits, 
 
 357-359, 361-363, 366. 
 District of Columbia, suffrage in, 
 
 357. 
 Dixon, Luther S., judicial candidate, 
 
 209. 
 
 Dolder, , 84. 
 
 Doolittle, James R., confers with 
 
 Schurz, 232; writes Schurz, 236. 
 Dornachbruck (Switzerland), Schurz 
 
 at, 67-71. 
 Douglas, Stephen A., at New York, 
 
 212 ; Watertown, 228, 229 ; opposed 
 
 by Schurz, 205, 206, 221. 
 Drake, Charles D., Missouri Senator, 
 
 443; opposes Schurz, 451, 458-466. 
 
 Edlibach, , 78. 
 
 Eisenach (Germany), student con- 
 gress, 49. 
 
 Eleventh Army Corps, commander. 
 301; losses, 296; sketch, 397-398. 
 
 Emancipation Proclamation, issued, 
 
 279. 
 Erbschloh, Frau, 68. 
 d'Ester, , 165. 
 
 Fairchild, Gov. Lucius, at Milwau- 
 kee, 412. 
 
 Falkenthal, Dr. Ferdinand, trial, 88, 
 140-141. 
 
 Fifteenth Army Corps, reviewed, 
 333. 
 
 Fletcher, Gov. Thomas C, at St. 
 Louis, 858. 
 
 Fond du Lac, on railroad, 170; 
 Schurz visits, 203. 
 
 Fort Snelling (Minn.), described, 
 194-195. 
 
 Forty-eighters, in Missouri, 387. 
 
 Fourteenth Army Corps, com- 
 mander, 832. 
 
 Franconia. See Burschenschaft 
 FrancofUa. 
 
 Free-Soil party, in Congress, 161. 
 
 Fremont, John C, 265, 272, 303, 307. 
 
 Froebel, Julius, married, 161. 
 
 Fuchs, Dr. John P., 206. 
 
 Geahy, Gen. John W., in Civil War, 
 299. 
 
 Genth, Dr. , 419. 
 
 Georgia, Army of, Schurz com- 
 mands, 332; post-war conditions, 
 344-348. 
 
 German Revolutionary Confedera- 
 tion, formed, 117; fails, 119. 
 
 Germans, in Michigan, 362; Mis- 
 souri, 380-383, 387, 395-396, 402- 
 404, 466; New England, 312; Cin- 
 cinnati, 124; Detroit, 361, Indian- 
 apolis, 125-126; Milwaukee, 139, 
 151; New York, 446; support Fre- 
 mont, 174; in Democratic party, 
 180; in 1860 election, 214, 216-219, 
 224; oppose negro suffrage, 435; 
 attitude toward prohibition, 389- 
 390, 399, 412; Sunday laws, 147, 
 389-390, 415; at "Saturday din- 
 ner," 454; amusements, 143, 147, 
 151, 385-386, 394, 403; character- 
 ized, 19, 89-90, 150, 184, 284, 285, 
 387. 
 
 Germany, schools, 6, 20-32; student 
 associations, 26-27, 29-36, 39-41, 
 44-48; riots, 22-24; revolution of 
 1848-1849, 49-50, 60-67, 76, 100, 
 
INDEX 
 
 485 
 
 108, 120; national loan, 105, 118- 
 119, 142; Franco-Prussian War, 
 363-366; Mrs. Schurz visits, 256- 
 258, 375, 388, 410, 415-430; Schurz 
 visits, 417-424, 426. 
 
 Gerstacker, Frederick, ( writer ) 
 396-397. 
 
 Gill, Charles R., Wisconsin state 
 senator, 229. 
 
 Gillmore, Gen. Quincy A., in South 
 Carolina, 343-344. 
 
 Glover, Joshua (negro) case of, 208. 
 
 Gogg, ...., 117. 
 
 Grant, Ulysses S., in Civil War, 
 314, 316, 319, 320, 325-326, 356; in 
 Johnson's cabinet, 388, 392-893, 
 431; presidential possibility, 408, 
 409, 433; nominated, 437; inaugu- 
 rated, 471; cabinet, 471-472; 
 policy, 475; at soldiers' reunion, 
 457; characterized, 457-458, 472. 
 
 Greeley, Horace, 212, 250, 409. 
 
 Griebel, , 36. 
 
 Grimes, Sen. James W., 250. 
 
 Grow, Galusha A., Pennsylvania 
 Congressman, 197, 199, 440-441. 
 
 Gruyter, Walter de, aid acknowl- 
 edged, xi. 
 
 Grysar, , 6, 28. 
 
 Gully, Dr. , 164. 
 
 Guthrie, Sen. James, 249. 
 
 Hadley, Jackson, in Democratic 
 convention, 207. 
 
 Hahn, Gov. Michael, at New Or- 
 leans, 851. 
 
 Hancock, Gen. Winfield S., receives 
 Schurz, 315-316; Veteran Corps, 
 318, 324-325; presidential possi- 
 bility, 438. 
 
 Harvey, Louis P., at Sheboygan, 
 203 ; secretary of state, 245 ; popu- 
 larity, 205. 
 
 Havana (111.), Schurz visits, 215. 
 
 Hecker, Frederick, German revo- 
 lutionist, 132; in Illinois, 127, 132- 
 133, 135-137, 216; at St. Louis, 397; 
 sketch, 132. 
 
 Heim, , 26, 27. 
 
 Heinzen, Carl, 468. 
 
 Henderson, John B., Missouri Sen- 
 ator, 442-444; opposes Schurz, 458- 
 460. 
 
 Henderson (Minn.), Schurz visits, 
 200. 
 
 Henning, , 478. 
 
 Herborn, , 44. 
 
 Hering, Dr. , 226. 
 
 Herzen, Alexander, 173, 189. 
 
 Hess, Mrs. , 82, 83. 
 
 Hilton, , 463-464. 
 
 Hittorf, H., 76, 77, 83. 
 
 Hobart, Harrison C, debates with 
 Schurz, 203. 
 
 Hoffman, Major , 273, 276. 
 
 Honing, , 79. 
 
 Holscher, , 4. 
 
 Hooker, Gen. Joseph, accuses 
 Schurz, 299-300, 301, 309; charac- 
 terized, 280. 
 
 Howard, Maj. Gen. O. O., supports 
 Schurz, 354. 
 
 Howe, James H., popularity, 205. 
 
 Howe, Timothy O., confers with 
 Schurz, 232. 
 
 Hunter, William, 336. 
 
 Illinois, Schurz visits, 213-217, 247- 
 
 248. 
 Indiana, Schurz visits, 121, 125-127, 
 
 209; political speeches, 217-219, 
 
 223, 225-227. 
 Indianapolis (Ind.), in 1854, 125-126. 
 
 Jackson, John, at Watertown, 147, 
 148-149; sells land to Schurz, 152- 
 153, 156, 414. 
 
 Jacobi, Dr. Abraham, Schurz visits, 
 213. 
 
 Johnson, Andrew, interviews Schurz, 
 335-336, 337; sends Schurz to 
 study post-war South, 341-342; 
 policy, 350-351, 365, 383; opposes 
 Schurz, 354, 359; in campaign of 
 1866, 369; removes cabinet mem- 
 bers, 388; removes Sheridan, 388, 
 390; impeachment, 409-410, 415, 
 429, 431-432, 434, 438; message, 
 456; characterized, 340, 347-348, 
 391-393, 399, 415, 472. 
 
 Johnston, Gen. Joseph E., in Civil 
 War, 327, 331, 332, 337. 
 
 Jonesville, Schurz at, 143. 
 
 Jussen, Antonie Schurz, home, 386; 
 Schurz visits, 404-405, 414, 439; 
 characterized, 405; sketch, 95; 
 husband, 95, 279. See also An- 
 tonie Schurz. 
 
486 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Jiissen, Edmund, at St. Paul, 131, 
 140; in Civil War, 278, 279; wife, 
 95. 
 
 Jiissen, Herbert, passport, 80, 84, 86, 
 141-142. 
 
 Jiissen, Jacob, at Watertown, 137, 
 139-140, 143, 413; at Chicago con- 
 vention, 438. 
 
 Kamm, , 79. 
 
 Kapp, , 375, 430. 
 
 Kilpatrick, Col. Hugh J., at Raleigh, 
 331-332. 
 
 King, Gen. Rufus, in Civil War, 276. 
 
 Kinkel, Gottfried, edits newspaper, 
 52-55; member of Prussian Diet, 
 53; death sentence, 62-63, 70; 
 liberation, 84, 90-94, 141; hard- 
 ships, 102; visits America, 105-106; 
 aids German national loan, 105- 
 106, 142; literary work, 166; pic- 
 ture received, 390; home, 95, 159; 
 wife, 95, 96-97; letter, 93; letters 
 to, vi, 52, 118, 140, 164, 175, 182, 
 185, 189, 424. 
 
 Kinkel, Johanna, befriends Antonie 
 Schurz, 95, 96-97; death, 189; let- 
 ter to, 96. 
 
 Know-Nothing party, in New York, 
 144; divided, 145-146. 
 
 Kossuth, Louis, agitator, 119; in 
 England, 106, 116; America, 114. 
 
 Kreissman, , 234. 
 
 Kribben, , 131-132. 
 
 La Crosse, on railroad, 192. 
 
 Landolt, Madame, 74. 
 
 Larrabee, Charles H., at St. Paul, 
 193, 202. 
 
 Lee, Gen. Robert E., army, 321-322, 
 325, 327; capitulates, 331. 
 
 Lehmann, Dr. , 97, 101, 102. 
 
 Lexington (Minn.), Schurz visits, 
 197-199. 
 
 Liblar (Germanv), Schurz family 
 at, 1-2. 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, writes Schurz, 
 206 ; characterizes Schurz, 226 ; ap- 
 points Schurz minister to Spain, 
 252; memorial service, 334; char- 
 acterized, 236-237, 240, 241, 243, 
 247, 251, 309, 340. 
 
 Lincoln, Mrs. Abraham, character- 
 ized, 326-327. 
 
 Loan, Gen. Benjamin, senatorial 
 
 candidate, 452, 458-464. 
 Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 
 
 Schurz visits, 190. 
 
 Lowe, Dr. , 177, 178. 
 
 Lukas, , 24. 
 
 McAxEisrr, George, aid acknowl- 
 edged, v, vii, xi. 
 
 McClellan, Gen. George B., char- 
 acterized, 277. 
 
 Madison, Schurz visits, 205-207, 317- 
 318; Republican state convention, 
 207-208. 
 
 Madrid (Spain), described, 262. 
 
 Manassas (Va.), battle, 257, 265, 
 270, 285; losses, 296. 
 
 Manitowoc, Schurz visits, 203. 
 
 Mankato (Minn.), Schurz visits, 199- 
 200. 
 
 Massachusetts, Schurz lectures in, 
 191, 204-205; on temperance, 415. 
 
 Meier, , 85. 
 
 Meusser, , 29. 
 
 Meyer, , 83. 
 
 Meyer, Adolf, at Montreux, 390, 391 ; 
 message for, 416; Schurz visits, 
 422 ; Mrs. Schurz visits, 446 ; sister, 
 107; wife, 418, 480; letters to, 107, 
 186, 256, 267, 419, 478. 
 
 Meyer, Emilie, at Montreux, 167- 
 169; husband, 419. 
 
 Meyer, H. C. Jr., at Hamburg, 416. 
 
 Meyer, Henry, at Montreux, 160, 
 167-169; comes to America, 254, 
 255; message for, 416; character- 
 ized, 160, 168; sister, 167; wife, 
 167, 168; letters to, 178-181, 320, 
 418, 422. 
 
 Meyer, Margarethe. See Margarethe 
 Meyer Schurz. 
 
 Meyer, Marie, husband, 418, 480. 
 
 Miller, , 413. 
 
 Milwaukee, in 1854-1855, 138-139, 
 148; Music Society, 151; news- 
 papers, 209, 232, 253-254; Schurz 
 removes to, 186-187; in 1860 elec- 
 tion, 210, 230, 232; reception for 
 Schurz, 227-228; in 1867, 414. 
 
 Milwaukee News, threatened, 253- 
 254. 
 
 Milwaukee Seebote, threatened, 253- 
 254. 
 
 Milwaukee Sentinel, cited, 209, 232. 
 
 Minnesota, roads in, 198-199; Schurz 
 visits, 192-202. 
 
INDEX 
 
 487 
 
 Mississippi River, Schurz travels on, 
 134, 192-193, 248-249, 379-380. 
 
 Missouri, Germans in, 380-383, 387, 
 466; Schurz in, 374-469; in Civil 
 War, 387; negro suffrage, 449; 
 Senators from, 442-443, 467-480; 
 senatorial contest, 450-467. 
 
 Missouri River, described, 134, 379- 
 380, 382. 
 
 Mitchell, Alexander, Milwaukee resi- 
 dent, 227. 
 
 Monee (111.), Schurz's relatives at, 
 386, 404^05, 453. 
 
 Montreux (Switzerland), Schurz 
 visits, 159-169; described, 167-168. 
 
 Mordes, , widow, 161. 
 
 Morgan, B. Q., aid acknowledged, 
 x, 8. 
 
 Morgan, Edwin D., New York gov- 
 ernor, 212-213. 
 
 Morgan, Johanna Rossberg, aid 
 acknowledged, x. 
 
 Mower, Maj. Gen. Joseph A., 329. 
 
 Mtiller, , 44. 
 
 Munch brothers, 380-382. 
 
 311-313, 359-360; characterized, 40- 
 41; son, 370; letters to, 2-50, 56, 
 57, 282, 286, 293, 294, 300, 303-314, 
 318, 355, 356, 359, 361, 365, 366, 
 370, 371, 375, 385, 416, 427, 430. 
 
 Pfeffer, , 395. 
 
 Pfeil, Mrs. , 474. 
 
 Philadelphia (Pa.), Schurz speeches 
 at, 223, 368, 369-370; Southern 
 Convention, 367-368. 
 
 Plymouth, Schurz visits, 203. 
 
 Poole, Sen. John, 470-471. 
 
 Pope, Gen. John, 278. 
 
 Port Washington, Schurz visits, 229. 
 
 Portage, Schurz visits, 413. 
 
 Potter, John F., 230, 232, 234. 
 
 Preetorius, Dr. Emil, Schurz's part- 
 ner, 373-374, 377, 386, 393, 432, 
 443; visits Augusta, Mo., 379-382; 
 home, 398, 458 ; letters to, 463, 473. 
 
 Prohibition, in Massachusetts, 415; 
 New York, 144-145; attitude of 
 Germans, 389-390, 412, 415 ; of Re- 
 publican party, 398-399. 
 
 Piitz, Professor , 6, 24, 30. 
 
 Nattmann, , 6, 24. 
 
 Neusser, , 51. 
 
 New Hampshire, Schurz visits, 204. 
 New Orleans (La.), after Civil War, 
 
 349-350. 
 North Carolina, in Civil War, 327- 
 
 334. 
 
 Ohio River, Schurz travels on, 123- 
 124. 
 
 Olshausen, (publisher), 439. 
 
 Otterburg, , 250, 254. 
 
 Overbeck, Johannes B., at Bonn 
 University, 21, 25-26, 28; with- 
 draws from Franconia, 48-49; 
 characterized, 33-36, 38-39. 
 
 Paine, Halbert E., Schurz's law 
 partner, 187; nominated for city 
 attorneyship, 209-210; loses ap- 
 pointment, 252; in Civil War, 253. 
 
 Pekin (111.), Schurz visits, 215. 
 
 Pennsylvania, described, 121-123; in 
 1860 election, 211, 222-226. 
 
 Petrasch, Theodore, home, 4, 7; 
 school days, 4, 11-12, 20-22, 28-30, 
 282-283; leaves Bonn, 42-43; liter- 
 ary efforts, 9; comes to America, 
 vi, 293-296; insurance business, 
 
 Quincy (111.), Schurz visits, 213- 
 214. 
 
 Racine, Schurz visits, 411. 
 
 Railroads, in early Wisconsin, 142- 
 143, 170, 172, 192. 
 
 Randall, Alexander W., Wisconsin 
 governor, 194, 205-206; opposed 
 by Schurz, 232; attitude toward 
 peace conference, 244-246. 
 
 Rass, , 76. 
 
 Rastatt (Germany), besieged, 58-67; 
 Schurz escapes, 67; Christian 
 Schurz at, 71-72. 
 
 Raveaux, Franz, 23. 
 
 Reichenbach, Count, 27. 
 
 Reimer, Georg, publishes Schurz's 
 memoirs, vi; successor, xi. 
 
 Rentrup, Diedrich, 74. 
 
 Republican party, nominates Schurz, 
 183-184; Illinois committee, 186; 
 corruption, 208; wins Germans, 
 214, 216-219, 224, 228 ; in 1860 elec- 
 tion, 210, 230-231; in Missouri, 
 387; losses, 399; in 1867 election, 
 406-409, 411, 414-415; 1868, 419, 
 435-437, 440-442, 448 ; favors John- 
 son's impeachment, 429 ; character- 
 ized, 240. 
 
488 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Richmond (Va.), surrenders, 327. 
 
 Roads, in early Wisconsin, 189; 
 Minnesota, 198-199. 
 
 Ronge, Mrs. , 115. 
 
 Rosecrans, Gen. William S., de- 
 feated, 287. 
 
 Ross, Sen. Edmund G., 438. 
 
 Rothe, Emil, at St. Paul, 193-194; 
 Watertown, 146, 228-229; debates 
 with Schurz, 202. 
 
 Rublee, Horace, 227, 372. 
 
 Saal, , 24. 
 
 Sack, Max, 49. 
 
 St. Louis (Mo.), in 1854, 134-135; 
 
 Schurz visits, 217 ; buys newspaper, 
 
 358-359, 373-374, 419; Sheridan 
 
 visits, 393-395; in 1868 election, 
 
 447. 
 St. Louis Westliche Post, Schurz 
 
 buys interest, 373-377, 384; suc- 
 cess, 419. 
 St. Paul (Minn.), Edmund Jiissen 
 
 visits, 131, 140; Schurz, 193-194, 
 
 201-202. 
 Salm, Prince, 346. 
 "Saturday dinner," organized, 453- 
 
 454. 
 
 Scheck, , 196. 
 
 Scheffer, ; 199. 
 
 Schetteler family, 1. 
 
 Schiffer, Anna Schurz, home, 386; 
 
 husband, 453. See also Anna 
 
 Schurz. 
 Schiffer, August, attends meeting, 
 
 453; wife, 386. 
 Schimmelfennig, Col. Alexander, 
 
 255. 
 
 Schinkowski, , 401, 403. 
 
 Schirrmacher, , 26-27. 
 
 Schmidt, , 26. 
 
 Schmidt, Julius, astronomer, 27. 
 
 Schmitz, , 76. 
 
 Schofield, Gen. John McA., joins 
 
 Sherman, 322. 
 
 Schulze-Delitsch, , 420. 
 
 Schurz, Agathe, at Bethlehem, Pa., 
 
 222; education, 289-290, 400, 411, 
 
 435-436; described, 168, 175; edits 
 
 father's letters, vi; letters to, 289, 
 
 435, 444. 
 Schurz, Anna, greetings for, 103, 
 
 107, 263; letter, 111. See also 
 
 Anna Schurz Schiffer. 
 Schurz, Antonie, in Kinkel home, 
 
 95-97, 102; comes to America, 95; 
 brother, 80; husband, 95, 279. See 
 also Antonie Schurz Jiissen. 
 Schurz, Carl, mother, 1, 278, 453; 
 early education, 1-7; at Cologne, 
 3, 6-7, 22-24, 108; early literary 
 interests, 4-6, 8, 9-11, 13-16, 32, 
 37-38; at University of Bonn, 20- 
 22, 25-56, 108; religious ideas, 17- 
 19; aids Kinkel in newspaper 
 work, 52-55; volunteers for mili- 
 tary service, 55-58; in Palatine 
 revolution, 64-66; at Rastatt, 58- 
 67; escape, 67; refugee in Swit- 
 zerland, 67, 86, 108; desires am- 
 nesty, 76-80; at University of Zu- 
 rich, 81; plans rescue of Kinkel, 
 80-81, 84, 86, 140-142; succeeds, 
 90, 92-94; in Berlin, 87-90; Edin- 
 burgh, 96; Paris, 96-104, 108; 
 London, 106, 108, 116, 283; affi- 
 anced, 107; decides to emigrate to 
 America, 108-112; married, 113; 
 illness, 115-116; reaches America, 
 118; early impressions of Ameri- 
 can politics, 119-120; trip to the 
 West in 1854, 121-140; visits 
 Hecker, 127, 132, 135-137; im- 
 pressions of Milwaukee, 139, 148; 
 visits relatives at Watertown, 139- 
 140, 142-147, 413; settles at Water- 
 town, 147-149, 151-158, 413; im- 
 pressions of Germans, 150; sails 
 for Europe, 159, 417 ; at Montreux, 
 Switzerland, 159-169; returns to 
 Watertown, 169-171; new home, 
 171-172, 174-176; early political 
 activities in America, 173-174, 184- 
 186 ; notary public, 172 ; alderman, 
 179; defeated for lieutenant gov- 
 ernorship, 179-183; law partner, 
 187; Eastern lecture tours, 190- 
 192, 204-205, 233-235, 238-239, 355, 
 360; "Truej Americanism," 187, 
 191; Douglas speeches, 204, 220- 
 222; "American Civilization," 233; 
 1859 political speeches in Minne- 
 sota, 192-202; Wisconsin, 202-204; 
 loses nomination for governor, 
 194; challenges Rothe, 202; criti- 
 cizes Randall, 205-206; University 
 regent, 187, 206, 207; 1860 politi- 
 cal speeches in East, 211-213, 221- 
 227; in West, 213-219, 227-231; 
 1861 speeches, 247-249; at Milwau- 
 
INDEX 
 
 489 
 
 kee, 232; relations with Lincoln, 
 237, 240, 241, 243, 247, 269-270, 
 308-309, 326, 340; Seward, 242, 
 250, 252, 253, 254; Chase, 243; at- 
 titude toward peace conference, 
 244-247, 249; minister to Spain, 
 252-267; leave of absence, 269, 
 285; returns to America, 267; in 
 Civil War, 272-338; visited by 
 Mrs. Schurz, 274-277; major-gen- 
 eral, 280, 285; on furlough, 281- 
 282, 300; observations on Army, 
 287-288, 291-292, 294-295; with 
 Eleventh Corps, 296; Army of the 
 Cumberland, 296-297; Army of 
 Georgia, 327-333, 337; relations 
 with Hooker, 299-300. 301; sup- 
 ports McClellan, 306-307; aids in 
 recruiting Veteran Corps, 315- 
 316, 318-319, 320, 324-325; meets 
 Mrs. Lincoln, 326-327; resigns 
 commission, 335, 338; relations 
 with Johnson, 335-337, 340, 391- 
 393; at impeachment trial, 432, 
 434-435; studies post-war South, 
 341-354; report, 354, 356-359; 
 with Detroit Post, 357-358, 361- 
 363, 366; 1866 political activities, 
 366-370; Atlantic Monthly con- 
 tributor, 239, 371; 1867 lecture 
 tour, 372-374; with St. Louis 
 Westliche Post, 373-374, 376-377, 
 384, 419; visits Augusta, Mo., 379- 
 383; Brachvogels, 395-396; Boone- 
 ville, Mo., 400-404; at Sheridan 
 demonstration, 393-395, 397; visits 
 Bismarck, 420-424, 426; at 1868 
 Republican national convention, 
 436-437; campaigns for Grant, 
 438-450; "Saturday dinner," 453- 
 454; attends soldiers' reunion, 456- 
 458; United States senatorship, 
 viii, 443-444, 450-453, 455-456, 458- 
 480; civil service reform, 473-478; 
 aids Liberal Republicans, viii; in 
 Hayes's cabinet, viii; character- 
 izes Grant, 472, 475; views on 
 spiritualism, 405-406 ; Memorial 
 Committee, vii; Reminiscences 
 published, vi; Speeches, etc., vii. 
 Schurz, Christian, at Rastatt, 71-72, 
 74; financial difficulties, 101-102, 
 112; settles at Watertown, 143; 
 moves to Monee, 111., 386; at Chi- 
 cago convention, 438 ; makes 
 
 speech, 452-453; characterized, 2; 
 letters to, 58, 67-85, 90, 96-104, 111, 
 255, 258, 268, 269, 272, 278-281, 
 297, 299, 301, 302, 362. 
 
 Schurz, Emma Savannah, birth, 314; 
 death, 314, 376; described, 319, 
 324, 342. 
 
 Schurz, Margarethe Meyer, affianced, 
 107; married, 113; illness, 115, 
 163-164, 189, 300, 310, 314, 442, 
 451, 455; comes to America, 118; 
 at Bethlehem, Pa., 222, 281, 354; 
 Montreux, Switzerland, 164-169 ; 
 Watertown, 169-172, 174-176, 207; 
 Philadelphia, 280; New York, 295, 
 302; visits camp, 274-277; in Eu- 
 rope, 376, 387-391, 395, 404, 406, 
 408, 410-412, 415-422, 427-428, 430; 
 characterized, 110, 183, 319, 469; 
 brothers, 107, 111; letters, xi, 274, 
 334; letters to, 121-137, 142-159, 
 176, 177, 186, 190-254, 314-317, 324- 
 331, 335-337, 342-355, 356-357, 360, 
 361, 363-365, 366-369, 372-374, 377- 
 383, 385-416, 417, 427, 428, 430-434, 
 436-443, 446-462, 464-470, 474-477. 
 
 Schurz, Marianna, mentioned, 293, 
 445 ; aid acknowledged, v, vii, xi. 
 
 Schurz, Marianne, illness, 278; at 
 Monee, 111., 453; letters, 1-2; let- 
 ters to, 58, 67-77, 90, 96-104, 111, 
 255, 258, 268, 269, 272, 278-281, 
 297, 299, 301, 302, 862. 
 
 Schutz, , 165, 177. 
 
 Schwartz, Ph., 26, 27. 
 
 Schwentzer, , 29. 
 
 Second Army Corps, commander, 
 316. 
 
 Sell, Professor , 77. 
 
 Seward, William H., in Lincoln's 
 cabinet, 250, 252, 253, 254; John- 
 son's, 336; characterized, 242-243. 
 
 Seymour, Horatio, 441. 
 
 Shakopee (Minn.), Schurz visits, 
 195-196. 
 
 Sharkey, Gen. W. L., opposition to, 
 350. 
 
 Shaska (Minn,), described, 197. 
 
 Sheboygan, Schurz visits, 203. 
 
 Sheridan, Gen. Philip H., army, 321 ; 
 removal, 388, 390; headquarters, 
 392, 393; at SI. Louis, 393-395; 
 characterized, 395. 
 
 Sherman, Gen. William T., in Civil 
 War, 309, 320-322; methods, 330- 
 
490 
 
 INDEX 
 
 331, 343, 346; at Atlanta, 346; re- 
 views troops, 333; at soldiers' re- 
 union, 457. 
 
 Shields, Sen. James, 470. 
 
 Sigel, Gen. Franz, in Civil War, 272, 
 275-277, 301; on leave, 280; re- 
 moved, 392. 
 
 Slavery, in Tennessee, 292; Schurz 
 opposes, 174, 179, 265, 283-284, 
 287-288; Emancipation Proclama- 
 tion, 279; abolished, 315. 
 
 Sloan, A. Scott, judicial candidate, 
 209. 
 
 Slocum, Gen. Henry W., 335, 348- 
 349, 350. 
 
 Smith, A. D., judge, 206 ; supporters, 
 208-209. 
 
 Smith, Kirby, 336. 
 
 South Carolina, post-war conditions, 
 342-344. 
 
 Spain, Schurz in, 256-266; described, 
 263-264. 
 
 Speltz, , 26, 27, 35-36. 
 
 Spraul, Captain , 276. 
 
 Stahl, Gustav, 70. 
 
 Stanton, Edwin M., confers with 
 Schurz, 314; in Johnson's cabinet, 
 388, 390, 392. 
 
 Steedman, Gen. James B., Schurz 
 visits, 346. 
 
 Sterken, "Freshie," 43. 
 
 Stewart, A. T., 471. 
 
 Stillwater (Minn.), Schurz visits, 
 201. 
 
 Stockhausen, , 421. 
 
 Streiker, , 44. 
 
 Strodtmann, Adolph, visits Schurz, 
 71, 74, 82; expelled, 85. 
 
 Sulzbach, W., publisher, 69-70. 
 
 Sumner, Sen. Charles, 311, 354, 358- 
 359; brother, 191 
 
 Sumner, George, 191. 
 
 Switzerland, Schurz's refuge, 67-86; 
 visited, 159-169, 389-390, 406, 408. 
 
 Techow, Colonel , 98, 165, 177. 
 
 Temperance. See Prohibition. 
 
 Tendering, , 44. 
 
 Thieme, , 211. 
 
 Thomas, Gen. George H., investi- 
 gates charges against Schurz, 299- 
 300 ; army, 321 ; private coach, 
 346; at soldiers' reunion, 457. 
 
 Tiedemann, Fritz, in Civil War, 273, 
 275-276. 
 
 Tiedemann, Mrs. Fritz, visits camp, 
 275-277. 
 
 Tiedemann, Dr. Henry, 196, 212, 360. 
 
 Toberentz sisters, 421. 
 
 Tweedy, John H., Milwaukee resi- 
 dent, 227. 
 
 Twelfth Army Corps, in Civil War, 
 301. 
 
 Twentieth Army Corps, commander, 
 332. 
 
 Uxgar, , 77. 
 
 United States Congress, Forty-first, 
 469-476. 
 
 Vexeday, , 79. 
 
 Veteran Corps, recruited, 318, 320, 
 
 324-325. 
 
 Vosen, , 9, 24. 
 
 Voss, Charlotte, 160, 162, 164. See 
 
 also Charlotte Althaus. 
 
 Wacoxia (Minn.), Schurz visits, 196. 
 
 Wade, Sen. Benjamin, 437. 
 
 Wagner, , 378. 
 
 Wagner, August, 49. 
 
 Washburne, Elihu B., supports 
 Schurz, 460. 
 
 Washington (D. C), in Civil War, 
 254; peace conference, 244-247, 
 249. 
 
 Watertown, land near, 149-150; 
 Schurz visits, 139, 146-147; buys 
 land, 152-158, 413-414; home, x, 
 171-172, 174-176; county seat, 170; 
 railroad center, 170, 172; growth, 
 170; Wide- Awakes, 228-229; Dem- 
 ocrats, 303. 
 
 Watertown Weltbiirger, opposes 
 Schurz, 225. 
 
 Weber, Carl Otto, 36. 
 
 Weise, Ludwig von, at Bonn, 25, 26, 
 28, 29, 44; member of Franconia, 
 30; at Cologne, 39, 41; Berlin, 55. 
 
 Wells, Gov. , at New Orleans, 
 
 350. 
 
 Werlich brothers, 182. 
 
 Wermerskirch, , 276. 
 
 Wesendonk, , 171, 375. 
 
 Wessel, , 64. 
 
 Westendarp, Willy, in Civil War, 
 273, 276. 
 
 Wide-Awakes, in 1860 campaign, 
 213-214, 218; at Milwaukee, 227; 
 Watertown, 228-229. 
 
INDEX 
 
 491 
 
 Wilkinson, Morton S., 199-200. 
 
 Willich, August von, 118-119. 
 
 Wilson, Sen. Henry, 238. 
 
 Wilson, Gen. James H., 348. 
 
 Winterschladen brothers, 3. 
 
 Wisconsin, land, 146-150; immigra- 
 tion, 139; roads, 139; railroads, 
 142-143, 170, 172, 192; Germans, 
 150-151, 412; Schurz's relatives in, 
 110, 137, 139-140; Schurz visits, 
 138-140, 142-143; settles in, 149; in 
 election of 1857, 179-184; 1860, 
 229-230, 232; 1867, 412, 414; gov- 
 
 ernorship, 194, 244-245, 412; legis- 
 lature, 205-206, 246-247, 249; chief 
 justiceship, 206, 208-209; Demo- 
 crats, 207, 303, 412; Republicans, 
 210; Wide- Awakes, 227-229; in 
 Civil War, 253, 317. 
 
 Wisconsin University, chancellor, 
 206, 211, 213; regents, 206, 207. 
 
 Wright, F., Indiana governor, 124. 
 
 Ziemesen, , 44. 
 
 Zurich (Switzerland), Schurz at, 71- 
 86.