USA > Indiana > German settlers and German settlements in Indiana : a memorial for the state centennial 1916 > Part 2
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In early days New Albany was the largest city in the state, but was soon outstripped by Indianapolis and Evansville. The country farther away from the Ohio gradually came under the plow. A fine Catholic seminary and monastery were established at St. Meinrad, while Fulda became the home of a pros- perous Swiss-German settlement. The towns of Fer- dinand, Huntingburg and Jasper, Dubois county, have a large German population, a German paper, "Das Signal," being published at Huntingburg. The names of such villages as Elberfeld, Haubstadt and Darm- stadt indicate their early settlers, whose descendants still love their mother tongue and German customs.
New Elsass, Dearborn County, was founded in 1839 by Frank Anton Walliser. Its early inhabitants ar -- ranged shooting matches and other German celebra- tions which were attended from far and near. The passing through the state of the railroads brought a
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large influx of Germans, Carl Schurz writing to his wife in 1852 from Indianapolis that of the 18,000 in- habitants of that town 2,000 were Germans. Today Indianapolis has over 300,000 inhabitants, with a large, intelligent and prosperous German population.
In the northern part of the state several counties were named after Germans who had distinguished themselves in the Revolutionary War-Steuben, De Kalb and Jasper.
Terre Haute, La Fayette, Peru, Logansport, Elk- hart, Bern, Michigan City, South Bend, Crown Point, Hammond and Ft. Wayne all have a large number of German citizens, many of whom take a prominent part in the commercial and social life of their re- spective communities.
When Germans settled in a town they generally soon built a meeting house or church, the preacher in the early times generally also assuming the duties of teacher in the community.
When Dr. F. A. Wylie came from Pennsylvania to teach at the state university in Bloomington, he was accompanied by Lewis Bollman, a nephew of that genial adventurer, August Erich Bollman, who had tried to liberate General LaFayette when he was a prisoner at Oimuetz.
The Bollmans came from Hoya on the Weser, Han- over, Germany. Lewis Bollman was born May 24, 1811, at Williamsport, Pa., where he studied medicine before going to Bloomington, continuing his studies
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and taking his degree at the Indiana University. Dr. Bollman was reporter of the Indiana Legislature for many years until appointed statistician of the Depart- ment of Agriculture by Abraham Lincoln. Upon his return from Washington, Bollman edited a paper at Bloomington and took a great interest in agriculture and the cause of the workingman. Bollman died at Bloomington on Sept. 3, 1888. Contemporaneously with Bollman there lived in Terre Haute a leading German lawyer by the name of Albert Lange. Born at Charlottenburg near Berlin on Sept. 26, 1801, Lange studied history and law at Berlin. The spread of the liberal movement attracted Lange to this country in the year 1829. For a short time he edited a German paper in Cincinnati. From there he went to Hancock County, Indiana, where he married the daughter of an old settler and farmed for some time. Moving to Terre Haute, he took up his old profession and prac- ticed law. Drifting into politics, he joined the Whig party under Taylor and Filmore was U. S. Counsel at Rotterdam. Returning to Terre Haute, he was repeat- edly elected to office, serving as mayor of the city for many years. In 1860 he was elected state auditor and proved of great assistance to Governor Oliver P. Morton during the civil war. Relinquishing his of- fice he returned to Terre Haute, where he continued to practice law until his death on July 25, 1869.
An estimate of the German population of Indiana may be gained by the number of German papers
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which circulated among them. When one considers that in pioneer times newspapers could not be sent long distances owing to lack of transportation facili- ties, and were for the most part local papers published for the town and surrounding country, the large number of German papers published in various parts of the state in the early days bear evidence of the large and scattered German population.
Let us see where German papers were published in this state and where they still exist. In Vincennes, when the first French settlers had died out, they were replaced in greater numbers by the Germans. This the oldest town in the state, now has several German congregations with fine churches. A number of its leading merchants, manufacturers and professional men can read and write German, but the German paper maintained by its citizens for some years no longer exists, the larger and more newsy German dailies from St. Louis and Evansville having replaced it at their breakfast table.
Mt. Vernon also once had a German paper for the large German population of Posey county but it also was forced to give way to the St. Louis and Evans- ville papers.
Evansville, being the center of a large German population, has had many German newspapers. The first German paper, Der Volksbote, edited by J. Roh- ner was established in 1851 and was maintained for a long time. In 1853, Theodore Dietsch established "Die
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Reform." Dietsch had been a member of the Frank- furt Parliament and was perhaps too radical in his utterances as "the Reform" soon ceased to exist. An- other reason for the brief existence of the "Reform" may be found in the circumstance that the publisher of its competitor, "Der Volksbote" had secured the services of a brilliant young German by the name of Frederick Keller, a theological student of Heidelberg, who was forced to leave the fatherland in the period of political unrest of 1848-1849. Passing through New York, Canada and Ohio, Keller drifted to Indi- ana where he found employment as editorial writer for a number of German papers.
Keller resided in Evansville twice and died here of pneumonia on Dec. 14, 1876 in his 48th year while editing "Die Union." Dr. Amelia R. Keller, of Indi- anapolis is a daughter of this pioneer newspaper man. The "Union" and "Demokrat" existed in Evansville for a long time, the former as an evening and the latter as a morning paper, the "Union" finally selling out to its competitor, which is now the only German paper in Evansville appearing there over fifty years, and edited by Frederick Lauenstein.
Rockport and Tell City also once supported Ger- man local papers but are now supplied by Evansville and Louisville.
At New Albany, Henry Lange for many years pub- lished a German newspaper which was, however, final-
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ly crowded out by the larger Louisville paper. Lange is also the author of two volumes of poems.
At Jeffersonville, G. F. Engelhardt for many years published the "Beobachter aus Indiana." He also published and circulated many valuable German books and pamphlets. An accident on a traction car unfortunately put an end to Engelhardt's activity.
At Huntingburg, Dubois County, there is the "Huntingburg Signal," its long existence proving the strong hold it has upon the Germans of that town and vicinity.
Richmond and Bern also published German papers.
At Indianapolis a number of German papers have been circulated among the people of this and neigh- boring towns. In the year 1848 Julius Boetticher es- tablished a weekly paper, "Das Indiana Volksblatt." It was well managed and secured a large circulation. The publication by this office in 1853 of a transla- tion of the Indiana Statutes into German gives evi- dence of the scope of this establishment and the large German population of the state at that time. Other papers making their appearance were "Die Freie Presse," "Tribuene," "Telegraph," and "Spottvogel." At the present time there appear the daily "Tele- graph" and the "Tribuene," and the Sunday "Spottvo -- gel," both having a large circulation. Indianapolis has had some very able editorial writers, among whom I might mention Julius Boetticher, Adolf Seidensticker,
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Frederick Keller, Carl Beischlag, T. B. Jeup and Phillip Rappaport.
Terre Haute has also had several German papers, the "Terre Haute Journal" still existing.
At La Fayette, Francis Johnson edited the "Deutsch Amerikaner," and published several books in the English language.
Logansport still maintains a German weekly, while the large German dailies of Chicago seem to supply the needs of the large German population of Crown Point, Michigan City, South Bend and Hammond.
At Fort Wayne we find the strong German daily "Freie Presse und Staatszeitung," ably edited by Her -- man Mackwitz, and well supported by Concordia Col- lege and the many good German families of Ft. Wayne and vicinity. Thus we find German newspa- pers published and eagerly read in all parts of the Hoosier State.
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GERMANS IN THE CIVIL WAR.
The early German pioneers of Indiana took little interest in National politics, their minds being too much occupied with putting their homes in order. The presidential campaign of William Harrison, who had been their war governor when Indiana was yet a ter- ritory and with whom they had marched in their wars with the Indians and the English, served to stir up the Hoosiers. Little did they dream then that half a cen- tury later many of them would fight in a greater war.
At the organization of the Northwest Territory it was ordained that slavery should be excluded from its bounds, but the slavery question continued to be agitated with more fervor as the years passed by. It was, as Carl Schurz termed it, "an irrepressible con- flict," while Abraham Lincoln in his famous debate with Douglass said, "a house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot en- dure permanently. half slave and half free." The Germans of the United States were for freedom of the colored race and bitterly opposed to slavery. Out
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of eighty-eight German newspapers in the United States eighty opposed the Kansas-Nebraska bill, the Germans of Indiana sharing the views of their com- patriots in the Nation at large. As stated in a prev- ious chapter, the German revolution of 48-49 brought to this country many well educated men, such as Carl Schurz and others. Many of these became newspaper editors and opposed slavery from the lecture plat- form. In the National Republican convention at Chi- cago in 1860, a large number of the delegates from Indiana were Germans. The committee on resolu- tions which drafted the party platform had among its members such well known Germans as Carl Schurz of Wisconsin, Gustav Koerner of Illinois, and Judge Wm. H. Otto of New Albany, Indiana. Judge Otto being the secretary of the committee. A Hoosier German was thus largely instrumental in drawing up the platform on which Lincoln was elected.
When the war broke out Evansville had a military organization known as the Steuben artillery, com- posed entirely of Germans and organized several years before. The company consisted of fifty men, eight or nine of whom came from Tell City, Martin Klauss serving as captain. They were sworn in as state militia and equipped with two cannons and twenty-four Mississippi rifles. They were first sta- tioned at Evansville where they examined boats on the Ohio river for contraband of war for the south. In June, 1861, they were sent to Indianapolis to en-
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list in the United States service as the First Battery of Indiana. Here the company was further equipped with cannon, ammunition and horses and sent to Mis- souri. The battery arrived after the battle of Wilson Creek and took part in the campaign following, doing such good service at the battle of Pea Ridge on March 7 and 8, 1862, that they received the commendation of General Franz Sigel for their prompt action in carrying out orders. The First Indiana Battery aided in the siege of Vicksburg and took part in many other engagements during the war until mustered out of the service on August 22, 1865.
The Sixth Indiana Battery was also recruited in Evansville, and composed of German volunteers with Fred Behr as Captain. Behr lost his life on the first day of the battle of Shiloh, the Sixth Indiana Bat- tery being stationed in the woodland at the extreme right when caught in a flank movement by the enemy, from which only one cannon commanded by Lieuten- ant Wm. Mussman was able to extricate itself. This cannon and two others of Hoffmann's battery in charge of the men of the 6th Indiana Battery helped to recapture the cannons which had been taken the day before at Shiloh Battle. Michael Mueller was the successor of Captain Behr and ably led this company till mustered out of service on Sept. 9th, 1864.
The largest body of Germans was the 32d Infantry Regiment recruited from the larger cities of the state, there being a company from Evansville, Terre Haute,
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LaFayette and other places, August Willich being its first Colonel and Lieutenant Colonol H. Von Trebra its drill master at Indianapolis. Both Willich and Von Trebra had been officers in the Prussian army. The latter was living with his family on a small farm near Danville, Illinois, when the war broke out. Hear- ing that a German regiment was being organized at Indianapolis, Von Trebra went there and enlisted, be- coming its drill master and bringing it to a high state of efficiency. August Willich was a dashing and fear- less leader and was often called the Bluecher of our western armies. The 32d Indiana infantry regiment was commanded in the German language, each com- pany having a book in which the orders of the colonel or superior officer were written in German. When the regiment was ready for military service, it was sent by rail to Madison and from there by boat to Louisville, where it joined General Buell's army. The first engagement of the 32d Indiana regiment was at Rowletts station near Munfordville, Ky., on December 17, 1861. Four companies had been sent south over the Green River to observe the enemy when they were suddenly attacked by an overwhelm- ing force and the bugler called for help. Colonel Willich being absent at a council of war, Colonel Von Trebra assumed command and hastened with a part of the regiment to the assistance of the troops en- gaged, driving the enemy back with great loss. In
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recognition of the valor of the regiment, General Buell issued the following order:
General Orders.
No. 23.
Headquarters Department of the Ohio.
Louisville, Ky., Dec. 27, 1861.
The General Commanding takes pleasure in bring- ing to notice the gallant conduct of a portion of Col. Willich's regiment, 32d Indiana at Rowletts Station in front of Munfordville on the 17th inst. Four com- panies of the regiment under Lieutenant Colonel Von Trebra, on outpost duty, were attacked by a column of the enemy, consisting of one regiment of cavalry, a battery of artillery and two regiments of infantry. They defended themselves until reinforced by other companies of the regiment, and the fight was con- tinued with such effect that the enemy at length re- treated precipitately. The attack of the enemy was mainly with his cavalry and artillery. Our troops fought as skirmishers, rallying rapidly into squares when charged by the cavalry, sometimes even defend- ing themselves singly and killing their assailants with the bayonet. The General tenders his thanks to the officers and soldiers of the regiment for their gallant and efficient conduct on this occasion. He commends it as a study and example to all other troops under his command and enjoins them to emulate the discipline and instruction which insure such results.
The name of Rowlett's Station will be inscribed in
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the regimental colors of the 32d Indiana regiment. By command of Brigadier General Buell, James B. Fry, A. A. G. Chief of Staff. Many years after the war General John M. Claiborne, a southern aristocrat, as he styled himself, in a series of articles for the Gal- veston News, gave an exaggerated account of the part that Terry's Texas Rangers took in the fight at Row- lett's Station, which caused Wm. Friedersdorf, an old soldier of the 32d Indiana regiment, to send the fol- lowing communication to a Missouri paper. "In- stead of 3,000 "federal Dutch" engaged that day, our force did not number over 700, all belonging to the 32nd Indiana infantry. We were called Germans (Dutch by the enemy) but the majority of us were born or raised under the flag which we served-the stars and stripes and understood for what we were fighting. We were all American citizens. I think fifty-five of our regiment had seen service in the old country. We received the same pay as other soldiers, and like most of the others, the majority of us could have made much more outside than in the service. We were doing picket duty, not having started on the march, when the rangers attacked us. There were just four, not fifteen cabins, "nigger quarters" at the place.
We had only thirteen killed in that engagement, in- cluding brave Lieutenant Sacks, a Jew who died re- volver in hand, rather than surrender.
On a little mound in Munfordville are twelve
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graves holding the remains of all our men killed in action, except those of Lieutenant Sacks, which were sent to a brother in Philadelphia. A farmer showed us two graves six or seven miles south of our little battle and told us they contained the bodies of two of our men murdered by Col. Terry's son while prisoners. We never heard of that youthful "aristocrat" aveng- ing his father's death in open battle. Not over twen- ty-five of our men were wounded; they all recovered.
We admired the bravery and dash of Col. Terry and his command, but facts are facts, and facts are said to be stubborn things. If the battle was over "in a period of four minutes," that was all the time re- quired by the "Dutch" to clean up the rangers, aris- tocracy and all. They left their dead commander on the field and asked for his remains the next day."
The 32nd Indiana was with General Buell at Shiloh and helped win that battle, on the second day. Col- onel August Willich was soon afterward assigned as Brigadier General of the 6th Brigade and Lieutenant Colonel Von Trebra took command of the 32d Indi- ana regiment on Aug. 9th, 1862, at Battle Creek. Un- fortunately Von Trebra took sick and was obliged to return to his home in Illinois, where he soon after died. A younger brother of Von Trebra who had en- listed as a private in the 32nd regiment, later became a captain and remained with his company to the end of the war. Colonel F. Erdelmeyer was the last com- manding officer of the 32nd and remained so until it
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was mustered out of service in the fall of 1864. This regiment had a good reputation and took part in all the great battles in the West: Stone River, Chicka- mauga, Mission Ridge and the Atlanta campaign.
All the regiments from Indiana had Germans in their ranks, some having whole companies. Of the 14th Indiana, which was sent to the Shenandoah Val- ley and fought at Antietam and Gettysburg, over half were composed of Germans, Company E being wholly Germans. In the 24th regiment, organized by Alvin P. Hovey, later Governor of Indiana, one company, led by Captain John Grill, was entirely composed of Germans, while other companies were about half Ger- man. A large per cent of the 42nd Indiana regiment were also Germans, John E. Eigenmann rising to the captaincy of Company D. Eigenmann was severely wounded and captured at the battle of Stone River. Being unfit for further service he was paroled to the end of the war. Company A, of the 136th Indiana regiment, was German with the exception of one comrade, whom we taught so much German that he was able to understand us. Other companies of this regiment were also largely composed of Germans. Many of the commanding officers of our regiments were born in the fatherland and had seen service there. Among these we might mention General Wil- lich, Colonel Von Trebra, Colonel Erdelmeyer, who commanded the 32nd regiment, Colonel Carl A. Zol- linger of the 129th regiment, and Colonel Rheinland-
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er, of the 25th. Colonel Richard Dale Owen, son of the social reformer, Robert Owen, of New Harmony fame, was educated in Switzerland and spoke German well, his regiment having many Germans in its ranks. Lieutenant Colonel Gustav Gerber died at the head of his regiment in the battle of Shiloh.
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Among the Indiana generals there were some of German descent, as well as some of German birth. Thus the grandparents of General Pleasant Adams Hackleman had immigrated from the fatherland in 1773 and 1774 settled in the Carolinas, whence they crossed the mountains to Kentucky and 1800 moved to Indiana. Hackleman's father was born in North Carolina in 1786, while he himself was born at Brookville, Ind., in October, 1816. As I was told by Dr. Hackleman of Rockport, a cousin of the general. Abraham Lincoln, after his inauguration as President, appointed the general as a member of a peace con- gress which held a conference with representatives from the south, without, however, accomplishing any- thing. When the war broke out Governor Morton appointed Hackleman colonel of a regiment. On April 28, 1862, he became a general, his old regiment hon- oring him by presenting him with a fine sword. He was destined not to enjoy his promotion long, as he was killed on October 3, 1862, at Yuka, near Corinth, while leading a charge of his brigade. General Hack- leman was the only general from Indiana to lose his life on the field of battle.
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August Willich was born at Braunsberg, Prussia, on Nov. 14, 1810. At the age of 12 he was sent to a military school at Potsdam. Upon graduating he en- listed in the Prussian military service as lieutenant of artillery and was assigned to the fortress of Wesel. The wave of liberalism which swept through the Rhineland in the forties led him to quit the service, which he re-entered, however, in the revolutionary period of 1848, becoming an associate of Franz Sigel in Baden. At the close of this revolution Willich and many others emigrated to America. Being an able civil engineer, Willich soon found employment in the Coast Survey of North and South Carolina. Here he became acquainted with the intrigues of the southern slave holding aristocracy. Coming north to Cincin- nati he edited a German paper and at the outbreak of the civil war organized the 9th Ohio regiment and later the 32nd Indiana, of which he became colonel. Willich was a courageous leader and splendid disci- plinarian, and good to his men. After the battle of Shiloh he was appointed general of the 6th brigade. In the battle of Stone River (Murfeesboro) his impetuosity led to his capture by the Confeder- ates. He was soon after exchanged and with his regi- ment again and distinguished himself with his troops in the battles of Chattanooga and Missionary Ridge. At Resaca he was shot in the right arm, which was lame after that. After the war Willich retired to St. Mary's, Ohio, where he died on January 22nd,
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1878. A fine monument erected to his memory by his comrades, who respected and loved him, marks his final resting place in Elm Grove cemetery, near St. Mary's.
General Fred Knefler, another Indiana man, was a German-American. He was in the thick of the fight at Chattanooga and Mission Ridge, of which battles he later gave vivid descriptions.
In the early part of the civil war there was great need of all sorts of war utensils and Governor Morton therefore established an arsenal to manufacture these, putting in charge a German by the name of Herman Sturm, who was at that time conducting a small ma- chine shop in Indianapolis. Sturm proved himself equal to the task and under his direction articles to the value of $800,000 were manufactured for the In- diana troops. At the conclusion of the war the Na- tional Government took possession of the arsenal.
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AFTER THE CIVIL WAR.
At the close of the war one regiment after another was mustered out of service, the soldiers left for their respective homes to become civilians again, and this country, so rich in resources, prospered as never be- fore.
The thrifty Germans made good farmers, and often on land where others could not eke out an existence, they made a good living. In the cities the German artisan, tradesman and professional man also pros- pered. They generally had large families, often gave their children a college education and otherwise pro- vided for them. Some of these German-Americans are worth remembering. We will give a brief sketch of a few. In the spring of 1853 there came to Green- castle, Ind., from Bischofsheim on the Rhine, not far from Strassburg, a young baker by the name of Louis Weik. Young Weik established and successfully conducted a bakery for a number of years. He raised a large family and was highly respected in the com- munity, being repeatedly elected to the city council. His son, Jesse W. Weik, together with William H.
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Herndon, Abraham Lincoln's law partner, edited one of the best biographies of Lincoln in existence and he is now engaged to verify the route the Lincoln family took in moving from Spencer county to Illinois.
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