USA > Maryland > Annual report of the Society for the History of the Germans in Maryland, 1st-6th, Vol. 1-6 > Part 16
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Long after the morning broke, and even at midday, there was, on account of the rain and lowering clouds, but little attempt at the decoration of houses. Even when the afternoon demonstration began no one had an idea of what the late evening would bring forth in this direction. All over the line of march anxious glances had been cast skyward, and a bright rift in the western sky, symbolie perhaps of that western ray of hope in 1683, brought out the German-Americans and
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Americans who are proud of their cousins German to hang bunting and parti-colored ribbands, to string pretty trans- parencies and to prepare for the illumination of the "Fest" night. Almost by magic the work was done, and by seven o'clock in the evening the house fronts were loaded with brill- iant colors. Flags, great and small, waved by thousands. Baltimore street and Broadway, at their lower points, displayed long vistas, glowing, gleaming and radiating tens of thousands of lights that made a ruddy track against the overhanging clouds and filled the atmosphere with a glad brilliancy.
Then came the bands of music and the gathering bodies of men and gayly caparisoned horses that were to take part in the triumphal procession. One after another they passed toward Broadway, following each other with such swiftness, and all coming so suddenly upon the going up of the decora- tions by the way, that the whole scene seemed like some spontaneous offering of a grateful people. Then came the fully formed procession of fourteen thousand men, and the illusion was complete. Far down the streets could be seen the red, blue and green fires, not only displayed from carriages and floats, but lavishly burned from a large number of wagons especially fitted up for the purpose. Thousands upon thousands of fanciful torches glimmered in the line, and they were various in pattern and color. Some were like huge lilies, some globular, some like domes and others like minarets of temples. At the Washington monument the greatest display of fireworks was made, and the stately shaft was lit up far above its base.
The great number of bands in the procession was a note- worthy evidence of the musical taste of those in line. Patriotic airs were heard on every hand, and scarcely had the strains of " The Star Spangled Banner" died away before "The Wacht am Rhein," "Maryland," "Hail Columbia" or the "German Soldier's Ode to his Martial Cloak" came bursting out into its fullest harmony. Hardly less than 5000 horses were in line, and good riding was the rule. The spirited stock of muscular and well-to-do butchers and tradesmen and the fine animals of the Germania Riding Club, bedecked with wreaths and nosegays, pranced and curvetted and made pretty pictures of life and motion.
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From one end of the line to the other were many features to give variety and zest to the cavalcade and relieve the masses of civilians in the line. Marshal's aids in white helmets and riding trousers and black coats were quickly succeeded by the float bearing the German students, in red, brimless caps and bright swords. The singing societies passed by with tasteful transparencies, and were followed by a group of ancient Teutons dressed in bear skins. Medieval knights, in the fanciful costume of the "Ritter," were succeeded by the sombre mortar board hats and black students' gowns of the Scheib Literary Association. The Schuetzen markers had white shirts and targets. Each carriage of the Schuetzen members had its target at the side, while the Orpheus Singing Society had transformed every carriage into an arched evergreen bower. The Vorwarts Turners had pretty suits of light gray and felt hats, with oak leaves at the sides. The large body of stevedores looked well in a uniform of light shirts, belted in at the waist, and the Junior Pyramid Club, in tasteful array of light clothing and brown felt hats, marched before a representation of Cleopatra's needle. Butchers added the red of their shirts to the scene, and the little zouaves of Calvert Hall, in blue and red, carried their wooden guns with the proudness of infantile soldiers. The lights danced upon the silver and gold helmets of the uniformed knighthood orders. .
There was no elaborate attempt to present fine floats in the parade, yet there were many typical and interesting ones. There was a "gasthof" displaying women in old German costume ready to entertain the callers with foaming beer, several wagons carried little girls in white dresses, and the Schuetzen Society had a representation of a shooting range, with the name of the reigning Schuetzen King emblazoned thereon. St. Matthew's Confirmanden Verein had a large canvas erected on a float, which was followed by a wagon from which stereop- ticon pictures of the President of the Union, the Governor of the State and other portraits were cast. Unkel Braesig drove a pair of horses in his brown coat and was surrounded by the children of the Low-lands, who are taught to revere him. The Germania Turners had an allegorical group, of which Germania, armed with her mighty sword, was the central
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figure. The German Soldiers' Association float had a representa- tion of veterans of European wars sitting about a camp-fire, over which a pot was merrily boiling. The Stevedores' Bene- ficial Society had a large schooner model and German-Evangel- ical Lutheran Trinity Church had an excellent model of their church structure in line.
The last act in the drama of the celebration consisted in the "Conners," after the parade. The United Singers as- sembled at Germania Hall for an evening of social intercourse, while the " Funken," composed of German students, met in the Concordia Annex. The "Funken" sang the songs of its poet laureate, Loewenthal, and at both halls the old songs of Germany and the newer ones of America resounded again and again to the accompaniment of clinking glasses. Jokes were passed, friendships renewed and a jolly good time was had till the approach of morning warned all to flee homeward to prepare for a work-a-day world and to escape the dangers of the "katzenjammer."
In other cities the day was observed in German style. Washington German-Americans assembled in the afternoon in great force at Schuetzen Park, just beyond the city limits. All sorts of amusements were engaged in, and at night a programme of vocal and instrumental music was rendered. Mr. W. L. Habercom, fifth auditor of the treasury, and Mr. L. G. Hine, ex-District commissioner, delivered addresses, and the festivities closed with a fine display of fireworks.
The Philadelphia celebration was begun Sunday in the German churches. Last night there was a musical festival at the hall of the German Society, attended by Governor Beaver, Mayor Fitler and other prominent citizens. Addresses were made by Prof. Oswald Scidenstricker, of the University of Pennsylvania, Judge Pennypacker, a local historian, and Dr. G. Kellner, editor of the German Democrat. Germantown, which is now a fashionable suburb of the city, and has lost its old characteristics, also had its celebration under the anspices of the Germantown Maennerchor. This society was organized on the two hundredth anniversary of the arrival of the original German families.
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The houses of the German citizens of Richmond were gayly decorated in honor of the day. The German-Americans paraded in the morning, with Mr. Alfred von Niekisch Ro- sengk, the president of the newly formed association, at their head. The turn out was imposing. After marching through the principal streets the procession went to the exposition grounds, where patriotic addresses were delivered by President Rosengk, Senator Lovenstein, Mayor Ellyson and others. The remainder of the day was spent in national games and merrymak- ing. Among the prominent persons who occupied seats on the stand during the delivery of the addresses were Gov. Mckinney, President of the State Supreme Court L. L. Lewis, Hon. George D. Wise and Mayor J. Taylor Ellyson. After the close of the festivities at the exposition grounds the line of march was again formed, and the procession went back to the city. The streets through which the column moved in returning were ablaze with colored lights and the sidewalks were thronged with people.
In Reading, Pa., the people gathered in large numbers at night, and a banquet was held. William Rosenthal, Judges Ermentrout and Endlich, Congressman Brunner and others made speeches.
The German Societies of Minneapolis, Minn., and other Northwestern cities gave entertainments at night, but there were not many parades.
THE INDOOR CELEBRATION.
PATRIOTIC SONGS SUNG BY THE UNITED SINGERS AND FIVE HUNDRED SCHOOL GIRLS.
The sturdy persistency so characteristic of the German was shown by the thousands who braved the disagreeable weather to attend the afternoon demonstration at Harris' Academy of Musie, Baltimore. Old men, whose white locks were proof of their advanced age, middle-aged business men, professors and doctors and musicians wended their way to Harris' Academy.
Without doubt the celebration was one of the most enthu- siastic demonstrations in the history of the city. The great building was taxed to its utmost capacity, and the picture presented within was strikingly beautiful. The stage was
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somewhat extended, and upon this extension were seated the musicians of the orchestra. They sat before a low bank of greens and ferns which formed a base to the high tier of seats arranged for the singers. On the lower rows were seated the United Singers of Baltimore and behind and above them sat five hundred little girls, the pupils of the German-English schools. All of the children were dressed in white, and above the dark coats of the United Singers they formed a bright background. High over their heads swung the only motto in the building: " Welcome to German-American Day."
Mayor Davidson and his Secretary, Col. Wm. HI. Love, and many other municipal officers and state officials were present. The programme was patriotic throughout and opened with the "Jubel Overture," by Weber. The opening address was made by Rev. Dr. Henry Scheib in German. Col. Frederick Raine also delivered a German address, and Dr. Lewis II. Steiner spoke in English. An interesting synopsis of each of these addresses is given elsewhere in this report under seperate heads. The United Singers sang two choruses: "Das Deutsche Lied" and "Siegesgesang der Deutschen nach der Hermannsschlacht" under the direction of Prof. Nicholas Tillmann. The choir of . 500 children, under direction of Prof. J. G. Wehage, awoke great enthusiasm by singing the "Star Spangled Banner" with German words and each waving a small banner as they sang. "My Country "Tis of Thee" was also very prettily sung by them.
FOREFATHERS AND CHILDREN.
INFLUENCE OF GERMANY, ANCIENT AND MODERN, UPON THE WORLD'S CULTIVATION.
"There are visions, sentiments and thoughts," said Dr. Scheib, "for which words can be found only with difficulty. A magnificent picture unfolds itself to my eyes, deep emotions agitate my breast, a grand idea controls this meeting. To express all this in words is impossible to me. Yet this much I can. The pleasure of my heart at the renewed experience that the great heart of man still beats warmly for all that is good and noble; that the busy hand of man still labors and
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builds memorials for the forefathers and dwellings for the children, and that the restless genius of man in striving for the best does not forget the good of the past.
"We stand before a great scene, as citizens of a great Union of States, whose founders sought to solve one of the greatest problems of life-deliverance from an impeding guard- ian, insurance of religious tolerance, the free activity of every citizen. These were won in bloody strife, with heavy sacrifices and untold sufferings. Among those who bled and fell in the battle for those rights, we find many hundreds of names also. whose sound points back to that country and people from which we are descended, and we are proud that the German arm in the new world, as often in the old, wielded the mighty sword for the holiest rights of man.
"Still our picture goes back even further, nearly another hundred years, to an occurence, which illustrates to us how in this world little things can develop into great ones. A few German immigrants landed on the coast of the new world 207 years ago, the first who spoke the unintelligible German language. Today this language resounds from the lips of myriads from the coast of the Atlantic to that of the Pacific, and from the far North to the extreme South, and in this tongue is uttered the sentiment of myriads whose life work with head and hands is of importance to this country.
"If I turn my gaze to the land which for more than one thousand years has been the home of the German race, the splendor of the Roman-German empire, the land where the great questions and differences of the people were fought ont ; then even to-day I find it is the land of intellectual mediation, the warmly pulsating heart in the breast of Europe. And even as European wars were decided there, and the state of Germany indicated the peace of the continent, so even now the deepest vitality of the soul and mind circulate through that heart. And as the new empire adopts and improves, the learn - ings of all countries and zone, the arts and science of all nations, so too, then, there goes out and upon the world from it, often unseen and unnoticed, the desire for culture, and now so much more beneficial, since in the place of the old Roman-
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German Empire there stands an empire of united races. And this Germany is mightier and more powerful in that it owes its existence not only to greater material strength and bloody strifes, but in greater proportions to an intellectual preparation.
"The new Germany is not a child of night, but the slowly ripening fruit of the mind, the triumph of a long work of culture, won like all victories in the kingdom of facts, through the application of strength in the service of the idea.
"Such a triumph may cause all to rejoice, regardless of what language they speak. It is a victory of the noblest human beings, and if Germany's sons and nephews bring to the altars of this new land the best offerings from their father's inherit- ance-language and custom, art and science, energy and thrift - then will not thanks greet them from the lips of their English-speaking brethren ? From the happy glances which now greet me from 'all sides I am convinced that whenever in years to come the celebration of .German Day' returns, then a mighty shout of praise will swell from the throats of the thousands for the friends of humanity and the defenders of truth, freedom and eternal justice."
ILLUSTRIOUS TEUTONIC NAMES.
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COL. RAINE RECITES DEEDS OF PIONEER, SCIENTIST, EXPLORER AND SOLDIER.
Col. Frederick Raine said: "It is true that before the year 1683 men of German stock emigrated to this country, but history assigns to the thirteen weaver families from Crefeld the honor of being the first Germans who founded a community after German methods. At that time the prond star spangled banner did not wave its protecting folds, the struggle for independence had not been fought, and the germ of liberty, which after the revolution and other wars ripened so gloriously, had only been planted.
"We celebrate today the memory of the pioneers of German- town, who, in common with representatives of other national- ities made for themselves a new home, opened America to the
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influence of culture, and created a commonwealth which was destined to give to the progressive spirit of humanity a higher and nobler form. On the shores of the Delaware stood the cradle of the German-American element. From that source German customs, German thought and German influence spread over this country.
"The descendants of the Pilgrims, who landed with the Mayflower at Plymonth, celebrate the annual recurrence of the day when their fathers first set foot on the soil of the new world ; the children of the Hollanders remember their Knicker- boeker ancestors, and to these we dutyfully add "German Day." It is the idea of a common origin which brought us together today, and this is embodied in the celebration of "German Day."
"We celebrate the memorial day of our ancestors, who not only trausplated German usages, German views and our most precious jewel-the German language-to our new fatherland, but also showing us by their untiring industry, unconquerable perseverance and thrift, the way to success. Who will deny that these are results which, in no less degree than the good qualities brought to this country by other nationalities - the English, the Irish, the Seotch, the Scandinavians, the French -have exercised a powerful influence in shaping our republican form of government and the educational development of our commonwealth ? The assimilation of the good qualities of all the people who chose the new world formed the strong cement of the unrivaled structure of this nation. To suppose that a foreign-born person cannot be just as good a citizen as a native is in contradiction to the essence and the origin of this American nation.
"We German-Americans stand today apart from all sec- tionalism and clanishness, but we will at all times defend our- selves against any attempt to lessen our just and equal rights as component parts of the commonwealth, or to foree the emigrant who has escaped the oppression of other countries, and is determined to found here by industry and devotion to his new country a new, free and happy home, into a position different from the generally accepted principle of equal rights for all. As we stood in times of peril and need shoulder to shoulder with the native citizens of the country to fight for
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the independence, the freedom and preservation of the republic, so have we been industrious co-workers in the sphere of seience, art and industry. In the sphere of polities, also, we have been more than mere spectators, and if we took a more modest part in the government of the country than the proportion of our numbers justified, it was not for lack of tried and capable men.
"The great mass of the German emigrants to the United States has continued to be of the same nature as in the begin- ning, namely farmers and tradesmen, with a very slight inter- mixture of men of higher education. With the exception of a colony in Texas no emigration of German nobility took place, like the emigration of cavaliers to Virginia in the beginning of the seventeenth century, but we cannot recall a deportation of German criminals similar to the practice continued for more than a hundred years of England and Ireland. The German emi- grant was confronted by the stern struggle for existence. No grants of land were made to the Germans; on the contrary, many by their ignorance of the laws and language lost their purchased land. For a longer time than was the ease with the English, Scotch and Irish, the Germans were prevented from taking part in public affairs. But what a change has the sun of liberty worked in the great mass of German emigration!
"We must not forget that of the millions of German emigrants thousands and hundred of thousands died broken- hearted at the wayside. For many this 'land of liberty' has proven the 'land of dreamy illusions.' The German element, notwithstanding retarding influences, has increased in strength in the course of centuries, so that at the present day there is not a state in which Germans, or at least descendants of the German stock are not found to constitute an important factor in the community.
"The Germans were the first settlers of the Shenandoah Valley; in North Carolina they have given to many cities their present names; in Georgia their settlements date from the days of Oglethorpe, and while Kentucky's first pioneer, Daniel Boone, a man of German Carolinian stock, penetrated the wilderness of the far West, the axe of German settlers was heard in the 'dark and bloody ground,' and German and Swiss industry opened to culture the forests of Eastern Tennessee.
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"In Northern Louisiana, the refuge of the Acadians of Nova Scotia, German and Alsatian settlers were found as early as the time of Louis XV. Among the Mossbacks' of Arkansas many names of German origin are found. The in- fluence of the German element is apparent in the middle region of America, in the cities and in the country. Wherever we see well-kept gardens and flourishing farms we may rest assured that there German-American settlers have been active.
"A German, and a German Marylander at that, Johann Lederer, was the first to explore, in 1669, the country West of the Alleghanies, when the present Tennessee and Kentucky were as unknown as the sources of the Nile are today. A German Bohemian, Augustin Herrmann, made the first adequate map of Maryland and Virginia. A German, Peter Minnewit, from Wesel, was the first Dutch Governor of New Amsterdam, and purchased Manhattan Island from the Indians. The German captain, Johann Printz, established the first Swedish colony in in Delaware; the German printer, Christoph Saur, printed in 1743 the first bible printed in a European language in North America and in the German language. About the same time another German printer of New York, Johann Zenger, was engaged in a violent struggle with the government, and thus became the father of the liberty of the press in this country. Governor Jacob Leisler, of New York, whose tragic death occured at the end of the seventeenth century, having been falsely accused of treason and executed, was a German, a native of Frankfurt-on-the-Main. The two Conrad Weisers, father and son, the first interpreters of the Indians; Count Zinzendorff, Prince D. A. of Gallitzin; the two Swiss, Graffen- ried and Michel, who led the first colony to the Carolinas, and last, but not least, Franz Daniel Pastorius, whose establishment of Germantown is the occasion of todays celebration. Let us not forget our pious 'pilgrim fathers' of the first half of the eighteenth century, Johann Kelpins, Conrad Beisel, Gottlieb Spangenberg, David Nutschean Rauch, Heckenwelder, Zeis- berger, Post, Jungmann and Mnehlenberg, the elder, who be- came the ancester of a numerous family of German-American theologians, and was the father of General Muehlenberg, of revolutionary fame, and the first Speaker of Congress.
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"In the second half of the last century, especially in the time of the revolution, we meet with many German names of note and not a few of renown. There is Nicolaus Herkimer, the hero of Oriskany; General von Steuben, the organizer of the colonial army; General Joh. de Kalb, the hero who fell at Camden; Christoph Ludwig, baker-general and provision master of the continental army; the above mentioned Much- lenbergs of Pennsylvania; the Aeisters, Clymers, Ermentrouts, Keims and Harmers, whose descendants are prominent in busi- ness and politics of today.
"The greatest development of this republic has taken place within the last 70 years, and it is curious that the strongest German emigration occurs in this period. We are far from ascribing to the German element the chief part in the rise of the nation, but we need not be too modest, for the instances in which German industry, science and talent, combined with American energy, have achieved great results are too prominent. A German engineer constructed the modern wonder of the world, the Brooklyn bridge, and the bridges which span Niagara, and the Ohio at Cincinnati. A German engineer created the Sutro tunnel in Nevada, and another invented the iron railroad bridges to which our rail construction is so much indebted.
"What our countrymen accomplished in the Mexican war and the late civil war, not only in the rank and file, but also at the head of battalions, regiments, brigades and divisions, still lives in the memory of all.
"In science and art the Germans have played a prominent part. David Rittenhaus was the first American astronomer whose name deserves mention. A German-American, J. L. Hassler, created our coast survey, and another, Hilgard, extended that survey on such a grand scale that it is a source of admir- ation to all maritime nations. The topographer, Capt. Preiss, a German officer, aided in making possible John C. Fremont's exploring expeditions. General Albert Myers, the first weather clerk, was of German descent. Names like those of the Jurists Franz Lieber, Roselius, Rex and Krekel have recognition in this whole country. The authors and journalists-Franz Grund, F. Schmole, E. Dorschheimer, Friedrich Hassaurek, J. Nord-
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hoff-have in both languages received general appreciation. The scientists - Dr. K. Follen, F. Th. Engelmann, Dr. Karl Beck, Dr. Blattermann, F. Rau, Karl L. Fleischmann, Fried- rich Kapp, Karl Minnigerode, Friedrich List, Lindheimer and Nehrling-have been active in every branch of natural history and philology, archaeology and history. The artists-Lentze, Bierstadt, Sonntag, Frankenstein, Venind-are celebrated, and if I should enumerate the names of our leading manufacturers and merchants from Johann Jacob Astor and Vincent Nolte, Em. Rittenhans and J. Amebing my hearers could be wearied.
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