USA > Virginia > History of the German element in Virginia, Vol I > Part 12
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123.) "Der deutsche Pionier," Vol. VIII, Seite 57. Cincinnati, Ohio, 1876.
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time by General Washington. Not desirous to stay at New York and watch only the British methods of war, he soon left for Philadelphia, being also provided with letters of in- troduction to several prominent American leaders. He was impressed by the deep concern which was exhibited by the patriots for their cause. He was so much inspired, that he resolved to draw his sword for American independence. See-
ing that the colonists were much in need of arms, particu- larly cannon and ammunition, and possessed of a large sum of money, he determined to risk the hazardous enterprise to supply them with the requisites of war. During the sum- mer of 1776 he sailed to St. Eustache, a small island of the Lesser Antilles, owned by the Dutch, where goods and military stores were sold and blockade-runners fitted out. Herr Schott chartered a schooner, freighted it with arms and ammunition, which he purchased, and then steered for the Coast of Vir- ginia. At Hampton Roads he met the English fleet, which he deceived by raising the English flag and dressing his sail- ors like English marines. The British man-of-war allowed the schooner to pass unmolested, supposing it to be a transport ship of the fleet, - until it sailed beyond the line. Discovering their error, they signalled it to return, which was of course not obeyed, and then several volleys and finally a broadside were fired on the swiftly sailing vessel, but did it no harm. When
Schott neared the land, the English uniforms, which he and his men had had no time to change, endangered their lives again. Although he had now raised the flag of the Colonies, several shots were fired from the American batteries, and by one of them the rigging of the schooner was torn. Hoisting a white flag, the Americans recognized them at last to be friends and amid cheers of welcome they landed at Norfolk. Schott sold his arms, etc., and upon his application to Congress he received a cap- tain's commission, with the order to report at once to General Washington at New York. At the time he arrived at New York depression and gloom weighed heavily upon the army. Lord Howe's army had been reinforced by nine thousand Hessians and Brunswick troops under General Heister, and had attacked and defeated the American troops on Long Island, under Putnam. Lord Howe's object now was to get possession of New York and
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the Hudson - and he ordered the British fleet to sail up the North river to cut off the retreat of Washington's army to New Jersey. This was the situation on the 9th of September, when Capt. Schott reached camp. He found the commanding general at the battery, watching the English men-of-war. A powerful frigate first tried to go up the North river and General Washing- ton gave the order to open fire, - but at that time the British on Governor's Island began to shell the Americans, and with great effect. Especially one English cannon was well served and did much harm. Schott, who had no chance to approach Gen- eral Washington at this critical moment, observed an American cannon which was not served, and he quickly collected some sol- diers, had the gun loaded, sighted it himself, and soon silenced the troublesome piece of ordinance on Governor's Island. General Washington had observed his brave deed and at once placed Captain Schott in command of a battery. He was afterwards . authorized to recruit a company of German dragoons, - as al- ready mentioned, - to appoint his officers and to use the Ger- man language in command. His squadron gained many laurels during the following years of the war. After the close of the war Captain Schott was made Judge of Luzerne county, Pa., and he died in 1829 at Philadelphia.
The defeats at Brandywine and Germantown and the evacuation of Philadelphia proved very demoralizing to the American army. At Valley Forge, on the Schuylkill river, twenty-two miles from Philadelphia, General Washington and his suffering men went into winter-quarters. They were en- camped in comfortless huts, half-clad, frequently in need of the plainest clothing, without shoes or blankets. Sickness prevailed, and many friends of the cause lost confidence in General Washington. While he was fighting against famine and perils, General Conway, Inspector-General of the army, and a cunning intriguer, formed a plot with the officers to raise General Gates to the chief command in his stead. Even- the life of Washington was endangered, and upon the advice of his Secretary and Adjutant, Reed, the son of German par- ents in New Jersey, - who replied to an offer made him by the British of wealth and titles for the future, if he would aid the royal cause: "I am not worth purchasing; but, such
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as I am, the King of England is not rich enough to buy me,"- he authorized Major Bartholomaeus von Heer and Captain Ja- cob Meytinger to organize a mounted German body-guard un- der the name of "Independent Troop of Horse," and he en- trusted only this troop with the carrying of all orders from his head-quarters. Some German Virginians were among the mem- bers of this German-American body-guard, as: Friedrich Fuchs, of Woodstock, Corporal Ignatz Effinger, Friedrich Trecius and Heinrich Frank. - At this dark hour of the Revolutionary War, the greatest German-American of his time : Baron Fried- rich Wilhelm von Steuben, who in the Seven Years' War had served under Frederick the Great, of Prussia, came to America and tendered his sword to the National cause. He was ap- pointed to General Conway's office and soon made his skillful management apparent in every department. General von Steu- ben introduced a strict discipline after the Prussian pattern and a uniform system of tactics. For some time, says Wash- ington Irving, there was nothing but drilling in the camp of Valley Forge, followed by evolutions of different kind. Officers and men were schooled. The troops were formed in line of parade, every officer in his place, and the Baron walked along the front examining every musket and controling that accoutre- ments and uniforms were in perfect order. In the start the Baron had to compete with a dislike of the foreigner and the difficulties of the English language, but his kindness, justice and earnest care for the welfare of the soldiers soon gained him general confidence and affection. General Washington ren- dered him all possible assistance. Milder weather, the recogni- tion of the Independence of the United Colonies by France on the 6th day of February, 1778, and the news, that a French fleet was on its way to help them in their struggle; - gladdened the hearts of all, and confidence returned.
General von Steuben was born at Magdeburg and entered the Prussian army when but fourteen years of age. He distin- guished himself in the campaigns of Frederick the Great, and was promoted to the rank of Adjutant-Major. After the in- auguration of peace he left the Prussian service, declined a proposition to join the English army and sailed to America to' offer his services to the patriots. After he received his commis-
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sion as Inspector-General, and having reorganized the dis- heartened army, he took active part in the battle of Monmouth on June 28th, 1778. The British General, Matthews, making havoc on the James and Elizabeth rivers in the Old Dominion, burning trade- and war-ships, carrying off tobacco or whatever other booty he could make, von Steuben was appointed Com- manding General of Virginia, and here he gained the highest distinction. He had just commenced to recruit and organize a force, when in January, 1781, the traitor Arnold with sixteen hundred men, and a number of armed ships, invaded Virginia. Steuben had only three hundred men to oppose him and he could not prevent that Arnold destroyed a large amount of property on both sides of the James river and occupied the city of Richmond without resistance. Meanwhile General Steuben had been reinforced by General Muehlenberg's Brigade and hastily gathered all attainable militia - altogether about four thousand men - and then he forced the British to retreat to Portsmouth. It was his cherished plan to capture Arnold and his entire force. General Washington approved of it and des- patched General Lafayette with twelve hundred Continentals to join Steuben. A French fleet was also sent to cut off Ar- nold's retreat by water, but it was engaged and worsted by an English squadron and returned to Rhode Island. General Philipps then reinforced Arnold with twenty-five hundred men and took command of the troops. He advanced towards Rich- mond, pillaging the country. Lafayette now arrived in Vir- ginia, but he could not prevent that Lord Cornwallis united with Arnold on the 20th of May, and then harassed the country by patroling out his light troops. General Wayne however came to the succor of Lafayette and they forced the English commander to fall back upon Yorktown, which he proceeded to fortify. The French fleet, with a large force under the Count de Grasse, arrived in the Chesapeake Bay, blocking the mouths of the York and James rivers. General Washington and Count Rochambeau, the French commander in the United States, concentrated the allied forces, amounting to sixteen thousand men, near Williamsburg, and on the night of the 6th of October General von Steuben commenced to draw his paral- Jels around Yorktown. On the 11th of October he began the
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second line of approach, which he very rapidly completed be- fore morning. General Washington had intrusted him with these important matters, knowing that he possessed more prac- tical experience in the tactics of siege, than any other officer of his army. Two redoubts, Nos. 9 and 10, in advance of the English main works, greatly annoyed the American line by their fire, - and being within storming distance, General Washington resolved to have them silenced. The supposed best troops in the allied army were selected for the storming - and these were German and German-Virginian. The capture of
Redoubt No. 10 was assigned to four hundred of Muehlen- berg's Light Infantry under command of General Hamilton, - and on the French side Lieutenant-Colonel Prince Wilhelm von Zweibrücken, with four hundred grenadiers of the regiments "Royal Deuxponts" and "Gatenois," received orders to take No. 9. - Prof. John P. McGuire, of Richmond, Va., on the 15th of January, 1897, in a lecture delivered before the Asso- ciation for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, gave the following description of the attack: "It is the evening of the 14th. The parties move into position ; the Light Infantry, 'refreshed,' says a chronicler, 'with dinner and a nap.' Sud- denly six shells blaze forth from the lines, sounding the signal and giving direction to the chargers. Hamilton and his men advance at double quick, with bayonets on unloaded muskets, Ginat's battalion in front. Laurens is detached to swing around the redoubt and prevent the escape of the garrison. Half way to the work they take the charging step. Not waiting for the sappers, Hamilton in the lead, with his friend, Nicholas Fish. Through and over the obstructions rush the brave Continentals. Over the ditch they go, and scale the parapet. In nine minutes from the start the redoubt is taken. In the nine minutes they lost thirty-four men killed and wounded." - Colonel Bauman suffered heroic death -- and General Muehlenberg was slightly wounded. - "Keeping time with Hamilton's advance," - Prof. McGuire continued, - "Deuxpont's men move silently out, but at one hundred and twenty paces from the redoubt they hear a Hessian sentinel shout, 'Wer da ?' Instantly the enemy fire. At twenty-five paces from the fort strong abatis stop the French until the sappers clear the way. Then the chaseurs dash on
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and mount the parapet. The British charge upon them. Deux- ponts orders his men to fire and counter-charge, and the works are theirs. It has cost them half an hour and ninety-two men." - Prince Wilhelm was among the wounded.
These brilliant feats of arms excited General Washington's . enthusiasm and he exclaimed : "The work is done, and well done," and in his journal he wrote: "Few cases have exhibited greater proof of intrepidity, coolness and firmness than were shown upon this occasion."
Cornwallis, in an effort to escape by crossing the river, failed, and he sent a white flag to ask terms of surrender. Gen- eral Steuben was at that time in command of the outline of the besieging armies, and while the negotiations dragged on, General Lafayette came with his division to relieve him, assert- ing also that the surrender of the English was to be made to him. Steuben remonstrated and maintained : that this demand was conflicting with the usage of war, and that the commander to whom the capitulation had been offered, was to remain in command until the terms of surrender had been accepted or re- fused, - and General Washington decided in his favor. Thus the British lowered their flag to General von Steuben. The whole remaining British force surrendered to the allies, - the land army to the Americans and the marine force to the French, and this glorious victory caused a cry of joy in every American heart.
After the end of the war Steuben continued for three years as Inspector-General of the army, but he resigned in disgust on the 15th of April, 1784, when Congress did not appoint him to the position of Secretary of War, for which he had applied, giving as reason : that such an important office could not be be- stowed on a foreigner. Such is the gratitude of nations! Con- gress accepted the resignation of General von Steuben, ex- pressed him the thanks of the Nation for his great services and presented him with a sword with golden hilt and a pension of $2500 a year. The States of Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jer- sey and New York donated the great German-American with tracts of land.
General Steuben passed the rest of his days in quietude at his country-seat near Utica, N. Y. - "It is difficult," says the
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Anglo-American historian Headly, "to value Steuben's merits to their full extent, but it is certain, that his arrival in our coun- try marks a period in our revolution. The discipline which he introduced did wonders at Monmouth and made veterans of the soldiers who stormed Stony Point, - the eyes of the Govern- ment and of the officers were now opened and the army under- went a total reorganization." - Prof. O. Seidensticker writes of him : "Steuben's merits as the organisator of the army were of greater value for the revolutionary cause than a corps d'armée."
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On November 28th, 1794, the German hero died. In Vir- ginia, where he achieved his greatest triumph as General and military engineer, his memory is held sacred by his country- men. In some later chapter it will be reported how they have honored the great German soldier.124) General Steuben, on his part, also remained a true friend of his countrymen. - He was president of the German Society of New York from Sep- tember 12th, 1785, until his death. 125)
Not only on the bloody fields of battle have the German Virginians verified their love of liberty and their devotion to the American cause. Dr. Schoepf, the famed traveller, for in- stance, relates126): "In Manchester I visited Mr. Jacob Rueb- saamen, a German, who had formerly been in the mining and smelting business in New Jersey, but who erected a powder- mill in Virginia at the beginning of the war, - the first one ever established in America. The mill was afterwards destroyed by the British troops." - The pious German Quakers, Tunkers and Mennonites, who refused to carry arms for religious rea- sons, served the cause of liberty and independence in their un- ostentatious way. They raised provisions, and some historians state : that they hauled wagon-loads of grain to the camps for the starving soldiers. It was an act of injustice to doubt their sincerity. They were frequently treated very rudely. From
124 ) Compare : "The Life of Frederick Wilhelm von Steuben," by Friedrich Kapp. New York, 1859. - "Der deutsche Pionier," Jahrgang I: "Der Arm Washington's" von Kara Giorg (Dr. G. Bruehl ) Cincinnati, 1869.
125.) "Das deutsche Element in den Vereinigten Staaten," von Gustav Koeiner, Seite 96. Cincinnati, 1880 - "Geschichte der Deutschen in New York," von Friedrich Kapp, Seite 338. New York, 18€8.
125 ) "Der Süden," deutsch-amerikanische Wochenschrift, Jahrgang I, No. 18, Seite 4, Richmond, Va , 1391.
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Pennsylvania, where they suffered most, troops of them were brought to Virginia as prisoners and held in confinement near Staunton.
During the whole time of the War of Independence only one case of enmity on part of the Germans in Virginia is known, - the Tories were mostly of English descent. In 1781, at the time when Lord Cornwallis invaded Virginia with a large army, John Claypole, a Scotchman by birth, and his two sons, who lived within the present limits of Hardy county, succeeded in drawing over to the British side a number of people domiciled on Lost river and the south branch of the Potomac, then in Hampshire, now in Hardy county. They refused to pay taxes and to furnish their quota of men to serve in the militia. Among them was John Brake,127) an old German of consider- able wealth, who had a fine farm, mill and distillery about fif- teen miles above Moorefield, and also many fat hogs and cattle. "He was an exception in his political course to his countrymen," says Kercheval, "as they were almost to a man true Whigs and friends to this country." His house was the place of rendevouz for the insurgents, who organized and made John Claypole their commander. The insurrection was soon suppressed and General Morgan took Brake prisoner and quartered his German sharpshooters at his house to live on the best that his farm, mill and distillery afforded. Three days later General Morgan returned to Winchester with his troops, and thus the Tory-in- surrection ended. The parties themselves were aroused to shame by their conduct and several volunteered and aided in the capture of Cornwallis.
Virgil A. Lewis128) characterizes the Germans of the Val- ley as follows : "The lower portion of the Valley was occupied by the sturdy yeomanry of Germany. No European nation contributed a better class of emigrants than these. Arriving first in Pennsylvania, they pressed onward in search of fertile lands. These they found in the Shenandoah Valley, and al- most the entire region of country where Harrisonburg now
127 ) "History of the Valley of Virginia," by S. Kercheval. Woodstock, Va., 1850. 128.) "History of West Virginia," by Virgil A. Lewis, pp. 70 and 71. Philadelphia, 1889.
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stands to Harper's Ferry was possessed by them before the be- ginning of the French and Indian war. During the struggle hundreds of them served with Washington and at its close the bones of many of them lay bleaching on the disastrous field of Monongahela. When the Revolutionary War came their sons were ready, and many of them filled the Virginia line in the strife for independence." - The importance of the German element in Virginia at the close of the eighteenth century is also demonstrated by the following historical fact: "On Decem- ber 23d, 1794, the House of Delegates of Virginia resolved to publish in German the most important laws of the State - and in 1795 a translation by Gustav Friedrich Goetz was printed by Carl Cist in Philadelphia under the title: "Acten, welche in der General Assembly der Republik Virginien passirt worden sind."
CHAPTER IX.
GERMAN ALLIED TROOPS OF ENGLAND AS PRISONERS OF WAR IN VIRGINIA.
T dawn of the 26th of December, 1776, General George Washington surprised and captured at Trenton, N. J., a Hessian detachment under Colonel Rahl, and most of these soldiers were taken to Virginia as prisoners of war. On their way there they were frequently threatened with violence by mobs, especially at Philadelphia, and upon General Washing- ton's suggestion the magistracy of this city issued a proclama- tion to quiet the people. This public notice stated :
" One thousand Hessian prisoners reached our city yester- day, who were captured by His Excellency General Washington, in his successful expedition to New Jersey. The General has instructed this council to provide them with suitable quarters, and it is his earnest wish, that they may be well treated in order to make during their captivity such experience, that the eyes of their countrymen serving in the Royal British army be opened. These unfortunate men deserve our sympathy. They entertain no enmity towards us, they did not come voluntarily, but have been hired out without their consent by their despotic princes to a foreign monarch, etc."
This act of kindness of General Washington had good re- sults, although it was not approved by many fanatic Americans. Indeed, the longer the war lasted, the more the feeling of hate towards the Hessian hirelings increased, especially among the lower class of the English population.
On October 17th, 1777, General Burgoyne surrendered on the plains of Saratoga, and the number of German prisoners of war was increased by seven thousand. General Morgan escorted
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a large detachment of them, Hessian and Brunswick troops, under General Friedrich Adolph von Riedesel, to Virginia: "A march of 650 miles," says von Eelking, 129) "through a country full of hostile inhabitants, with no provision for health or com- fort." The men were taken to Winchester, Staunton and Char- lottesville, and the officers to Winchester and Charlottesville, and later on to Fredericksburg and Richmond.
The German troops130) that surrendered at Yorktown, Va., with Cornwallis, included the Crown Prince's regiment, two other Hessian regiments, and two from the Rhine. General Muehlenberg commanded the small escort, which accompanied the prisoners to their winter-quarters at Winchester, and later on part of them were sent to Frederick, Md., and Lancaster, Pa.
The German Virginians were much grieved by the deplor- able part their captured countrymen were destined to take in the War of Independence, and the modern slave trade of German soldiers was most severely condemned by all intelligent people of Germany. Heroes of science131) like Kant, Arndt, Klopstock, Herder and Lessing, detested the unscrupulous dealings of some petty German princes and sympathized with America struggling for liberty.
Niebuhr wrote in his, " Geschichte des Zeitalters der Revo- lution :
" The more the subsidiary contracts were hated and cursed, the more sympathy was felt for America. The frame of mind was so much moved out of the natural line of direction, that the news of the capture of German troops by Washington in 1776, was received with general joy instead of regret."
And never any act was more scornfully criticized than this sale of soldiers by the noble-hearted and ideal Friedrich von Schiller, the favorite Poet of all Germans. In his tragedy : "Kabale und Liebe," he stigmatized it in the following scene. 13 2)
129.) "The German Allied Troops," (Die deutschen Hilfstruppen im Nord-Amerika. nischen Befreiungskriege, von Max von Eelking,) translated by J. G. Rosengarten, page 147. Albany, N. Y., 1893.
130.) "The German Soldier in the Wars of the United States," by J. G. Rosengar- ten, p. 83. Philadelphia, 1890.
131 ) "Ueber den Soldatenhandel," von W. A. Fritzsch, in: "Deutsch-amerik. Ma- gazin," Heft IV, pp. 589-593. Cincinnati, 1889.
132.) "Kabale und Liebe," von Friedrich von Schiller, 2. Act, 2. Scene.
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An old chamberlain of the Duke brings a jewelry box, and Lady Milford, the mistress of the prince, refuses with contempt to accept the diamonds, learning that they have been paid with gold received for soldiers.
Chamberlain : "His serene highness sends his compliments and these diamonds just received from Venice."
Lady (opening the casket with surprise): "Say, sir, how much has the Duke paid for the jewels ?"
Chamberlain (with a sad expression) : "They cost him noth- ing."
Lady: "What? Are you crazy ? Nothing ? And why do you look at me so exasperated ?- These immensely valuable dia- monds cost him nothing ?"
Chamberlain : "Yesterday 7,000 subjects left for America, they will pay for them !"
Lady (laying the jewel box hastily aside): "Man, what ails you ? It seems you cry !"
Chamberlain (wiping his tears): "Two sons of mine are among them !"
Lady (grasping his hands): "But, they were not forced to go ?"
Chamberlain (laughing grimly): "O Lord no! They all volunteered ! There were a few saucy fellows who stepped to the front and asked the colonel, at what price our prince sells a team of men,-but our gracious sovereign ordered all the regi- ments to the parade ground, and had those fools executed. We heard the report of the rifles, we saw their brains spattered on the pavement, and the whole army shouted, Hurrah ! To Amer- ica !"
Lady (dropping on her sofa in terror): "O, Lord ! And I heard nothing, had no knowledge of it !"
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