USA > Virginia > History of the German element in Virginia, Vol. II > Part 6
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cally. The painful discipline they are undergoing is necessary for their instruction as a race, and, I hope, will prepare and lead them to better things. How long their subjection may be necessary is known and ordered by a wise and merciful Provi- dence. Their emancipation will sooner result from a mild and melting influence than the storms and contests of fiery contro-
versy. This influence, though slow, is sure." - This letter shows that General Lee was an advocate of negro-emancipation. He favored however, like the German-Virginians, to see it abol- ished in a lawful and peaceable manner, and he was opposed to endangering the Union by a rash action. He once declared : " Both sides forget that we are all Americans ;" and at another time he said : " If I owned the four million slaves, I would give them all for the Union! "
Unfortunately in February 1831 an unforeseen event: an insurrection of negroes in Southampton county208), excited the people of Virginia and induced even a German-Virginian mem- ber of the Legislature, Mr. Goode of Mecklenburg, to oppose "the proposed emancipation of the slaves by some gradual scheme." The blacks in that section largely outnumbered the whites; there were no large towns in that region, only scattered here and there villages and hamlets .. There was no arsenal for arms and ammunition nearer than Richmond, and no means of de- fence other than fancy fowling pieces for gentlemen's sport. The old Virginians of that day had no pistols under their pil-
208.) Compare "Historical Papers No. 5, 1895, of the Washington and Lee Univer- sity, Lexington, Va.," pp. 77 to 97.
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lows; in many cases no bars to their doors ; no police making their rounds about the negro quarters in the dead hours of night, - the master sleeping among his slaves in peaceful se- curity. There was indeed scarce any hindrance to prevent sav- age deeds of cruelty. Nat Turner, a slave on the plantation of a Mr. Travis of Southampton, was the leader in the insurrec- tion, silently working upon the superstitions of the negroes about him and waiting for some supernatural sound or sight to call him to act. In February 1831 there came an eclipse of the sun, and accepting this as the long looked-for signal, he se- lected four of his immediate associates and on the morning of the 22d of August, while it was yet dark, crept into the house of his master with his band and in a few minutes killed five members of the family in their beds. They then hurried on, murdering all the whites they found, gaining recruits as they went to the number of fifty or sixty, all mounted on the horses and armed with the guns, swords, axes and clubs they had stolen from the houses of the dead. They were now a blood- thirsty gang. Early the next day the news of the wholesale massacre spread far and wide; squads of men and militia com- panies hastily gathered and the bloody mutiny was soon quelled, but not until the negroes had gone a distance of twenty miles and killed sixty-one white citizens. On the 11th of November Nat Turner was executed. But death put no extinguisher upon the excitement created by this rebellion of slaves. A suspicion that a Nat Turner might be in every colored family ; that the same bloody deed might be acted over at any time and in any place, gained ground ; - the husband would look to his weapon and the mother would shudder and weep over her cradle! It is not positively known how many German farmers were among the victims, but some documents show the following names of German sound: Mrs. T. Reese, Mrs. Turner, Mr. Levi Waller, a schoolmaster, his wife and ten children, etc. Naturally the Germans felt greatly alarmed and with few exceptions they ad- vocated : that the evil, that is, the institution of Slavery, be re- moved by legislative means. They claimed that Slavery had ul- timately to come to an end in the one way or the other, because it was impossible to reconcile the slave to his fate.
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However the split between the North and the South be- came more and more evident, - not on account of Slavery alone, but for various reasons previously mentioned, - and when in 1860 Abraham Lincoln of Illinois, the candidate of the Republican party, was elected to the Presidency, the southern fanatic leaders regarded it as a menace to Slavery and advocated the doctrines of State rights and Secession. On December 20th, 1860, the people of South Carolina declared the connection with the Union abolished. The great majority of the Virginians did not agree with this rash measure and received it with distrust. Only the pro-slavery men and those doubtful elements that speculate on the ruin of others and seek to realize their selfish designs by the overthrow of law and order, applauded and praised the revolutionary Palmetto State. The German-Vir- ginians particularly did not at that time believe in the outbreak of war, but expected that some compromise would be agreed upon and that Virginia would not separate from the Union. This
trust was so firm with them that at the close of 1860 they still enjoyed life in their peculiar harmless manner. They cele- brated a joyful Christmas and on New Year's Eve the " Gesang- verein " at Richmond arranged an animated "Sylvesterfeier," for which occasion H. Schuricht had composed a dramatic scene, " Der Jahreswechsel."
CHAPTER XIII.
THE CIVIL WAR AND THE GERMAN-VIRGINIANS.
ON the beginning of 1861 the outlook for the future rapidly darkened ; affairs steadily drifted towards hostilities be- tween the North and the South, and finally the German- Virginians after a long struggle were drawn into the whirlpool of popular excitement. In the western part of the State they belonged in large numbers to the "Union Party," but in Middle and Southern Virginia the great majority sym- pathized with the South, whose constitutional rights they con- sidered threatened. With all their devotion to the Union and pride of American citizenship, they felt in duty bound towards the State where they had become domiciled. Only a small number of Germans avowed the principles and programme of the Republican party and recommended unconditional submis- sion to the Federal Government ; but at this period of the great crisis not one German- Virginian - American or foreign born - was in favor of Secession. All German citizens in the State heartily endorsed a resolution of the Legislature to call a " Peace Congress" in order to avoid civil war. The Peace Congress assembled in Washington, D. C., on the 9th of Febru- ary, 1861, and Ex-President John Tyler presided ; but every proposal looking to a peaceful settlement was rejected by the extremists. Meanwhile the revolutionary example of South Carolina had been followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas. These seceded States formed on February 4th a new union under the title of " the Confederate States of America." They organized an army to oppose intrud- ers and seized forts, navy-yards and arsenals. This Southern Revolution would yet have remained hopeless of success and
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never would have resulted in a long and bloody war without the assistance of the Border States. Efforts at conciliation on part of the North might have averted the conflict, but the pleadings of the peaceable Border States were in vain. Rev. R. C. Cave209) very rightly said in his oration at the unveiling of the Confederate soldiers' and sailors' monument at Richmond on May 30th, 1894, with reference to Virginia and the other Border States :
"Not as a passion-swept mob rising in mad rebellion against constituted authority, but as an intelligent and orderly people, acting in accordance with due forms of law and within the limit of what they believed to be their constitutional right, the men of the South withdrew from the Union in which they had lived for three-fourths of a century, and the welfare and glory of which they had ever been foremost in promoting. States which had been hesitating on the ground of expediency and hoping for a peaceable adjustment of issues, wheeled into line with the States which had already seceded. Virginia, mother of States and statesmen and warriors, who had given away an empire for the public good, whose pen had written the Declaration of Independence, whose sword had flashed in front of the American army in the War for Independence, and whose wisdom and patriotism had been chiefly instrumental in giving the Country the Constitution of the Union, - Virginia, fore- seeing that her bosom would become the theatre of war with its attendant horrors, nobly chose to suffer."
In justice to the memory of the Confederate dead, the dis- tinguished orator protested at this occasion also against the as- persion that they fought to uphold and perpetuate the Institution of Slavery. He remarked : "Slavery was a heritage handed down to the South from a time when the moral consciousness of mankind regarded it as a right, - a time when even the pious sons of New England were slave-owners and deterred by no con- scientious scruples from plying the slave-trade with proverbial Yankee enterprise. It became a peculiarly Southern Institu-
209.) "The Memorial Oration," by Rev. R. C. Cave of St. Louis, Mo., the "Weekly Times," p. 3, Richmond, Va., May 31st, 1894.
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tion, not because the rights of others were dearer to. the north- ern than to the southern heart, but because the condition of soil and climate made negro-labor unprofitable in the northern States and led the northern slave-owner to sell his slaves down South."
These arguments are based on history !
We are not yet sufficiently removed from the strife to do impartial justice to the motives of its authors. Those who have not felt the bitterness of the then existing conditions ought not to judge the whites of the South too harshly. Let it be remem- bered that in no time or clime have the Caucasians ever con- sented to live with an inferior race save as rulers. To the present day the British in India, the French in Guiana, Mada- gascar and Tonking, the Dutch, Portuguese and Germans in Africa, the Spaniards in what is now left of their once exten- sive colonial possessions, and our own forefathers on this conti- nent have abundantly demonstrated that the white man will not be governed by uncivilized races. Sentimentalists may de- plore this spirit, but all sober thinkers must recognize the fact as an irreversible one.
Secession was a sudden movement on part of the Cotton States, but Virginia and the other Border States hesitated to approve and to join the Confederacy and they continued their efforts to effect a compromise. In fact it was at that time the common expectation of all thoughtful citizens, and particularly of the Germans, - North and South, - that there would be " no coercion " and " no war."
Mr. Lincoln had become President of the United States on the 4th of March, 1861. The inaugural address of the Presi- dent was very considerate and conservative. He renewed the declaration he had made in previous speeches : that he had no intention to interfere with the Institution of Slavery in the States where it cristed. "I shall take care," said he, "that the laws of the Union shall be faithfully executed in all the States. In doing this there need be no bloodshed or violence, and there shall be none unless it is forced upon the National Authority."
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But these truly moderate words were received by the fanatic leaders in the South as a declaration of war. Mr. Lincoln's promise, not to interfere with Slavery where it existed, did not satisfy them. Eight days after Mr. Lincoln's inauguration two southern commissaries called on him and applied for a peace- able separation of the southern States from the Union, demand- ing the evacuation of Fort Sumter in South Carolina and Fort Pickens in Florida. These demands he could not but refuse,- and the fall of the iron dice of war had to decide.
In the northern States there were two leading parties; one demanded an energetic action against the seceded States; they proclaimed that the Union was an inseparable whole, an Ameri- can State, that secession was revolution and revolution equal to civil war. This party called itself "Republican," and its adher- ents were called "Abolitionists." Another powerful party was the "Northern Democracy" and "no coercion " was its watch- word. Upon this party rested the hopes of the Germans in Virginia and of all friends of peace and unity, and some of the most influential newspapers of the North supported it. The " New York Tribune " opposed all measures to force seceding States to remain in the Union, and voices like this influenced many German-Virginians to declare in favor of a peaceable se- cession.
In the South the politicians were also divided into two par- ties : the "Secessionists" or defendants of "State Rights," who claimed that every State was a political unit and was entitled to enter into a Confederation of States as well as to withdraw therefrom, and the "Union Men," who persisted to uphold the Union of States. The first named did not give time to the lat- ter to get organized ; the demand to join the seceded States was urged, - even the personal safety of the Union men became endangered and many, being alarmed, left their southern homes fugitives.
About this time the German citizens of Richmond held a very well attended mass-meeting at Steinlein's Monticello Hall to consider what steps could be taken to secure peace. HI. L. Wigand, an acknowledged Union man, was in the chair, and
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among the speakers was Captain O. Jennings Wise, son of Ex- Governor Wise210), who addressed the meeting in German. But no course was agreed upon, as the majority considered it the duty of every adopted citizen to submit to the will of the peo- ple and to sacrifice their life and fortune, if necessary, in defence of the State.
A very marked change was now taking place among the citizens. The Union party lost many adherents; the cry "to secede " found more supporters and the German-Virginians also yielded to the general current. But they never embraced the southern cause in order to protect the interests of slaveholders; there were no pro-slavery men among the Germans except a few Hebrews; but they were ready to defend the political and commer- cial independence of the States. Time was a great leveler of opinions as well as author of mighty issues in those days.
The Germans in the southern States have been harshly criticized by northern fanatics, and among them by many of their countrymen in the North, for taking up arms in defence of the South. It will readily be granted by every German- Virginian that these northern critics were aiming to carry out the noble design of emancipating the slaves, but they ignored the Constitution of Rights, interest and safety of the white population in the South. The northern accusers were carried astray by passion, inclined . to sacrifice a cul- tured part of the southern people to the terrorism of an uned- ucated and inferior race ; and the Germans felt the wrong that the North, having sold its slaves to the South, attempted to com- pel the southern slaveholders to free their negroes without compensation.
Suddenly the news reached Virginia: Fort Sumter has capitulated to the Confederate forces under General Beauregard on the 13th of April, 1861, - and the effect of this event was electrical. Virginia (April 17th), Arkansas, North Carolina
210.) O. Jennings Wise, Captain of the Richmond Light Infantry Blues and killed at the battle on Roanoke Island, had studied jurisprudence at the University at Goet- tingen in Cermany and was for some time Attache to the U. S. Legation at Berlin, Prussia.
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and Tennessee, which had hesitated, now joined the Confeder- acy. President Lincoln called for seventy-five thousand troops on April 15th and on April 19th a regiment of Massachusetts troops, passing through Baltimore for the defence of Washing- ton, was attacked. So the first blood was shed, but no one guessed at the time of the terror and the loss which were to follow.
With reference to the Secession of Virginia a remark of the historian Edward A. Pollard may here be repeated. Pollard says211): "Virginia did not secede in the circumstances or sense in which the Cotton States had separated themselves from the Union. She did not leave the Union with delusive pros- pects of peace to comfort and sustain her. She did not secede in the sense in which separation from the Union was the pri- mary object of secession. Her act of secession was subordinate; her separation from the Union was necessary and became a painful formality which could not be dispensed with."
Virginia troops now seized the United States Arsenal at Harper's Ferry '(April 18th) and the Navy Yard at Norfolk (April 21st.) All over the South the enthusiasm was spread- ing; the rich and the poor were alike eager to enter the army. Army and navy officers of the United States, natives of the South, resigned their charges and joined the Confederate ser- vice; and the majority of the German-Virginians within the present State limits entered military organizations.
It can be asserted that all the recently immigrated Ger- mans, embracing the Confederate cause, did so with throbbing hearts, and in most cases only under the pressure of compulsory circumstances ; but whether voluntarily or not, they have ful- filled their duty in the defence of the State with never falter- ing true German bravery.
About the middle of April, 1861, a "Legion of mounted men for border service" was organized by Col. Angus W. Mc- Donald, Sr., of Winchester and among the captains of the com-
211.) "The Second Year of the War," by Edw. A. Pollard, pp. 45-46. West & Johnston, Richmond, Va,, 1863.
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mand were the following descendants of German pioneers : S. W. Myers, Shands, Jordan, Miller and Sheetz.212) With special pride every Virginian speaks of the "Stonewall Brigade" and this heroic command was mostly composed of descendants of German settlers in the Shenandoah valley. . Nearly every other section of the State furnished German-Virginians to the army ; there was hardly a company without some German members, but the largest number came from Richmond, where several entirely German companies were formed. The old " German Rifle Company," organized on the 1st of March, 1850, was at- tached to the First Virginia Infantry Regiment as Company "K." Charles T. Loehr, Sergeant of Company D of said regi- ment, gives the following names213) :
Florence Miller, Captain, resigned 1861.
F. W. Hagemeier, Capt. after Capt. Miller's resignation.
C. Baumann, Lieutenant (first year.)
HI. Linkhauer, Lieutenant.
F. W. E. Lohmann, Lieutenant, resigned 1861.
Herman Paul, Lieutenant.
Wm. Pfaff, Lieutenant.
George F. Deckman, Sergeant.
HI. T. Elsasser, Sergeant.
Gerhard Haake, Sergeant.
Fred. Hebring, Sergeant.
C. E. Gronwald, Quartermaster Sergeant.
Henry Burkhard, Corporal.
Ang. Weidenhahn, Corporal.
Julian Alluisi Charles Arzberger
L. Botzen
John Braw
B. Bergmeier Adam Bitzel
C. Brissacher
R. Brunner
G. Blenker
C. Buchenan
Julius Blenker
H. Buchenan
John W. Bornickel
W. E. Crec
212.) "The Second Year of the War," by Edw. A. Pollard, p. 50. Richmond, Va., 1863.
213.) "War History of the Old First Virginia Infantry Regiment," by Charles T. Loehr. Richmond, 1884.
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C. W. Creedins D. De Bar C. P. Degenhart Adam Diacont
F. Lauterbach F. Lehmkul Ch. Lindner P. Lucke
Ph. Diacont Wolfgang Diacont
Tobias Merkel
John T. Dick Joseph Dilger
Felix Meyer Jos. Nagelmann David Nolte
Henry Dubel
Henry Nolte
John Emmenhauser
Aug. Fahrenbruch
John Fink
Herman Nolte Jos. Ocker Martin Oeters
H. Fleckenstein
George W. Paul
L. Gelnhausen
L. Peters
J. W. Gentry
L. Raymann
F. J. Gerhardt
P. Reidt
George Gersdorf
Rob. Richter
George Glass
Jos. Rick John Rodins
E. Grossman Fred. Gutbier
J. A. Rommel
G. Habermehl Fred. Hach John Hach
- Smith
Ph. Staab
H. Haderman
M. Stadelhofer
H. Heinemann
Chr. Stephan
J. L. Helwick
G. Tolker
E. Herzog
John Viereck
A. Hoch
Jacob Wachter
J. P. Hoffman
John Wagner
Andrew Hatke
A. Werner
George Koch
J. Winter
Sergeant Charles T. Loehr mentions in his valuable book also the following officers with German names: Capt. F. B. Shaffer of Company F; Capt. W. E. Tysinger of Company H ; Lieutenant F. M. Mann of Company B; Lieutenant M. Seagles of Company C and one hundred and two non-commissioned German-Virginian officers and privates, - all belonging to the First Regiment.
S. Shapdock
Joseph Gehring
Wm. H. Paul
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A new German Company, "The Marion Rifles," was mus- tered into service on May 1st, 1861, and ordered to the Penin- sula on the 24th of the same month. The muster-roll214) con- tains the following names :
Alb. Leibrock, Captain. Aug. Schad, 1st Lieutenant. Heinrich Schnaebele, 2nd Lieutenant. Edw. Euker, Jul. Fischer,
Ed. Bell
Heinr. Beckman
Coleman Hecht John Hauk A. Heuers
Aug. Braun
Chr. B. Braun
Theo. Krone
Fr. Bierschenk
J. Johnson
H. Buckelman
J. Keppler
Geo. Blantz
G. Klein
Phil. Briel
Chr. Krebs
W. Doell
Herm. Kroedel
Fr. Dill
John Kolbe
Ad. Drescher
W. Kempf
Charles Euker
H. Lehman
Wm. Eggeling
E. Lieberman
Chr. Eshernbusch
W. Linz
E. Fillman
Ed. Lies
A. Frank
L. Merkel
Aug. F. Fiedler
O. Meister
Aug. Faulhaber
John Miller
HI. Grimmel
H. Miller
Chr. A. Hennighausen
R. Mear
A. v. Halem
John Marxhausen
E. v. Halem
D. Nenzel
H. v. Halem
- Nopwitz
Chas. Haase
Fr. Otto
Wm. Heidmueller
G. Paul 1
G. Hassenohr
Chas. Pflugfelder
214.) The author is obliged to Lieut. Chr. A. Hennighausen of Richmond for fur- nishing this list. Lieut. Hennighausen was a member of the "Marion Rifle Company."
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Louis Reinhardt
J. Schmidt
C. Roeth
H. Schuerman
H. Reidt
Ch. Siemens
G. Runge
B. Siemon
C. Rungwitz
- Taunbold
Fr. Ries
J. Teske
Ph. Stecker
R. Tiele
Fr. Schneider
E. Wacker
H. Schneider
J. Walter
Fr. Saeger
L. Wuertemberger
John Sevin
Ch. Wagner
Jac. Schwartz
Ch. Volk .
Valentin Schwartz
Company H, 19th Regiment Virginia Militia, was first or- ganized as follows215) :
Karl Siebert, Captain.
L. Friedlaender
Chr. Heise
M. Schaaf
F. Martin
H. Rosenstein
Anton Kretzmar
Ch. Funk
S. Bolz
P. Kraus
H. Winten
C. Stephan
Mich. Hanna
L. Nachman
Jos. Adelsdorfer
Fred. Scheiderer
Jac. Heiss
Ed. Senf
A. Fuchs
Jul. Wohlgemuth .
T. Singer
H. Heineman
C. Calbé
R. Morgenstern
E. Asmus
Leopold Rind
C. L. Miller
L. Stein
J. Merkel
Herm. Broedel
Fred. Englert
J. Gessinghausen
Otto Huber
Jos. Stump
H. Rabe
M. Hurge
Dietrich Euker
J. Reinhardt
A. Drescher
215.) Reported by Lieut. Ch. A. Hennighausen, Richmond, Va.
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Ph. Rapp
M. Stahl
F. Wollcher
J. Weckerly Geo. Zander
A. Huebner
Constantin Hirt
H. Hahn
C. H. Northheim
- Bernstein
W. Kellner
F. Reine
G. Wolff
Aug. Israels
J. Minnis
Ph. Staub
F. Seibert
Lorenz Welzenberg
In October 1863 Company H was reorganized as “ German Home Guard," serving in the field and guarding the prisons until April 3d, 1865. The roll gives the following names216) :
C. Baumann, Captain.
G. Runge, 1st Lieutenant.
Von der Hoehl, 2nd Lieut.
Ch. A. Hennighausen, do., Jr.
C. F. Fischer, Sergeant.
V. Schwartz, 66
W. Schotchky, 66
J. Dinkel, 66
F. Clevesahl, Corporal.
L. Morris,
R. Senf, 66
F. Holle, 66
E. Albers, 66
G. Aichele
M. Bottigheimer,
W. Behle
E. Boehme
G. Dietrich
R. v. Bueren
W. Doell
S. Bolz
Ch. Emmenhauser
Ph. Briel
- Ehmig
Ch. Braun
J. Feldnér
W. Becker
C. Feldner
N. Becker
W. Flegenheimer
F. Busshaus
A. Frank
C. Berndt
W. Finke
216.) Reported by Lieut. Ch. A. Hennighausen, Richmond, Va.
Chr. S. Schmidt
Ch. Gardewein
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A. Frick
A. Frommhagen
G. D. Obitz
B. Fischer
I. Peter
A. Feldheimer
H. Propst
B. Gottlieb
L. Rammstedt
A. Ruppert
J. V. Reif
Chas. Haase
Chas. Schmidt
Chr. Heise
P. Sorg
H. Holzhauer
B. Schaaf
Chr. Holzbach
J. Schumacher Jac. Schneider
P. Huebner
R. Heusler
John Schneider
W. H. Heinz
Ch. Schoenleber
E. Herzog
F. Schulte
J. Hauser
Ph. Staab
M. Hentze
L. Stern
A. Hopp
Ph. Stecker
G. Hirsch
A. Spies
P. Keil
Ch. Siemens
N. Kestner
Ch. Schoenborn
H. Koppel
A. Schmidt
H. Knorr
A. Schmus
W. Krug
J: Steinman
A. Kolbe
R. Thiele
E. Kuh
Ch. Wiemer
F. Lemggut
G. Wolff
N. Lieberman
L. Welsenberger
H. Meier
R. Werne
C. Mueller
L. Wagener
C. Meister
J. Wolfram
P. Martin
L. Walter
W. Miller
F. Witte
G. Mueller
- Weiner
J. Meier
Jac. Wolff
W. Zimmerman
R. Merkel
N. Nussbaum
J. Nagelsman
L. Goepphardt - Goyer
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Towards the end of the year 1863 the condition of his health had obliged the author of this history to resign as 1st Lieutenant of Comp. D, 14th Virginia Cavalry, C. S. A., but by request of Governor W. Smith of Virginia he organized a Ger- man company for home defence : Comp. M, 19th Virginia Militia. The Company was composed as follows217) :
Herrmann Schuricht, Captain.
Friedr. Seibert, Ist Lieut.
J. Kindervater, 2nd Lieut.
Henry Wenzel, Orderly Sergt.
G. F. Paul, 1st Sergt.
H. Grimmel, 2nd Sergt.
P. Ruhl, 3d Sergt.
1
F. Schneider, 4th Sergt.
G. A. Krieger, 1st Corporal.
Georg Klein, 2nd
G. Koenig, 3d
P. Rosmary, 4th 66
E. F. Baetjer
- Grote
- Beck
H. Gundlach
C. Bernstein
J. Guggenheimer Ch. Haas
Ch. Brown
H. Klein
C. Buckenthal
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