Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1908-10-07

His inquiries were anSWtItu I'll IL ie''
ter dated Philadelphia. June 2Gth
1870, and published in the LONDON
lReniembrancer." which sad: 1T Is
amazing TO see the split Of Me Ger
mans among us. Thousau Is "f them
have served as soldiers In her own
country. They spt ak with infuhe
pleasure of sacrificing i'":i lives and
property for the preservation of lib
erty. which they know fu'! wei, how
to value from its deprivation by des-
pOtic princes" The lat Reverend
George c. Hickman has said "rher"
would not have been a united colonial
rebellion nor any United States of
America but for the patriotism of the
Germans of the colonies.
The first troops to arrive at Boston
to assist thu New Enelanders in their
revolt were Gemans from Pennsyf
yania. They arrived there on The
18th of July. .1773. only thirtytwo
days after Congress had called the
citizens 10 arms. The first soldiers
to 60 to New England from the South
were Germans from Virginia. They
marched TO Boston. q distance OF SIX
hundred miles. over rough roads. In
tiftNfour DAYS. These Pennsylvania
and Virginia Germans We're better
armed than thu New England citizen
soldiers and their rifles did much
more effective service in battle than
the shOtguns OF the latter. When
Washington saw them march into his
camp At Cambridge he sprang from
his horse to shake their hands. while
tears of gatitude moistensd his eyes.
II was the bravery of the PennsyL
vania Rihemen. German regiment
by Colonel John Peter
Koechin, that earned for the battle
of Long Island the name OF THE
of the American Rfval-
ution." "These men, writes an
American Rcvolut sbrd shri II yyiyiyi
American historian. STOOD their
ground until as many. as seventy.
nine men in one company had been
killed anu the rest OF TIL, army had
completed its retreat. Long !slanG
was the The rmopylae OF the R"vo!n-
ton. and the Pennsylvania Germans
were tho Spartans."
The German Moravians IF BetGIe-
hem had the best equipped military
hospital bcihS ana I<ah'aotci >o"''
ties at that time had the furnaces and
foundries that smelted the ore and
cast The cannon AMI balls for the Con
tinental army Most of the rifles and
other arms were manufactured in
Northampton. York and other German
Of Pennsylvania. The we'll
filled barns of the Germans In Penn
sylvania. Maryland and Virginia fur
nished a large portion OF the food
supplied for Washington's troops
General Peter Muhlenberg was tn"
most distinguished of the Pennsyl-
vania Germans in the army and tn"
trusted friend o! Washington. He led
the reserve troops in the battle or
Brandywine and other bloody fights.
1t was a division Of Germans that
planted the flag on the conquered for
tifications at Yorktown. Thus. from
the beginning to the end. did the FORM
or countrymen OF Frederick the Great
and their sons take a prominent part
in the war for independence and free
dom.
During the Civil War there were.
according to the records or the Unite"
States Sanitarv Commission. 1SI.S5S
Germans born in Germany enlisted in
the different regiments Of the North
ern States. When Abraham Lincoln
called on Missouri for her quota OF
soldiers the Governor replied defiant
" that Missouri would never furnish
soldiers to fight her sister. States.
But that governor had overlooked
the fact that long before the outbreak
OF the rebellion thu Germans in ST.
l., us and 9th " laccs bad drilled the
members Of their athlerIc clubs In tn
manual Of arms for tho defense Of ths
Union. Their strength and their in
fuence saved Missouri for ieh Union.
At the close Of the Civil War missouri
had contributed more soldiers to the
northern armies than Massachusetts,.
the so-called Rock Of 'Anti-Slavery.
Before the sun set on that 18th OF
April When; the first shot Of the re-
bsllion had been fred at Fort Sumter.
Pennsylvania offered $5O8.000 to sup.
press the rebellion. Three days after
Abraham Iincoln's first call for troops
five companies Of PENNSYLVANIA Ger
town ard PottsviiIe arrived at Wash
inston. Among the Union generals OF
German birth or descent. none had
better record for galisntry or. bravery
than ypur countrvEan. the late Cover
ner John Frederick fIartranYt- As
commender Of the 51st Pennsylvania
Regimen he was in all the operations
Of the 9th Corps. and. having become
a brisadier-genara'. ne led at Antie-
tam tho famous charge that Garrett
the lower bridge He wss IN COM
mard Of a division that galiantly IT,
captured Fort Steadman before Peters
burg for which H. vas brfvetted ma
jor- general While governor OF your
commonwealth he pursued vigorous
policy during the great railroad
strikes OF Juiv. 1877
In the late var with Spain. Admir-
al Schlsy. q descendant Of that fam
ous German schooamaste- and found