Part 29
=Wirtz, Captain H., of Andersonville Prison.=--For many years after the Civil War, Andersonville Prison served as the outstanding symbol of the atrocities practiced upon Union prisoners by the Southern Confederacy. The prison was commanded by Captain Wirtz, who was subsequently tried by a court martial at Washington and hanged. General Lee’s nephew, and his biographer, has stated that General Lee used his influence to save him by showing that Wirtz was not primarily responsible for the sufferings of Union prisoners under his care, but that these were in a large measure due to the blockade against Southern ports, which prevented the landing of medicines and supplies. Because of his name, Wirtz has been cited by Prof. John D. Lawson, of Columbia, Mo., and others, as a typical personal embodiment of German brutality. Mr. Louis Benecke, a prominent attorney, of Brunswick, Mo., who himself was for seven months a Union prisoner in a Confederate prison, and who afterwards became the historian of the Association of Ex-Union Prisoners of War, has shown that Wirtz was not a native of Germany. Mr. Benecke says: “As the record shows, his grandfather was a French wine merchant at Bonnerville, France, and his name was there spelled with a ‘V’ instead of a ‘W.’ The father of Wirtz located in Switzerland, near Geneva, and while there changed his name to Wirtz, conforming to the phonetic of the French ‘V.’ It is further shown that the mother of Captain H. Wirtz was a French Italian. A prisoner of German descent, believing Wirtz to be a German, applied to him for a favor, and insinuated that his nationality entitled him to some consideration, to which Wirtz replied, ‘Je ne suis allemagne; je suis Suis.’ Wirtz at no time or place ever claimed to be anything but a Swiss or French descent.”
=Wistar, Caspar.=--In 1717 emigrated to America from Hilspach, Germany, where he was born in 1696, and established what is supposed to be the first glass factory in America in New Jersey, thirty miles from Philadelphia. (It is believed that an earlier glass factory was established by Germans in Virginia.)
=Zane, Elizabeth.=--Described as the handsome and vivacious daughter of Col. Zane (Zahn), founder of Wheeling, W. Va. In 1782 a fort near Zane’s loghouse on the site of the present city was attacked by a band of British soldiers and 186 Indian savages. The defenders of the fort were reduced from 42 to 12, and as the supply of powder was running low, the little garrison seemed doomed. The enemy was covering every approach to Zane’s loghouse, about sixty yards distant, where a full keg of powder was stored. It was to get this powder that Miss Zane responded when volunteers were called for, arguing that not a man could be spared while a girl would not be missed. Despite every protest she set out on her daring journey, leisurely opened the back gate and crossed the ground as coolly as though for a stroll. The British and Indians were dumbfounded, and did not realize what her plan was until she returned, carrying the keg under a table cloth. They then opened fire on her, several bullets passing through her clothing, but the heroic girl reached the blockhouse unscathed and enabled the defenders to hold out until relief came.
=Ziegler, David, Revolutionary Soldier and Indian Fighter.=--American soldier and first mayor of Cincinnati; born at Heidelberg, August 18, 1748; served under General Weismann in the Russian army under Catharine II and took part in the Turkish-Russian campaign which ended with the capture of the Krim in 1774. Came to America in the same year and settled in Lancaster, Pa.
Joined the battalion of General William Thompson which appeared before Boston, August 2, 1775, where it was placed under command of General Washington. Ziegler was adjutant and the soul of the battalion, more than half of which was composed of German Americans, and which was the second regiment, after that of Massachusetts, to be enlisted under Washington’s standard.
Ziegler served throughout the War of Independence as an officer and was repeatedly mentioned for distinguished service. On account of his ability was appointed by General St. Clair, Commissioner-General for the Department of Pennsylvania. Rendered great service in drilling troops and introducing discipline. Major Denny, in his diary, refers to him in these words: “As a disciplinarian, he has no superior in the whole army.”
After the Revolution he resided at Carlisle, Pa., until the outbreak of the Indian War in the West, when he served as captain in the then existing only regiment of regulars under Col. Harmar. His own company was composed of a majority of Pennsylvania Germans. Manned Fort Harmar (Marietta, O.); built Fort Finney at the mouth of the Big Miami, and subsequently took part in the expedition of General George Roger Clark against the Kickapoos on the Wabash, and in 1790, in the disastrous expedition of Gen. Harmar against the Indians on the upper Miami.
In the battle of the Maumee he distinguished himself for personal bravery, and St. Clair dispatched Ziegler with two companies to succor the distressed settlers in and around Marietta following the defeat of Harmar. He soon obtained the upper hand of the hordes of Indians, and in restoring order gained such decisive advantages that he was hailed as the most popular soldier in the Northwest. In the fall of 1791, Ziegler took part in the bloody and disastrous campaign under St. Clair, in which he commanded a battalion of Federal troops. Being prevented from taking part in the actual battle by reason of special service elsewhere, was assigned to cover the headlong retreat of the demoralized troops, and by ceaseless vigilance and strict discipline succeeded in the face of furious attacks by the Indians, drunk with victory, in leading the scattered American forces back to Fort Washington (Cincinnati). This feat earned for him the unqualified praise of all concerned, and materially increased his popularity.
His dash and efficiency in the campaign of the previous year had caused his advancement to the rank of major in the regular army, and new honors awaited him. When General St. Clair, as commander-in-chief, was summoned to Philadelphia to defend his conduct before Congress, he invested Ziegler with the “ad interim” authority of commander-in-chief of the whole army, passing over the heads of officers of higher rank, Wilkinson, Butler and Armstrong. Thus a German, for a period of six weeks, acted as commander-in-chief of the American army. This distinction resulted in a cabal of native officers to get rid of a detested “foreigner,” and Col. Jacob Wilkinson (afterward general and highest commanding officer), and Col. Armstrong preferred charges of insubordination and drunkenness against the veteran.
Ziegler in disgust thereupon resigned his command and retired from the army. But the people insisted on testifying their admiration and loyalty to their hero, and when Cincinnati in 1802 became an incorporated town he was elected its first mayor by a large majority and subsequently re-elected “in recognition,” according to Judge Burnett in “Notes on the Settlement of the Northwest Territory,” “of his services in protecting the settlements in 1791 and 1792 as well as in reprisal for the unjust treatment accorded him by the government.” Ziegler died in Cincinnati, September 24, 1811, universally mourned by his fellow citizens.
=Zenger, John Peter, and the Freedom of the Press.=--Noted in American history as the man who fought to a successful issue the problem of the freedom of the press in this country. Came over as a boy in the Palatine migration and was an apprentice to Bradford in Philadelphia. Established the New York “Weekly Journal,” November 5, 1733. Was arrested and imprisoned by Governor Cosby for his political criticisms; the paper containing them was publicly burned by the hangman, and the case was then thrown into the courts. Zenger was charged with being an immigrant who dared to attack the royal prerogatives and official representatives.
Arrested in 1734, he was at first denied pen, ink and paper, notwithstanding which he continued to edit the “Journal” from his prison. The grand jury refused to find a bill for libel, and proceedings were instituted by the Attorney General by information. Zenger’s defense was entrusted to Andrew Hamilton, a Quaker lawyer of marked ability, himself an immigrant from Ireland, who came from Philadelphia especially to undertake the defense.
Zenger’s case became a turning point on the great question of the truth justifying libel. Hamilton attacked the claim of the Governor, denounced the practice of information for libel, and declared that this was not the cause of a poor printer, but of liberty, which concerned every American. The triumphant result obtained by Hamilton has made his name famous in American jurisprudence. Zenger’s trial overthrew the effort of arbitrary power to suppress free speech, to control courts of justice, to rule by royal prerogative. The jury turned the judge out of court and Zenger was sustained in the right of criticising the administration, and his criticisms were declared to be true and just. Zenger therefore gained for the people the freedom of the press, and through it their rights to deliberate and act so as best to secure their rights.
Dr. William Elliot Griffis, in “The Romance of American Colonization,” comments on the case in the words: “Thus one of the greatest of all victories in behalf of law and freedom ever won on this continent was secured.”
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A
Page Adams, President John Quincy; on First Treaty with Prussia, 229
Alabama, The; Confederate Cruiser 51, 111
Allied Nations in War 11
Alsace-Lorraine 11 No Desire for French Annexation; Linked with the German Empire; German Character of 12 General Rapp Demands Independence of; Germans Deported from 14 France Distrusts Her Own People in 15
American Bearers of Foreign Titles 27
“American Liberal, The” 70
American School Children and Foreign Propaganda 20 Americanization Committee of Massachusetts on; Macaulay on George III; King George Not Alone Responsible 21 George Haven Putnam’s London Address 22 Owen Wister in London “Times” 23
Americans Not an English People 16 William Elliot Griffis Quoted 178-179 Prof. Albert B. Faust 16 James Russell Lowell; Douglas Campbell 17 Scott Nearing 18 James A. Garfield; Charles E. Hughes 19
Americans Saved from Tampico Mob by German Cruiser 19
Armstead, Major George; Defender of Ft. McHenry 20
Astor, John Jacob; American Pathfinder 25
Atherton, Gertrude; on Experience in Germany 188
Atrocities, Belgian and French 28 Melville E. Stone on 29 Rev. J. F. Stillimans on; London “Globe” on 30 London “Universe” on; John T. McCutcheon on; Irvin S. Cobb on; Emily S. Hobhouse on 31 Rev. J. F. Matthews on 32 Horace Green on; Prof. Kellogg on; Ernest P. Bicknell on 33 American Correspondents on; Premier Asquith Denies 34 State Department Refuses Information on; Church Authorities Investigate 35 William K. Draper Quoted; Why Created 36 Same Stories Told in Civil War Period; Post Office Department Prohibits Denial of 37
B
Bancroft, George; on Germans in American Revolution 105 Negotiates Memorable Agreement with Bismarck 38 Refers Vancouver Boundary Dispute to German Emperor; Advises Friendship With Germany 39
Baralong, English Pirate Ship 39
Beck, James M. 199
Becker, Alfred L., Deputy Attorney General of New York, Investigates German Propaganda; Investigated by Senator Reed 71 Employed Ex-Convicts 73
Becker, Prof. Carl L.; on Composition of American People 103
Berger, Mrs. Frances, Victim of Mob 67
Berliner, Emile, Inventor of the Microphone 40
Bernstorff, German Ambassador, Quotes Col. House 131
Blaine, James G., Quotes English Sentiment During Civil War 112
Blockade, “Illegal, Ineffective and Indefensible” 42
Blue Laws of Virginia 184
Boers, The; English Treatment of 40
“Bombing Maternity Hospitals” 44
Brant, Indian Chief, Destroys German Settlements 135, 175
C
Campbell, Douglas, on Composition of American People 17
Carnegie, Andrew, on British-American Union 197-8
Cavell, Edith, Executed by Germans; Execution Justified by Col. E. R. West 46
Chamberlain, Senator, Speech on English Threats 74
Cheradame, Andre, French Propagandist, Conspires Against President Wilson 187
Christiansen, Hendrik, True Explorer of the Hudson River 48
Clemenceau, Premier Georges, Blames France for War of 1870-71 241
Cobb, Sanford H., Story of the Palatines 104
Concord, The; Brought Germantown Settlers 121
Concord Society, The; Objects of 47
Cramb, Prof. J. A., on Germany’s Lofty Spirit 51
Cramps, Shipbuilders 125
Creasy, Prof. E. S., on the German Race 18
Creel and the Sisson Documents 44
Cromberger, Johann 45
Custer, General George A., a Hessian Descendant 45
D
Daimler, Gottlieb, Inventor of the Gas Engine 138
Danzig 60, 85
DeKalb, Major General Johann von 48
“Dial, The,” on French Propaganda 187
Dillon, Dr. E. J., on Alsace-Lorraine 11
Dorsheimer, Hon. William 49
Dual Citizenship 49
Dutch and German 49
E
Earling, Albert J., Railway President 50
Eckert, Thomas 50
Election of 1916 and the League of Nations Covenants 51 President Wilson’s Colloquy with Senator McCumber 56 Foreign Minister Hanotaux Promised American Aid in 1914 57
Eliot, Prof. Charles W., on German Civilization 50
England Plundered American Commerce 51 Refuses Loan to United States in Civil War 110 Threatens United States Through Canada 73
English Government Offers $8 for American Scalps 136 View of Paul Jones 139 First to Use Poison Gas 192 Tribute to Germany’s Lofty Spirit 51 Opinion of Prussians in 1815 58 Investment in Confederate Bonds 114 Propaganda in Public Schools 20 White Book Justifies Invasion of Belgium 207 Statesmen Denounce American Union 113
“English-Speaking Union” 198
Erzberger, Appeal to Conscience of America 90
Espionage Act, Vote on 58 How Administered 59 Report of Civil Liberties Bureau; New York “Sun” Quoted 63 Friends of German Democracy; Mrs. William Jay; German Masons in New Jersey 64
Exports and Imports in 1914 58
F
Fisher, Admiral, Justifies German Submarines 212
Foreign Residents Assured as to their Investments 230
Fourteen Points, The; History of 86
France’s Historic Relations with the United States 76
Franklin, Benjamin 80 Alarmed by German Immigration 81 Praises German Population 83
Frederick the Great and the American Colonies 84 Prevents Russian Alliance with England Against Colonies; Offers American Cruisers Refuge at Danzig 85
Free Masons in New Jersey Against Language Edict 64
Fresch, Hermann, Sulphur King 224
Fricke, Albert Paul, Tried for Treason and Acquitted 67
Friends of German Democracy 64
Fritchie, Barbara, Immortalized by Whittier 90
G
Gas, Poison, First Employed by English 192
George III, a “German King”? 20 Macaulay on 21
George, Lloyd, Denounces Atrocities Against Boers 41
German American Captains of Industry 94
German Element in American Life 102 Mechanics in Jamestown Settlement 91 In Virginia 105 Moravians First Settlers in Ohio 107 On Indian Border in Pennsylvania 108 Settle Frankfort and Louisville, Ky 109 Ardent patriots in Revolution 105, 109, 175, 181 Early Western Border Occupied by 108 Protest Against Slavery 180 First Proclamation of Independence 175 Praise for Their Republican Virtues 180 In Civil War 114 In Confederate Army 120 Ideals of Liberty 154 Women Spies Executed by French 49 In American Art, Science and Literature 91 Praised by Franklin 83 Praised by Washington 245 Praised by Jefferson 141 First Newspapers 91 George Bancroft on 105 Subscriptions to Liberty Loan 153 In Massachusetts Bay Colony 156 Keeps Missouri in the Union 159
German Emperor Decides Vancouver Boundary Dispute in Our Favor 39
Germantown Settlement 121
Germany; Why Strengthened Her Army 124 Treatment of France After War of 1870-71 90 Conduct During Civil War 110 Buys $600,000,000 of Union Bonds 111 Bancroft Quoted 39 Sends Relief During Civil War 90
Godfrey, Inventor of Quadrant 178
Gould, B. A.; Civil War Statistics 115
Grey, Sir Edward, on Humanity in War 132
Griffis, Dr. William Elliot, on German Element 104 Early German Mechanics 105 On Jacob Leisler 146 On Teutonic Influence 178-9 On Bay Colony Aristocracy 181 On Confusing Germans with Dutch 49
Guizot, on German Love of Liberty 154
H
Hagner, Peter 124
Haiman, Louis, “Swordmaker of the Confederacy” 227
Hanotaux, Foreign Minister, on Assurances Given France in 1914 by American Ambassadors 56
Harris, Frank, on Germany and England 155
Hartford Convention, The 124
Hempel 125
“Herald,” New York, Urges Hanging of German Americans 125
Hereshoffs and Cramps 125
Herkimer, General Nicholas, Hero of Oriskany 125
Hervé, Gustave, on Alsace Lorraine 12 On Poison Gas 192
Hessians, The 125 Swell Jackson’s Stonewall Brigade; Where Settled 129 General Custer, Descended from 45
Hillegas, Michael, First Treasurer of the United States 129
Hitchcock, Senator Gilbert M., on Seizure of Alien Property 232
House, Col. E. M.; Reputed Author of “Philip Dru, Administrator” 130 Influences President on Surrender of Saar Valley 131 Friend of Lloyd George; Attended School in England 130
I
Ibanez, Vincente Blasco, French Propaganda Agent 185
Ideals of Liberty 154
Illiteracy of Contending Countries 132
Immigration 132 Germantown 177
Indians, Tories and German Settlements 135
Invention of Telephone, Gas Engine, Photographic Lenses, etc. 138
“Issues and Events” 69
J