Scharr usually appears as a proper name. Schar when applied to sheep means a flock. Schaar refers to scissors. Wendt is a person of Wendish or Slavic extraction as are many of those German speakers from the Lausitz region of Saxony which still exists as the southern and eastern most state in the former East Germany and a holdover in Post-Reunification Germany. Saxony bisects Germany diagonally when considered as an extension of Niedersachsen and Saxony-AnhaIt. I suspect my Civil War ancestor of deriving from the city of Goerlitz as a product of the Treaty of Westphalia that ended (at least officially) the Thirty Years War. Scharr Scharr Scharr, Schar Schar Schar, Schaar Xie Schaar Xie Schaar Xie Schugartown. A little joke between me and my Mandarin teacher. Xie Xie.
I'm intrigued by the Zouave letterhead on the hand-written in German original of Herman Wiechert's letter from the battlefield to his mother and the Prudential Insurance letterhead used for the transcription and presumably the translation of that same letter. I also note that your summary seems to reference Henry more often than it does Herman. One Henry is Henry Langebrake, second husband of Louise (Schafer) Wreck. Another Henry, Wendt, has a signature on what appears to be the reverse side of a Marriage Bond, signed by Herman Wiereck and co-signed by someone named Schimmelpfennig. Is that the same Schimmelpfennig who fought at Chancellorsville and allegedly disgraced himself at Gettysburg? Alexander Schimmelpfennig was one of the most prominent German 48ers in the Union Army's officer corps. He was born and served the Prussian Army east of the Oder prior to the 1848 Revolution. Herman Wiereck's Marriage Bond was signed in 1865, the same year that Schimmelpfennig died of tuberculosis. What exactly does a hundred dollar Marriage Bond do?
All good questions that I hope to explore in the near future. I am particularly interested in identifying the Schimmelpfennig referenced in the Marriage Bond.
I recently read "Letters to Lizzie: The Story of Sixteen Men in the Civil War and the Woman Who Connected Them All" who lived in my area in southern NJ during the civil war. It is the first time I have read so many letters connecting a group of people in the war. Very interesting and at time heart wrenching. The author did do research to provide information, as much as possible, post war.
Your article really brings out the other side of the men that fought and thier families.
Thanks.
Mike
PS, I mentioned a couple of weeks ago I was taking my 2 granddaughters to Gettysburg. They absolutely enjoyed the trip. I was pleasantly suprised at how much they wanted to see and do. It had been about 25 years for me since being there and they have done a great job with the battlefield and area.
I really, really, liked this piece. Too many Civil War nuts are entirely focused on the B's---brigades, battles, and bullets---and I can be one of those, but this was a very well-done short rabbit hole to explore, and you did a good job.
So glad to hear that you enjoyed it. This was a cursory foray into this small collection of documents. There are so many different angles that one could take. Our mutual friend Pat Young would likely love to hear more about the immigrant context to this story. Thanks again, Jim.
Kevin, this post is really good. I don't think we, as in the greater society, have an appreciation for how profound an impact the Civil War had on our country-and not just in the obvious ways but in the less obvious as you discuss here. As I have observed several times on your board I am of the opinion that we do not understand this war nearly as well as we think we do. Works like this essay help rectify that issue.
Scharr usually appears as a proper name. Schar when applied to sheep means a flock. Schaar refers to scissors. Wendt is a person of Wendish or Slavic extraction as are many of those German speakers from the Lausitz region of Saxony which still exists as the southern and eastern most state in the former East Germany and a holdover in Post-Reunification Germany. Saxony bisects Germany diagonally when considered as an extension of Niedersachsen and Saxony-AnhaIt. I suspect my Civil War ancestor of deriving from the city of Goerlitz as a product of the Treaty of Westphalia that ended (at least officially) the Thirty Years War. Scharr Scharr Scharr, Schar Schar Schar, Schaar Xie Schaar Xie Schaar Xie Schugartown. A little joke between me and my Mandarin teacher. Xie Xie.
Thanks for this clarification. My German wife had a great deal of difficulty reading the letter.
I'm intrigued by the Zouave letterhead on the hand-written in German original of Herman Wiechert's letter from the battlefield to his mother and the Prudential Insurance letterhead used for the transcription and presumably the translation of that same letter. I also note that your summary seems to reference Henry more often than it does Herman. One Henry is Henry Langebrake, second husband of Louise (Schafer) Wreck. Another Henry, Wendt, has a signature on what appears to be the reverse side of a Marriage Bond, signed by Herman Wiereck and co-signed by someone named Schimmelpfennig. Is that the same Schimmelpfennig who fought at Chancellorsville and allegedly disgraced himself at Gettysburg? Alexander Schimmelpfennig was one of the most prominent German 48ers in the Union Army's officer corps. He was born and served the Prussian Army east of the Oder prior to the 1848 Revolution. Herman Wiereck's Marriage Bond was signed in 1865, the same year that Schimmelpfennig died of tuberculosis. What exactly does a hundred dollar Marriage Bond do?
Hi Craig,
All good questions that I hope to explore in the near future. I am particularly interested in identifying the Schimmelpfennig referenced in the Marriage Bond.
I recently read "Letters to Lizzie: The Story of Sixteen Men in the Civil War and the Woman Who Connected Them All" who lived in my area in southern NJ during the civil war. It is the first time I have read so many letters connecting a group of people in the war. Very interesting and at time heart wrenching. The author did do research to provide information, as much as possible, post war.
Your article really brings out the other side of the men that fought and thier families.
Thanks.
Mike
PS, I mentioned a couple of weeks ago I was taking my 2 granddaughters to Gettysburg. They absolutely enjoyed the trip. I was pleasantly suprised at how much they wanted to see and do. It had been about 25 years for me since being there and they have done a great job with the battlefield and area.
Wonderful, heartfelt writing. Thank you.
Thanks so much, Suzanne. Glad to hear you enjoyed it.
I really, really, liked this piece. Too many Civil War nuts are entirely focused on the B's---brigades, battles, and bullets---and I can be one of those, but this was a very well-done short rabbit hole to explore, and you did a good job.
So glad to hear that you enjoyed it. This was a cursory foray into this small collection of documents. There are so many different angles that one could take. Our mutual friend Pat Young would likely love to hear more about the immigrant context to this story. Thanks again, Jim.
Kevin, this post is really good. I don't think we, as in the greater society, have an appreciation for how profound an impact the Civil War had on our country-and not just in the obvious ways but in the less obvious as you discuss here. As I have observed several times on your board I am of the opinion that we do not understand this war nearly as well as we think we do. Works like this essay help rectify that issue.
Thanks, Michael. I really appreciate the positive feedback. I am thinking about ways I can flesh out this story even more. Stay tuned.