Carl Schurz was born at Liblar, Prussia, 1829. He was
educated in the gymnasium of Cologne, and the University of
Bonne. He entered the revolutionary army in 1848, and was
likewise the editor of a revolutionary paper. He was obliged
to flee to Switzerland, and his accounts of his narrow
escapes in getting across the border, as given in his
Reminiscences, are intensely thrilling. He came to America in
1852, and after three years' residence in Philadelphia, he
settled in Watertown, in our own state. Though he was later a
resident of Michigan, Missouri, and New York, and indeed
represented the second-named state in the Senate of the
United States, yet throughout his Reminiscences he frequently
speaks of Wisconsin in a manner that shows he thought of it
as his home.
His life as an American citizen was full of honor and
responsibility. He was made Minister to Spain by President
Lincoln, but soon resigned to come back home and serve in the
Civil War. He was a brigadier-general of volunteers and took
part in the battles of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and
Chattanooga. During all the rest of his life he was active in
the service of his country, both in and out of office. He was
strongly on the side of reconciliation with the South, and he
hoped and worked for a re-united country. His addresses and
his letters show his intense faith in Civil Service reform.
His Reminiscences indicate how thoroughly American this man
became, and how deeply he appreciated, and how jealously he
wished to guard, the freedom which he had failed to find in
his mother country, and which he had risked so much to obtain
here.
The first selection here given is from Volume I of his
Reminiscences. It relates the escape from the prison at
Spandau of his dear friend, Professor Kinkel, in which Schurz
played an important part. We see here how closely organized
this band of revolutionists was, and the intensity of their
love for each other, together with the sense of fun and
adventure in all they did.
The second selection is characteristic of the oratory of Mr.
Schurz during his later years. It shows an intense
patriotism, and emphasizes the fact that though he was not
born here, for him but one country had the slightest claim
upon his devotion.