History of the German Struggle for Liberty. Illustrated with Drawings By
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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2009 with funding from University of Toronto http://www.archive.org/details/histofgermimg01bige I QUEEN LUISE HISTORY OF THE GERMAN STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY By POULTNEY BIGELOW, B.A. ILLUSTRATED WITH DRAWiyoS By R. CATOX WOODVILLE AND WITH PORTRAITS ASD MAPS IN TWO VOLUMES Vol. I. LONDON OSGOOD. 31cILVAI^E & CO. 45, Albkmarlk Strkkt, W. 1896 §03 01 Copyright, 1896, bv- HAxm k BRormnu. An HflUt mtrwtd. Printed at New York, U. S. A. TO CARIBEE MY CRUISING* CANOE III lier I have slept by night and Bailed by day for weeks and months at a time, exploriiij? the beautiful waterways of tlie German Fatherland. She has made me friends witli every kind of man—the bargee, the raftsman, the peasant, the wood-chopper, tlie weaver, the gendarme, the parish parson, the miller, the tax-collector—and many more of the types that make life interesting to the contemplative traveller. By the aid of Caribee I learned to foel how Germans feel. Without her this book would not have been written. CONTENTS OF VOL. I onAPTsn r*aa I. Execution ok John Palm, Bookselleu 1 II. Queen Luise op Pkussia Befoke Jena 6 III. What Sout op a Bhingingup had Queen Luise . 13 IV. Queen Luise Enters Berlin in Triumph .... 20 V. TiiE Two Piiilosopiieus op Jena—Hegel and Napo- leon 30 VI. The Eve op Jena, October 13. 1806 33 VII. The Great Prussian Stampede from Jena and Auerstadt 43 VIII. What Sort op Army Fought the French at Jena ? 54 IX. A Prussian Chronicle of Noble Criminals ... 61 X. A Fugitive Queen op Prussia 73 XI. Peace with Dishonor 88 XII. Colberg—Gneisenau, Nettelbeck, Schill .... 104 XIII. Something about Gneisenau's Early Struggles . 118 XIV. SCHARNHORST MaKES A NeW ARMV 129 XV. Something about SciiAitNiiORST 141 XVI. The Princes op Germany Pay Court to Napoleon AT Erfurt 153 XVII. The First Breath of Liberty in Prussia—1807. 163 XVIII. Prussians Become Kebels to their King, and Die FOR their Country 172 XIX. German Liberty Takes Refuge in the Austrian Alps 185 XX. The Last Days of Queen Luise 194 Vl CONTENTS OF VOL. I OIIAPTKB FACa XXI. A NunsERY ViKW ok Kino, Quekn, ano I'omtks. , 212 XXII. The P'iust National Puussian Pauliamknt Mkhts rx Beulin, 1811 -'" XXIIt. Jahn, the Patuiot who Founded GYMNAhm .>'.( ik TIES AND TaUCIIT THE SCHOOL ClIILDUEN TO PUAV FOR German Liberty 2:i'» XXIV. How THE Ikon Cross Came to be Founded . .244 ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL. I qUEEN LUISB. (See footnote on page 82 ) FttmHtpitm TUE EXECUTION OF JOHN PALM Fiui»ffpi 4 QUEEN LUISE. (From the original bust l)v Haiirh in Itio R<>rlin MuBeuni) 8 RECEIVING NEWS OP THE DECLARATION OF WAR IX TUE " PRUSSIAN CAMP 10 " FIELD-MARSHAL GKBHARD LEBRECHT YON BLUCHER 14 " EMPEROR NAPOLEON 23 GENERAL GNEI8ENAU " 26 " I TWO PHILOSOPHERS MEET AT JENA 30 MAP—JENA AND ITS SURROUNDINGS 87 FRENCH TROOPS ENTER A GERMAN VILLAGE Ffatimgp. 40 MAP SHOWING THE RELATION OF JENA TO PARIS AND BERLIN, AND THE POLITICAL DIVISION OF 1806 44 FLIGHT OF THE PRUSSIAN ARMY AFTER JENA Facingp. 46 METTERNICH, PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRIA 50 NAPOLEON AT THE DESK OF FREDERICK THE GREAT AT SANS SOUCI " 63 FLIGHT OF QUEEN LUISE " 76 MAP SHOWING THE ROUTE OF QUEEN LUISE's FLIGHT AND THE TERRITORY OVERRUN BY NAPOLEON IN THE WIN- TER OF 1806 78, 79 EAST SIDE OF THE CASTLE OF KuNIGSBERG Facing p. 84 FREDERICK WILLIAM III. WAITING FOR THE END OF THE CONFERENCE ON THE RAFT " 90 napoleon's headquarters at TILSIT " 94 vlii ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL I HOUSE AT TILSIT IN WniCH QUEEN LUIbt KECEIVED NAPOLEON Faeingp 08 MAP—PRUSSIA BEFORE AND AFTER THE TREATY OF TILBIT " W LUI8E AND NAPOLEON AT TILSIT 100 THE DEMAND FOR THE SURRENDER OF COUIERO ... 106 KETTELBECK THREATENS THE GOVERNOR " 108 NETTELBECK AND ONEISENAU ON THE RAMPARTS ' 110 SCHILL " 112 ONEISENAU'S MONEY 113 NETTELBECK Faeingp. 116 ONEISENAU. (From the original plaster cut by Raocb) .... " 124 ALEXANDER L OP RUSSIA " 130 FREDERICK WILLIAM III " 138 GENERAL SCHARNIIOST " 154 FREDERICK LUDWIO JAHN " 164 ONE OP schill's followers " 172 DEATH OF SCHILL IN THE MARKET-PLACE AT 8TRALSUND " 180 HOFER CONFERRING WITH THE AUSTRLIN 8TADTH0LDER " 188 ANDREAS HOFER A PRISONER " 192 IIARDENBERG " 204 THE MARQUISE DE TALLEYRAND " 214 THE GREAT BARON STEIN " 222 THE PATRIOT FICHTE " 232 THE IRON CROSS 244 — PREFACE These pages go to the printer at a moment when Germany is celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the great war which culminated in a German empire, manhood suffrage, and a free Parliament. These were the ideals of the patriots who roused the German nation against the tyranny of Napoleon, and for these their de- scendants cheerfully became rebels in the stormy days of 184:8, It has been my purpose to tell in simple lan- guage the story of this struggle—a story addressed to people of English speech and tradition, who believe that the strength of government is in the vigor and virtue of the individual citizen. In Europe to-day some rulers act as though soldiers alone knew how to be patriotic as though great armies made great nations. Yet in Germany we have seen a constant increase of the so- cialistic vote keeping pace with the growth and perfec- tion of a monster militar}" organism. "When Bismarck in 1871 became Chancellor of the new German Empire, the socialist vote was so small that it could be ignored. When he left office, after twenty years of rule, he left to his people a legacy of popular disaffection that may Z PREFACE be estimated only by reference to one and a quarter million votes cast for socialist candidates. The parallel progress of militarism and socialism in the new German Empire offers problems for the modem philosopher and law-maker. There are many cau-ses at the bottom of it. But the cause most clear is that Ger- many to-day does not move in the spirit of her great men, who raised her up when all the world thought her destroyed. The German volunteers of 1813 were offi- cered by patriot citizens who pretended to no more social rank and privilege than was absolutely necessary for the enforcement of military discipline. They en- tered the army for the sake of defending their country, and returned to their citizen work when the war was done. To-day the German officer is wholly a profes- sional soldier, and of the non-commissioned officer this is almost equally true. The soldier and the citizen have ceased to feel that their titles are interchangeable. A spirit of caste has come to permeate the great soldier class—the same spirit that led the Prussian army to its disgraces after Jena. In these ])ages we may see that great military results have been achieved by patriotic citizens who volun- teered for active service when their country was in dan- ger. Their exa?mple should teach us the importance of insisting that each able-bodied citizen must know the duties of a soldier. It is surely not too much to ask that each member of a free country should surrender at least one month in every year to exercises which will qualify him to defend that country in the event of in- ; PREFACE Zi vasion. Our historical traditions make us dislike large standing armies, and for tliat reason ought we the more readily to adopt measures that shall in the moment of danger make us a nation in arms. No country can maintain its liberty unless it is ready to fight for it nor can that fight end well unless the fighting is done by the whole body of the people. The nation that has to employ mercenaries may purchase temi)orary secu- rity ; but the price becomes higher as the years go by, and in time that people will surely sell its liberty as the price of mere existence. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First of all, I have to thank His Majesty the German Emperor for permission to use the precious manuscript material stored in the Prussian archives. This mate- rial is excellently arranged. I received much assist- ance from Colonel Leszczynszki at the War Archives (Generalstabsarchiv), and from Dr. Bailleu at the Ge- heime Staatsarchiv (State Secret Archives). There is much valuable material in the House Archives of the llohenzoUern family, which, for political reasons, is not 3'et available to the historian. Ilis lioyal Highness the Duke of Cumberland and Her Majesty the Queen of Hanover have placed me under deep obligations in the making of these pages. So has the present Count Voss, a direct descendant of the lady who was principal companion to Queen Luise. —; Xli PREFACE Dr. Peschel, the director of the Kiimer Museum in Dresden, gave me several days of his precious time amidst his treasures. Professor Siemering, tlie director of the llauch Museum in BerHn, Avas equally kind in assisting me to get the best possible portraits from Ranch's originals. Professor Schiemann, of the Berlin Universit}', has given me generous advice and aid. The late Countess Chorinsky, who had in her possession a large correspondence with Queen Luise, also aided my work. Pastor Deckert, of Schilda, did everything in his power to clear up for me the mystery of Gneisenau's birth. Finally, let me heartily acknowledge my obli- gation to Mr. Hubert Ilall, of the London Record Office, who took as much interest in my work as though he were writing it himself. So many kind acts are there for me to recall at this moment that to note them individually would be im- possible.