Not a Forty-Eighter

[John Grant]

A very interesting article about a German veteran.

Not a Forty-Eighter, Military Images Digital

Germany social unrest in mid-19th century resulted in a wave of immigration to the U.S. One of the King's soldiers, Earnest Barth, followed them to America.

www.militaryimagesmagazine-digital.com

After the failed revolution in Germany, many former participants emigrated to the USA, becoming known as the Forty-Eighter. Many of these former revolutionaries joined the Union Army during the Civil War. This veteran is also a veteran of the German Revolution, but he was on the winning side, and during the Civil War he fought alongside his former opponents. Thus, enemies became comrades.

 

[major bill]

An inte article. Not a German immigrate were Fourty-Eighters, but many were.

 

[The Ninth Ohio]

This was not uncommon, as conscription was a regular thing in most German states, some as early as 17. The colonel of the 32nd Indiana Henry von Trebra was a Prussian soldier during 48/49. He served under August Willich, the reddest of the red, during the civil war. Suffice it to say political views, sense of duty, and one's experiences in the dozen or so years following the revolutions may have more nuance than a blog post can expand on.