Louis Blenker
Ludwig (also Louis) Blenker | |
|---|---|
United States of America | |
| Service/ | Bavarian Army United States Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1832–1837 1861–1863 |
| Rank |  Brigadier general (USA) |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
| Signature |  |
Louis Blenker (July 31, 1812 – October 31, 1863) was a German revolutionary and American soldier.
Life in Germany
He was born at
He studied medicine in Munich and then, at the wish of his parents, opened a wine trading business in Worms. In 1843, he married
He was noted on both sides for his fearlessness. His wife, Elise, accompanied him on his campaigns.
Life in the United States
On his arrival in the United States, he settled on a farm in
But after Cross Keys a series of deficiencies plagued his command, the main accusation being carelessness with respect to supplies.
Blenker had a love of pomp. When McClellan became general of the Army of the Potomac, Blenker led a procession to his headquarters. Yet there were credible testimonials to his organizational ability, and no one questioned his courage. However, his command became notable for the quantities of foreign nobility in its ranks, the climax coming when Prince Felix Salm-Salm joined his ranks, an affront to republicans like Karl Heinzen and Struve. Struve, also a member of Blenker's corps, resigned, and Heinzen broadcast protests in his newspaper, the Pionier.[3]
The allegations reached the War Department, and when his appointment as a general reached the Senate for confirmation several senators repeated them: questionable finances, command hierarchies and distinctions more appropriate to Europe than to the United States, exploitation of his troops through the sutlers. Alexander Schimmelfennig, a fellow officer, referred to him as a "bum," and there was much controversy between supporters of Schurz, Blenker and Franz Sigel. Blenker was ultimately confirmed as a general, but his career was ruined.[3]
Soon he was superseded by Sigel. He was mustered out of service March 31, 1863, and died in October of injuries sustained while with his command at Warrenton, Virginia,[2] leaving behind his wife, son and three daughters in dire circumstances.[1] Blenker died in poverty and there was no proof he profited from the sutlers' trade. Some members of his staff were convicted for financial irregularities however. McClellan continued to esteem him as an officer.[3]
See also
Notes
References
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.)
{{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty|title=(help
Wilhelm Wiegand (1875), "Blenker, Ludwig", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 2, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, p. 703
External links
- Carl Schurz.
Reminiscences (3 volumes). New York: The McClure Company. 1907. Schurz gives an account of his meeting with Blenker in the United States in Volume Two, Chapter V, pp. 233–236. In Volume One, Chapter VII, Schurz mentions Blenker's "splendid appearance" at the head of the "considerable corps" Blenker was leading in the Baden uprising. - . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1900.
- Louis Blenker at Find A Grave
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