At the peak of his career in Cincinnati, Ohio, German-American Joseph A. Hemann provided details for his biographical sketch published in 1876. From this we learn of his early life as a student, his Atlantic crossing to Baltimore, his journey across the Alleghenies, his first teaching job, meeting his life-long mate, becoming a newspaper publisher and finally a banker. He was socially active in the Queen City of the West for almost forty years until a devastating sequence of events drove him out of town. This publication provides both genealogical facts and an expanded biography of Hemann’s life as a German immigrant and successful business man in Cincinnati before, during, and after the Civil War. In Section Four, the 19th century German language newspapers of Cincinnati are summarized including graphical images of the mastheads.

Lauded as a hero in his native land for his sensational but ultimately unsuccessful exploits during the 1848 German Revolution, Franz Sigel—who immigrated to the United States in 1852—is among the most misunderstood figures of the American Civil War. He was appointed by Abraham Lincoln as a political general in the Union army, a move that successfully galvanized northern support and provided a huge influx of German recruits who were eager to “fight mit Sigel.” But Sigel proved an inept and ineffectual leader and, unfortunately, is most often remembered for his disappointing failure at the Battle of New Market and his subsequent loss of command. In his insightful biography, Stephen D. Engle provides the first complete portrait of this enigmatic leader and German standard-bearer, showing Sigel to be a disciplined, self-sacrificing idealist who sparked more pride among his fellow èmigrés, aroused more controversy among Americans, and perhaps enjoyed more admiration—despite his military shortcomings—than any other Civil War figure.

This study looks at the life and work of the eminent German-American author, poet, and historian, Heinrich A. Rattermann (1832-1923) and provides an historical legacy essential to an understanding of German-American history. He was well-known as editor of the historical journal Der Deutsche Pionier which was published by the German Pioneer Society of Cincinnati, Ohio, and is considered to be the leading German-American historical journal of the 19th century. In addition he edited Deutsch-Amerikanisches Magazin which was also important as a German-American historical journal. Born in Ankum, Germany, Rattermann emigrated with his family to Cincinnati, Ohio, and thereafter played an important role in German-American cultural affairs both regionally and nationally. This book is a re-edition of Sister Mary Edmund Spanheimer's biography of Heinrich Rattermann, which has long been out-of-print. Mary Spanheimer was a professor of German at the University of Saint Francis, Joliet, Illinois. Her biography on Rattermann is considered to be the definitive work on the topic.

This comprehensive encyclopedia details the close ties between the German-speaking world and the Americas, examining the extensive Germanic cultural and political legacy in the nations of the New World and the equally substantial influence of the Americas on the Germanic nations. From the medical discoveries of Dr. Johann Siegert, surgeon general to Simon Bolivar, to the amazing explorations of the early-19th-century German explorer Alexander von Humboldt, whose South American and Caribbean travels made him one of the most celebrated men in Europe, Germany and the Americas examines both the profound Germanic cultural and political legacy throughout the Americas and the lasting influence of American culture on the German-speaking world. Ever since Baron von Steuben helped create George Washington's army, German Americans have exhibited decisive leadership not only in the military, but also in politics, the arts, and business. Germany and the Americas charts the lasting links between the Germanic world and the nations of the Americas in a comprehensive survey featuring a chronology of key events spanning 400 years of transatlantic history.

This book takes on a global perspective to unravel the complex relationship between Imperial Germany and its diaspora. Around 1900, German-speakers living abroad were tied into global power-political aspirations. They were represented as outposts of a "Greater German Empire" whose ethnic links had to be preserved for their own and the fatherland’s benefits. Did these ideas fall on fertile ground abroad? In the light of extreme social, political, and religious heterogeneity, diaspora construction did not redeem the all-encompassing fantasies of its engineers. But it certainly was at work, as nationalism "went global" in many German ethnic communities. Three thematic areas are taken as examples to illustrate the emergence of globally operating organizations and communication flows: Politics and the navy issue, Protestantism, and German schools abroad as "bulwarks of language preservation." The public negotiation of these issues is explored for localities as diverse as Shanghai, Cape Town, Blumenau in Brazil, Melbourne, Glasgow, the Upper Midwest in the United States, and the Volga Basin in Russia. The mobilisation of ethno-national diasporas is also a feature of modern-day globalization. The theoretical ramifications analysed in the book are as poignant today as they were for the nineteenth century.