c/ 5 i^J— GETTYSBURG Lincoln s Address ana rj Our Educational Institutions Lincoln in 1860 " Wheresoever throughout the civilized world the accounts of this great warfare are read, and down to the latest period of recorded time, in the glorious annals of our common country, there will be no brighter page than that which relates the Battles of Gettysburg." Hon. Edward Everett, November 19, 1863 Published by The Board of Education of tne General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church m the United States, Rev. Frederick G. Gotwald, General Secretary, York, Pern a, 1907. Copyright, 1907, The Board of Education of the General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States. THE BATTLE. " With copious slaughter all the field was red And heaped with growing mountains of the dead." ENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE was form- ally organized July 4, 1832. Exactly thirty-one years later Lee hurried his defeated forces away from Gettysburg to temporary safety south of the Poto- mac. Undoubtedly this little college town will always be famous as one of the great world battle- fields — the place where was fought the decisive battle of the Civil War. It will ever be both the destination of many American youths seeking the culture of the College and Seminary halls and also the goal of patriotic pil- grims reverently visiting the scenes made sacred by those who gave their life-blood for their country. The battle itself was most desper- ate. For three days, Wednesdav, Thursday and Friday, July 1st, 2d and 3d, 1863, the great Army of the Poto- mac (consisting of seven army corps, together with artillery and cavalry, 95,000 effective men), under General Meade, withstood and finally routed the proud Army of Northern Virginia (75,000 ettective men) under General Lee. The Union army had 370 can- nons ; the Confederate army had 270 about equal, in proportion to the strength of the two armies, viz : — Federal, 3,072 killed, 14,497 wounded and Maj-Gen. George Gordon Meade, of Pennsylvania. Arriving at i A. M., July 2nd, he was in command of the Union forces during the Battle. Generals Reynolds, Howard and Hancock commanded success- ively until Meade's arrival. Of General Meade's services Gen- eral Grant wrote in 1864: " I defy any man to name a com- mander who would do more than Meade has done, with the same chances." The losses were 5,434 missing; total, 23,003; Confederate, 2,592 killed, 12,709 wounded, and 5,1.50 missing; total, 20,451. The saying of the Duke of Wellington that next to a defeat the saddest thing was a victory was verified in this awful conflict and slaughter. Of special interest to Lutherans is the part played by her institutions and churches at Gettysburg on this his- toric occasion. The Seminary cupola was used for ob- servations by Union Generals Reynolds and Buford early on the first day. Thereafter it was the chief Theological Seminary Building Just After the Battle. This rare picture shows the effects of the cannon shots in the roof of the cupola, the front gable and the south foundation wall. The fences are parti- ally removed and destroyed to allow greater facility in moving troops and in conveying the wounded to the hospital within the building. signal station and observatory for the Confederates. For several months after the battle the Seminary was occupied by the Government for a hospital, the wounded of both armies being treated with equal consideration. The Seminary Trustees resolved, " that from motives of patriotism and gratitude to God for the glorious victory vouchsafed to our arms at Gettysburg, no compensation should be solicited from the Government for damages sus- tained to the buildings, but will look to the free-will offer- ings of the churches for the means necessary to repair the same." Four thousand two hundred and ten dollars were raised for this purpose. However, in August, 1864, $660.50 were received from the Government for the use of the building as a hospital. The home of Dr. Schmucker, south of the Seminary, was occupied by Confederates during the three days of the battle. " His house was pierced by thirteen cannon balls. His fine library was shamefully abused and some of his furniture plundered," presumably because of his well-known anti-slavery views. The cupola of the College was also first used by the Union officers and then by Confederates as a station for observations and signals. At 8.30 in the morning of July 1 st one of General Howard's signal officers was in the College cupola making observations, when his attention was specially directed to Cemetery Hill, south of Gettys- burg, by one of the officers of the College (Prof. M. Jacobs), as being of the highest strategic importance and com- manding the whole country around for many miles. Doubtless General Howard satisfied himself of its pre-em- inent advantages as a position of offense and defense and siezed and held it with a division of the Eleventh Corps under General Steinwehr. To this action may be attrib- uted, in large measure, the favorable results of the battles of the two next days. Again, at a later stage, General Lee, from the same College cupola, had reconnoitred the Federal position and came to the conclusion that the left centre was the weakest part of their lines. He thereupon determined to assail this point, held by General Hancock. Then was witnessed a desperate effort to accomplish its capture. The historic charge of Pickett's Division with its disastrous result is well-known. Thus the strength of the Union position and the disaster of the Confederate attack were both determined upon from data obtained from observations made in the College cupola. During the withdrawal of the First (Doubleday) and Eleventh Corps (Schurz)* through the town, on the after- noon of the first day, to Cemetery Hill, there was hard fighting in the College grounds. The College building was filled with the wounded — probably not less than 500. Many were placed in the library and halls ; " many a blood-soaked volume in the library still reminding us of the use to which it was put." For four weeks the build- ing was thus used by the Government, for which an in- demnity of $625 was, later, granted. No Commencement exercises were held, but by Septem- ber 24th all was thoroughly cleansed, repaired and made ready for the fall session. The two Lutheran churches of the place were also used as hospitals by the Government. Of those who ministered in these, and other hos- pitals, Edward Everett said later : " The brethren and sisters of Chris- tian benevolence, ministers of com- passion, angels of pity, hastened to the field and hospital to moisten the parched tongue, to bind the ghastly wounds, to soothe the parting agon- ies alike of friend and foe and to catch the last whispered messages of love from dying lips." Mention may also be made of the patriotism of the students of both College and Seminary. When the news Christ Lutheran Church Since 1836 the Church of both Sem- inary and College Faculties and Students. Used as a hospital dur- ing entire battle and afterwards. On the church steps Chaplain How- ell, of the 90th Pa. Vols., was killed by a stray bullet July ist, just after he had ministered to some wounded members of his regi- ment in the hospital. * This Corps was composed largely of Germans, and, presumably, of Luth- erans. Among their officers were Generals Schurz, Steinwehr and Schimmel- pfennig; Colonels Von Gilsa, Finsiedel, Bourry, Von Amsberg, Salomon, Dobke, Von Hartung, Von Mitzel, Krzyzanowski, Otto, L,ockman, Mahler and Boebel; Majors Kovacs, Frueauff and Ledig; and Captains Foerster, Schleiter, Both, Krauseneck, Koenig, Fuchs, Wiedrich, Heckman and Dilger. Proving the valorous conduct of these troops a local historian relates how that, on the evening of July 2d, " the Confederates returned to our street at 10 o'clock and prepared their supper; and soon we began to hope that all was not lost. Some of them expressed their most earnest indignation at the foreigners — the Dutch- men — for having shot down so many of their men. This led us to believe that the Eleventh Corps (Schurz) — of whom many were foreign Germans, and whom on the previous evening, they tauntingly told us they had met at Chan- cellorsville — had done their duty, and had nobly redeemed their character. We afterwards found the explanation of this indignation when we learned what had taken place that evening on the eastern flank of Cemetery Hill." of Lee's invasion induced Governor Curtin to call for 50,000 troops they responded by organizing a company of about sixty, or a majority of the college students, together with four from the Seminary and offered their services to the Governor. They constituted Co. A, 26th Reg., P. V. M., and had as Captain, Frederick Klinefelter, a seminarian. They were the first company mustered in under the Governor's call, June 17, 1863, and their regiment had a severe skirmish with the first body of Confederate cavalry near Gettys- burg, June 26th, or one week before the real battle. The regiment under Colonel Jen- nings and Adjutant H. W. Mc- Knight (afterward President of the College) fell back to pro- tect Harrisburg. It may be of interest to also record at this place something- concerning General Herman Haupt, a distinguished former Professor of the College and at this time holding a most im- portant position in the Union Army. He was graduated from West Point Military Academy in 1835, a classmate of General Meade. He taught Civil Engineering and Archi- tecture at Pennsylvania Col- lege 1837 to 1830, and Mathe- matics 1845-1847, receiving A. M. from the Institution in 1839. He was a Trustee of the College from '59-'73-* At the time of the great battle he held the position General Herman Haupt When Professor of Mathematics, 1845-47. * He married the daughter of Rev. Benjamin Keller, then pastor of the local Lutheran Church, and, later, very successful as agent of College, Semi- nary and Publication Society. General Haupt, later, was Chief Engineer for the Hoosac Tunnel, the Pennsylvania and the Northern Pacific Railroad com- panies. He and his wife were ever staunch Lutherans, having founded a church in Washington in honor of her father. One son is the distinguished Engineer, Prof. Lewis M. Haupt, of the Isthmian Canal Commission ; another is a Lutheran pastor in St. Paul, Minn. of Chief of the Bureau of Construction and Trans portation of the ' United States Military Railroads. By most strenuous efforts he had restored Meade's railroad and telegraph connections with Washing- ton by the night of July 4th. He so reported to Gen- eral Meade on the morning of the 5th. Knowing him most familiarly, and knowing the surrounding country thoroughly both as a professional engineer and a long- time resident, he urged Meade, by all possible arguments, to hasten after the retreating army of Lee. But he could not persuade him to take prompt action. Discouraged by his refusal to move, General Haupt hurried, on a special engine, to Washington and on the morning of the 6th had personal interviews with General Halleck, the Secretary of War, and the President. These men Fac-SimieE of Signature of Brigadier-Generai, J. D. Imboden. Gen. Imboden and his command — an independent brigade of 2.000 cavalry — arrived too late on the 3rd of July to take part in the battle. Gen. L,ee, there- fore, put him in charge of the retreat of the wounded and the army supplies, saying, " It has been a sad, sad day to us. We must now return to Vir- ginia. Of this journey, perhaps the most tragic in American history, Gen. Imboden wrote : For many miles issued heart-rending wails of agony. Dur- ing this one night I realized more of the horrors of war than I had in all the two preceding years." Gen. Imboden was the son of Pennsylvania-German parents who had moved from near Lebanon, Pa., and located near Staunton, Va., before his birth. also urged Meade in repeated telegrams to try to inter- cept Lee's retreat before he reached the Potomac, forty- two miles away. But Meade refused to follow the sug- gestions, preferring to resign instead. The President was reconciled to the situation, saying, " Why condemn a man who has done so much because he did not do more? " Thus Lee was allowed to safely cross the river late on the 13th, ten days after the retreat began. Critics are divided as to the wisdom of Meade's policy, some maintaining that had General Haupt's plan been followed Lee's surrender north of the Potomac would have been inevitable, the war would have been shortened a year and a half, with its accompanying saving of 147,000 men in the 8 Army of the Potomac alone, besides many millions of money.* Both College and Seminary Trustees took this action August ii, 1863: "Resolved, that we have heard with proud satisfaction of the heroic conduct of those students who have rushed so promptly to the defense of their country . during the late rebel invasion and that their course is hereby heartily approved." The church constituencies of our institutions at Gettys- burg are particularly the states of Pennsylvania and Maryland. In the battle the former had eighty-four or- ganizations engaged, with 6,300 men lost (more than one- fourth the total Union loss), and the latter had six organ- izations and 140 men lost. We close this account with the beautiful words of Prof. Michael Jacobs, of the college faculty, who published one of the very best descriptions of the battle in September, 1863 : " We rejoice in beholding the dawn of the day when the whole country shall be united again, the old animosity forgotten, a true friendship restored, and peace and prosperity going hand in hand to bless and gladden the people. May those happy days soon come. Let us all, therefore, sincerely and fervently join in the prayer, ' that the Union may exist unbroken forever.' " * The latest, fairest and most important book on the Civil War written by a Southerner, who was in the thickest of the fighting from Bull Run to Ap- pomatox, " Military Memoirs of a Confederate," (Scribner's, 1907) by General E. P. Alexander, censures Meade for delaying the pursuit of L,ee. But it gives him high praise in these words : " There was not, during the war, a finer ex- ample of efficient command than that displayed by Meade on this occasion " (the second day.) LINCOLN'S IMMORTAL ADDRESS. " Grim visag'd war had smoothed his wrinkled front." Just four and a half months after the great battle, November 19, 1863, the Soldiers' National Cemetery was consecrated with elaborate ceremonies. The Governor of Pennsylvania had taken the initiative in promptly secur- ing the necessary ground, adjoining the local cemetery south of Gettysburg, and here have been interred the bodies of 3,555 Union soldiers, the names of 979 of whom are unknown. Judge David Wills (class of '51), of Gettysburg, has been called the " father " of the " Soldiers' National Cem- etery." He had been appointed by Governor Curtin as his special agent to purchase a site and to arrange with the authorities of the seventeen other loyal states, which had soldiers in the battle, to participate in the plan. The site was purchased in Au- gust, being about seventeen acres in the centre of the Federal line of battle. The Commissioners met December 19th, 1863, elected Mr. Wills President, and the per- manent plan was agreed upon. The first cost, including monument, was $63,500. The cemetery was incorporated March 25th, 1864. The date for the consecration of the cemetery, November 19th, 1863, was set in response to the suggestion of Hon. Ed- ward Everett, who had been invited by the Governors of the States concerned to be the orator of the occasion. In his letter of invitation to the Presi- dent Judge Wills had written : " It is the desire that after the oration, you as Chief Executive of the nation, formally set apart these grounds to their sacred use by a few appropriate re- PrEsident Lincoln As he appeared when speech was delivered. When the College was founded, 1832, Lincoln was an unknown Captain in the Black-Hawk war in Illinois. The first Union shot in the Battle of Gettysburg was fired by Ser- geant Jones, of the 8th Reg- iment of Lincoln's own State of Illinois, at the old Marsh Creek bridge on the Chambersburg pike. marks. It will be a source of great gratification to the many widows and orphans that have been made almost friendless by the great battle here, to have you here per- sonally ; and it will kindle anew in the breasts of the com- rades of these brave dead, who are now in the tented field or nobly meeting the foe in the front, a confidence that they who sleep in death on the battle-field are not forgotten by those highest in authority ; and they will feel that, should their fate be the same, their remains will not be uncared for. We hope you will be able to be present to perform this last solemn act to the soldier dead on this battle field." In a private note he wrote : " As the hotels in our The Wills House. Southeast Corner of Square and York Street. President Lincoln was the guest of Judge Wills from Nov. 18 to Nov. 19, 1863, occupying the second-story room just over the Judge's office, facing the Square. In this room (marked with an X in illustration) he put his historic speech into final form. From the entrance on York Street he addressed the citizens the evening of the 18th, and started for the Consecration services at the Cemetery at 10 A. M. on the 19th. This photograph was taken soon after this, and shows Judge Wills standing on his porch. town will be crowded and in confusion, I write to invite you to stop with me. Governor Curtin and Hon. Ed- ward Everett will be my guests at that time and if you come you will please join them at my house." Thus the President became a guest in the home of Judge Wills and there perfected and completed his great address. He made a brief speech to the citizens from the front porch of Judge Wills' home the evening of the 18th, followed by Secretary Seward and others. The morning of the 19th, at 10 o'clock, the President mounted his horse and the procession moved to the cemetery. The" consecration of this cemetery was the occasion of President Lincoln's imperishable speech. We take the text of it from the official report published by the State of Pennsylvania in 1865. It should be memorized by every American school boy. Lincoln's Gettysburg Speech. " Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in Lib- erty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We are met to dedicate a portion of it as the final resting-place of those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is alto- gether fitting and proper that we should do this. " But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have conse- crated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfin- ished work that they have thus far so nobly carried on. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to. the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to the cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that the dead shall not have died in vain ; that the nation shall, under God, have a new birth of free- dom, and that the government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth." This dedicatory address was followed by a dirge by the choir and then was offered the following:. Benediction by Rev. Dr. H. L. Baugher, Sr., President of Pennsylvania College. " O Thou King of kings and Lord of lords, God of the nations of the earth, who, by Thy kind providence, hast permitted us to engage in these solemn services, grant us Thy blessing. " Bless this consecrated ground, and these holy graves. Bless the President of these United States, and his Cabi- net. Bless the Governors and the Representatives of the States here assembled with all needed grace to conduct the affairs committed to their hands, to the glory of Thy name and the greatest good of the people. May this great nation be delivered from treason and rebellion at home, and from the power of enemies abroad. " And now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God our Heavenly Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen."' The impression made by the Presi- dent's address was very profound. Hon. Edward Everett, who had pre- ceded him with an elaborate and elo- quent oration, wrote Mr. Lincoln the next day : " Permit me also to ex- press my great admiration of the thoughts expressed by you, with such eloquent simplicity and appropriate- ness, at the consecration of the ceme- tery. I should be glad if I could flat- ter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion in my two hours as you did in two minutes." The Commissioners from Boston in their report said: " Perhaps nothing in the whole proceedings made so deep an impression on the vast assemblage, or has conveyed to the country in so concise a form the lesson of the hour, Monument in National Cemetery Standing where Lincoln deliv- ered his address. The closing part of address is carved on face of monument. Corner-stone laid July 4, 1865, with oration by General Howard ; dedicated July 1, 1869, with prayer by Henry Ward Beecher; addresses by Gov. Morton and General Meade ; and ode by Bayard Tay- lor. The total outlay (from 1863 to 1893) of the Battlefield Association was $106,575. Since 1893 the Government has spent $848,922, and the 18 states $846,- 675, in acquiring and marking the present Battlefield Park of 1869 acres. Total outlay, $1,- 804,172.00. as the remarks of. the President. Their simplicity and force make them worthy of a prominence among the ut- terances from high places." The Associated Press reports showed that five times the speech was interrupted by " applause " and that at the close there was " long continued applause." Harper's Weekly, of December 5, 1863, gives this dis- criminating account of the addresses : " The oration by Mr. Everett was smooth and cold. Delivered, doubtless, with his accustomed graces, it yet wanted one stirring thought, one vivid picture, one thrill- ing appeal. " The few words of the President were from the heart to the heart. They cannot be read, even, -without kindling emotion. It was as simple and felicitous and earnest a word as was ever spoken." Thus these contemporaries rightly estimated the sim- ple greatness of the utterance and well foretold that im- mortality which it has attained wherever English is known. " Emerson, Lowell and Victor Hugo unite in declaring it to be one of the three masterpieces of human speech in the history of the race." Before closing this section we will give an incident of much interest to Lutherans of the General Synod. At the meeting of the General Synod at Lancaster, Pa., May, 1862, Pastor H. Eggers, who at that time had charge of a German Mission in the city of Nashville, which was then occupied by the Confederates, made a stirring patriotic speech in the course of which he said that he was the only minister in the city of Nashville that dared pray for President Lincoln and the reason he dared do it was " that he prayed in German and the rebels couldn't understand German but the Lord could." At this meeting of the General Synod a series of patriotic resolutions were passed and a committee appointed to con- vey them to President Lincoln. Dr. A. Hiller, of Hart- wick Seminary, writing of this incident, says further : " It was my privilege to accompany that committee to the White House. We were ushered into the presence of the President by Secretary Seward, when Dr. L. Stern- 14 berg, father of the late Surgeon-General of the U. S. Army, George M. Sternberg, who was chairman of the committee, read the resolutions, concluding with " the assurance that our fervent prayers shall ascend to the God of Nations, that Divine guidance and support may be vouchsafed to him in the trying and responsible posi- tion to which a benignant Providence has called him." At the close he said to the President : * With your per- mission I will introduce to you the Rev. Dr. H. N. Pohl- man, of Albany, N. Y., who will make some additional remarks.' Among other things Dr. Pohlman said in sub- stance : ' The Lutherans represent the German element in this country and you know that the Germans saved Missouri to the Union.* At our recent meeting one of the German brethren from the city of Nashville in an earnest patriotic speech remarked that he was the only minister in that city that dared pray for the President and the reason he dared do it was because " he prayed in German and the rebels couldn't understand German but the Lord could." This evidently pleased Mr. Lincoln greatly and was treasured in his memory. Eighteen months af- terward, at the dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg Dr. Pohlman and the President again met, and, as Governor Seymour of New York was about to introduce Dr. Pohlman to the President, Mr. Lincoln did not wait for an introduction, but at once recognized him, and coming forward, took him by the hand exclaiming, " the Lord understands German." I believe that I am the only survivor of that delegation that waited on Presi- dent Lincoln in the spring of 1862." * He might also have informed the President that it was the German and Lutheran votes in each of the five pivotal States of Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and Ohio which had given him the majority of the electoral votes over Douglas two years belore. Without these he would not have had over 126 votes', and would have been defeated. He might also have reminded him that in his Union armies there were (out of a German-born population of 1,118,402 in i860) 187,858 German-born soldiers; almost as many as all the other foreign- born soldiers put together. Besides these were many thousands of German blood among the 2,018,299 native-born soldiers. While in the Confederate States only two and one-half per cent, of the 9,000,000 population were foreign- born, and only a small part of these were Germans. 15 OUR EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. " There's a divinity that shapes our ends, Rough-hew them as we will." The Providential beginnings of our institutions at Get- tysburg are very interesting. General Carl Schurz, in his recently published reminiscences states : " Neither General Meade nor General Lee desired or expected to fight a battle at Gettysburg. Both were drawn into it by the unexpected encounter of the Confederate general, Heth, and a Federal cavalry general on reconnaissance, both instructed not to bring on a general engagement, but rather cautioned against it." So, when the question of a theological seminary was first considered at the very first meeting of the General Synod in Hagerstown in 1820, the committee to which it was referred consisted of five pastors, all but one of whom lived east of the Susquehanna. Had action been taken at that time the location would, doubtless, have been nearer the centre of the Pennsylvania Synod, for it constituted more than one-half of the whole church and had been chiefly instrumental in establishing the General Synod, having eight of the fifteen delegates at this first meeting, October 22, 1820. At this time there were but 170 pastors, 850 congrega- tions and 35,000 members in the United States. But no action was taken then, or in 182 1 at Frederick, or in 1823 at Frederick. In the meantime the Pennsylvania Synod withdrew from the General Synod and the West Penn- sylvania Synod (pastors west of the Susquehanna) was organized in 1825. Samuel S. Schmucker was ordained in 1821, but he, as student and licentiate, had attended the conventions of the General Synod in 1819, 1820 and 1821. In his own Synod, the Maryland and Virginia, he continued the agi- tation of the question of a theological seminary, in 1824 preaching a sermon to the Synod, detailing the regula- 16 tions of a private theological school which he had opened (1821) at his home in New Market, Virginia, and recom- mending its enlargement into a general institution of the church. At a conference at Martinsburg, February 9th and 10th, 1825, at the home of Rev. C. P. Krauth, Revs. B. Kurtz, Hagerstown, Md., F. Ruthrauff, Williamsport, Md., and J. Winter, Jerardstown, Va„ also being present, Rev. Samuel Simon Schmucker, D. D. Leading Founder of Seminary and College. From a rare photograph taken in Philadelphia about i860. Dr. Schmucker was born at Hagerstown, Md., teb. 28 I7QQ; moved to York, Pa., 1809, studying at the Academy until 1814; en- tered Freshman class at University of Pennsylvania in 1814, remaining two years; taught at York County Academy 1816-1817; studied Lutheran Theology under Dr. Helmuth in Philadelphia 1815-1816 and under Dr. Schmucker Sr., in York 1816-1817; attended Princeton Seminary 1818-1820; given A. B. by University of Pennsylvania in i8 I9 ; given D. D. by both Rutgers and Univer- sity of Pennsylvania in 1830; licensed to preach 1820; pastor at New Market, Va 1820-1825; began private theological instruction with one student 1821; ordained 1821; delegate to General Synod 1823; wrote Formula of Government 1823; proposed Committee on Foreign Correspondence at General Synod 1823; prepared plan as chairman of committee for establishment of Theological bemi- nary 1825, and elected First Professor of Theology 1825 ; installed 1826; pre- pared its constitution 1826; issued Storr & Flatt's Biblical Theology (2 vol.) in 1826; instituted Classical Academy 1827; prepared General Synod Hymn Book 1828; organized Gettysburg Gymnasium 1829 ; secured charter for Penn- sylvania College, by personal appeal to Legislature 1832;. Trustee of College 1832 to 1873; secured appropriation for College, $18,000, m 1834; visited Eu- rope in 1846 attending Evangelical Alliance ; effected transfer of Franklin Professorship from Lancaster 1851; aided m raising funds for Preparatory Building in 1869; resigned Professorship in Seminary 1864; Professor Emeritus until he died, July 26, 1873; buried in Gettysburg Cemetery. Dr Henry L. Jacobs, the Lutheran historian, truly says of him: "Never have highei execu- tive abilities been at the service of the Church.' to further consider the project, the first money, six or seven dollars, was contributed. At the meeting of the Synod at Hagerstown October 23, 1825, a committee consisting of Messrs. Schmucker, Krauth and B. Kurtz were appointed to draft a plan for the immediate establishment of a sem- inary. Their plan, drawn up by Dr. Schmucker, with some additional articles, also drawn up by him, was 17 adopted by the General Synod at Frederick, two weeks later, November 7, 1825. The resolution said : " In this Seminary shall be taught, in the German and English languages, the fundamental doctrines of the Sacred Scrip- tures, as contained in the Augsburg Confession." Thus he saw executed what he had fondly looked for- ward to for five years. For in a letter dated February 17, 1820, just before leaving Princeton Seminary, he had written his father: "We (he and Rev. F. C. Schaeffer, a Lutheran pastor in New York City, whom he had just visited) promised each other, that in reliance on God, we would do everything possible to promote the following objects: In general to labor for the wel- fare of our church, that a rule may be established ac- cording to which every applicant must be examined in regard to his personal Christianity, that the Augsburg Con- fession should again be brought up out of the dust and every one must subscribe to the twenty-one articles, and declare before God, by his subscription, that it corresponds with the Bible, not quantum, but quia; and we promised to do every 'tiling possible to promote learning among us." Concern- ing his ambitions for his Church at this early time he later wrote: "When I left Princeton (1820) there were three pia desideria, which were very near to my heart, for the welfare of our church. A translation of some one eminent system of Lutheran Dogmatics, a Theological Seminary and a College for the Lutheran Church." He was only 21 years old when he left the Seminary and, yet, within six years (1826) he had translated and published Storr and Flatt's Biblical Theology (8vo. 2 vols., Andover) ; had launched the Seminary and, six years later, he realized his third desire in securing a charter for Pennsylvania Col- lege ! Three remarkable achievements ! Agents for soliciting contributions were appointed in all parts of the church, from New York to Indiana, and from Pennsylvania to South Carolina. Rev. Benjamin Kurtz was at once appointed an agent to visit Europe and " solicit contributions of money and books for the benefit of the Seminary." The General Synod elected Rev. Samuel S. Schmucker as first professor. All future elections were to be by the Board of Directors, also elected by the General Synod at this session. The Board held its first meet- ing at Hagerstown, March 2, 1826, with nine members present. Thus The Theological Seminary of the Gen- eral Synod was finally launched, in 1826, after much ef- fort and struggle during the preceding six years. The Constitution was written by Dr. Schmucker, at the Board's request. The object of Seminary is thus stated in Article I : " To provide our churches with pastors who sincerely believe and cordially approve of the doctrines of the Holy Scriptures, as they are fundamentally taught in the Augs- burg Confession." Next came the matter of permanent location which was at once considered by the Board. Dr. Morris, in his valuable historical sketch, written for the Fiftieth Anniversary in 1876, tells us how this was determined. Hagerstown offered $6,635 ^ n money ; Carlisle offered $5,000 in money and a lot of ground ; Gettysburg offered $7,000 in money and the use of the Acad- emy building until suitable edi- fices could be erected for the seminary. After a long debate Gettysburg, upon the second ballot, was the place selected, the final decision being unani- mous. Gettysburg was then a town of about 1,500 inhabi- tants. The Seminary was chartered in 1827. Rev. Kurtz returned from his tour of Europe in 1827 having se- cured almost $10,000 and 5,000 books for the library. At this time the seminary had the largest theological library in this country, the supply from friends in Ger- The Cradle of Higher Education In the Lutheran Church in America. Built at Southeast Corner Washing-ton and High Streets, in 1810, by means of an ap- propriation of $2,000 from the Legislature, as the Adams County Academy; used as the Theological Seminary of the General Synod from 1 826-1 832 ; used also as Clas- sical School, " conducive to the welfare of the Seminary" 1827-1829; bought by As- sociation of twenty-two Lutheran clergy- men in 1829 for a " Classical and Scientific Department in subservience to the objects of the Theological Seminary " for $1,100 C$50 per share), and conducted as The Gettysburg Gymnasium 1829-1832; home of Pennsylvana College, 1832-1837; and Preparatory Department to 1838, and sold in 1844. 19 many continuing for several years after Mr. Kurtz's re- turn.* Fourteen young men were enrolled the first year, 1826-27. At the meeting of the Board May, 1827, it was sug- gested that a " well conducted Classical School would not only promote the cause of education in Gettysburg, but also be conducive to the welfare of the Seminary." The Board therefore " resolved that the then directors as- sociate themselves together for the purpose of establish- ing a Classical School, and that their successors in the Board be their successors in the management of the School." David Jacobs, A. M., a student of the Seminary, was appointed teacher. Thus we see that in the very year the Seminary was chartered, 1827, its Board began this Classical School (with two students) in the same building, conducted by one of its students ; a most inti- mate relationship. In 1829 the property of the Academy was purchased by a stock company (" in subservience to the objects of the Theological Seminary ") of twenty-two poor Lutheran clergymen for $1,100, each taking a share at $50.** The Classical School was now made the Gettysburg Gymna- * In 1827 both the Seminary Board and the General Synod passed resolu- tions of great gratitude. As late as May, 1829, Dr. Kurtz writes: "Nearly every arrival from Amsterdam, Bremen, and Hamburg, at the port of Balti- more, affords us most joyful proof of the continuance of their liberality." Con- siderable money was raised by the sale of fancy-work made and sent by Luth- eran ladies in Germany. In this country ladies' societies did the same. In order to further strengthen this close connection between the church in the Fatherland and the young American Seminary it was the desire of many, at this time, to elect as a second Professor a distinguished scholar from Germany. But opposition arising to this suggestion, the Board elected as the second Pro- fessor (1830) Rev. Dr. E. L. Hazelius, a most learned American German, then Principal of Hartwick Seminary in New York State. He became Professor of the German Language and of Oriental Literature and also taught in the Gym- nasium and College. **The names and residences of these original share-holders are given so as to show the widespread interest in the founding of an American Lutheran Col- lege. Fifteen were from Pennsylvania, four from Maryland and three from Virginia: S. S. Schmucker, Gettysburg, Pa.; John Herbst, Jr., Gettysburg, Pa. ; H. G. Steelier, Martinsburg, York county, Pa. ; J. G. Schmucker, York, Pa. ; C. F. Heyer, Carlisle, Pa. ; Jno. Ruthrauff, Greencastle, Pa. ; Jacob Crig- ler, Berlin, Somerset county, Pa. ; Eman. Keller, Mechanicsburg, Pa. ; Jacob Martin, Williamsburg, Huntingdon county, Pa. ; J. W. Heim, Landisburg, Mif- flin county, Pa. ; Benj. Kurtz, Hagerstown, Md. ; D. F. Schaeffer, Frederick, Md. ; Jno. G. Morris, Baltimore, Md. ; Abr. Reck, Middletown, Md. ; Fred'k Schaeffer, D. D., Philadelphia, Pa. ; Mich. Meyerhoeffer, Harrisonburg, Va. ; Jacob Medtart, Martinsburg, Va. ; Lew. Eichelberger, Winchester, Va. ; C. Phil. Krauth, Philadelphia, Pa. ; Daniel Gottwald, Petersburg, Adams county, Pa. ; W. G. Ernst, Lebanon, Pa. ; C. F. Schaeffer, Carlisle, Pa. sium and a Scientific Department added, under the care of Mr. Michael Jacobs. In 1832 the new seminary building was occupied on Seminary Ridge. The site was selected by three non-resident Directors ; Major Fred'k Sharretts of Carlisle, Geo. Hager of Hagerstown and Chas. A. Bar- nitz, Esq., of York. The "Gymnasium" was chartered as Pennsylvania College and was formally opened as such July 4, 1832. Seminary Building in 1834. Photo-engraving from wood-cut. This is the very earliest picture of the Semi- nary. The Seminary building was finished in 1832 and Professor Schmucker s house in 1833. The building was designed by Architect Pierce, of Chambers- burg; the original contract price being $7,750. with additional sums for numer- ous alterations. The corner-stone was laid May 26, 1831, with hymns, prayers and addresses in both German and English. In 1832 a bell was given for the cupola by the church in York. In i860 the fourth story was finished. In 1893 all was thoroughly remodeled and modernized and the second building erected. Dr. Schmucker has left us an interesting record of his efforts to secure this charter. He " spent several weeks, on his own expense, in bringing the merits of the case be- fore the individual members of the Legislature. By the aid of Gov. Wolfe,* the distinguished friend of popular education, he also obtained permission of the House to address them in the Representative Hall, on the claims of the Germans in Pennsylvania to legislative sanction in the establishment of a college for the edu- cation of their Anglicized descendants. The earlier his- * A Pennsylvania-German Lutheran. 21 tory of the Germanic nations in Europe was briefly sketched, and the patriotism, the integrity and industry of the Germans in our own State was presented in detail. The Hall was crowded by the members of the Legislature, the Governor, and the heads of Departments, as well as others of the most intelligent citizens of Harrisburg." He also had petitions circulated by Lutheran pastors and other friends in about thirty counties and forwarded to members of the Legislature. He adds : " Accordingly a charter was obtained April, 1832." The work of the College was transferred to its new building on the campus in 1837 and the Preparatory De- &-^£*. c^4_jfc <-. G. Biftsm, Vork. 1'a. Conferring of gep/res ;nui B;irc;ii;uirc;ifr Address. Fac-simile of Programme of First Lutheran College; Commence- ment in America, Sept. 17, 1834. Messrs. Keller, Stork and Dale were Juniors at this time. which has never been lost upon German intellect, but has produced a galaxy of learned men in every depart- ment of literature, who may be regarded as the admira- tion of the world." Since the completion of Christ Lutheran Church in 26 1836 the faculties and students have attended this church. It is not the purpose of this writing to give a detailed history of these institutions. Although it can here be stated that the Theological Seminary has trained over 1,100 ministers for the American Lutheran Church and now has a magnificent plant and endowment worth more than $400,000. The College now has over 1,200 alumni and property and endowment worth nearly $600,000. It has furnished Presidents and Professors for all of the other educational institutions of the General Synod ; each of these schools, in turn, carrying on the same beneficent work for church and nation in its particular " sphere of influence." A Three-fold Lesson. Both from the Battle of Gettysburg and from our Church's Educational efforts there we may deduce three timely lessons. First: Both represent the heroic sacrifices of the fath- ers of both nation and Church in our behalf. " Four score and seven years (1776- 1863) ago our fath- ers brought forth on this continent a new nation." So, we Lutherans of the General Synod may say " Four score and seven years ago (1820-1907) our fathers brought forth on this continent a new ecclesiastical na- tion " in the founding of the General Synod, the first gen- eral body of Lutherans organized in America. The names of these fifteen pioneers and organizers should be cherished as highly as those of the Signers of the Declar- ation of Independence. They were : — Revs. George Lochman, D. D., F. W. Geisenhainer, D. D., Christian nndress, D. D., J. G. Schmucker, D. D., H. A. Muhlen- berg/ D. D., and Messrs. Christian Kunkel, William Hensel and Peter Strickler, from the Synod of Pennsyl- vania; Revs. F. P. Mayer, D. D., and F. C. Schaeffer, D. D., from the Synod of New York; Revs. G. Shober and P. Schmucker from the Synod of North Carolina, and Revs. J. D. Kurtz, D. D., D. F. Schaeffer, D. D., and Mr. George Shryock of the Synod of Maryland and Virginia. From this humble beginning, effected through great sac- 27 rifices and hardships, developed all of the large present Educational, Missionary, Benevolent and Publishing in- terests of the General Synod of our day. The Educational beginnings at Gettysburg particularly involved heroic sacrifices on the part of their promoters. Dr. Schmucker began his work at a salary of $500 per year, and for ten years gave $100 per year for helping needy students for the ministry. The twenty-two poor Lutheran clergymen who, in 1829, purchased the Acad- emy building for $1,100 for the use of the Gymnasium, College and Seminary, probably each represented more personal financial sacrifice than the modern multi-millionaire in founding an University. The Church in Germany, in sending the earlier leaders from Halle, and, later, in sending their thousands of dollars and of books for the young Seminary is an abiding inspiration to the Luth- eran Church in America to altru- istic Missionary and Educational enterprises. Many of the loyal Professors, like Prof. Stoever, have refused far more lucrative positions else- where and have given their lives to our schools. Gettysburg, therefore, spells sacrifices by the fathers for us! Second: Both the Battle and our Schools at Gettysburg represent a turning point in history. " The world can never forget what they did here . . . the cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion." Our illustration of the " High-water Mark Monument " strikingly reminds us that here was definitely settled the principle of Secession ; that this ominous wave now re- ceded, to be forever swallowed up, at Appomatox, in the indivisible Union of our Republic. Equestrian Statue of Gen- eral Meade. The State of Pennsylvania erected equestrian statues to Generals Meade, Hancock and Reynolds, at a cost of $100,000, in honor of her three most distinguished sons in this the only bat- tle of the war on her free soil. As yet the Lutheran Church has erected no special monument to her distinguished son who was " father " to her institu- tions at Gettysburg. But, looking at these schools, we may say: " Si quaeris monumentum, circumspice." 28 This sacred field may also have marked a spiritual turn- ing-point in the eternal career of the great-hearted Lin- coln. For an incident is given by Professor M. L. Stoever, Professor of Latin and History in Pennsylvania College at the time, in the Evangelical Review for July, 1865, which would indicate this. Writing an eloquent tribute to the memory of the recently martyred President, he states : ' 'To a friend who asked him on a certain occa- sion if he (Lincoln) loved the Saviour, his reply was : ' When I was first inaugu- rated I did not love Him ; but when I stood on the battle- field of Gettysburg and looked upon the graves of our dead heroes, who had fallen in de- fence of their country, I gave my heart to Christ and I can now say that I do love my Saviour.' " In the same way our Insti- tutions at Gettysburg have had a critical influence in the life and development of both the Church as a whole and of the hundreds of young lives which they have touched. " Peace hath her victories no less renowned than war." From the standpoint of the American Lutheran Church in general and the General Synod in particular the found- ing of our educational institutions at Gettysburg was the " High-water Mark " for a long period marked by scat- tered forces, unorganized resources, fewness of leaders, lay ignorance and denominational inertia. But since then there has been a steady and rapid recession of these various waves of hindrance and an ever increasing growth in lay intelligence and liberality, organized and centralized methods of local and general Church work, gains in the numbers and competency of the clergy and High-Water Mark. " It was here that one of the most gallant charges recorded in history terminated; here that the tide of success of the Confederacy turned. From this spot the defeated troops fell back and never again made a successful stand. This was indeed the High-Water Mark of the Rebellion." Toward this copse of trees Pickett was directed to move in making his memorable charge. These scrub-oak trees have not grown more than a few feet since 1863 ; hence appear just about as they did in the battle. 29 a growing tendency toward a loyal and triumphant de- nominational career in this glorious Republic. Without needing to cite the many hundreds of living ex-students of these Institutions, we would simply sug- gest, in estimating this influence in the past, that we could not write the history of our Church in this country without recording the services of at least the following of the ex-students no longer living: Rosenmiller, Ritz and Sill, incorporators of Wittenberg College in 1845, an d Keller and Sprecher, its earliest Presidents, besides many other Professors there ; the Bit- ties, Wells, Davis and Dosh at Roanoke, besides Story, Brown, Smelzer, Holland, Bikle and other Southern leaders ; Ziegler and Born at Selinsgrove ; in Illinois and the West, such leaders as Reck, Springer, Harkey, Rey- nolds, Tressler, Kuhl, Weiser and Kuhns ; in the General Council such indispensable workers as were Schaeffer (C. W.), Krauth, Bassler, Passavant, Sadtler, Muhlen- berg, Seip, Schmucker (B. M.), Schmauk Sr., Schantz, Richards and Seiss; besides such General Synod leaders and organizers as Morris, Oswald, Baum, Conrad, Wede- kind, Goettman and Barnitz ; Bishop Payne among the colored people, Ex-Moderator Wm. M. Paxton among the Presbyterians, and hundreds of other Churchmen in America, and in India, Gunn, Unangst and Rowe. Esti- mate, if you can, the influence for lasting good of each of these ; add to this the growing influence for good of the various institutions which they, in turn, founded ; and then multiply it all several-fold for the share of those still living and a partial conception of the undying results of our Church's work at Gettysburg can be gained. The founding of those schools was certainly a turning-point in ecclesiastical and individual history! Third: Both the Battle and the Christian School repre- sent the only solution of a successful national life. Lincoln put it thus : " That the government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth." The Battle undoubtedly gave the United Republic a new lease of life. But at every past and future stage of its life Democracy must depend for its 30 success and perpetuity upon the ideals inculcated i.i Christian Schools. Lincoln expressed this most truly in an address in Illinois, nearly thirty years earlier, when he said : " Let reverence for the laws be taught in schools, in seminaries and in colleges ; let it he written in primers, spelling books and alma- nacs ; let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation ; and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay of all sexes and tongues and colors and conditions sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars." Thoughtful Americans realize that this is the burning issue in our Republic's life at this time. The great in- crease of irreligion, crime, lawlessness, injustice and ex- travagance has attracted the attention of our national leaders with new force. The recent meeting of the National Educational Associa- tion, at Los Angeles, Cal., passed this startling resolution : " The National Educational Association wishes to record its ap- proval of the increasing appreciation among educators of the fact that the building of character is the real aim of schools, and the ulti- mate reason of the expenditure of millions for their maintenance. There are in the minds of the children and youth of to-day a tendency toward a disregard for constituted authority, a lack of respect for age and superior wisdom, a weak appreciation of the demands of duty, a disposition to follow pleasure and interest rather than obliga- tion and order. This condition demands the earnest thought and action of our leaders of opinion and places important obligations upon school authorities." In the past few years such great organizations as the Religious Education Association and the Inter-Church Federation have come into existence largely to meet this present American crisis. The Church must Christianise the education of the nation as well as educate the Christianity of the nation. In this the Lutheran Church — the General Synod — must do her full share or be untrue to her worthy heri- tage.; her national obligation and her Divine Commission to " Go, Teach." The Board of Education is now aiding six such Luth- eran Colleges and Academies, scattered in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and Kansas. As good Americans ; as good Lutherans ; as good Christians ; for us this is a fundamental work. Strong Schools make a strong Church , and a strong Church makes a strong Nation! 31 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 014 312 203 7 Our Five Other American Lutheran Schools Aided hy Board of Education of General Synod. Recitation Building WITTENBERG COLLEGE Springfield, O. Founded 1845 Dormitory and Recitation Hall HARTWICK SEMINARY Hartwick Seminary, N. Y. Founded 1797 Seibert Hall SUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSITY Selinsgrove, Pa. Founded 1858 Recitation Building CARTHAGE COLLEGE Carthage, III. Founded 1870 Dormitory and Recitation Hall MIDLAND COLLEGE Atchison, Kan. Founded 1887