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136 Francksen 16. Sergeant Wilhelm Francksen According to family tradition, Wilhelm Francksen, born in 1831 in Hollwarden (Butjadingen) at the mouth of the Weser River, was a ‘‘drop out.’’ The son of one of the wealthiest farmers in the village, he studied law in Göttingen and Heidelberg but never took his final exams, and he emigrated in late 1861.1 His brother inherited the family farm. The family’s image of him finds some support in the letters: Francksen mentions a drinking problem, and there are passages indicating that he was occasionally somewhat out of touch with reality. It is not clear why Francksen enlisted in the army. He volunteered in Milwaukee in June 1862 and was assigned to Company D of the 26th Wisconsin Infantry Volunteers . This regiment, raised the previous September, consisted almost exclusively of Germans or German Americans. It was attached to the XI Army Corps, also predominantly German, of the Army of the Potomac in October 1862. The commander of his company was named Schueler, the regiment was commanded by Winkler, the division was led by Brigadier General Carl Schurz,* and the entire corps was under the command of Major General Franz Sigel.* The regiment remained in reserve at Antietam and Fredericksburg* and did not have contact with the enemy, but it suffered heavy losses at Chancellorsville* (26 killed, 126 wounded), as well as in the battle of Gettysburg,* where apart from the 20 killed and 55 missing, 134 men were wounded. Wilhelm Francksen, now a sergeant, was in the thick of the action.2 Mayvill, Wiscons., March 9, 1862 Dear father, I just received your letter of February 2 [11 ll.: boarding house; journey]. The reason I haven’t written for so long has to do with the situation here. The war and the winter made business slow down. I was advised not to become a soldier, even by people who had been soldiers themselves or still were. I could always have decided to take up an ax, but only as a last resort [6 ll.: new job]. If L[ogemann] thinks working means hard physical labor with a lot of sweat, that would make sense in his case, because he wouldn’t be any good at anysource note: Francksen may not have finished his law degree, but his German is truly elegant , precise, and nuanced.The suspicion that it may have been embellished—for this series only transcripts of the original letters are available—seems unfounded in view of his articulate use of language and the occasional mistakes that can be found. Despite the short time he had spent in America, he occasionally throws in a few English words like ‘‘sutler,’’ ‘‘creek,’’ and ‘‘smart.’’ One undated letter is not included here. 1. Information provided by the donor; NYPL, Herzogin von Brabant, November 23, 1861 (here Francksen traveled in cabin class but is listed as a farmer). 2. Pension File, NatA; OAR 7:201–2; Dyer (1959 [1908]), 318–20, 1624. Francksen 137 thing else here. I can do better[. . . .] You don’t have to learn any particular profession here: today you are this, tomorrow that, depending on what you want to do and where the money is[. . . .] I am also starting to feel more at ease here than in Jeverland and in Butjadingen. I am working, but not slaving away, am earning money and have no expenses. If you think learning how to be a merchant would only be Greek to me, that’s only because you have no idea what things are like over here. I skipped doing an apprenticeship; I started as a clerk for 300 dollars, and now I can acquire more knowledge of the business, get some experience, and to make better use of both, become a bit more fluent in English[. . . .] But that doesn’t mean I’ll stay in trade, I might become a schoolteacher, pastor, lawyer or even a druggist, butcher or something else completely different. The most important thing is that I become an American, this means first I have to get to know the country and the people. [10 ll.: does not expect money] With a good wage, I can play the gentleman over here better than in Jeverland with hard work and expensive room and board. [6 ll.: training in Germany; signature missing]. Madison, Wiscons., August 4, 186[2]3 Dear father, [. . .] When I was in Mayville, I was very pleased to receive your last letters from home and from Ruhwarden...

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