American political leader, newspaper editor. A leading member of the Republican Party, in 1860 Schurz campaigned for Abraham Lincoln and was an active campaigner against slavery. After Lincoln was elected president he appointed Schurz as United States envoy to Spain. Schurz helped recuit Germans living in New York before being asked to negotiate with European governments on behalf of Abraham Lincoln. Schurz was given the rank of Brigadier General and placed in command of the Third Division of the Army of Virginia. Schurz also commanded the Third Division of the Army of Potomac and took part in Bull Run and Fredericksburg. After these battles he was promoted to the rank of Major General, replacing his friend and fellow German, Franz Sigel. Schurz later took part in the battles at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. After the war he worked at the New York Tribune, which was followed by a session as Editor-In-Chief of the Detroit Post and later the Editor of the German newspaper the Westliche Post in St. Louis, Missouri. Schurz was elected to the Senate in 1869. He supported Horace Greeley against Ulysses S. Grant, the official Republican candidate for president, but despite his efforts Grant won the election. President Hayes appointed Schurz as his Secretary of the Interior in 1877. In 1881 Schurz returned to journalism and became Managing Editor of the New York Evening Post. Schurz also wrote for Harper's Weekly and The Nation and had several books published after leaving office. A memorial named "The Naked Truth" commemorating Carl Schurz, Dr. Emil Preetorius and Carl Daenzer was a gift to the city of St. Louis from the German-American Alliance and was unveiled on May 27, 1914. The statue is a nude figure of a woman seated on a stone bench with arms outstretched, holding torches. The figure symbolizes truth and the torches represent the enlightenment of Germany and the United States. The figure is bronze in heroic size and the eyes are painted to resemble Greek bronze figures and many modern German statues. The inscription on the back of the monument, written in both English and German, expresses the devotion of German-American citizens to their new country.
American political leader, newspaper editor. A leading member of the Republican Party, in 1860 Schurz campaigned for Abraham Lincoln and was an active campaigner against slavery. After Lincoln was elected president he appointed Schurz as United States envoy to Spain. Schurz helped recuit Germans living in New York before being asked to negotiate with European governments on behalf of Abraham Lincoln. Schurz was given the rank of Brigadier General and placed in command of the Third Division of the Army of Virginia. Schurz also commanded the Third Division of the Army of Potomac and took part in Bull Run and Fredericksburg. After these battles he was promoted to the rank of Major General, replacing his friend and fellow German, Franz Sigel. Schurz later took part in the battles at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. After the war he worked at the New York Tribune, which was followed by a session as Editor-In-Chief of the Detroit Post and later the Editor of the German newspaper the Westliche Post in St. Louis, Missouri. Schurz was elected to the Senate in 1869. He supported Horace Greeley against Ulysses S. Grant, the official Republican candidate for president, but despite his efforts Grant won the election. President Hayes appointed Schurz as his Secretary of the Interior in 1877. In 1881 Schurz returned to journalism and became Managing Editor of the New York Evening Post. Schurz also wrote for Harper's Weekly and The Nation and had several books published after leaving office. A memorial named "The Naked Truth" commemorating Carl Schurz, Dr. Emil Preetorius and Carl Daenzer was a gift to the city of St. Louis from the German-American Alliance and was unveiled on May 27, 1914. The statue is a nude figure of a woman seated on a stone bench with arms outstretched, holding torches. The figure symbolizes truth and the torches represent the enlightenment of Germany and the United States. The figure is bronze in heroic size and the eyes are painted to resemble Greek bronze figures and many modern German statues. The inscription on the back of the monument, written in both English and German, expresses the devotion of German-American citizens to their new country.
Bio by: David H. Hagen
