Blenker, Louis, 1812-1863

He was born at Worms, Germany. After being trained as a goldsmith by an uncle in Kreuznach, he was sent to a polytechnical school in Munich. Against his family's wishes, he enlisted in an Uhlan regiment which accompanied Otto to Greece in 1832. Due to his gallantry, he soon became an officer. A revolt in Greece obligated him to leave, with an honorable discharge, in 1837. He studied medicine in Munich and then, at the wish of his parents, opened a wine trading business in Worms. In 1843, he married Elise Blenker. In 1848, he became a colonel in the Worms militia. A large majority of the citizens also preferred him for mayor of Worms, but the otherwise liberal Jaup ministry failed to confirm him due to intrigues by the opposition party. This drove him into the hands of the German Revolutionary party of 1848, and when the revolution broke out in Baden, he led an insurgent corps in spite of the poor prospects. He was noted on both sides for his fearlessness. His wife, Elise, accompanied him on his campaigns. As commander of the Freischaren (Free Corps) took Ludwigshafen (May 10, 1849), occupied the city of Worms, and made an unsuccessful attack on Landau. When the Prussian troops entered the Electorate of the Palatinate, he fought in several of the engagements in Baden, but after the suppression of the revolution was compelled to flee with other leading revolutionaries like Germain Metternich, Ludwig Bamberger, and Franz Zitz to Switzerland, whence he emigrated to the United States.

On his arrival in the United States, he settled on a farm in New York, and ran a small business. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War he organized the 8th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, of which he became colonel. He was noted for his coverage of the retreat at Bull Run and for his performance in western Virginia at the Battle of Cross Keys. For his gallantry at Bull Run he was raised to the rank of brigadier general of volunteers.

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