The "Forty-Eighters"

In one short year the Revolution of 1848 that Fidel Schlund had participated in, had failed. In 1849 Fidel was wanted for treason. I have an unsourced story in my old works that says that Fidel fled to Switzerland and while absent from Germany he was sentenced to be shot. The sentence was revoked and Fidel returned to Germany. I'm unsure if Fidel fled the country, but I do know that in 1849, Fidel was arrested for treason against Germany.

Fidel was imprisoned for seven months in Kempton as recorded in the German book, “Die Volkshalle”, (Translated to English)

“On July, 30^th 1849 the popular people's friend Fidel Schlund from Immenstadt was brought in the local prison accompanied by two policemen. Only political opinions could be the reason for this new arrestment. Mr. Schlund has a good royal Bavarian cast of mind, although he eagerly strives to realize the German Unit and the imperial constitution. Now the government defines this thinking as a crime, what they expected from the people last year.”

Due to Fidel’s involvement in the Revolutions of 1848 and his later immigration to America, Fidel is known as a “Forty-Eighter.” The Forty-Eighters were Germans, involved in the failed Revolution, who traveled to the United States, Puerto Rico and Australia after the Revolutions of 1848. They were disappointed by the failure of the revolution to bring about the reform of the system of government in Germany. Sometimes, as with Fidel, these actions landed them on the government's wanted list. They gave up their old lives to try again abroad. Many were respected, rich and well-educated, as such, they were not typical immigrants. Unsurprisingly, a large number went on to be very successful in their new countries and have become a important part of US and Australian history.

The term Forty Eighters is often used to more specifically to describe the the immigrants who took part in both the failed German Revolution and later the American Civil War. The vast majority of the German immigrants joined the Union effort. Led by the 1848 revolutionists, they enrolled in what they perceived to be their "Zweiter Freiheitskampf," their second fight for liberty. From the beginning, these Germans knew they were fighting not only for the preservation of the Union and democracy, but also for human rights, for the liberation of the slaves, and for themselves.