FACT:
Do you have a story about and ancestor who was a veteran?
|
|
|
I'm not sure what I want to do here, but I know I want to have some sort of tribute to our ancestors who were veterans.
Maybe stories, about them... details about their branch of the service, their rank, etc...
Johann Heinrich Meyer - American Civil War
Gerlach Paul Flick - American Revolutionary War
A huge number of Flick's in the United States are descended from Gerlach Paul.
There is a plaque on Gerlach Paul's tombstone, placed there by the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution)
The following is an excerpt from the book: Captain Gerlach Paul Flick - Pennsylvania Pioneer
Written by Alexander C. Flick
When the War of Independence began in 1775 Gerlach Paul Flick was 47 years old and had been in his adopted country 24 years. He had been married for
20 years and had a large family to support as well as a farm and a mill to manage. Located on the frontier he and his family lived in constant fear of
massacre by the Indians, particularly after it became certain that most of them had allied themselves with the British in the pending struggle. It seems
quite probable that in the years preceding the Revolution he had served in the militia of Northampton county organized to protect the frontier settlements
against Indian outbreaks and thus had accustomed himself to the military tactics of the New World.
In the American Revolution Moor township raised a company of 106 men under Capt. Adam Bruckhauer and Lieut. Timothy Reed, which was a credit for such a
sparsely settled region. John Caspar Flick, 18 years old when Lexington was fought, the eldest son of Gerlach Paul Flick, early enlisted as a private
in the Revolution and saw much service. Martin Flick, the second son, enlisted in New York during the whole period of the struggle for Independence.
Gerlach Paul Flick had adequate excuse for keeping out of the army but his heart was in the contest and he gladly volunteered.
His name as a Revolutionary soldier appeared first May 21, 1777, on the muster roll of Col. Cook Long. A return of troops from Chester, Pennsylvania, on
August 28, 1777, mentions his company and shows that he was a commissioned officer.150 In June, 1777, and May 1,1778, his name appears as Captain of the
8th Company, 4th Battalion, Northampton County Militia, commanded by Col. John Siegfried and Lieut. Col. Nicholas Kern. From 1778 to 1783 he served as
Captain of Rangers on the frontier. In 1781 he commanded the 1st Company of the 3rd Battalion of Northampton County Militia, under Lt. Col. Nicholas Kern.
Since General Sullivan's Expedition sent out in 1779 to punish the Indians of western New York marched from Easton to Wyoming not far from Captain Gerlach
Paul Flick's home it is possible that he took part in it. He may have been in Schott's Rifle Corps, or in the Independent Rifle Company, or in the German
Battalion, or even in Morgan's Riflemen, who were largely Pennsylvanians. President Reed of Pennsylvania on August 3, 1779, begged the people of Northampton
county to turn out to protect the state against the enemy. Since the summons came in the midst of harvest the farmers strenuously objected and a near riot
ensued. However cooler heads prevailed and matters were adjusted. The inhabitants stated that the county's quota was already in the field, and among those in
service at the time was Gerlach Paul Flick. The 5th and 6th Battalions of the Northampton County Militia under Col. Nicholas Kern were at Wyoming July 30, 1784.
On the monument erected at Northampton, Pa., May 30,1914, "to perpetuate the memory of Col. John Siegfried and the men who served under him in the Northampton
County Militia during the War of the Revolution" the assertion is made that they participated in the battles of Assunpink, Brandywine, Germantown, White Marsh,
Red Bank and Monmouth.
A military career on the frontier in the Revolutionary War was not ordinarily spectacular but it required unusual bravery, fortitude and resourcefulness.
Gerlach Paul Flick possessed all these qualifications to an unusual degree. His contribution to American freedom will be better understood when the services
of the military units which he led have been dug out of the records. It required an intelligent interest in an epoch making movement and an exceptional courage
and self sacrifice to induce a man of middle age with a large family to support and a large farm to look after, to volunteer his services in the Revolution
and to continue in the field for six years. His selection as captain also shows the high regard of his associates for his patriotism, his character and his
ability. He neglected his own personal affairs and gave his time and energy gladly to create the new Republic of which he was a proud citizen. So far as known
he never applied for a pension either to his state or the Federal Government. He must have taken considerable pride in the fact that two of his sons took up
arms in defense of their native land. His youngest son, Gerlach Paul, Jr., was born the year Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga. Whether any of his sons-in-law
were soldiers in the Revolution has not been determined. At least four other Flicks who were immigrants like Gerlach Paul, several of whom were probably his
brothers, and a number of their sons participated in the conflict.
At the conclusion of the Revolution Captain Gerlach Paul Flick returned to his mill and farm a man 55 years of age. He took a keen interest in the creation
of the Federal Constitution of 1789 and voted for George Washington as the first President of the United States. Later he seems to have become a supporter
of Jefferson. The inhabitants of Moor township bitterly opposed the House Tax which resulted in the Fries Rebellion of 1798-99, and Gerlach Paul Flick was
unusually active in the hostile measures taken against it. State and local politics interested him greatly but he had no personal ambition to hold office
although his high standing in Northampton county and his unusual military career would have brought him strong support had he cared to use them for political
advancement. Although far advanced in years when the War of 1812 began, he followed its course with deep interest and rejoiced at its favorable conclusion.
Woodrow W. H. Meyer - Served in the Air Force during WW2
|