THE REMINISCENCES OF CARL SCHURZ
recognized by the German Parliament and the German governments as a national cause, and the Prussian and other regular troops would do much better service in the war than the loosely organized and badly drilled bodies of hastily gathered volunteers. Neither did he conceal from me that he was anxious to keep me with him in Bonn, where, as he sought to convince me, I could do the Fatherland much better service in the way of agitation for our cause. As it turned out, the volunteer organizations formed by students fought right bravely in Schleswig-Holstein, but when facing the superior discipline and tactics of the Danish troops, found themselves exposed to all sorts of ugly accidents. The service so rendered was therefore in no proportion to the sacrifices made by their members. The reports brought by several students who, after having served in Schleswig-Holstein for a little time, returned to the universities, consoled me for the restraint I had put upon my warlike ardor.
Several of these Schleswig-Holstein volunteers came to Bonn, and among them Adolph Strodtmann, who at a later period achieved in German literature a respectable place. He became my near personal friend, and will appear as such in this story of my life on various occasions. He was the son of a Protestant clergyman in Hadersleben, a little town in the Duchy of Schleswig. Father and son were enthusiastic adherents of the pro-German national cause, and young Adolph, who shortly before the outbreak of the Schleswig-Holstein uprising had left the gymnasium, joined at once a corps of student-volunteers. He was unfit for military service in a rare degree, for he was not only very nearsighted, but also of imperfect hearing. He told us frequently with great humor of his only martial achievement. One morning the corps of students was surprised in their camp by the Danes and roughly handled. Strodtmann
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