UPDATE: Aaron has a new job! The pay isn't as good as he's had in the past, but the working conditions couldn't be better, and we don't have to move!
Last July, at Jared’s behest, many of the family traveled to attend the Colonial Heritage Festival held annually in Orem, Utah. We all anticipated it would be a bit dull. We love American history, and Jared is passionate about it, but festival didn’t seem the right word to describe history. Especially outdoors in early July. No air conditioning.
Well, we were wrong. Jared was right. This event was fabulous. Like Disneyland, but for people of all ages who love America. And completely free (though donations are gladly accepted). I mean, we’re probably going back again this summer. We learned so much and all had our favorite venues.
Mine was at the bakery, where I learned about Christopher Ludwig, Baker-General of the Continental Army. Born in 1720 in Hesse Darmstadt, Christopher Ludwig (also spelled Ludwick) learned baking from his father, but at the age of 17 began his military career when he enlisted in the army of the Emperor of Germany.
Battles and years passed, and Christopher eventually purchased some gingerbread molds, sailed for America, and began baking in Philadelphia. More years passed and the time came for America to declare independence from Great Britain. As a member of the Committees and Conventions, which was responsible for the business of the Revolution in Pennsylvania, he contributed 200 pounds toward the purchase of firearms. This, however, was not his most significant contribution to the cause of freedom.
At the ripe old age of 56, Ludwig wasn’t quite cut out to be a soldier anymore, though he had been a Hessian mercenary in his youth. He knew what the Americans were up against. Hessians were renowned for their military skill. But one of the Americans’ most significant problems was food. They didn’t have enough to eat. What food they did have was unpalatable. And if nothing else, Ludwig knew quite well that an army truly marches on its stomach. He wouldn’t be carrying arms. He’d be baking bread. And indeed, Christopher Ludwig not only baked some bread. He became the Baker-General of the Continental Army, turning out thousands of loaves to keep the Americans going.
He also knew where the Hessians were coming from. Most of them were mercenaries simply because there weren’t other opportunities at home. There really wasn’t much they could return to. What if Christopher Ludwig could show that America offered something better? With Washington’s blessing, Christopher stole into the Hessian camp. He engaged the mercenaries with accounts of his own life and incredibly prosperity in America. With his rotund figure, he obviously didn’t lack for food.
How was the interloper’s report received? We don’t have anything specific with regard to Ludwig’s effect on the Hessians. We do know that hundreds deserted. They just… disappeared.
This account suggested one possibility for researching the Rader family tree. Our Henry Rader simply drops out of heaven and appears in Virginia in 1778. All our efforts to find him any earlier anywhere in the colonies have proven futile. Was he one of the Hessians persuaded to desert by Christopher Ludwig?
Why am I even writing this? It doesn’t have much to do with prepping. I think his story is fascinating. It’s amazing how God orchestrates our opportunities to shine and serve and bring about His eternal purposes. I’d never previously read anything of this good man who served the struggling colonials and our budding nation, and who served the Hessians by helping them avoid any more combat and find a better, more prosperous way of life in America.
With the way things are going in this country and in the world, we have many dark days ahead. We will all have small but significant ways to serve in the future. Feeding people, perhaps? (Not too many, I hope. There’s only so much food. But God can multiply it if he wishes. I’ve no objections to that.) Providing medical care? Showing neighbors how to use herbs to care for their own illnesses and feed themselves? The Savior is going to work many mighty miracles between now and the time when He returns again in glory. It would be cool to participate in even the tiniest way.
References:
Mara Rockliff, Gingerbread for Liberty: How a German Baker Helped Win the American Revolution, 2015.
Benjamin Rush, An Account of the Life and Character of Christopher Ludwick: Late Citizen of Philadelphia, and Baker-General of the Army of the United States During the Revolutionary War, 1831. Reprint.
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