# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1855 04 10_S130
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

130

religion. After the war the Emperor himself, to be sure, admitted that he had undertaken this war chiefly for the extermination of the heretics, and made a merit of it before the Council.

This disclosure rightly kindled the wrath of the German people. They thronged from all sides to the banners of the allies, and in a very short time an army of 47,000 brave and practiced warriors stood in the field.

The Upper-Germans were the first to present themselves: the Württembergers, 24 companies of foot under the brave Hans von Heidecke, and the others from the Upper-German cities under the world-renowned Schertlin, who had distinguished himself in the wars against Turks and French, in the battle of Pavia and the storming of Rome; they met on the 21st of July at Ulm. Schertlin marched with his force to the Tyrol to hinder the advance of the papal troops. He had already occupied the important Ehrenberg Pass, taken Hüssen, and intended, by way of Innsbruck, as he expresses it in the account of his life written by himself, "to visit the Council which sat at Trent with many cardinals and bishops, and to stop up the hole for the enemies, that they might not come out," but the council of war of the allies at Ulm called him back, that he might join the army of the League.

When the heads of the League, the Elector and the Landgrave, had entered the camp, they sent a letter of defiance to the Emperor, which the Emperor, however, would not accept, but threatened the messengers that, if anyone should let himself be seen with similar letters, he would send him home again, instead of with a present and a golden chain, with a rope about his neck; in return he sent them the ban of the Empire, against which the two princes defended themselves thoroughly and admirably. They showed therein how his vaunted care for the welfare and honor of the German nation consisted only in empty, feigned words; by his deeds he had, from the beginning of his reign, proved only that he meant to plunge it into strife, destruction and ruin, and finally to bring it under himself as a hereditary monarchy with eternal bondage. So it was also with his pretended zeal to reconcile the dissension of religion by Christian means. The present alliance with the Pope proved clearly enough that at no time had they had anything else in mind than to root out the true religion. To gain time for this, he had put the peace-sounding recesses of the Diets on screws, and when the demanded aid of the Empire had been rendered, they were disputed and called in question at the next following Diets. The pretext of the war was now disobedience and rebellion; religion was to have nothing to do with it, only to divide the allies from one another. The real ground of the war the Pope had made known by the publication of the alliance which the Emperor had concluded with him for the extermination of the heretics; it was none other than the suppression of the true religion and of German liberty. From this it followed also that one had a double cause to resist with God and a good conscience, for in the first place it did not belong to the power and jurisdiction of the magistracy to forbid, disturb and overthrow God's Word and the true religion, and in the second place the Electors, Princes and Estates of the Empire were the Emperor's subjects only according to his sworn capitulation, and only so far as he kept it toward the Empire and the Estates, which he had not done. Yes, contrary to the ordinances of the Holy Empire and his own electoral capitulation, they had been outlawed without further ado, without being summoned to justice, heard, and found guilty. The Emperor pretended that he had long spared them, with no little burden upon his conscience, but from all the circumstances it was plain that he had merely not been able to find the right time and opportunity sooner. Of his conscience, however, everyone could easily judge from the unheard-of tyranny with which he persecuted so many poor pious Christians in the Netherlands, etc. Finally it is said: This was now their truthful, well-founded and steadfast defense, according to which they were willing also in all points (religion alone excepted) to give answer and account before all impartial Christian potentates, Electors, Princes and Estates of the Empire, likewise the whole German nation, and all pious, honor-loving men. Because the Emperor in the ban had called them only Johann Friedrich and Philipp, who call themselves Duke of Saxony and Landgrave of Hesse, they in this defense also no longer acknowledged him as Emperor, but said: because he had not kept his sworn electoral capitulation, he had deposed himself from his imperial office, dignity and majesty.

Of the war itself little that is pleasing is to be told after its first pleasing beginning through Schertlin. Had he had the matter alone in his hand, and a free hand for it, then, humanly speaking, an entirely different result would probably have come out. But what could an army, even the most capable, accomplish under two heads of such different temperament, besides being hampered in its movements by all sorts of scruples, however venerable, and by regard for the Emperor. Everything went contrary to the great expectations which one might at first have had, and took a shameful, woeful end.

Schertlin wanted to surprise the Emperor at Regensburg before he had gathered his troops, but they would not permit him. The Emperor turned toward Landshut, and there the papal auxiliary troops joined him unhindered, 10,000 foot and 500 horse. The Pope's grandson was placed over them as commander. At the departure of the army the Pope is said to have said: "he would now strike into Germany in such a manner that his horses should swim in Lutheran blood." Soon after, the Spaniards also came up, all old, tried soldiers, 6000 in number. Notwithstanding, the allies were even then still far superior to the Emperor, and Schertlin advised surrounding him and ending the war with a single blow. The Landgrave was against it. "The Landgrave would not bite the fox, says Schertlin; to him all fords and ditches were too deep, and the marshes too broad." At last it seemed that a battle was about to occur at Ingolstadt; the Emperor was poorly entrenched, the Netherlandish troops were not yet joined with him. The prospect of victory was again on the side of the allies. The troops were led out, Schertlin had already caused considerable confusion in the Emperor's army; yet instead of using the favorable moment for a common attack, they spent the time in a useless cannonade, and the next morning found the Emperor so entrenched that they ventured no further attack. They then lay three days idle over against the Emperor, and at last, to the Emperor's astonishment, withdrew in order to hinder the advance of the Netherlandish troops under Büren. But he arrived unhindered and safe in the imperial camp, having been informed by messengers of the plans of the allies. Thus strengthened, the Emperor made himself master of the Danube, and threatened the Swabian imperial cities. The allies indeed followed him continually, but let several excellent opportunities of attacking him with advantage pass by. When the armies lay opposite one another not far from Donauwerth, the Duke of Alba had the Landgrave told: why he kept so to the mountains and hills; he should come down into the open field and venture a battle. The Landgrave answered him: He and his allies had lain for fully five days before Ingolstadt in the open field and had desired battle; why had he not then come forth, since he had such great desire to fight. Before Nördlingen also he had waited a whole day in vain. Schertlin, at last weary of the useless marching about, became so vexed at the whole conduct of the war by the allies, in which he could perceive no real earnestness, that he departed in displeasure toward Augsburg, where he was commandant. The allies moved to Giengen to cover the threatened Ulm. Here, after they had been brought to the extreme by the incessant skirmishes, secret desertions and want of money — it went no better with the Emperor either — they were struck by tidings so terrifying and dismaying that they resolved to give up the campaign in southern Germany and to withdraw for the rescue of their own lands.

(To be continued.)

(Submitted for the Lutheraner.)

On the Purpose and Meaning of the Questions:

Dost thou renounce the devil, etc.?

Dost thou believe in God the Father, etc.?

Esteemed Friend! You desire from me an instruction on the purpose and meaning of the questions which the baptizer puts to our little children at baptism, and which are answered by