{"id":267532,"date":"2024-08-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-28T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=267532"},"modified":"2024-08-28T16:26:06","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T16:26:06","slug":"from-vilseck-to-the-american-civil-war-the-legacy-of-elias-peissner-and-lola-montez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=267532","title":{"rendered":"From Vilseck to the American Civil War, the legacy of Elias Peissner and Lola Montez"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Military photo of Col. Elias Peissner, 119th New York Regiment
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ROSE BARRACKS, Germany \u2013 A 19th century love story involving a Vilseck resident, Bavarian royalty, and the American Civil War, is an integral part Vilseck\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

Every town has its own myths and stories that are an integral part of its\u2019 history, and that includes the love story of Elias Peissner, a man from Vilseck, and Lola Montez, dancer and muse of King Ludwig I of Bavaria.<\/p>\n

While the famous love affair between Peissner, the son of Vilseck\u2019s tower guard, and Montez only lasted a few days, it is still a significant part of Vilseck\u2019s history today.<\/p>\n

Peissner, who was born and raised in the Vilseck area, first met Montez June 18, 1847, during his studies in Munich.<\/p>\n

Montez, originally born as Eliza Gilbert in Ireland, reinvented herself after a failed marriage as a Spanish dancer and eventually travelled to Munich where she started a controversial affair with King Ludwig I.<\/p>\n

Her entanglement with the king sparked an outrage, contributing to a revolution that shook the very foundations of the monarchy. In the end, she had to leave Munich and, according to rumors, fled with Peissner\u2019s help to Vilseck disguised as a student.<\/p>\n

After their stay in Vilseck, the young couple eventually split up. While their love story ended, they both continued to have memorable lives.<\/p>\n

Lola Montez<\/strong><\/p>\n

After fleeing Bavaria, Montez first lived in exile in Switzerland. In 1849, she returned to England, where she published her memoirs in 1851 before emigrating to America.<\/p>\n

In February 1851, Montez moved to New York and starred in the Broadway show “Lola Montez in Bavaria.” She later toured the West Coast, inventing The Spider Dance, a revealing dance that was considered scandalous for the time.<\/p>\n

She was an artist and dancer all her life, traveled to several countries, but eventually settled in the United States in 1859.<\/p>\n

She died just one month before her 40th birthday on Jan. 17, 1861. She is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.<\/p>\n

A tangible trace of Montez\u2019s time in Vilseck remains at the Tower Guard Museum in Vilseck, where a dress she allegedly left behind is on display.<\/p>\n

Elias Peissner<\/strong><\/p>\n

Peissner also emigrated to the United States. He arrived in New York, became a professor of German language and literature at Union College in Schenectady, New York in 1849.<\/p>\n

In the United States, Peissner was known for his publications, including various linguistic essays and his notable work, \u201cThe American Question in the National Aspect,\u201d which advocated for the non-violent abolition of slavery.<\/p>\n

In 1861, Peissner formed the volunteer unit the Union College Zouaves and fought in the American Civil War as Colonel of the 119th New York Regiment. He died from a fatal wound on May 2, 1863, during the Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia.<\/p>\n

Peissner is recognized in the town of Vilseck. The city has named a street after him and placed a plaque outside his birthplace, the W\u00fcnnenberghaus in Vilseck, that still stands today near the marketplace.<\/p>\n

Visit the Erste Deutsche T\u00fcrmermuseum<\/em>, the first German Tower Museum, in Vilseck to see the Peissner family\u2019s ancestral tree and view the travel gown allegedly left behind by Montez. For more information visit http:\/\/www.tuermermuseum.de<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Military photo of Col. Elias Peissner, 119th New York Regiment (Photo Credit: Contributed Photo) VIEW ORIGINAL ROSE BARRACKS, Germany \u2013 A 19th century love story involving a Vilseck resident, Bavarian royalty, and the American Civil War, is an integral part Vilseck\u2019s history. Every town has its own myths and stories that are an integral part […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267534,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-267532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=267532"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":267535,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267532\/revisions\/267535"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/267534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=267532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=267532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=267532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}