Carl Heinrich "Charles Henry" Wilcken (October 5, 1831 – April 9, 1915) was a German-American artilleryman who was awarded the Iron Cross by the King of

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

Frederick William IV Frederick William IV (german: Friedrich Wilhelm IV.; 15 October 17952 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 to his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to ...

On arrival in the United States in 1857, lacking English and possessing military skills and discipline, he signed on with what came to be known as Johnston's Army, a part of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

sent to put down the so-called "Mormon Rebellion" (also known as the

Utah War The Utah War (1857–1858), also known as the Utah Expedition, Utah Campaign, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between Mormon settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the US go ...

). He got permission to hunt for game to supplement the military rations. On one such trip he met some

Mormons Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

and decided to desert to join them. Later, to cover his defection, it was claimed that he had been captured by the Utah Territorial militia (the "

Nauvoo Legion The Nauvoo Legion was a state-authorized militia of the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, United States. With growing antagonism from surrounding settlements it came to have as its main function the defense of Nauvoo, and surrounding Latter Day Saint ...

") at

Fort Bridger Fort Bridger was originally a 19th-century fur trading outpost established in 1842, on Blacks Fork of the Green River, in what is now Uinta County, Wyoming, United States. It became a vital resupply point for wagon trains on the Oregon Trail, Ca ...

. Wilcken later joined

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church), and served as water commissioner directing irrigation, as a municipal policeman, and as superintendent of the

Deseret Telegraph Company The Deseret Telegraph Company () was a telegraphy company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The company was organized in 1867 to direct operation of the recently completed Deseret Telegraph Line; its largest stakeholder was the ...

. Wilcken's granddaughter Anna Amelia Pratt was the mother of American politician George W. (George Wilcken) Romney.

Biography

Wilcken left

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

, then ruled as a Duchy by the King of Denmark as Duke of Holstein, while a member of the

German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...

, in 1857, ahead of his wife Eliza Christina Carolina Reiche Wilcken (1830-1906) and two small children. He planned to emigrate to Argentina to join his brothers there; however, while waiting in London to sail, he ran out of funds and could only afford to go to New York City. Wilcken's family joined him in the U.S. in 1860. Wilcken eventually had three additional wives and fathered 18 children. Six foot four inches tall, Wilcken worked as a miller in Salt Lake City, a skill he learned in Prussia. Later he served as the friend, driver, and bodyguard for

LDS Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

presidents

John Taylor John Taylor, Johnny Taylor or similar may refer to: Academics *John Taylor (Oxford), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1486–1487 *John Taylor (classical scholar) (1704–1766), English classical scholar *John Taylor (English publisher) (178 ...

and

Wilford Woodruff Wilford Woodruff Sr. (March 1, 1807September 2, 1898) was an American religious leader who served as the fourth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1889 until his death. He ended the public practice of ...

. He assisted leaders of the LDS Church to relocate their polygamous families and he served as a go-between for them and their families when they were imprisoned.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilcken, Charles Henry 1830 births 1915 deaths American Latter Day Saints Bodyguards Converts to Mormonism Prussian emigrants to the United States German Latter Day Saints Mormon pioneers Nauvoo Legion People from Ostholstein Military personnel from Salt Lake City People from the Duchy of Holstein People of the Utah War United States Army soldiers