Prince ''Ludwig'' Karl of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg () (19 July 1864 – 26 March 1899) was a London

socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...

who became known for his mysterious disappearance, and subsequent reappearance in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

in which he was killed during fighting between

Emilio Aguinaldo Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who became the first List of presidents of the Philippines, president of the Philippines (1899–1901), and the first pre ...

-led

insurgent An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare against a larger authority. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irregular forces face a large, well ...

s and the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

at the Battle of Caloocan of the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...

. Ludwig was a prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg and a member of the Princely House of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg.

Family

Ludwig was born on 19 July 1864 in

Kreuzwertheim Kreuzwertheim () is a market Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the Main-Spessart, Main-Spessart district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany and the seat of the ''Municipal association, V ...

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

and was the eighth child and sixth son of Wilhelm, Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg and his first wife, Countess Olga Clara of Schönburg-Forderglauchau, a daughter of Count

Alban von Schönburg-Forderglauchau Alban may refer to: *Alban (surname) *Alban (given name) * Alban people, Latin people from the city of Alba Longa. *Things or people from or related to Alba (Gaelic for 'Scotland') * Alban wine, a wine of ancient Rome from Colli Albani * Alban Vi ...

Marriage

Ludwig married Lady Anne Savile, daughter of

John Savile, 4th Earl of Mexborough John Charles George Savile, 4th Earl of Mexborough (4 June 1810 – 17 August 1899), styled Viscount Pollington between 1830 and 1860, was a British peer and Tory politician. He impressed his friends enough to be twice fictionalised, and at his ...

, and his second wife. Agnes Louisa Elizabeth Raphael, on 15 May 1897 in London. Anne and Ludwig were distantly related (7th cousins), as both were descendants of

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

Henry Garraway, who served as

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

Disappearance to the Philippines

Spanish–American War

Ludwig disappeared from London society in 1898 prompting his friends to run an

advertisement Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

in London

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

s inquiring about his whereabouts. After much speculation, a

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

from

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

published in March 1899 revealed the prince had been in Manila for many months and was present at the destruction of

Patricio Montojo Patricio in Spanish, or Patrício in Portuguese, is a male given name equivalent to Patrick in English. The Spanish name is pronounced with the stress on the same first i as Portuguese, but an accent is not needed because this follows normal ru ...

's Spanish naval fleet during the

Battle of Manila Bay The Battle of Manila Bay (; ), also known as the Battle of Cavite, took place on May 1, 1898, during the Spanish–American War. The American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore George Dewey engaged and destroyed the Spanish Pacific Squad ...

in the

. While in Manila, Ludwig was suspected of acting as a "confidential agent" of the

German government The Federal Government (, ; abbr. BReg) is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany and exercises executive power at the federal level. It consists of the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Ministers. The fundamentals o ...

. Prior to the surrender of Manila, Ludwig was allegedly permitted to cross in and out of Spanish and insurgent lines, as each side regarded him as friendly. Ludwig also allegedly served as "a voluntary aide-de-camp" and

interpreter Interpreting is translation from a spoken or signed language into another language, usually in real time to facilitate live communication. It is distinguished from the translation of a written text, which can be more deliberative and make use o ...

to a General Miller, though he was never connected with the

Philippine–American War

Ludwig was among several civilians observing the progress of the Battle of Caloocan, fought between insurgents led by

and the

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

Volunteers, soldiers of the

, from a stone

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

over the Malabon River near Furageros on 26 March 1899. Ludwig and the other spectators were then warned by an

orderly In healthcare, an orderly (also known as a ward assistant, nurse assistant or healthcare assistant) is a hospital attendant whose job consists of assisting medical and nursing staff with various nursing and medical interventions. These duties a ...

that they were in danger in their current position. The orderly addressed Ludwig directly: "I am speaking to you particularly. You have already given us some trouble by hanging around the firing line, and we will have no more of it." According to fellow civilian spectator C. S. Bradford in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Ludwig and a companion left the position and disappeared into the nearby

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

which later became the scene of fighting.

Volunteers soldiers were ordered to fire upon the houses in the woods, in one of which was Ludwig. A bullet fired by an Oregonian soldier entered Ludwig's right side, killing him instantly. Bradford and two others took charge of Ludwig's body. A

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid ...

found on Ludwig's person was signed by Aguinaldo confirming that he had been granted permission to enter the lines of the insurgents at will. C. S. Bradford recounted these events to ''The New York Times'' upon his return from the Philippines to his home in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in May 1899. Ludwig's date of death was also confirmed by the Oregon Volunteers in their official account of the war published in 1902.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludwig of Lowenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg, Prince 1864 births 1899 deaths People from Main-Spessart People from the Kingdom of Bavaria House of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg German Roman Catholics Princes of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg People of the Spanish–American War German socialites Military personnel killed in the Philippine–American War Interpreters Deaths by firearm in the Philippines 19th-century British translators Expatriates from the German Empire Expatriates in the United Kingdom