Headlines of history: The pastor from Switzerland | headlines of history
The life of Rev. Abraham Blumer (1736-1822) in the Lehigh Valley was historic. Arriving in America in 1771, he began raising and organizing money for the construction of the Church of Zion’s own structure, as well as channeling his support and efforts to the American Revolution. Offering a sanctuary in the church for what a later generation would know, since the Liberty Bell was made under his supervision.
But before coming to what was then Pennsylvania in British North America, he had served as appointed chaplain to a Swiss mercenary regiment under the King of Sardinia from 1757 to 1766. Three of his elder brothers, one a major, an ensign and another a cadet, would die in battle in the service of that king. One of them was named Conrad, the others are unknown. A fourth brother died on the way to America.
Blumer and his brothers were born in the village of Grabs in the Swiss canton of Glarus. Today it is considered a picturesque tourist resort. Tour guides refer to the landscape of high peaks and deep valleys as the “Grand Canyon of Switzerland”. And judging by photos, it lives up to its bill.
Blumer’s family had been known in Grabs since at least the 15th century. But for young men like Blumer’s brothers, it wasn’t a place to stay, as small towns always seemed to be for adventurous youth. Opportunities were few. Farming was limited and mostly taken over by the first sons. Taking up a craft was possible, but sitting on a workbench wasn’t for everyone. A military life that looked beyond the village gates to the wide world and the chance to gain rank and glory was open.
The Swiss soldiers of the 18th century were mercenaries, which means they fought for the highest bidder. The word mercenary has a bad connotation to modern ears used to thinking of national armies fighting for their nation. But by the 19th century, the concept of a nation was just beginning to take hold. The Swiss had no reason to explain themselves. They had fended off invasions well into the days of William Tell, and the crowned heads of Europe knew it was unwise to raid them. But using the Swiss in battles was another matter.
The golden age of Swiss mercenaries was the 15th and 16th centuries. Michelangelo designed the uniforms of the Pope’s Swiss Guard. Few armies were equipped with firearms at the time. But Swiss pikemen in an organized group could dismount armored knights with lightning speed, leaving them as helpless as fallen turtles. They could then be deployed quickly by targeting the few vulnerable spots in the armor. Another weapon they used skillfully was the halberd, a combination of spear and battle-axe. Although worn today by the papal Swiss Guards in the Vatican, halberds look quaint, but they were formidable weapons on a battlefield where they could kill a horseman with a blow to the head, as Charles the Bold discovered when carrying a halberd with him struck down by a blow in 1477.
But as the 17th century dawned, firearms gradually began to supplant the pikemen and the need for large numbers of Swiss troops dwindled. But they were still part of the regiments under the French and other European monarchs, especially the smaller kingdoms. It was Swiss Guards who lost their lives when the mobs of the French Revolution went after Louis VIX and Marie Antoinette.
The Kingdom of Sardinia lay in the border area between France and Italy. It was rugged terrain all the way down to the Mediterranean where passes through mountains could be used to repel an invading army. Like any border region, it was a conflict cockpit. The ruler of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1730 to 1770 was Charles Emmanuel III. After the death of his brother in 1715, he became heir apparent. His father did not consider Charles Emmanuel too bright and limited his education to royalty. The young prince was only taken to military exercises and the occasional fight. By the time he was installed on his sometimes shaky throne, Charles Emmanuel had decided that his army was one of the few things that would keep him in power ahead of his many rival kings. His subjects were heavily taxed to keep it that way.
It is not known in what battle or battles Blumer’s brothers met their fate. It was probably during the War of the Austrian Succession in the 1740s. Along with other European powers, including naval and financial support from England and the Dutch Republic, they fought to keep the Austrian Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa on her throne, thus keeping the Bourbon armies of France out of Italy. There were several battles in which the troops of the Kingdom of Sardinia fought. They often faced overwhelming odds to hold Savoy and the County of Nice, as the heart of the kingdom was known. The greatest attack came towards the end of the war in 1747, in which the Swiss played a significant role.
Known as the Battle of Assietta, it took place in the narrow valley pass of that name where the city of Susa was located and has long been a popular route for religious pilgrims migrating to Rome from northern Europe. Unsuccessful in open combat, the Sardinians decided to wait defensively in the rugged, heavily fortified valley. Because there were other valleys the French could use, Charles Emmanuel had to spread his forces very thinly. The French had 13 infantry battalions, 9 were Sardinian and the rest Swiss and Austrian.
The French force of 25,000 decided to attack through the pass. They made four attacks, each being repulsed by musket fire from entrenched troops. Just as their commander had managed to reach the top of a peak to plant the flag on the fortress, he was gunned down by a Sardinian soldier. “The living climbed over the dead,” says one source, “as they tried to scale the stockade.” After five hours of mountain fighting, the French retreated in an orderly but total defeat. “French casualties totaled 6,400 dead and wounded, including 400 officers,” according to a report on the battle. “Only 299 Sardinians were killed or wounded,” it says. Somewhere on the list, Blumer’s brothers could have been. Or maybe there were other battles that took their lives in this war.
Although the Seven Years’ War, known in America as the French and Indian War (1756-1763) was raging when Abraham Blumer joined his Swiss regiment as chaplain, he did not have to fulfill that role in combat. Charles Emmanuel had done well as a negotiator after the Austrian War and decided he did not need to fight another one. He focused on building a well-disciplined army and forts, improving the poor condition of the recently acquired island of Sardinia, and collecting art. The Kingdom of Sardinia would know peace until the French Revolution in the 1790s. Charles Emmanuel III died on February 21, 1773. at the age of 71 and was buried in the royal crypt of the magnificent late baroque-classical basilica of Superga near Turin.
That same year, Pastor Abraham Blumer and his congregation made plans to build the second Zion Reformed Church in Allentown.