Interesting Arcadians

History - Newark

Interesting Arcadians - John Rhein
By Bob Hoeltzel, Arcadia Town Historian

On May 27, 1883, at his home on the corner of East Miller St. and Norton St. (now Colton Ave.), John Rhein died at 88 years of age. His death was attributed to "old age."

John Rhein was born in the village of Neustadt, Prussia on March 5, 1795. In 1819 he was apprenticed to a harness maker in his native village. He followed that trade until his retirement in old age.

In 1832, he married Mrs. Mary Snyder, a widow with two children. There were no children from this union. Soon after their marriage, John, Mary and the children came to America, settling first in Rensselaer County, then in the Town of Sodus, and finally to what is now the Heidenreich Road in Arcadia, where he spent the next 35 years.

None of this seems extraordinary considering the number of German emigrants to this township in the decades from 1830 to 1860. What set John Rhein apart from his fellow Arcadians was his adventures during three and one-half years, in his early manhood.

It was in the spring of 1814, soon after his 19th birthday, that John Rhein joined the French army of Napoleon as a drummer boy. This, in itself, is unusual, as Napoleon was considered the arch-enemy of both Prussia and England. Was it because Napoleon had thoroughly defeated Prussia at the Battle of Jena in 1805, and John preferred to be on the side of the emperor general, who seemed destined to become the ruler of all Europe? We'll never know.

What is a matter of record is that John Rhein participated in the Battle of Waterloo, at which Napoleon's French army was defeated by the British army under Wellington and the Prussian army under Blucher, whose combined strength was 213,000 against Napoleon's forces of 125,000. This battle, near the Flemish (Belgium) town of Waterloo, ended the Napoleonic Wars and the career of Napoleon Bonaparte. The battle was among the "great" battles in world history and one which had great impact on the future history of Europe. John Rhein escaped the fate of some 32,000 French casualties in that one battle. Total casualties numbered 55,000!

The Battle of Waterloo took place June 18, 1815. John Rhein remained in the French army until September 12, 1817, when he was honorably discharged. A letter of commendation by his regimental commander referred to John as, "a good soldier faithful and earnest in the performance of his duties."

Mary Rhein, five years older than her husband, died of old age in August, 1872. John remained on his small farm until 1878, when he moved to Newark to reside with his stepgrandson, Jacob L. Snyder.

At his death, John Rhein was described in his obit in the NEWARK UNION as, "a genial, pleasant old gentleman, whose delight it was, during the last years of his life, to recount to our citizens many incidents of his experience during his three and a half years' service as a drummer boy under Napoleon, and especially some of the scenes in the final act in the life-drama of that greatest of generals in modern times."

To my knowledge, no other Arcadian shared that distinction.

John and Mary Rhein are buried together in the peaceful shade of Newark Cemetery.

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