The Musterrolle (crew manifest) from the windjammer Herzogin Cecilie
- Carlos Marsh
- Mar 27
- 2 min read
While researching for my novel, I came across a document that turned out to be crucial: the crew list (Musterrolle) of the Herzogin Cecilie. At first glance, it’s just a list: names, ages, duties on board. But as I read it carefully, everything started to fall into place.
The first thing that strikes you is their ages: 14, 15, 16 years old. Very young cadets, trained under strict discipline, aboard one of the great German sailing ships of the era. Then came the most direct confirmation: I found my grandfather’s name, his embarkation date in Bremerhaven, and then his disembarkation date (after four years of being held aboard) in Guayacán, Chile.
That’s when I realized I wasn’t looking at a distant story, but a documented one. And immediately after, the biggest surprise: on that same list were three Chilean sailors, all having embarked in Bremerhaven to sail to Guayacán.
That connection, which until then had been only partial, was now confirmed. From that point on, the Musterrolle ceased to be a mere record. It became a key piece in reconstructing the events with precision.
That same group of cadets was stranded in Chile after the outbreak of war in 1914. Some returned to Europe. Others stayed and made their lives here. And one group, in 1916, decided to escape in a small boat bound for Europe, the famous Tinto.
The Musterrolle does not tell the story.
But it validates it.
👉 You can download the complete Musterrolle in PDF format here:
But this is just the starting point.
Behind that list lies much more than just names: there are decisions, journeys, uncertainty, discipline, and destiny. A true story, pieced together from documents, testimonies, and facts that, taken together, form a much larger narrative.
If you want to read the full story, it’s available in my book Heimkehr (back home), in print or as an ebook.
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