I received a letter from Dr. Harald Dousek of Vienna which could be of interest to some readers:

Franz Wisner

Dear Sir,

In the article The Paraguayan Army From The Colonial Period to the Presidency of Carlos Antonio Lopez, (E.D. Vol.9, No.1, page 11) Franz Wisner was mentioned, I have some additional data on this person:

On the 31st July 1804 he was born out of wedlock, his mother was Eva Hassko, his father being Franz Wisner von Morgenstern, in Preßburg (today Bratislava).

In 1827 he finished his studies of mining and began work as an engineer.

In 1831 he fought for Polish freedom against the Russians.

By 1842 we see him taking part in the uprising entitled “Revolta dos Liberais” in Minas Gerais, at the battle of Santa Luzia (20-8-1842) he was captured by the government forces lead by the Baron de Caxias.

In 1844 he has managed to obtain his freedom from the Brazilians and we see him fighting with the forces of General José María Paz in Argentina against Rosas.

By 1846 he is in the service of Paraguay having had to flee from Argentina, he is given the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, with his experiences of war in Poland, Brazil and Argentina plus his European engineering education would help to explain this rank. At the beginning of the year he was given command of a flotilla that accompanied the 18 year old Brigadier General Francisco Salano Lopez on his expedition in Corrientes to unite forces with General José M. Paz, Wisner was also appointed chief advisor to this young general.

In 1847 he is given the command of the Paraguayan Navy ( Comandante en Jefe de la Escuadra Nacional). He was given the command of the Paraguayan Corps (1,000 infantry, 600 cavalry and an artillery battery) in Candelaria in 1848 and during 1849 after the battle of Concepcion he captured the territory between Rio Paraná and Rio Uruguay, his force at this time was 117 officers with 2,656 men, after some difference of opinion with Francisco Solano Lopez he was discharged of his command and became the scapegoat for the failed policy and imprisoned, he was later freed.

In 1854 he was employed in the surveying of the Rio Branco region of Paraguay.

1864 saw him promoted to Colonel and “Ingeniero Jefe del Ejército”, his assistant was Lt. Col. George Thompson. At the beginning of the War of the Triple Alliance, Wisner was sick and Thompson commanded the corps. He was captured at the battle of Lomas Valentinas (21-December-1868) again by the Baron de Caxias. The Paraguayan newspaper “La Reforma” on the 12th May 1878 reported the death of Col. Wisner.

( Many thanks for sending in these details Dr. Dousek. T.D.H. )

--Dr. Harald Dousek, Vienna