Christopher Ludwick, known also as Ludwig (17 October 1720, in Germany – 17 June 1801, in United States),[1] was a German immigrant to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and worked as a baker general for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
Equipped with this new knowledge, he returned to Philadelphia the following year, and expanded his business as a gingerbread baker and confectioner located in Laetitia Court where he amassed a fortune.
When it had been proposed by Major General Thomas Mifflin to purchase firearms by private subscription or require the individual to buy his own guns, this caused some dissent among the American Patriots especially those who were unable to pay.
Ludwick was of immeasurable service to the cause of the American Revolution by persuading his fellow German (Hessian countrymen) who were fighting on the side of Great Britain to the desert and become residents of Philadelphia instead.
Upon learning of the capture of eight Hessian soldiers who were taken as prisoners during the Battle of Germantown, Ludwick immediately went to the military headquarters for the American Patriots and convinced the commander-in-chief to place those eight men in his hands.
Ludwick encouraged them to describe the happiness awaiting those who would desert their service to fight for Great Britain and settle in Pennsylvania.
For example, he visited a Hessian camp on Staten Island, New York, without detection and was able to cause some of the German soldiers there to join him in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Christopher Ludwick was often invited to dine at George Washington's large dinner parties and frequently their conversations were in relation to the bread supplies for the Army.
That is just one instance, but Ludwick was able to keep the war machine of General Washington running because of that very simple, but appreciated staple - Bread!
Upon his death in 1801 at the age of 81, Ludwick bequeathed $13,000 ($6,000,000 today) to fund a charitable trust “for the schooling and education gratis, of poor children of all denominations, in the city and liberties of Philadelphia, without exception to the country, extraction, or religious principles of their parents or friends.”[4] Based in Bryn Mawr, the Christopher Ludwick Foundation remains active in its mission to the present day.
Organizations such as the immigrant aid society Deutsche Gesellschaft von Pennsylvanien, the University of Pennsylvania, and two church charities for poor children received money from the Christopher Ludwick estate.