Reichard Blucher was a German mercenary. He served in one of Count Tilly's armies during the Battle of the Crapper, where he was wounded by the American's M-60 Machine gun. He was taken prisoner along with his friends Wilfram Jones, Christian du Champ, and Dieter Wiesskamp, but was pardoned and saved through the actions of Gretchen Richter for their good behavior. Blucher and his former mercenaries became hired farm help and then partners in Ev and Lanie Parker's draft horse breeding operation—all in the space of two years. Blucher became an avid reader of the military history of the American Civil War after Rob Clark loaned him a book on the subject.