A dramatic letter-writing campaign led by Philippine von Griesheim, the fiance of one of the eleven officers, Albrecht von Wedell, and appeals to the Prussian King Frederick William III by the eleven asking to die by a Prussian firing squad instead of at the 'hands of the enemy' helped create a legend that would become part of the propaganda encouraging the German liberation movement of 1813 leading to Prussia's restoration of independence. One other close comrade of Schill's escaped execution and became known as 'The Twelfth'. Lieutenant Heinrich von Wedell had served with Schill as far back as the Siege of Kolberg. He was badly wounded at the battle of Dodendort and had to remain behind there. He was captured and interrogated by the French. Heinrich managed to convince the French that he had participated against his will and so he was sent to France, physically branded a criminal, and served eight months on a prison ship and then hard labor in a prison quarry before eventually being released in early 1812 in anticipation of the impending war with Russia. He was the cousin of Carl and Albrecht von Wedell who were among the eleven Schill officers executed at Wesel. Another of Schill's officers, the Swede Friedrich-Gustave Peterson was executed by firing squad in Stralsund. By the 1830s Schill was widely considered a hero throughout Germany. Monuments and historical markers to him or to his rebels have been erected in towns and cities: Wesel, Stralsund, Braunschweig, Wilmersdorf, Potsdam, Ohlau, Cottbus, Anklam, Geldern, and Wittenberg. Military units were named after him (most notably the last division fielded by the Wehrmacht during World War II, the Infantry Division Ferdinand von Schill of late April 1945), streets and plazas bear his name to this day. Over 400 biographies, novels, plays, operas, and collections of poetry have been published about him in German, and he is featured in over a dozen German films including Rudolf Meinert's 1926 silent film "The Eleven Schill Officers" and his 1932 sound remake.