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FormatJournal Article
Title, AnalyticGermans and the Civil War
Journal TitleThe Journal (German-Texan Heritage Society)
Date of PublicationSpring 2010
Volume ID32
Issue ID1
Location in Work35-36
ISSN0730-3106
AbstractRelates the story of Ferdinand Simon, who left Darmstadt and arrived in Texas in 1845. He signed German Immigration Contract #1871 with the Adelsverein, which entitled him to 160 acres of land in Bexar County in the Republic of Texas. "In 1862, the Confederate Conscription Act passed, requiring that all able-bodied men volunteer for service in the Confederate Army. This was a strong reminder of what many of the German immigrants fled from in Europe. German immigrants did not support the decision to secede from the Union. Many of them had already experienced the threat of conscription in Germany and did not want to have the same experience with the Confederate Army. To show their loyalty to the Union, the Hill Country Union Loyal League was formed, [consisting] predominantly of German-Texan members. . . In April 1862, Confederate troops were sent to enforce conscription laws and extinguish the Union Loyal League." Ferdinand Simon was wounded at what is known as the Neuces [River] Massacre; he was captured and sentenced to death as an enemy of the Confederate States of America, although martial laws was suspended before his execution was to be carried out. The bodies of those killed at the Nueces Rive massacre were brought to Comfort, Texas, where a monument honors their memory.
NotesTaken from the publication of the Archives and Records program of the Texas General Land Office, Saving Texas History. . . . This particular edition covered Germans to Texas.
Call NumberMKI Periodicals
MKI TermsGerman Americans -- Texas/ History/ 19th century/ Civil War, 1861-1865 -- German Americans