Did you know that many Kendall County young men took part in one of the lesser- known Civil War battles in Texas on Aug. 10, 1862, near the banks of the West Nueces River in Kinney County?
Union loyalists from Kendall, Kerr and Gillespie counties fought Confederate forces. It has also been called a massacre because when the confederates caught up with the fleeing Unionists, there was no demand for surrender, but a surprise attack in the wee hours.
The wounded captives could have easily followed terms of warfare and been taken to Fort Clark in nearby Brackettville. But the confederates instead shot each in the back of the head.
On Feb. 23, 1861, three-quarters of the voters in Texas backed secession from the Union. In March 1861, Texas seceded from the Union, and the new Confederate government declared the office of governor vacant because then-Gov. Sam Houston refused to take an oath of allegiance.
Many Germans from Kendall, Kerr and Gillespie agreed with Houston. The Germans had formed a Loyal Union League earlier, a militia organized to protect these counties from Indian raids and Confederate actions.
The Germans faced violent reprisals from Texan confederates. The Enactment of a Conscript Act of April 1862 required military service for men 18 to 35. Martial law was declared May 30, 1862, requiring oaths of loyalty to the confederacy.
Unionists and Germans increased plans to attempt to leave the state. On Aug. 1, 1862, 68 men — mostly Germans, with five Americans and one Mexican — set out to go to Mexico. The Union Loyal League members converged in Kerr County near the headwaters of the Guadalupe River under the leadership of Fritz Tegner.
On Aug. 9, 19862, 94 confederates led by Lt. C.D. McRae caught up with the slow-moving group. The Unionists believed a proclamation gave them 30 days to leave the state, explaining why they took their time traveling. Sadly, extensive research has found no such proclamation; they could have made it safely in four days.
Tragically, leadership was not concerned. They camped without choosing a defensive position or posting a strong guard. A number of men, some 28-30, became uneasy and headed back to the Hill Country along a different route. Henry Schwethelm argued with those in charge but stayed.
Adolph Zoeller left and headed to Mexico, sensing something wasn’t right, eventually getting to New Orleans and becoming a lieutenant in the First Regiment of Texas Calvary Volunteers.
No one that stayed thought that by morning many of them would be lying dead where they had slept. About 4 a.m., situated on the east bank of the river, the confederates attacked; two guards were shot, and the battle was on.
The Unionists’ muzzle loaders were a poor match against breech-loading guns. Many of the Unionists ran out of ammunition by sunrise. The decision was made: Every man for himself.
They ran, but many more were shot when they tried to cross a nearby clearing. Many hid along water holes at the river with harrowing tales of survival.
Back on the battlefield, those that were wounded, nine by most accounts, were shot in the back of the head. It was later noted in Confederate reports that there were no survivors because of the “remarkable good marksmanship” of the soldiers.
Not all survivors went home. Heinrich Schwethelm, Jacob Kusenberger and Carl Graf made it across the Rio Grande and traveled to Mexico to Monterrey, some 900 miles afoot, then to Vera Cruz and on to New Orleans by water, where they enlisted.
In the meantime, the confederates put out word that anyone who tried to come bury the dead would also be shot.
In August 1865, after the war, a party traveled to the Nueces battleground. They gathered the bleached bones of the dead and brought them to Comfort, where on Aug. 19 they were interned in a mass grave. A monument was erected and dedicated the following year, Aug. 10, 1866.
Inscribed in the limestone on this monument is “TREU der UNION” (Loyal to the Union). On the four sides are 18 names of those killed at the battle/massacre, nine captured in subsequent weeks and murdered, and eight killed at the Rio Grande on Oct. 18, 1862, in another attempt to get to the union.
The battle site is partially on a private ranch looking east from the corner of Route 674 and Cedar Creek Road, between Rocksprings and Brackettville; or, in the future, possibly accessed on the newly acquired Silver Lake State Park.
Mark your calendar for next year’s 165th commemoration on Saturday, Aug. 7, 2027, for a full day of events in Comfort.
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