In 1862, Confederate Troops Slaughtered a Group of German Texans Who Were Attempting to Join the Union Army
There were many stories left out of American history books. Today, the Trump administration is trying to erase everything that tells the ugly truth about the United States. There was a leaflet that German Americans in San Antonio passed out in the streets of San Antonio after they found out about the Germans being killed at the Nueces River by Confederate troops during the Civil War. This was never even mentioned in any history book that was presented as truth but was mostly lies.
Texas Germans vs. the Slave Empire
Many Texas Germans were anti-slavery. German men wanted to join the Union Army in New Orleans. They never made it as slave owner Confederates killed them on the Nueces River near Corpus Christi. The wounded in the battle on the Nueces were not spared. They were murdered by gun shot or trampled by horses. The book where you might find this information is also in “Rip Ford’s Texas.” Rip Ford was traitor and racist who killed Germans as well. This disgraceful racist is buried in the Confederate Cemetery on the Eastside of San Antonio. “Rip” Ford was a pro-slavery Confederate who hunted down and killed those who refused to support the Confederate slavers.
San Antonio’s Forgotten Uprising
After the Germans were massacred at the Nueces River, San Antonio Germans issued the following call in the streets of downtown San Antonio. German Unionists marched through the streets of downtown San Antonio singing “John Brow’s Body” and “We’ll Hang Jeff Davis from a Sour Apple Tree” to the same tune as the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Confederate troops captured some and hanged them, and “Violence prevailed in the Alamo City and in other German communities until the end of the war.” Germans from hotel rooftops shot at slave owner soldiers’ day and night” (Quote from The Fremantle Diary, US War Department, 1862). Many of the Germans of that time hated slavery and opposed Robert E. Lee. A leaflet survived that has been ignored, and it was quite clear about fighting the pro-slavery southern armies. The words of the leaflet are quite telling. In exposing some Germens that supported slavery including the owner of the Menger hotel.
The Leaflet That Exposed Traitors
The leaflet said this, “German brothers, are your eyes not opened yet? After the rich took every picayune away from you, and the paper is worth only one-half what you so hard earned now that you have nothing left, now they go about and sell you, or throw you out of employment for Dunhauer, who left his wife and children, wants to do the same with you to the poor you might leave. Now is the time to stay the heads of Dunhauer, Maverick, Mitchel, and Menger to the last bone . . . Do away with that nuisance, and inform everybody the revolution is broke out. It is a shame Texas has such a brand. Hang them by their feet and burn them from below.”
William Menger: The Confederate’s Favorite Businessman
The Menger in the leaflet probably refers to William Menger, or a relative, of hotel fame who was considered a “traitor” to German settlers. In spite of the Union blockade, William Menger supported the slave owners and was able to continue operating, “under Confederate States authority,” and “William Menger used contacts in South and West Texas to acquire goods through Mexican ports, and even sold a variety of goods to the Confederate Army itself. During the Civil War he sold a variety of goods to the Confederate military, including rifles, tallow, corn, shingles, mules, hoop iron, hose, horses, wheat, and salt.” This is why he was considered a sell-out.
