By Myra Lee Adams Goff

They walked (some rode on golf carts) through the Comal Cemetery at the City’s Parks Department “Soul Searching” program. About 360 people met eight “souls” who were buried in the cemetery. The land for this cemetery originally belonged to John F. Torrey and was managed by trustees Ernest Gruene, J.J. Gross, J. Goldenbagen and John Torrey, who transferred the cemetery to the city in 1887.

To add a little mystery to the affair, participants met at Cypress Bend Park where those who could, were transported by hay wagon to the cemetery entrance.  This year’s emphasis was on the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. It is estimated that there are about 200 Civil War Veterans in Comal Cemetery.

Several members of the local Sons of Confederate Veterans were there in full regalia to help with the program, some portraying “souls” and some presenting the flags of the Confederacy and the Union.

In Sophie’s Shop at the Sophienburg there are two books about Comal County’s participation in that war: War Between the States-Participants from Comal County, Texas by Wilfred Schlather and War Between the States Comal County Texas in the Civil War compiled by Francis R. Horne.

After arriving at the cemetery’s entrance, the group walked carrying flashlights. The first “soul” searched was Peter Worff. He came to Texas from Germany with his parents and sister in 1845.  His mother died soon, leaving the father to care for his two children. They lived in the Schmitz Hotel because that’s where their father worked. His involvement in the Civil War was with Hoffman’s Co. B, 7 Reg. Texas Cavalry. He died in 1913.

The next “souls” were that of Oscar Nebergall, a 15 year old child, William Harvey (1840-1891) and Ida Arnold Nebergall (1848-1920).   This couple was convincingly portrayed as visiting the grave of their son nearby. The boy was killed in a wagon accident while coming down Fredericksburg Road. The Nebergalls were married in 1865 after William, a Union soldier, was stationed here after the Civil War.

Louise Mittendorf Benner (1820- 1913) was the next “soul” visited. She came to New Braunfels with her parents from Germany and married Adolph von Benner who had arrived with Prince Carl and was in charge of the Commissary for the Adelsverein. When Adolph died in 1857, Louise took his place as postmaster.   She was the first woman postmaster in NB and Comal County but was relieved of her duties after the Civil War because she served under the Confederacy.

This next “soul”, Hermann Jonas (1836-1912) is one that really struck a note of recognition with me. Hermann was born in Prussia. I knew his grandson, Gus Krause.  Gus and Ricky Fischer Krause lived in the stone house and ranched the almost 2,000 acre ranch. I first met the Krauses in the 1960s when my dad, Marcus Adams, was on a hunting lease at their ranch. My husband, Glyn, took his place on the lease in 1970. We were very fond of the Krauses.

I can picture this very historic house - a four-story, 24-inch-thick limestone and it is as it was when Hermann Jonas built it in 1865. The house was large and unusual for its time.  The Comanche Indians were still a threat in such a remote place. Family legend states that there was a lookout on the roof and the older boys took turns standing watch in times of danger.

The first floor of the house was the kitchen, second floor were bedrooms and the third floor was used as a dance room and community reunions. The top floor was storage and occasional sleeping place for children.

Incidently, three of the Jonas brothers served in the Union and three in the Confederacy.

Another “soul” visited was that of Wilhelm Seekatz (1825-1910). Seekatz played an important part in the Civil War because he started the Saltpetre Mfg. Co. in 1863.  Saltpetre was used in making gunpowder. His kiln is located off Fredericksburg Road in Landa Park.

Perhaps the most famous soldier in the Civil War was Gustav Hoffman (1817-1889). He had been the first mayor of New Braunfels. He was trained in the military in Prussia and he fit right into the Confederate leadership role. As a captain, Hoffman organized the Co. B of 7th Regiment Texas Cavalry and served from 1861 through 1865. He was promoted Major and Colonel. He died in San Antonio in 1889 but was buried in Comal Cemetery.

“A grave, wherever found, preaches a short and pithy sermon to the soul.” (Nathaniel Hawthorne). This annual respectful program does much to keep our historic “souls” alive.

Gustav Hoffman

By Myra Lee Adams Goff

The Sophienburg’s Civil War exhibit will open this coming Saturday, May 19th.  and that day has been designated as a “free museum day.” The exhibit will focus on Comal County’s part in the war and will be on display until spring 2013.

Here is a thumb-nail refresher course in Civil War history before you come:

The conflict between the industrial north and the agrarian south had been going on for years. Ferdinand Lindheimer, editor of the Neu Braunfelser Zeitung wrote editorials in the newspaper in favor of secession. He was an advocate of state’s rights to the end.  Even  Gov. Sam Houston didn’t have as much influence as Lindheimer in the county.

A state Secession Convention was held in Austin on Feb. 1, 1861. Representing Comal County were Dr. Theodore Koester and Walter F. Preston, native of Virginia, who had bought the Meriwether farm on the Guadalupe River near New Braunfels. The majority of the convention voted for secession.

A statewide election was to be held over the issue. Comal County Chief Justice Hermann Heffter called for an election to vote “for” or “against” secession on Feb. 23, 1861. Of the total voters (men only) 239 voted “for” and 89 voted “against”. Comal County was the only primarily German community to vote to secede.  Do you think the vote would have been different if women also had the right to vote? I don’t know.

On April 26, 1861, the Neu Braunfelser Zeitung published the Constitution of the Confederate States of America on its front page. In keeping with a resolution of the Feb.1

Convention in Austin, 10,000 copies were to be distributed across the state, 1/5 of which were in German and Spanish.

Ultimately, the secession bill was ratified and Texas once again became a free sovereign and independent state with its capital in Montgomery, Alabama.

Now that Texas was part of the Confederacy, military forces had to be obtained. The first Confederate legislative act called for volunteers to serve 12 months and state militia volunteers to serve six months. By Dec. 1861, the Texas legislature passed a law for men from 18 to 50 to sign up for frontier defense. In Comal County, by March 15, 1861, three militia companies had been organized.

The July 4th parade was “dignified”. The home-guard militia and the bugle corps marched in the main streets to the beat of a single drum. At the plaza a military review was staged.

Now back to the exhibit: The Iwonski art exhibit that I told you about in my last column is part of the over-all exhibit. Outside, the Sons of the Confederacy in uniform are setting up an encampment with tent, cannon and many other archives.

Now go inside the museum. There are vast amounts of Civil War era artifacts in the Sophienburg collection and they will be displayed throughout the museum.

The first display that will catch your eye is the cabin reproduction. The story from the Landa family goes like this: Joseph Landa was in exile in Mexico as a result of his being tried by an anti-abolitionist secret society for freeing his five slaves in 1863. His wife, Helene, stayed behind to run the store and other businesses. A gang of “ruffians” invaded the store and Helene held them off with a six-shooter.

Every segment of the museum will display something that involves the Civil War period. The medicines in the Doctor’s office, alcohol  in the saloon, guns, clothing, and the Ladies Aid Society’s role in the war effort.  By the wall painting of the Comal Springs is an exhibit of saltpeter production used in gunpowder. There are panels of old photos and a vast amount of information about participants in the war effort, from the leaders Hoffmann, Podewils, Bose, and Heidemeyer to everyday people.

Sophie’s Shop has the largest collection of Comal County books for sale in town. There are three Civil War books, two about Comal County and also a beautifully illustrated Smithsonian collection.

It was a confusing time. Excerpts from this folk song by Irving Gordon tell it all:

Two brothers on their way…
One wore blue and one wore gray…
Two girls waiting by the railroad track…
One wore blue and one wore black…

Volunteers Janis Bodemann and Ann Giambernardi examine the clothing of the Landa mannequins inside the museum. The Landa story is part of the Civil War Exhibit beginning May 19 at the Sophienburg.

Related Articles

• July 8, 2008 — Cannon fire signaled news of Civil War’s conclusion
• Jan. 20, 2009 — Courthouse holding up pretty well after 110 years
• April 14, 2009 — New book will detail county’s Civil War history
• Nov. 3, 2009 — Many Texans were “Treue der Union”
• May 17, 2011 — New Braunfels newspaper has changed with the times
• May 1, 2012 — Artist Iwonski part of Civil War exhibit

Books Available in Sophie’s Shop

• War Between the States - Participants from Comal County, Texas
• War Between the States - Comal County Texas in the Civil War As Reported in the Neu Braunfelser Zeitung 1859 to 1865
• The Civil War: A Visual History