Nassau Plantation: The Evolution of a Texas German Slave Plantation

Chapter 10. Die Katastrophe

123 ChaPter 10 Die Katastrophe October 29, 1847: a crisp fall pre-dawn morning at the compound of the Herrenhaus at Nassau Plantation. The distinct sound of the cocking of guns disturbs the morning calm. A shotgun blast suddenly shatters the quiet, followed by an eruption of gunfire lasting several minutes. Captain Frederick Somers, an Anglo-American, who had just stepped out of the manor house at Nassau Plantation into the morning chill of the veranda, receives a deadly charge of buckshot to the body, staggers and falls to the ground. Dr. Schubbert and the others in the house quickly rouse themselves and grab their weapons. Absalom 124 James C. Kearney Bostick rushes out the door and, although fired upon several times, manages to discharge his shotgun. Conrad Caspar Rohrdorf, a SwissGerman artist and naturalist in the party of attackers, falls mortally wounded with three slugs in the cheek. Panicked by the unexpectedly vigorous defense and the mortal wounding of one of their own, the attackers withdraw in disorder, leaving their dying comrade behind. Word quickly goes out and creates a sensation, for Captain Somers, a prominent Freemason, is well known and respected in the county. A posse forms and apprehends Ernst Sörghel, whose farm adjoins the plantation, but Hermann Spiess, newly appointed commissioner-general of the German Emigration Co. in Texas and leader of the party of attackers, flees on the slain Rohrdorf’s horse and eludes capture.1 Thus took place the most dramatic story associated with the plantation , an event that created an uproar both in Texas and in Europe. In Fayette County it provoked another shootout (and killing), led to a sensational trial, divided the county into factions, and prompted, according to one account, the formation of a secret vigilante committee composed of both Anglos and Texas-Germans. A future governor of Texas, A. J. Hamilton, served as an attorney for the Society while a former secretary of state, James S. Mayfield, emerged as a behindthe -scene conspirator on the Schubbert side. Because of Mayfield’s involvement, the shooting thrust the plantation (and the Society) into the forefront of the pro-slavery, anti-immigrant debate in the state, which had arisen prior to annexation, a heated debate in which Mayfield , a member of the legislature, had spoken vociferously in favor of limiting European immigration. Thus the affair had a significance that went well beyond any internal dispute within the German Emigration Co. Still, for the Society itself, the shootout was a disaster on several counts, for it exacerbated tensions, squandered time, money, and energy, and, in general, plunged the Society into disrepute at a time when it was desperate for favorable publicity. Little wonder then that the whole affair came to be known by the Germans as the Katastrophe (catastrophe).2 To unravel the history of this violent episode it will be necessary to examine the challenges that confronted Johann Otto Freiherr von Meusebach upon his arrival in Texas in the spring of 1845 as the des- Nassau Plantation 125 ignated replacement for Prince Solms-Braunfels. It is also necessary to review the considerations that led him to engage Dr. Schubbert to be the director of the Fredericksburg colony, for it was this association that set into motion the train of events that culminated in the shootout at the plantation. By consensus, Meusebach is regarded as a bright spot in a sometimes -stained story—integrity, dedication, and courage—all these attributes apply. His presence commanded respect: a long flowing beard and flaming red hair seemed to accent an imposing stature and countenance. Buffalo Hump,3 one of the Comanche war chiefs with whom he negotiated a treaty in the spring of 1847, dubbed him “El Sol Colorado,” the flaming red sun. Outwardly autocratic and aloof, inwardly he believed deeply in democracy and his adopted country. To drive this point home, he anglicized his name to John and dropped the aristocratic appellation “von.” This attitude set him apart from nearly all others of importance in the Society and put him in tune with the spirit of his adopted country . History, therefore, generally regards him with a favorable eye. He has been the subject of numerous articles, a biography, and a historical novel.4 The challenges facing Meusebach were daunting. The bulk of the colonists arrived during his tenure. Upon assuming the reins of authority in 1845, he quickly grasped the magnitude of the colonists...