Nassau Plantation: The Evolution of a Texas German Slave Plantation

Chapter 1. The Adelsverein

11 ChaPter 1 the Adelsverein Raus, raus und raus, Aus Deutschland muß ich raus: Ich schlag mir Deutschland aus dem Sinn Und wand´re jetzt nach Texas hin. Mein Glück will ich probieren, marschieren! Out, out and out From Germany I must out; Germany I put you from my mind My happiness in Texas to find. Our fortune there to grow, let’s go! —Hoffmann von Fallersleben1 Fascination for Texas, despair about Germany—these factors, broadly speaking—motivated a group of German noblemen to fashion an ambitious program of emigration from Germany to Texas in the 1840s. To governments and to individuals alike, the young Republic of Texas suggested exciting possibilities. Britain, France, and Belgium hoped to see Texas develop into a viable nation, receptive to cross-Atlan- 12 James C. Kearney tic influence and poised to counterbalance the growing commercial and military dominance of the United States in the New World. Many individuals, likewise, pinned their hopes on the new republic: they dreamed of getting rich by speculating in cheap Texas lands or they aspired to create a fresh life in a wide open land frequently portrayed as a new Garden of Eden. Germany, by contrast, appeared as a place of little or no opportunity. Its intelligent, vigorous, and growing population had no outlet for their energy; no possibility for betterment in their homeland. This brought about a frustration and despair that cut across class lines from peasant farmers to the upper nobility. A massive exodus from Central Europe resulted, and the destination was, in the main, North America. In the spring of 1842, twenty German noblemen and one noblewoman met at the residence of Adolph Duke of Nassau in Biebrich on the Rhine.2 They endeavored to fashion a program of important national significance whereby the opportunities of Texas would supply an antidote to the frustrations of Germany. In so doing they sought to enhance the prestige of the German nobility and also to increase their personal wealth by speculating in cheap Texas lands. In scope and audacity, the plan they eventually adopted holds a unique place in the history of emigration to the New World. The German side of the story begins in the city of Mainz. Situated on the left bank of the Rhine across from the confluence of the Main River, Mainz keeps watch over one of the most fruitful and beautiful areas of Germany. The city is the gatekeeper, so to speak, to a long and picturesque stretch of the Rhine, which is the subject of so many postcards and travel guides. Since Roman times, geography has dictated its importance economically, culturally, and militarily. Thus, in the 1840s, in addition to housing the capitol of the Hessian Rhine Province and being a hub of trade and transportation, the city housed a Bundesfestung, a federal fortress of the first order of importance, manned by a combined force of Prussian and Austrian units. It was here that many of the titled officers came into contact with one another and began those speculations and discussions that eventually led to the formation of their Society. With the final defeat of Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo in June Nassau Plantation 13 1815, the collective leadership of Europe convened in Vienna to establish peace. Under the strong leadership of Prince Metternich of Austria, a new order was given to the face of Europe. As part of this process, the Congress of Vienna restructured the political map of Germany. It set up a loose federation of forty-one states and free cities under the permanent presidency of Austria. This arrangement, referred to as the Deutscher Bund, or German Confederation, endured for over fifty years, until 1866. The Congress also provided for a common defense for the federation, anchored by a string of forts. The officers who manned the common forts of the federation came from different states and were, by and large, of noble lineage. Only a few career paths were socially suitable, or standesgemäss, to the upper nobility in Germany during this period. Chief among these was a career in the army.3 The relative stability and tranquility of Central Europe during the Vormärz4 , the period from 1815 until 1848, insured that those who had chosen to be officers had much free time on their hands. Out of idleness arose grandiose plans. An hour’s journey down the Rhine from Mainz one passes Biebrich...