Massacre on the Nueces River; story of a Civil War tragedy. Page: 7 of 39
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4 THE MASSACRE ON THE NUECES RIVER
Texas, as the authorities did. At the end of this time I was
sent off with two others, at a moment's notice, in pursuit of a
man supposed to be carrying dispatches from some of the disaf-
fected Texans, into Mexico. Some one dreamed this phantom
express had passed through Castroville on his way to the fron-
tier, and we were to catch him somewhere before he got to the
Rio Grande.
That day we rode fifty miles, neither at Castroville, nor any
of the neighboring ranches, getting any tidings of the fugitive.
All next day we pursued our imaginary quest, with the same
result: no one knew, no one had heard of such a man as we
were after. So the third day we returned to Castroville and
on the evening of the fourth, to San Antonio, where we learned
that our company had that morning marched for Fredericksburg,
a town some eighty miles to the north, there to proclaim martial
law in that county.
Two hours we rested, and then set off to overtake the com-
pany; rode on till 1 a. m., then off-saddled and lay down on
our blankets for a couple of hours' sleep. Starting again at
3 a. m. we came up with the company just as it was breaking
camp for the second day's march. That night we camped with-
in eighteen miles of Fredericksburg; and I confess I was fairly
done up, for I had been in the saddle for the best part' of five
days and nights.
Fredericksburg was a town of about 800 inhabitants, almost
all of them Germans, and Unionist to a man. The object of
our expedition was to compel these people to take the oath of
allegiance to the Confederate Government, which most of them
did, though some cleared out and took to the mountains rather
than perjure themselves.
After three days' halt in this town forty of us, of whom I was
one, were detailed to march to Camp Verde, forty miles distant,
to overawe, or convert into Southerners, more Germans of
Northern proclivities.
From this camp two Rangers and myself were sent out to ar-
rest about a dozen supposed disloyalists, in various parts of
Medina county. Two days we were on this hateful duty, during
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Williams, R. H. & Sansom, John W. Massacre on the Nueces River; story of a Civil War tragedy., book, Date Unknown; Grand Prairie, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2409/m1/7/?rotate=90: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .