German Pioneers in Texas; A Brief History of Their Hardships, Struggles and Achievements Page: 59
3 p.l., 230 p. incl. plates, ports. 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
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-59
2 o'clock in the morning, July 10th, Duff's men attacked the
camp. In the fight that followed nineteen of the refugees
were killed and nine were wounded. A few hours later these
nine wounded men were murdered by order of Duff. No
prisoners were taken, no quarters given, no mercy shown. Of
the thirty-three men making their escape, seven were later
overtaken and killed while crossing the Rio Grande river.
Duff had more than a hundred well armed men under his
command. He could have surrounded the camp of the refugees,
and common sense would have caused them to peacefully
surrender. But had they resisted and a pitched battle
with a heavy death toll been necessary, no usage of war
could justify the killing of the wounded and helpless men.
More than one Confederate soldier who unwillingly participated
in the affair has publicly condemned it as the blackest
crime of all American warfare. Duff, the comander of the
attacking force, according to the best authenticated history,
was a Scotchman, an adventurer, a soulless soldier of fortune.
It is claimed that soon after coming to the United States he
joined the national army. Before the war he was charged
with a rather serious offense, punished and dishonorably discharged.
He later came to Texas. Owing to his military experience,
political shrewdness and good address, and possibly
with his bad army record a secret, he got into the good
graces of the powers and was given important position.
Sometime after the civil war he went to Paris, Prance, and
died there, and thus the land his savage crime had stigmatized
was saved the further shame of having its soil polluted
with his decaying carcass.
Chas. Bergmann the person that led Duff's men to the
camp of the sleeping Germans, went to Mexico after the war,
where he is reported to have been killed by a Seminole Indian
Negro. Perhaps his last vision was that of a black face,
wild with violence and dead to pity, black as the crime that
will ever hover over the spot where the doomed refugees
died, and black as the ghost of vengeance that ever pursued
the betrayer. When killed Bergmann was reported as leader
of a band of renegade outlaws and murderers.
During the battle following Duff's attack, 12 Confederates
were killed and 18 wounded, according to official re
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Biggers, Don Hampton, 1869-1957. German Pioneers in Texas; A Brief History of Their Hardships, Struggles and Achievements, book, 1925; Fredericksburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth29394/m1/65/: accessed May 2, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting University of Texas at Arlington Library.