Comfort in Kendall County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Treue Der Union Monument

("Loyalty to the Union")

<i>Treue Der Union</i> Monument - Marker Panel 1 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Richard E. Miller, August 9, 2010

1. Treue Der Union Monument - Marker Panel 1

Inscription.
This German language monument, erected 1866, honors the memory of 68 men (mostly Germans) from this region who were loyal to the Union during the Civil War.

Trying desperately to reach U.S. Federal troops by way of Mexico, about 40 of the men were killed by vengeful Confederates bent on annihilating them, in the Battle of the Nueces (on Aug. 10, 1862) and a later fight (Oct. 18).

The bodies of the slain and those who drowned swimming the Rio Grande were left unburied.

A group of Germans gathered the bones of their friends and buried them at this site in 1865.

Entered in the National Register of Historic Places (1976)
Official Texas State Archeological Landmark (1996)

Erected 1968 by State Historical Survey Committee and the Comfort Heritage Foundation (1988, 2004, 2008). (Marker Number 15.)

Topics and series. This historical marker and monument is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), and the Time Capsules series lists. A significant historical date for this entry is January 20, 1866.

Location. 29° 58.187′ N, 98° 54.827′ W. Marker is in Comfort, Texas, in Kendall County. It is on High Street west of 4th Street, on the right when traveling east. Marker is on the grass, just inside the cemetery off High Street, midway between 3rd and 4th Streets and west of Front Street (Texas, Rte 27) - which is accessible south of I-10 and US Hwy 87 in Comfort, Texas. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Comfort TX 78013, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker and monument is in the Hill Country

and in the San Antonio Metropolitan Area.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

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Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the Republic of Texas,

and one of the Confederate States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Funeral of German Patriots at Comfort, Texas (here, next to this marker); Dedication of Monument to German Patriots (a few steps from this marker); Battle and Massacre at Nueces River (a few steps from this marker); Comfort Community Church (within shouting distance of this marker); Comfort School (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Ernst Hermann Altgelt (approx. 0.2 miles away); Freidenker (approx. 0.2 miles away); Otto Brinkmann House (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Comfort.

Also see . . .
1. Nueces Massacre. (Submitted on August 28, 2010, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.)
2. National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form, 1976. Statement of Significance:

This monument has a three-fold significance for Comfort, for German-Texans, for Texas and for the Nation.

First of all, "Treue der Union" monument is the only community
Photographed by Richard E. Miller, August 9, 2010

2. Flagstaff with Marker Panels 2 and 3
Treue der Union "This flagstaff erected in memory of the men who gave their lives rather that renounce an oath of allegiance to their newly adopted country, thus demonstrating a profound expression of loyalty." Presented by Volksfest Association of Texas August 10, 1962 - “To Honor the Builders of Our Lone Star State.”
monument within a participant Civil War state to honor the 'other side'; and has often been referred to as "the only Union monument south of the Mason-Dixon Line."

Secondly, it stands as the single most important symbol honoring the loyalty and courage of the more than 20,000 Germans who immigrated to Texas in the mid-1800s.

Finally, it may also be the only monument in the Nation responsible for the survival of a community. Many students of the German immigration believe that this monument was the principal reason why Comfort, only 12 years old when the monument was erected in 1866, survived, while similar German settlements vanished into history. The only apparent significant difference was that Comfort had a monument symbolizing the very roots of the people in their new land. To desert the young settlement would have meant both an abandonment of those consecrated by "treue der Union," and a symbolic rejection of the principal value for which they died, loyalty to country.

This monument is dedicated specifically to 36 predominantly German-born Americans who died because of their loyalty to the United States. It was erected
Photographed by Richard E. Miller, August 9, 2010

3. Gefallen am 10 August 1862 am Nueces: ...
(English: Killed on August 10, 1862 in Nueces.)
L. Bauer · F. Behrens · E. Beseler · L. Borner · A. Bruns · H. Degener · H. Degener · P. Diaz · F. Vater · A. Schreiner · J. G. Kalenberg · H. Markwart · C. Schafer · L. Schierholz · H. Steves · W. Telgmann · M. Weirich · H. Weyershausen · A. Vater
above - common grave, in which were interred their remains, retrieved from a tragic, South Texas battlesite at the war's end.

(Submitted on August 11, 2025, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon.)

Additional keywords. German Americans; immigrants; Treue Der Union Monument

<i>Gafallen am 18 August 1862 am Rio Grande</i>: ... image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Richard E. Miller, August 9, 2010

4. Gafallen am 18 August 1862 am Rio Grande: ...

(English: Killed on August 18, 1862 on the Rio Grande)
J. Elstner · E. Felsing · H. Herrmann · V. Hohmann · M. Weisz · F. Weisz · Peter Bonnet

<i>Gefangengenommen und Ermordet</i> image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Richard E. Miller, August 9, 2010

5. Gefangengenommen und Ermordet

(English: Captured and murdered)
W. Borner · T. Bruckish · C. Bock · H. Flick · F. Tays · A. Luckenbach · L. Rubsamen · A. Rubsamen · H. Stieler

<i>Treue Der Union </i> Monument image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Richard E. Miller, August 9, 2010

6. Treue Der Union Monument

Photographed by Richard E. Miller, August 9, 2010

7. Treue Der Union Monument

An additional tablet for the <i>Treue Der Union</i> monument's 130th anniversary rededication image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Doda, December 25, 2018

8. An additional tablet for the Treue Der Union monument's 130th anniversary rededication

Credits. This page was last revised on February 15, 2026. It was originally submitted on August 27, 2010, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. This page has been viewed 29,090 times since then and 355 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on August 27, 2010, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on August 28, 2010, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 8. submitted on January 1, 2021, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.