The Junior Historian, Volume 25, Number 1, September 1964 Page: 6
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THE JUNIOR HISTORIAN
AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE
PARTISAN RANGERS
by VICTOR NIXON, JR.
Fredericksburg High SchoolIKE ALL WARS, the Civil War
was fought on two fronts, at
home and on the battlefield. In
the Hill Country, the outpost of Texas
colonization in the 1860's, sympathy was
divided. The newly-arrived German set-
tlers shared the philosophy of Governor
Sam Houston, who suffered his final po-
litical defeat when he took his stand
against secession. The majority of Tex-
ans, who had emigrated from southern
states, opposed him.Christian Dietert
The German settlers generally opposed
slavery, but they hoped to remain neutral
in the war. They, too, were in the minor-
ity. That situation produced the seed for
the conflict on the home front.
Pioneer Christian Dietert's story is typ-
ical of those of men who overcame obsta-
cles to make new homes on the frontier.
It is made more interesting by the fact
that he survived an encounter with the
hard-bitten Colonel James Duff of the
Partisan Rangers or Border Ruffians as
they were also known.The old adage that "God helps those
who help themselves" applied to the Ger-
man pioneers. The emigration companies
provided transportation, colonization
sites, and the necessary tools and farm
implements. From that point the immi-
grant had to stand on his own feet. His
physical endurance and strength of char-
acter determined whether he would sur-
vive.
Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels wrote
in his book, Texas, 1844-45, "There is
rough reality, and it calls for doing your
own work, for putting your own hands
to every thing, and every man must stand
on his own feet. There is no one to help,
because every one is occupied with his
own work and has plenty to do."
Yet he urged the German colonists
with this thought: "Texas is the land
where, after the first few years of stren-
uous and tedious toiling the well-being
of life blooms .. "
Christian Dietert, who was born on
August 24, 1827, in Magdeburg, Ger-
many, sailed to Texas with his brother,
Wilhelm, to try his fortune and to gain
political freedom. The Atlantic voyage
took eight weeks to the port of Galveston.
From there the men shipped on a two-
masted sailboat for Indianola. Then they
went by wagon overland to New Braun-
fels, reaching their destination in July,
five months after they had embarked for
America.
In August, 1854, Dietert went with a
company of twelve men to survey a tract
of land for a new settlement on Cypress
Creek. He became one of the original
twelve settlers of Comfort, Texas.
He was a mechanical genius, and was
a miller by trade. Under his direction, at
Comfort a saw- and gristmill was built,
financed by Herman Altgelt. It was
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Texas State Historical Association. The Junior Historian, Volume 25, Number 1, September 1964, periodical, September 1964; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth391335/m1/8/?q=%221964~%22: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Texas State Historical Association.