We caught sight of a peculiar group of white men on our territory. Is the Governor about to violate the dividing line? It would not be the first time.... But why would the Texians do so during a strenuous war with the Mexicans? Why only a few years after our Great Raid taught them an unforgettable lesson? Perhaps these aren’t Texians at all… they look different with their scraggly beards, impractical clothes, and pipes hanging from their mouths. Their language sounds different - actually a bit like our own. Forty of them are now heading towards our camp of several hundred. Are they insane? In proximity, they discharge their rifles into the air…

The Germans of the Adelsverein

Most Germans came to Texas through a society of noble men called the “Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas”, short “Adelsverein” in the years 1846 and 1847. The scene above shows the moment when John O. Meusebach of the Adelsverein representatives decided to negotiate a treaty with the Penateka Comanche rather than lose access to a Land Grant the Adelsverein had purchased under the condition of settlement by the fall of 1847. The treaty was signed in May 1847 and allowed German settlers to live on Comanche territory. Most of the Germans were artisans, and farmers. But some were intellectuals who left Germany in the wake of the 1848 revolutions. They played a crucial role in establishing contact with the Penateka Comanche. Several characters in our simulation, such as the Commissary General of the Adelsverein, the German Indian Agent, and the medical doctor of the community, are actual historical figures. As the character sheets reveal, the various characters had very different views of what the future for Germans in Texas would look like. Some were hostile towards the Texans, some were striving to assimilate - all were anxious about the evolving situation with the Penateka Comanche…

The Penateka Comanche

1. During the middle of the 19th century, the Comanche were not a uniform tribe but consisted of several independent bands that were connected by culture, language and intermarriage. The Penateka band (“Honey Eaters”, “Wasps”) controlled vast parts of Central and Northern Texas. Several events prior to the meeting with the Germans redefined the relationship between the Penateka and the Texan government: the Council House Fight of 1840 during which around 30 Comanche warriors as well as several women and children were killed in the middle of San Antonio. The following retaliation against white settlements down the Guadalope valley became known as the Great Raid. For several years the Texan government and the Comanche were engaged in battles. In 1846, the Texas Comanche Treaty was signed. It described relationships between the U.S. and the Comanche in a spirit of separation: even traders were no longer allowed to reside on Comanche territory. A number of chiefs were invited to Washington the same year in December. The meeting with the Germans - only a few months later in 1847 - took place in this context. The Texan government had many reasons to be opposed to such a meeting… In our simulation, only the chiefs of war and peace (and some of their family) are actual historical figures - as they exercised important influence on the democratic procedures in the tribe. How should the Germans be dealt with?