Felix von Blucher
Corpus Christi, Nueces County, Texas
Marker Inscription
German native Anton Felix Hans Hellmuth von Blucher (1819-1879) came to the United States in 1844, arriving in New Orleans. The following year he moved to Texas and joined the German settlers at New Braunfels. Trained in engineering, languages, and law, he served as an interpreter and surveyor. In 1847 he assisted the colony leader, John O. Meusebach, in the negotiation of a treaty with Comanche Indians that opened the Fisher-Miller land grant to settlement. In 1849, following his service in the Mexican War, Von Blucher returned to Germany and married Maria Imme (d. 1893). The same year they moved to Nueces County and settled on land at this site. One year later he mapped a trade route to Eagle Pass on the Mexican border. In 1852 he became county surveyor, an office he held until his death. He also served as city alderman, 1852-56. During the Civil War Von Blucher joined the Confederacy and designed and directed the placement of fortifications in Corpus Christi and the South Texas coastal area. After his death in 1879, his children built homes here on family land, which became known as Blucherville. For over 100 years, 1852-1954, family members served as county surveyors and cartographers of the region. (1980)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
A German émigré trained in engineering, languages, and law, Felix von Blucher came to Texas in 1845 and joined the settlers at New Braunfels, where he helped John O. Meusebach negotiate the 1847 Comanche treaty that opened the Fisher-Miller grant. After service in the Mexican War he settled in Nueces County, mapped a trade route to Eagle Pass, and became county surveyor. His descendants carried on as surveyors and cartographers of the region for over a century, giving the family enclave the name Blucherville.
Why it matters
Von Blucher's career links German immigration, the surveying that opened South Texas to settlement, and the diplomacy with the Comanche that made that expansion possible.
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Related people
- · Felix von Blucher
- · John O. Meusebach
Themes & tags
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