DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do it justice. Picture a young man standing somewhere behind Confederate lines, sometime before April of 1863, knowing exactly what he believes and exactly what he's willing to risk to act on it. His name is Adolph Strieber.
Born in Zellerfield, Germany, he came to Texas through Old Indianola with his parents back in 1846. He grew up here, in this Texas soil, among a community of German settlers who looked at the United States and felt something deep and stubborn in their chests: this country ought to stay together. And Adolph Strieber was going to do something about it.
To enlist in the Union Army, he had to get out. So he crossed Confederate lines, and he didn't do it easy. He went on foot first, then by stagecoach, then by steamboat, piecing together a route that took him all the way to Springfield, Illinois, where he signed up as a private in Company G of the 16th Illinois Cavalry.
That was April 1, 1863. He served until August 15, 1865, finishing as a Second Lieutenant. The man who walked out of Confederate Texas came home when it was done.
He married Marie Wagenschien in 1866. He built a life as a pioneer merchant, earned himself a name as a prominent citizen of DeWitt County. A German immigrant who came through Old Indianola as a child, crossed enemy territory on foot and by stage and by steam because he believed in something, and then came back to the place he'd risked everything to leave.
That's Adolph Strieber, and the marker in DeWitt County makes sure nobody drives past without knowing it.
What the marker says
Co. G, 16th Illinois Cavalry from Apr. 1, 1863 to Aug. 15, 1865. Enlisted as private in Springfield, Ill., after crossing Confederate lines by walking, stagecoach and steamboat. Like many Texas Germans, he felt U.S. should be kept together. Born in Zellerfield, Germany. Came to Texas via Old Indianola with parents in 1846. Married Marie Wagenschien 1866. Pioneer merchant. Prominent citizen. Recorded - 1964