Saltgrass Prairie Saga: A German American Family in Texas

by Jim Burnett, M. Hunter Hayes (Foreword by)

Overview

Texas during the Civil War period is often viewed through the lenses of military tactics and the state’s role in the Confederacy. But what was life like for the families who endured wartime separation? How did women ensure stability at home while their husbands, fathers, and brothers were ordered away to risk their lives? How did families remain connected despite separation and the pressures of survival?

In Saltgrass Prairie Saga, John and Johanette Stengler, with their seven children in tow, leave the small central German village of Dietz and land in Galveston on New Year’s Eve, 1845: two days after Texas officially joined the United States. The world this family entered is contextualized through military reports, newspaper articles, personal correspondence, and local and state records. Significantly, author Jim Burnett ensures the voices of women are preserved. The book is complete with maps, illustrations, and photographs.

Blending life and settlement on the frontier, the early years of the Texas cattle trade, the waves of immigration during the period, and the impact of the Civil War, Saltgrass Prairie Saga offers a fresh view of a pivotal period in Texas history. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781648432743
Publisher:	Texas A&M University Press
Publication date:	05/30/2025
Series:	Sam Rayburn Series on Rural Life, sponsored by East Texas A&M University
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	28 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

JIM BURNETT, a freelance writer specializing in Texas history, previously spent thirty years working across eight different National Park Service areas, one of which included supervising a living historical farm that used the same pioneering skills described within Saltgrass Prairie Saga. The author of Hey Ranger! True Tales of Humor and Misadventure from America’s National Parks (vols. 1 and 2), along with more than fifty short articles, he lives in Pinehurst, NC.

Editorial Reviews

A compelling saga of an extraordinary Texas family during extraordinary times in the state and nation—a solid social and cultural history that effectively focuses on a small segment of the past to explore new ground of much broader context.”—Dan K. Utley, author of Links to the Past: The Hidden History on Texas Golf Courses and coauthor of History Ahead: Stories beyond the Texas Roadside Markers and many other titles. He is the former chief historian of the Texas Historical Commission.

Dan K. Utley

A recent study documented that the most widespread historic European ethnic group in the United States is German, a finding that surprised a number of scholars and demographers. Texas certainly contains a sizable population of people of German ancestry, a fact that has received multiple treatments and studies. However, most of those works have examined the so-called ‘German Belt’ in Central Texas, to the detriment of German settlements and heritage in other areas of the Lone Star State. Jim Burnett’s Saltgrass Prairie Saga is a large step in chronicling that German legacy in other parts of Texas, in this case the upper Gulf Coast plains. Burnett’s history of the Stengler family is certainly well-researched, well-grounded in valuable primary source material (especially family diaries and letters), and encompasses a large swath of Texas’ history, but it is also a personal story. His narrative gives readers an insight into the struggles and triumphs of a family and society that lived through a tumultuous period on both sides of the Atlantic. Aficionados of good Texas stories as well as scholars of the state’s history should clear a space for Saltgrass Prairie Saga on their bookshelves. It is a fine addition to the historical narrative of Texas.”—M. Scott Sosebee, executive director of the East Texas Historical Association and author of More Than Running Cattle: The Mallet Ranch of the South Plains

M. Scott Sosebee

"Jim Burnett's Saltgrass Prairie Saga tells the unique story of a German family who came to Texas in 1845 and settled somewhere other than the Hill Country. Featuring many never before-published letters, Saltgrass Prairie Saga is a fascinating story told by someone who has the knowledge and passion to do it justice. Although this book particularly focuses on the Civil War period when many family members fought for the Confederacy, it is not confined to recounting the major military operations. Instead, it is at its best talking about the day to day interactions between soldiers and their families. There is much to learn here. This book will find a comfortable home in the libraries of everyone who likes to study and enjoy Texas history."—Edward T. Cotham Jr., author of Juneteenth: The Story Behind the Celebration

Edward T. Cotham Jr.