Hoffmann, Gustav (1817–1889)

Gustav Hoffmann, early German settler, Confederate officer, and state representative, was born in Stuhmbei, Prussia, on November 10, 1817. He was one of the original settlers of New Braunfels, Texas, where he was elected the first mayor in June 1847. He resigned in March of the following year for an extended trip to Germany. On his return he resumed his occupation as a farmer. Hoffmann had military experience in Prussia, and with the outbreak of the Civil War he raised a company of cavalry from Comal County that joined Henry H. Silbey's brigade in October 1861 as Company B, Seventh Regiment, Texas Cavalry. Hoffmann participated in numerous battles and was seriously wounded during the assault on Fort Butler in June 1863. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on April 14, 1864, and became full-time commander of the Seventh Texas Cavalry. At the war's end he was paroled as a colonel at San Antonio, on September 11, 1865. Hoffmann returned to New Braunfels and in 1872 was elected a representative to the Thirteenth Legislature. He later moved to San Antonio, where he died on March 10, 1889. He was buried in New Braunfels.