Kleberg, Louis

Louis Kleberg was born 1802 in Westphalia, Prussia. When volunteers were called for in the Texas struggle for independence, Kleberg served from October 29, 1835, until January 18, 1836. He saw service at the Siege of Béxar in Capt. Thomas F. L. Parrott’s company. Indian raids along the upper Brazos, Colorado, and Trinity rivers drew him into military service again in 1839. On April 21 he joined a company of fifty-nine men under the command of Capt. John Bird. The company marched to Fort Milam near the site of present Marlin by May 6. They lived on frugal rations in poor camps and tracked Indians. On June 25 they reached a deserted fort on the Little River. The next morning the volunteers pursued a group of Indians they discovered near the fort. By the time they reached the site presently known as Bird’s Creek, the Indians numbered several hundred. A struggle known as the Bird’s Creek Indian Fight ensued. In it the Texans eventually drove away the Indians, but both sides sustained heavy losses. Captain Bird and the Indian chief, Buffalo Hump, both died. Kleberg was one of the few surviving Texans. He died on July 1, 1847, and is buried in a small cemetery on private property near Millheim in Austin County.

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