City Marshal August Hampe

Headstone of only City of New Braunfels law officer killed in line of duty cleaned up

Posted on August 3, 2020

NEW BRAUNFELS - Two hardworking volunteers from New Braunfels Parks and Recreation cleaned up the headstone for the only New Braunfels law enforcement officer to ever be killed in the line of duty.

Ron Hamel and Lynn Thompson took a course in how to clean a headstone and used what they learned from the class to give the gravesite of August Hampe a makeover.

August Hampe was a New Braunfels City Marshal who was killed during a gunfight on Seguin Avenue in 1883, and is said to be the only City of New Braunfels law enforcement officer to be killed in the line of duty.

Hampe was born in 1845 and made his way to Texas with his parents and brother from Bruggen in the Kingdom of Hannover when he was just ten years old. He enlisted in Wood's Cavalry Regiment at age 17 and served during the Civil War fighting for the South.

He was elected as City Marshal for the City of New Braunfels in 1877, a position he held until his death in January of 1883.

To read the full account of the gunfight that led to his death,
visit https://www.nbtexas.org//City-Marshal-August-Hampe-Memoria.

He was only 38 when shot and killed in the line of duty, leaving behind a wife and seven children, the youngest of which was only two-months-old.

Retired Police Officer
NYPD

August 3, 2020