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TEXAS IN THE CIVIL WAR: A RÉSUMÉ HISTORY

Allan C. Ashcraft, Ph. D. Assistant Professor of History The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas

A Publication of the Texas Civil War Centennial Commission Austin, Texas January, 1962

TEXAS CIVIL WAR CENTENNIAL COMMISSION 112 East 18th Street Austin, Texas

Walter E. Long, Austin, Chairman Rupert N. Richardson, Abilene, Vice Chairman Mrs. C. C. Cameron, Austin, Second Vice Chairman

A. Garland Adair _Austin_ Mrs. John M. Bennett, Jr. _San Antonio_ Lincoln Borglum _Beeville_ Mrs. Mike Butler _Austin_ Millard Cope _Marshall_ Joe Cruze _Driftwood_ J. A. Dodd _Kingsville_ Mrs. L. E. Dudley _Abilene_ John T. Duncan _Bryan_ Mrs. R. R. Farmer, Jr. _West Columbia_ Mrs. L. J. Gittinger _San Antonio_ H. A. Hooks _Kountze_ Jess Irwin, Jr. _Austin_ Burris C. Jackson _Hillsboro_ Ray Kirkpatrick _Austin_ Sam Lanham _Waco_ Mary Lubbock Lasswell _Austin_ F. Lee Lawrence _Tyler_ Walter Malec _Hallettsville_ Stuart McGregor _Dallas_ Tom B. Medders _Wichita Falls_ I. C. Parma _Granger_ Cooper K. Ragan _Houston_ Mrs. Edward Randall, Jr. _Galveston_ Joe H. Reynolds _Houston_ John Ben Shepperd _Odessa_ Harold B. Simpson _Waco_ Mrs. H. M. Stamper _Houston_ Heyl G. Tebo _Houston_ Charles R. Tips _Dallas_ Frank E. Tritico _Houston_ Mrs. Max Weinert _Seguin_ Robert C. Wells _Kingsville_ James E. Wheat _Woodville_ R. T. Wilkinson _Mount Vernon_ Mrs. Dan Lester _Jefferson_

George W. Hill _Executive Director_

PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE

Millard Cope John T. Duncan Cooper K. Ragan F. Lee Lawrence John Ben Shepperd

FOREWORD

The Texas Civil War Centennial Commission has long felt the need for a booklet setting forth a brief history of Texas' participation in the Civil War and the Confederacy. Many requests for such a publication have come from schools, organizations and individuals.

We are proud to present "Texas in the Civil War" and feel that it will lead to an understanding of the true story of this period of Texas history.

We are especially indebted to Dr. Allan C. Ashcraft, who prepared "Texas in the Civil War" at no cost to our Commission. Mr. James Wilkins of Tyler contributed the art work. A chronology appears on page 45 and was prepared by the Committee on Chronology. Professor John T. Duncan of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas served as chairman.

This publication is dedicated as a memorial to all Texans who served in the Armed Forces of the Confederate States of America.

Walter E. Long Chairman

Publications of the TEXAS CIVIL WAR CENTENNIAL COMMISSION

_Texas Civil War Centennial Program_ _Texas in the Civil War: A Resume History_ _Texas at Vicksburg_ published, jointly by the _Texas Civil War Centennial Commission_ and _Texas Historical Survey Committee_

PRINTED BY WEST TEXAS OFFICE SUPPLY, ODESSA, TEXAS

CONTENTS

FOREWORD 3 TEXAS IN THE CIVIL WAR: A RÉSUMÉ HISTORY 5 TEXAS IN 1860 7 POLITICS, SECESSION, AND WAR 7 MOBILIZATION: EVENTS OF 1861 10 CAMPAIGNING: 1862 12 TEXAS UNITS FIGHTING ELSEWHERE: 1861-1863 15 ISOLATION OF THE SOUTHWEST: 1863 19 BEGINNING OF THE END: 1864 22 FIGHTING BEYOND TEXAS: 1863-1865 25 THE BREAK-UP: 1865 28 NOTES 31 BIBLIOGRAPHY 38 MANUSCRIPTS 38 REPRODUCED COPIES OF MANUSCRIPTS 38 PUBLIC DOCUMENTS 39 OTHER PRIMARY SOURCES 39 SECONDARY SOURCES 39 NEWSPAPERS 40 ARTICLES 41 CHRONOLOGY 43 EVENTS IN TEXAS, 1861-1865 45

TEXAS IN THE CIVIL WAR: A RÉSUMÉ HISTORY

TEXAS IN 1860

Texas in 1860 was an area where the Old South faded into what was to become the new West. The state was a partially settled land of contrasts surrounded by enemies on all but the Louisiana side.[1] This one friendly boundary was a powerful tie that linked Texas both physically and psychologically with its Southern parent lands.

Because the state was in an early phase of settlement, the population of 420,891 white persons included a great majority of people who had been born in other states or in foreign countries. Barely one-third of the whites had been born in Texas, while over ten percent of them were originally from countries other than the United States. Most of the settlers from other states were from the South.[2] Thus far these hardy individuals had organized counties along the entire length of the Rio Grande and, elsewhere, as far west as the 100th meridian frontier line.

Within the main settled portion could be found several distinctive agricultural regions. The principal center of the cotton plantation system was in a cluster of a half-dozen counties that touched the coast in Matagorda and Brazoria counties, and included the best soil in the Gulf Plains. Much cotton was also raised in the Brazos, Colorado, and Trinity river bottoms. Most of the state's Negro population (182,566 slaves and 355 free Negroes) lived in the vicinity of these heavy cotton producing counties. To the north and east of the plantation centers was an area of agricultural diversity. Cotton was raised as a "cash crop", while grains and vegetables were grown for local consumption. Northwest and west of the cotton lands was a subsistence agricultural belt that extended to the frontier. Here, strong men fought marauding Indians and contended with periodic drought in an effort to make a meager living for their families. Finally, to the southwest of the plantations was cattle country, where almost four million unmarketable beeves roamed the open ranges from the San Antonio River to the Rio Grande.

The agrarian nature of 1860 Texas is well reflected in the fact that less than five percent of the population lived in urban areas. There were fifty-two incorporated towns (settlements of over 1,000), of which only San Antonio and Galveston exceeded the 5,000 mark. Other points of minor population concentration were scattered villages and a score of Federal military forts that were situated along the Rio Grande and near the frontier line.[3]

POLITICS, SECESSION, AND WAR

In state politics Texas was divided between a loosely organized Democratic Party and the followers of Sam Houston. Houston's strong anti-sectional views cost him the gubernatorial election in 1857. Two years later, however, the aging hero of San Jacinto capitalized on a general reaction against sectional extremists and was elected governor on a nationalist platform. When Abraham Lincoln won the Republican presidential nomination in 1860, Governor Houston urged his fellow Texans to keep cool heads and to avoid taking drastic steps that might later be regretted.[4]

In the national election of November, 1860, the voters of the Lone Star State cast a three to one majority for John C. Breckinridge (Southern Democrat) over John Bell (standard bearer of the conservative Constitutional Union Party.) The names of Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas (Northern Democrat) did not appear on Texas ballots. When it was learned that the Republican candidate had won the presidency, Texans, like other Southerners, went into mourning and many replaced United States flags with state banners. Then, when other states of the South called for secession conventions, Texans demanded that the same action be taken in their state.[5]

Governor Houston managed to block all secession calls until December, when Attorney General George M. Flournoy, Associate Justice O. M. Roberts of the State Supreme Court, and lawyer William P. Rogers and John S. Ford took the lead in calling for a state-wide election of secession convention delegates to meet in Austin on January 28, 1861. A subsequent statement explaining this move cited a Texas Constitutional provision that the people "have at all times the unalienable right to alter, reform, or abolish their form of government" as a source of authority for the convention call.[6] It was also at this time that the voters of Texas were promised a popular referendum on the secession assembly's work; and of the original seven Confederate states, Texas was the only one to hold such an election on the question of secession. Seventy-two prominent citizens, including Lieutenant Governor Edward Clark, signed this second call.

As provisions for the forthcoming election of delegates were being made, Sam Houston called for a special session of the legislature to meet on January 21. The Governor desperately hoped to use the legislative body to neutralize the work of the convention. But this remote possibility was stifled when the House and the Senate promptly adopted an anti-Houston attitude and enthusiastically welcomed the assembling convention.[7]

On Monday. January 28, 1861, the secession delegates organized under the presidency of Judge O. M. Roberts. As late comers kept arriving, the body eventually came to number one hundred seventy-six members. Elected from state legislative districts, the delegates were mainly lawyers, planters, and farmers.[8] In short order a heavy majority approved a resolution to withdraw Texas from the Union, and an Ordinance of Secession was passed by a vote of 166 to 7. This ordinance basically charged that the United States government had failed to meet its responsibilities under the "compact of Union." Specifically, it was asserted that Federal authority had neglected to give "protection either to the persons of our people upon an exposed frontier, or to the property of our citizens." The document also condemned the Northern states for attempting to make the central government into "a weapon with which to strike down the interests and prosperity of the people of Texas and her Sister Slaveholding States." Therefore, concluded the Ordinance, the people of Texas chose to withdraw from the Union and to reclaim all sovereignty delegated to the Federal government when Texas joined the United States.[9]

The convention established a Committee of Public Safety to oversee security matters while the main delegation recessed to await popular approval of secession. Just before being disbanded until March 2, the Austin assembly named seven representatives[10] to the Montgomery, Alabama, convention of the seceding states. These men were to journey to Alabama where they would speak for Texas in the forming of the new Confederate government.[11] With his hand thus forced, Governor Houston ordered an election to be held on February 23 to determine whether or not the Secession Convention's work would be approved by the people.[12]

Shortly before this election was held, the Committee of Public Safety decided that for purposes of state security the almost 3,000 Federal soldiers stationed in Texas must be surrendered. This delicate matter was settled on February 15, when the followers of Colonel Ben McCulloch suddenly surrounded military departmental headquarters in San Antonio. McCulloch's strong show of force was sufficient to cause the bloodless surrender of Brevet Major General David E. Twiggs--aged commander of all United States forces in the state. According to the terms of his capitulation, Twiggs was to evacuate his soldiers and turn over all station property to the state.[13]

A week later in the midst of fiery editorials and heated discussions. the mandate on secession was held and county results were forwarded to Austin. On March 2, the anniversary of Texas independence, the Secession Convention re-assembled to canvass the result of the election. Because a quorum was lacking, however, this task had to be postponed until Monday, March 4.[14] Of the one hundred twenty-two counties reporting, only nineteen, located mainly in northern Texas or along the middle of the frontier line, showed a preference to stay with the Union. In overall figures, secession was endorsed by a vote of 46,129 to 14,697. When these results were certified to the convention. President Roberts proclaimed Texas to be "a free, sovereign and independent nation of the earth."[15] Later that same day a disgruntled Governor Houston officially admitted to his people that a large majority had favored secession.

The convention next considered the complex problem of defending Texas, and at the same time, rushed instructions to the Texas delegation in Montgomery, Alabama, to secure admission of the state to the Confederacy. Sam Houston, when he learned of these actions, charged that the convention was completely overstepping its authority. To counter such protests, the determined secession delegates developed a plan that would ultimately cause Houston to remove himself from office. A resolution was passed requiring all high state officials to swear allegiance to the Confederacy at noon on March 16. When Houston failed to appear at the oath-taking ceremony, the convention declared his office to be vacant. Pro-secessionist Lieutenant Governor Edward Clark assumed the gubernatorial position for the nine months remaining in Houston's term. Finally, with its work accomplished, the Texas Secession Convention adjourned _sine die_ on March 26.[16]

Meanwhile, the Confederate States government had been organized and Judge John H. Reagan of Texas was named Postmaster General. In late April news reached Texas that Fort Sumter had been fired on. With war between the sections now a reality, Governor Clark promptly set about gearing the state for military action. Measures were taken to capture as prisoners of war all federal troops who had been surrendered by General Twiggs and who were still in the process of leaving the state.[17] Also, the Governor asked for 3,000 volunteers to supplement several existing regiments that had been called into service by the Secession Convention. Later in April, Clark called for an additional 8,000 volunteer infantrymen to serve the South.[18]

Not all Texans were confident that the state had been wise in seceding and in joining the Confederacy. German settlers in the San Antonio-Fredericksburg-New Braunfels areas were especially disturbed over the turn of events. They had never accepted the idea of slavery and they now came to be looked on with distrust when some of their numbers elected to leave the state. A group of North Texans similarly decided to abandon their homes for the security of the United States. Still other malcontents, who wished to escape from the Confederate government or the dangers of war, moved to the Far West or across the Mexican border.[19]

MOBILIZATION: EVENTS OF 1861

Throughout 1861 Governor Clark issued calls for more troops and worked to bolster state defenses. By September Texas had ten regiments in Confederate service or in the process of being organized. Several of these units were in Virginia, while the rest were standing by to secure the state from possible invasion.[20]

The forming of companies was seldom a smooth procedure. For one thing, all Texans wanted to fight on horseback, but the Confederate army already had sufficient cavalrymen and now needed only foot soldiers. Also, the Southern leaders wanted men to serve for the war's duration, but most volunteers were reluctant to sign up for more than twelve months. While these requirements tended to make young men feel less enthusiastic about serving their country, the state government was seriously hampered in its recruiting operations by an over-anxious Confederate War Department. Richmond kept sending heavy troop levies to the Governor while also authorizing private persons to carry out their own recruiting programs. This resulted in serious recruiting competition between the state and the Confederate officers. In several cases units ear-marked to meet state troop requirements were marched away by "recruiting colonels." Despite Governor Clark's protest, this problem continued to exist for many months.[21]

A typical example of the mechanics of forming a unit took place at Marshall in April, 1861, when organization of the W. P. Lane Ranger Company was announced. Volunteers were expected to supply their own mounts while the state agreed to furnish arms. On the appointed day the young men were massed in the center of the town, had their horses examined for serviceability, elected their officers, and were given an oath of allegiance to Texas by a local judge. The rest of the day was spent in preparing the unit's roll of members and in attending a special church service. The next morning saw the company reassembled in the town square, awaiting the presentation of a flag that had been made by the young ladies of Marshall. After a long and flowery presentation speech, the banner, reported to have measured six by fifteen feet, was accepted by the unit. Then, at noon, amidst tears and kisses, the company took up the march to its destiny. A few miles down the road, however, destiny was delayed while the men were feasted at a local college. By dusk the badly scattered soldiers straggled to a camping site and dined on delicacies that had been brought from home. The Rangers were feted, lauded, and blessed in almost every town through which they passed. Late in May they arrived in San Antonio where they were armed, mustered into Confederate service as Company "F" of the Second Texas Mounted Rifles, and assigned to patrol duty on the state's frontier.[22]

As more regiments were formed, a growing scarcity of firearms caused grave concern. A few units solved this difficulty by demanding that the enlistees secure weapons on their own initiative. By using this system Captain Strobel's Company of Terry's Texas Rangers could boast that each of its men carried a double barrel shotgun, a six-shooter, and an issued "Texas tooth-pick." This last item was described as a "two edged pointed knife, 24 inches long, and weighing about three pounds, and a man using it could cut another man's head off and not half try." Most companies, however, relied on the state to furnish arms. By summer, 1861, Texas had issued almost all of the weapons that it owned.[23]

Because of the increasing scarcity of guns, Governor Clark adopted a policy of keeping the remaining state-owned weapons within the confines of Texas. Future troops mustered into Confederate service would have to draw arms from the Richmond government. Clark also sent agents to Mexico, Cuba, and Europe in a near fruitless effort to make contracts for the purchase of foreign guns. The state likewise encouraged the establishment of local arms factories and powder plants.[24] Such things as military clothing, blankets, and messing equipment would have to come from the penitentiary cloth mills at Huntsville, from private donations through county soldiers' relief agencies, through trade with Mexico, or from Confederate supply depots.[25]

By fall, 1861, the security of Texas was being jeopardized by Indian depredations along the frontier, by danger of invasions from the north or by way of the coast, and by the possibility of violence along the Mexican border. Repeated dispatches received in Austin reported fierce Indian raids centering in the Brown-Gillespie County area. Also, rumors had it that the Union was preparing a force in Missouri that would momentarily undertake an invasion into Texas. Proof of the United States forces having overrun Missouri was seen when pro-secessionist Governor C. F. Jackson and Lieutenant Governor T. C. Reynolds arrived with the Seal of the State of Missouri and set up a temporary government at Marshall, Texas. Governor Clark took so seriously the threat of a Union thrust into Texas that he expressed his concern to President Jefferson Davis and declared that his state stood ready to assemble 4,000 cavalrymen if it became necessary to block such a move on the part of the enemy. In the same letter to Richmond, Clark indicated a fear that West Texas might be faced with a Union column coming through New Mexico. To defend this approach and to safeguard the frontier from further Indian raids, legislative approval was secured to organize a Frontier Regiment of ten companies.[26]

Texans were likewise fearful of invasions or raids along the coastline, which could be discouraged by building fortifications and by stationing garrisons at such key points as Sabine Pass, Pass Cavallo (in Matagorda County). Port Aransas, and Galveston.[27] Continuous Union naval activity off Galveston caused that island to be regarded as a critical invasion objective. In fact, so serious was this threat that emergency plans were prepared for a quick evacuation of the city and possible destruction of the railroad bridge that linked the island with the mainland.[28]

As Union craft tightened the blockade of Texas port towns, the main unblocked trade route from Texas to the outside world came to be the overland trail from San Antonio to Matamoros. This Mexican town contained a number of merchant houses that were willing to exchange valuable Texas cotton for goods needed by the South. To safeguard this supply route, to control border violence, and to intercept shirkers and Unionists attempting to cross the Rio Grande, Texas kept a number of state troops on patrol duty along the international river.[29]

In spite of these manifold dangers and wartime conditions, Texas politics continued as usual. In November, 1861, an exciting contest allowed Francis R. Lubbock to replace Edward Clark as governor. Lubbock had wide political experience in the Lone Star State and, once assured of his narrow victory, he made a quick trip to Richmond to consult with principal Confederate leaders.[30]

CAMPAIGNING: 1862