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13 Cards in this Set
- Front
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Why Texans fought |
1. Defend the institution of slavery. 2. A sense of duty or tradition 3. To protect homes and family members whom they left east of the Mississippi River 4. To defend "states rights" (especially a desire to protect right to own slaves) The economy of Texas relied on slavery. |
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Preparations for war |
Volunteers brought almost everything needed from home. Most men wore whatever they had (flannel hunting shirts or home-spun pants of every possible color). Texans had a strong desire to serve in cavalry rather than infantry (maybe because the state was such a wide open place that they never walked anywhere). Texans cherished horsemanship and desired to be viewed as cavaliers of old. In 1861, Texas had 16 regiments, 3 battalions, and 3 independent companies of cavalry compared to only 7 regiments and 4 battalions of infantry (2.5 cavalry units to every 1 infantry unit). Texas was the only state in the Civil War to have more cavalry units than infantry. |
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Hood's Texas Brigade |
Most famous of Texas's Civil War military. Consisted of 1st, 4th, and 5th Texas Infantry; were the only regiments to fight east of the Appalachian Mountains. Contributed to mythology of Texan soldiers. Fought at every engagement except Manassas, VA. Developed a reputation as the hardest fighting and most dependable units in the army of Northern Virginia. Lead by Gen. John Bell Hood. Sadly their reputation for courage and reliability proved to be their curse, as their casualty rate for the war was 61%. Only 600 were serving when the Civil War ended, out of 4,400 who had served throughout the war. |
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HH Sibley and the Invasion of New Mexico |
Failed campaign to capture New Mexico for the Confederacy. October 1861 - Summer 1862 Before the war, Gen. Henry Hopkins Sibley commanded U.S. soldiers campaigning against Navajo Indians in the New Mexico territory. When the war began he sided with the South. The invasion idea started with Lt. Col Baylor of El Paso invading the Arizona Territory and claiming it for the Confederacy, enticing President Jefferson Davis to agree to have Sibley invade New Mexico. Sibley probably wanted to extend Confederate territory westward to California and the Pacific Ocean, allowing the Confederacy access to shipping routes once again, and possible foreign aid. He organized the 4th, 5th, and 7th Texas Mounted Volunteers and Arizona "spy companies" to defeat the poorly-staffed Union army at Fort Craig (Battle of Valverde). He advanced up to Albuquerque and then sent Lt. Col. William R. Scurry to take Fort Union (100 mi NE of Santa Fe). Along the way, Scurry defeated the Union at Glorieta Pass, but suffered a huge loss when their supply train was captured. Sibley was forced to call a retreat back to Texas, but the trip back was brutal and disorganized because of the lack of food for the men and horses. |
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Loss and Recapture of Galveston |
October 4, 1862: Northern navy and army capture Galveston. Before Union ships arrived, Gen. Paul O. Hebert ordered cannons to be moved inland because he feared losing them, a mistake which cost him his position. The Confederates then asked for a 4 day truce so the citizens of Galveston could leave before the city was to be occupied. Hebert was replaced by Gen. John B. Magruder ("Prince John"). On January 1, 1863 he and 2,000 men tried to take back Galveston in a counter-assault. Later, 2 Confederate cottonclads (boats with only cotton bales for protection) approached the bay and rammed Union ships while taking heavy fire. They finally took a Union ship, causing confusion. One Union ship ran aground and the others fleed; the Texans had recaptured Galveston. |
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Dick Dowling and the Battle of Sabine Pass |
Lt. Richard "Dick" Dowling was an Irish immigrant and Confederate commander of Fort Griffin at Sabine Pass (On the TX-LA border near the coast). The battle resulted in a decisive loss for the Union and complete failure to capture the fort. Sabine Pass was important because of its connection to the railroad system from Beaumont to Houston. If captured, Union troops would be able to control the entire region. On September 8 1863, Union ships under Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks ventured up the pass but were bombarded by the Confederates, who only consisted of only 42 men and 6 guns. In less than an hour, Dowling's men disabled two gunboats and captured 350 Union prisoners. The remaining Union vessels retreated to New Orleans; The Union suffered an embarrassing defeat. |
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Santos Benavides and the defense of South Texas |
Col. Santos Benavides was a Tejano rancher and businessman who was the highest ranking Mexican American in the Confederate Army. He successfully defended Laredo from Union invasion in 1864 with his Tejano force. |
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Battle of Palmito Ranch |
May 13, 1865; near Brownsville. The final battle of the Civil War. Confederate John "Rip" Ford's men defeated the Union force, but Ford saw the inevitable defeat of the Confederacy coming and so arranged an armistice with the Union commander in Brownsville. Many Texans followed Ford's lead, dissolving their units. Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith soon found himself to be a commander without an army. |
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Major Texas home front issues |
Compared to other Southern states, Texans experienced fewer hardships and property loss. No major battles took place in the state. Major problems were death of soldiers, internal dissent, and Indian raids. Being close to Mexico allowed Texans to sell cotton to the international market. Texans also ran Union blockades at Galveston and Corpus Christi in order to trade. Slavery continued during the war as normal. On a few occasions the slaves were conscripted to build military fortifications and transport cotton (the owners were of course, compensated). Refugee slaveowners and their slaves fled to Texas from Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana as the Union advanced, causing friction in Texas. Over half of military-age men in Texas served in the war, and 25% of these men died; half of deaths were from disease. 15,000 out of 600,000 total Texans died. |
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Texas women during the war |
Enthusiastically supported the Confederacy early in the war and encouraged men to enlist. Supplied men with clothing, supplies, and threw festive banquets for men departing for the war in which they would present them with a "battle flag". They experienced loneliness and hardship as they had to manage the farms, plantations, and slaves alone. They felt vulnerable to Indian attacks. Having taken up new responsibilities and participation in the legal system (suing, divorces, probating estates) women were viewed in a new light by the end of the war. |
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Gainesville Hangings |
In October 1862 some Unionist members of a "Peace Party" (formed after Confederacy conscription act) were trying to promote a general uprising in Cooke County (north TX). Col. James G. Bourland arrested over 150 suspected Unionists, and they were escorted to Gainesville, TX to undergo trial in a "citizens' court" overseen by Bourland and Col. William C. Young. 7 Unionists were found guilty and sentenced to death; an additional 14 were lynched and 2 more were killed trying to escape. In later months, a group of 19 Unionists who were alleged to have assassinated Col. Young were also killed. 42 people died in total. The stories of the killings spread far and embarrassed the Confederacy, feeding into the Union narrative of Southern barbarism. |
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Nueces Massacre ("Battle of the Nueces") |
German immigrants (weary of conflict from Europe) in the Hill Country of TX formed the Union Loyal League (a pro-Union organization) to protect from Indian attacks and avoid Confederate conscription. This led to suspicion and harassment by Texas officials. 61 men under Frederick "Fritz" Tegener decided to flee to Mexico, an act seen as treason by Texan officials. 91 Confederate rangers under Lt. Colin D. McRae pursued them and attacked on August 10, 1862 at the Nueces River near Fort Clark. McRae's men killed 19 Germans and took 9 POWs, who were severly wounded and later executed. Some German escaped to Mexico and later joined the Union army in New Orleans. |
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Frontier Regiment |
Growing need for men on the battlefield forced commanders to transfer away frontier soldiers, exposing Texans to Indian raids. To fill this gap, The Frontier Regiment (1,000 men) was organized in December 1861. They had initial success in their patrol groups in 1861, but the following year the Comanche and Kiowa launched numerous successful raids. The regiment was transferred in 1864 to the Confederate army. The Frontier Organization was later formed (4,000 volunteers that rotate service). Despite the efforts of the Texans, Indian raiders successfully pushed the frontier line back 50 miles and killed/injured/captured 400 white settlers. |
