Milam County Soldiers Answered Call to Arms during the Civil War

Jeanne Williams - Temple Daily Telegram

February 28, 2011

CAMERON - Union army soldiers feared them. Historians described them as bold, fearless

and battlefield experienced from fighting savage foes year after year, learning

merits of wartime strategy necessary to defeat superior numbers of a wily enemy.

These were the Texans who joined the Confederate Army during the War Between the

States, charging into battle with an unnerving Texas rebel yell. Texas joined the

Confederacy 150 years ago sending more than 90,000 men into war, including some 900

Milam County soldiers who enlisted in Hood’s Brigade, Sibley’s Brigade and Walker’s

Division. The largest group of Milam County soldiers assembled during the war - more

than 200 men - was at the battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill in Louisiana.

“They were involved in many other important battles and campaigns as well,” according

to the book “Milam County Texas in the Civil War.” “The county paid a high price for

its fame having more than 140 men die while in the Confederate service.”

The Handbook of Texas On-Line reported that Texas regiments fought in every major

battle throughout the war. Confederate Texans had been veterans of the Mexican-American

War, and a few had served earlier in the Texas Revolution. Texas furnished 52 regiments

of cavalry, 23 regiments of infantry, one regiment of heavy artillery and more than 20

batteries of light artillery for the Confederacy. Additionally, the state maintained at

its own expense some additional troops for home defense.

Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis hailed these soldiers with the

words, “Texans! The troops of other states have their reputations to gain, but the sons

of the defender s of the Alamo have theirs to maintain. I am assured that you will be

faithful to the trust.”

Known as the “shock troops” in Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, Texans

were considered his favorites. On more than one occasion, Lee praised their fighting

qualities, remarking “that none had brought greater honor to their native state than my

Texans.”

The rawhide tough Texans were the most feared battlefield foes of the Union Army, said

Dr. Charles D. Grear, Prairie View A&M University history profess or and renowned

authority on the Civil War.

Union troops feared Texans more than Confederate soldiers from any other state, said

Grear. Confederate Army leaders recognized Texans as their strongest, most experienced

troops because of their skill in frontier fighting across Texas.

Why did a population of property poor farmers and ranchers leave behind their families

and homes to fight? “There are multiple, multiple reasons,” including the Southern

tradition of chivalric valor, state’s rights, patriotism, and because Texas wanted to

maintain the right to continue slavery, Grear said.

The book “History of Milam County” said the county was never a heavy slaveholding area,

but there were slaves. The county was by no means an industrial center, and most farms

and ranches were small, aside from three large operations. Milam County’s 550 voters

endorsed secession 468 to 135, with Charles Marion Lesueur serving as the county’s

delegate at the state secession convention Jan. 28 to Feb. 4, 1861, in Austin.

“Milam County, Texas, in the Civil War” listed the following Confederate companies from

Milam County:

Co. G, Milam County Grays, 5th Texas Infantry, Hood’s Brigade, Army of Northern

Virginia; Co. D, San Andres Light Horse Company, 4th Texas Cavalry, Sibley’s Brigade;

Co. E, Milam County Guards, 4th Texas Cavalry, Sibley’s Brigade; and Co. F, 12th Texas

Infantry, Walker’s Division. A state unit, Co. B, 27th Battalion, Texas State Troops

was later redesignated as Co. E, 4th Cavalry Regiment, Texas State Troops.

Additionally, a reserve company was organized late in the war for Bean’s Battalion.

Many other soldiers from Milam County served in units raised in neighboring counties.

jwilliams@tdtnews.com

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Jeanne Williams and the Temple Daily Telegram