1.
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper
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Frank Leslies Illustrated Newspaper, later renamed Leslies Weekly, was an American illustrated literary and news magazine founded in 1852 and published until 1922. It was one of several magazines started by publisher and illustrator Frank Leslie, the Illustrated Newspaper was founded in 1852. John Y. Foster was the first editor of the weekly, there were 30 copies of the first edition printed. By 1897, its circulation had grown to an estimated 65,000 copies, after Leslies death in 1880, the magazine was continued by his widow, the womens suffrage campaigner Miriam Florence Leslie. The name, by then a well-established trademark, remained also after 1902 and it often took a strongly patriotic stance and frequently featured cover pictures of soldiers and heroic battle stories. It also gave extensive coverage to less martial events such as the Klondike gold rush of 1897, among the writers publishing their stories in the weekly were Louisa May Alcott, H. Irving Hancock, Helen R. Martin, Eleanor Franklin Egan, and Ellis Parker Butler. Several notable illustrators worked for the publication, including Albert Berghaus and Norman Rockwell, who created covers for the magazine in its latter years, and Fernando Mirando y Casellas. Surviving copies of the magazine at present fetch handsome prices as collectors items and are considered to give a picture of American life during the decades of its publication
2.
Gainesville, Texas
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Gainesville is a city in and the county seat of Cooke County, Texas, United States. The population was 16,002 at the 2010 census and it is part of the Texoma region. Founded in 1850, the city of Gainesville was established on a 40-acre tract of land donated by Mary E. Clark, City residents called their new community Liberty, which proved short-lived, as a Liberty, Texas, already existed. It was suggested by one of the settlers of Cooke County, Colonel William Fitzhugh. Gaines, a United States general under whom Fitzhugh had served, had been sympathetic with the Texas Revolution, the first hint of prosperity arrived with the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach in September 1858, bringing freight, passengers, and mail. In the decade after the Civil War, Gainesville had its first period of extended growth, Gainesville, only 7 miles from the Oklahoma border, became a supply point for cowboys driving herds north to Kansas. The merchants of Gainesville reaped considerable benefits from the cattle drives. Within 20 years, the population increased from a few hundred to more than 2,000, Gainesville was incorporated on February 17,1873, and by 1890 was established as a commercial and shipping point for area ranchers and farmers. In the late 1870s two factors drastically altered the landscape of North Central Texas. The first of these was barbed wire, sanborn, a regional sales agent for Joseph Gliddens Bar Fence Company of DeKalb, Illinois, traveled to Texas. That autumn, he chose Gainesville as one of his initial distribution points for the newly invented barbed wire which his employer had patented the previous year. On his first visit to Gainesville, he sold ten reels of the wire to the Cleaves, World War II had an enormous impact on Cooke County. Camp Howze, an infantry training camp, was established on some of the best farmland in the county. The construction of the camp helped bring Cooke County out of the Great Depression by providing jobs, the county population doubled and the area boomed. In the last several years, tourism has brought renewed prosperity to the area, the return of Amtrak on June 14,1999, brought Gainesville back full circle to one of the original sources of its growth and success. In the early 1990s, Gainesville had 600 businesses and a population of 14,587, in 2000, the population was 15,538, with the population after the 2010 Census being just over 16,000 people. Gainesville is home to a courthouse with a rotunda topped by stained glass. The 1912 Cooke County Courthouse was designed by the Dallas firm of Lang & Witchell, the courthouse was designed in the Beaux Arts style with some Prairie Style features and influences from famed Chicago architect Louis Sullivan
3.
American Civil War
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The American Civil War was an internal conflict fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865. The Union faced secessionists in eleven Southern states grouped together as the Confederate States of America, the Union won the war, which remains the bloodiest in U. S. history. Among the 34 U. S. states in February 1861, War broke out in April 1861 when Confederates attacked the U. S. fortress of Fort Sumter. The Confederacy grew to eleven states, it claimed two more states, the Indian Territory, and the southern portions of the western territories of Arizona. The Confederacy was never recognized by the United States government nor by any foreign country. The states that remained loyal, including border states where slavery was legal, were known as the Union or the North, the war ended with the surrender of all the Confederate armies and the dissolution of the Confederate government in the spring of 1865. The war had its origin in the issue of slavery. The Confederacy collapsed and 4 million slaves were freed, but before his inauguration, seven slave states with cotton-based economies formed the Confederacy. The first six to declare secession had the highest proportions of slaves in their populations, the first seven with state legislatures to resolve for secession included split majorities for unionists Douglas and Bell in Georgia with 51% and Louisiana with 55%. Alabama had voted 46% for those unionists, Mississippi with 40%, Florida with 38%, Texas with 25%, of these, only Texas held a referendum on secession. Eight remaining slave states continued to reject calls for secession, outgoing Democratic President James Buchanan and the incoming Republicans rejected secession as illegal. Lincolns March 4,1861 inaugural address declared that his administration would not initiate a civil war, speaking directly to the Southern States, he reaffirmed, I have no purpose, directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the United States where it exists. I believe I have no right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so. After Confederate forces seized numerous federal forts within territory claimed by the Confederacy, efforts at compromise failed, the Confederates assumed that European countries were so dependent on King Cotton that they would intervene, but none did, and none recognized the new Confederate States of America. Hostilities began on April 12,1861, when Confederate forces fired upon Fort Sumter, while in the Western Theater the Union made significant permanent gains, in the Eastern Theater, the battle was inconclusive in 1861–62. The autumn 1862 Confederate campaigns into Maryland and Kentucky failed, dissuading British intervention, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which made ending slavery a war goal. To the west, by summer 1862 the Union destroyed the Confederate river navy, then much of their western armies, the 1863 Union siege of Vicksburg split the Confederacy in two at the Mississippi River. In 1863, Robert E. Lees Confederate incursion north ended at the Battle of Gettysburg, Western successes led to Ulysses S. Grants command of all Union armies in 1864
4.
Cooke County, Texas
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Cooke County is a county located in the U. S. state of Texas. At the 2010 census, its population was 38,437, the county was founded in 1848 and organized the next year. It is named for William Gordon Cooke, a soldier during the Texas Revolution and it is a part of the Texoma region. Cooke County comprises the Gainesville, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Dallas–Fort Worth. Republican Drew Springer, Jr. a businessman from Muenster, has represented Cooke County in the Texas House of Representatives since January 2013. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 898 square miles. The population density was 42 per square mile, there were 15,061 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 88. 84% White,3. 06% Black or African American,1. 00% Native American,0. 34% Asian,0. 01% Pacific Islander,5. 16% from other races, and 1. 61% from two or more races. 9. 97% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,23. 30% of all households were made up of individuals and 11. 10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the family size was 3.07. 27. 30% of the population were under the age of 18,8. 70% from 18 to 24,26. 10% from 25 to 44,23. 00% from 45 to 64, the median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.40 males, for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.80 males. The median household income was $37,649 and the family income was $44,869. Males had an income of $32,429 and females $22,065. The per capita income was $17,889, about 10. 90% of families and 14. 10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19. 80% of those under age 18 and 10. 70% of those age 65 or over. The Texas Youth Commission operates the Gainesville State School in an area in Cooke County
5.
Secession
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Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also any organization, union or military alliance. Threats of secession can also be a strategy for achieving more limited goals, theories of secession relate to a fundamental question of political philosophy, the basis of the states authority. Ramet, Rights of Secession by Daniel Kofman, The Very Idea of Secession by Donald Livingston and Secession, Autonomy, in 2007 the University of South Carolina sponsored a conference called Secession As an International Phenomenon which produced a number of papers on the topic. Some theories of secession emphasize a general right of secession for any reason while others emphasize that secession should be considered only to rectify grave injustices, if it can not live in the affections of the people, it must one day perish. Congress possesses many means of preserving it by conciliation, but the sword was not placed in their hand to preserve it by force, former President of the United States Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to William H. If any State in the Union will declare that it prefers separation with the first alternative, to a continuance in union without it, I have no hesitation in saying, let us separate. I would rather the States should withdraw, which are for unlimited commerce and war, economic enfranchisement of an economically oppressed class that is regionally concentrated within the scope of a larger national territory. e. Tax schemes, regulatory policies, economic programs, etc, cultural Secessionism, any group which was previously in a minority has a right to protect and develop its own culture and distinct national identity through seceding into an independent state. Institutional empowerment - The growing inability of empires and ethnic federations to maintain colonies, relative strength - Increasingly powerful secessionist movements are more likely to achieve statehood. Negotiated consent - Home states and the international community increasingly consent to secessionist demands, during the 19th century, the single British colony in eastern mainland Australia, New South Wales was progressively divided up by the British government as new settlements were formed and spread. Victoria in 1851 and Queensland in 1859, however, settlers agitated to divide the colonies throughout the later part of the century, particularly in central Queensland in the 1860s and 1890s, and in North Queensland in the 1870s. Western Australia Secession movements have surfaced several times in Western Australia, the referendum had to be ratified by the British Parliament, which declined to act, on the grounds that it would contravene the Australian Constitution. The Principality of Hutt River claims to have seceded from Australia in 1970, according to a lexicon on nationalist movements across the world, Macau happened to recognise that Principality. Austria successfully seceded from Nazi Germany on April 27,1945 and this took place after seven years of Austria being part of Adolf Hitlers Third Reich due to the Anschluss annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in March 1938. On August 25,1830, during the reign of William I, soon after, the Belgian Revolt occurred, which resulted in the Belgian secession from the Netherlands. The peace treaty accepted Uruguay independence, reasserted the rule of both nations over their land and some important points like free navigation in the Silver River, three rather disorganized secessionist rebellions happened in Grão-Pará, Bahia and Maranhão, where the people were unhappy with the Empire. The Malê Revolt, in Bahia, was an Islamic slave revolt and these three rebellions were bloodily crushed by the Empire of Brazil. In the attempts the rebels were crushed, the shot and its territory divided
6.
Nueces River
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The Nueces River is a river in the U. S. state of Texas, about 315 miles long. It drains a region in central and southern Texas southeastward into the Gulf of Mexico and it is the southernmost major river in Texas northeast of the Rio Grande. Nueces is Spanish for nuts, early settlers named the river after the numerous pecan trees along its banks, the Nueces rises northwest of San Antonio in the Edwards Plateau, in Real County, roughly 50 mi north of Uvalde. It flows south through the Texas Hill Country, past Barksdale and Crystal City, east of Carrizo Springs, it turns to the east, flowing through the scrub plains of South Texas, across rural Dimmit, La Salle, and McMullen Counties. It enters Corpus Christi Bay on the Gulf of Mexico at Corpus Christi, called Chotilapacquen by Coahuiltecan-speaking groups, the river was named Nueces by Alonso de León referring to the abundant pecan tree groves. One of the first settlers to scout the area was Cpt, blas María de la Garza Falcón in 1766. From before the end of the Texas Revolution, Mexico recognized that the Nueces River was historically the border of Texas from the rest of the country and this dispute continued after the annexation of Texas, and was one of the causes of the Mexican–American War. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the dispute, with Mexico recognizing, under pressure, on August 10,1862 pro-Union Germans from the Texas Hill Country trying to flee to Mexico were ambushed and killed by Confederates—the Nueces massacre. The Nueces is one of several clear warm-water spring creeks in the Hill Country of Texas, in its upper reaches, the water is clear and cool. The American alligator is also abundant in the Nueces River, list of Texas rivers Fly Fishing Nueces River from the Handbook of Texas Online Nueces River Authority home page
7.
Lynching
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Lynching is an extrajudicial punishment by an informal group. It is most often used to characterise informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate a group. It is a form of informal group social control such as charivari, skimmington, riding the rail, and tarring and feathering. Lynchings have been frequent in times of social and economic tension. However, it has resulted from long-held prejudices and practices of discrimination that have conditioned societies to accept this type of violence as normal practices of popular justice. Indeed, instances of it can be found in societies long antedating European settlement of North America, the legal and cultural antecedents of American lynching were carried across the Atlantic by migrants from the British Isles to colonial North America. Collective violence was an aspect of the early modern Anglo-American legal landscape. In the United States, during the decades before the Civil War, assertive free-Blacks, Latinos in the South West, Violence rose even more at the end of the 19th century, after southern white Democrats regained their political power in the South in the 1870s. Nearly 3,500 African Americans and 1,300 whites were lynched in the United States between 1882 and 1968, mostly from 1882 to 1920, the origins of the word lynch are obscure, but it likely originated during the American revolution. The verb comes from the phrase Lynch Law, a term for a punishment without trial, two Americans during this era are generally credited for the phrase, Charles Lynch and William Lynch, who both lived in Virginia in the 1780s. Charles Lynch has the claim, as he was known to have used the term in 1782. There is no evidence that death was imposed as a punishment by either of the two men, in 1782, Charles Lynch wrote that his assistant had administered Lynchs law to Tories for Dealing with negroes, &c. In the United States, the origin of the terms lynching, Charles Lynch was a Virginia planter and American Revolutionary who headed a county court in Virginia which incarcerated Loyalist supporters of the British for up to one year during the war. While he lacked proper jurisdiction, he claimed this right by arguing wartime necessity, subsequently, he prevailed upon his friends in the Congress of the Confederation to pass a law which specifically exonerated him and his associates from wrongdoing. He was concerned that he might face legal action from one or more of those so incarcerated, Lynch was not accused of racist bias, and indeed acquitted blacks accused of murder on three separate occasions, as dictated by the facts brought before him. He was accused, however, of ethnic prejudice in his abuse of Welsh miners, William Lynch from Virginia claimed that the phrase was first used for a 1780 compact signed by him and his neighbors in Pittsylvania County. While Edgar Allan Poe claimed that he found this document, this was likely a hoax, however, linguistic evidence is strongly against it, and the story was likely invented in the 19th century. Racist extremism with an eye to viciousness and public spectacle was frequently evident, in the South, members of the abolitionist movement or other people opposing slavery were usually targets of lynch mob violence before the Civil War
8.
Lynching in the United States
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Lynching is the practice of murder by extrajudicial action. Lynchings in the United States rose in number after the American Civil War in the late 1800s, following the emancipation of slaves, Lynchings most frequently targeted African American men and women in the South. They were most frequent from 1890 to the 1920s, with a peak in 1892, starting with large mob actions attended by hundreds or thousands of watchers, lynchings in the 20th century began to be conducted secretly by small groups of people. Lynchings were also common in the Old West, where Native Americans, Mexican Americans, after the Reconstruction era, most of the South was dominated politically by Democrats. Lynchings enforced white supremacy and intimidated blacks by racial terrorism, the rate of lynchings in the South has been strongly associated with economic strains, although the causal nature of this link is unclear. Low cotton prices, inflation, and economic stress are associated with higher frequencies of lynching, constitutional rights to freedmen after the American Civil War was resisted by many white Southerners. Some blamed the freedmen for their own wartime hardships, and post-war economic losses, during Reconstruction, freedmen and whites working for civil rights were attacked and sometimes lynched. Black voting was suppressed by violence, White Democrats regained control of state legislatures in 1876, and a national compromise resulted in the removal of federal troops from the South in 1877. In later decades, violence continued around elections until blacks were disenfranchised by the states across the South from 1890 to 1908, Whites enacted segregation and Jim Crow laws to enforce blacks second-class status. During this period of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Florida led the nation in lynchings per capita from 1900-1930. Georgia led the nation in lynchings from 1900-1931 with 302 incidents, Lynchings peaked in many areas when it was time for landowners to settle accounts with sharecroppers. There is no count of recorded lynchings which claims to be precise, and numbers vary depending on the source, years considered, and definition used in defining an incident. A five-year study published in 2015 by the Equal Justice Initiative found that nearly 3,959 black men, women, over this period Georgias 586 lynchings led all states. African Americans mounted resistance to lynchings in numerous ways, intellectuals and journalists encouraged public education, actively protesting and lobbying against lynch mob violence and government complicity. Anti-lynching plays and literary works were produced, African-American womens clubs raised funds and conducted petition drives, letter campaigns, meetings and demonstrations to highlight the issues and combat lynching. From 1910 to 1930 particularly, more blacks migrated from counties with high numbers of lynchings, from 1882 to 1968, nearly 200 anti-lynching bills were introduced in Congress, and three passed the House. Seven presidents between 1890 and 1952 petitioned Congress to pass a federal law, none succeeded in gaining passage, blocked by the Solid South - the delegation of white Southerners in the Senate. During the 1950s and 1960s Civil Rights Movement, black activists were attacked and murdered throughout the South, in 1964 three Mississippi civil rights workers were murdered, galvanizing public support for passage of civil rights legislation that year and the next
9.
Francis Lubbock
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Francis Richard Lubbock was the ninth Governor of Texas and was in office during the American Civil War. He was the brother of Thomas Saltus Lubbock, for whom Lubbock County, Texas, born in Beaufort, South Carolina, Lubbock was a businessman in South Carolina before moving to Texas in 1836. During the Republic of Texas period, President Sam Houston appointed Lubbock to be comptroller, in 1857, Lubbock was elected lieutenant governor of Texas as a Democrat but failed in his reelection bid in 1859. Following the Confederate secession in 1861, Lubbock won the governorship of Texas, during his tenure, he supported Confederate conscription, working to draft all able-bodied men, including resident aliens, into the Confederate States Army. When Lubbocks term ended in 1863, he joined the Confederate Army and was appointed to a lieutenant colonels position, by 1864, Lubbock was promoted to aide-de-camp for Jefferson Davis. Following the Confederacys military collapse Lubbock fled from Richmond, Virginia with Davis and they were soon caught by Union troops in Georgia. He was imprisoned at Fort Delaware for eight months before being paroled, on his return to Texas, Lubbock continued to pursue business interests in Houston and Galveston. From 1878 to 1891, he served as Texas State Treasurer, Francis Richard Lubbock from the Handbook of Texas Online Read an entry about Francis R. Lubbock from the Biographical Encyclopedia of Texas published 1880, hosted by the Portal to Texas History. Sketch of Lubbock from A pictorial history of Texas, from the earliest visits of European adventurers, to A. D.1879, hosted by the Portal to Texas History
10.
Jefferson Davis
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Jefferson Finis Davis was an American politician who was a Democratic U. S. Representative and Senator from Mississippi, the 23rd U. S. Secretary of War, and he took personal charge of the Confederate war plans but was unable to find a strategy to defeat the more populous and industrialized Union. Davis was born in Kentucky to a prosperous farmer, and grew up on his older brother Josephs large cotton plantations in Mississippi. Joseph Davis also secured his appointment to the U. S, after graduating, Jefferson Davis served six years as a lieutenant in the U. S. Army. He fought in the Mexican–American War, as the colonel of a volunteer regiment and he served as the U. S. Secretary of War from 1853 to 1857 under President Franklin Pierce, and as a Democratic U. S. senator from Mississippi. Before the war, he operated a cotton plantation in Mississippi. After the war had ended, he remained a proud apologist for the cause of slavery for which he, although Davis argued against secession in 1858, he believed that each state was sovereign and had an unquestionable right to secede from the Union. Daviss first wife, Sarah Knox Taylor, died of malaria three months of marriage, and he also struggled with recurring bouts of the disease. He was unhealthy for much of his life, at the age of 36, Davis married again, to 18-year-old Varina Howell, a native of Natchez who had been educated in Philadelphia and had some family ties in the North. Only two survived him, and only one married and had children, many historians attribute the Confederacys weaknesses to the poor leadership of President Davis. Historians agree he was a less effective war leader than his Union counterpart Abraham Lincoln. After Davis was captured in 1865, he was accused of treason and he was never tried and was released after two years. While not disgraced, Davis had been displaced in ex-Confederate affection after the war by his leading general, Davis wrote a memoir entitled The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, which he completed in 1881. By the late 1880s, he began to encourage reconciliation, telling Southerners to be loyal to the Union, ex-Confederates came to appreciate his role in the war, seeing him as a Southern patriot, and he became a hero of the Lost Cause in the post-Reconstruction South. Daviss paternal grandparents each immigrated separately to North America from the region of Snowdonia in North Wales in the early 18th century, the rest of his ancestry was English. After arriving in Philadelphia, Daviss paternal grandfather Evan settled in the colony of Georgia and he married the widow Lydia Emory Williams, who had two sons from a previous marriage. Their son Samuel Emory Davis was born in 1756 and he served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, along with his two older half-brothers. In 1783, after the war, he married Jane Cook and she was born in 1759 to William Cook and his wife Sarah Simpson in what is now Christian County, Kentucky
11.
John B. Magruder
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John Bankhead Magruder was a career military officer who served in the armies of three nations. He was a U. S. Army officer in the Mexican-American War, a Confederate general during the American Civil War, Magruder was born in Port Royal, Virginia to Thomas and Elizabeth Magruder and is of Scottish ancestry. He first attended the University of Virginia, where he had the opportunity to dine with former President Thomas Jefferson and he graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1830, where he was the roommate of William N. Pendleton. He was commissioned a lieutenant in the 7th U. S. He was later assigned to the 1st U. S. Artillery, Magruder served in the Second Seminole War in Florida and then under Winfield Scott in the Army of Occupation in Mexico. He was appointed a major for gallant and meritorious conduct at the Battle of Cerro Gordo. Magruder, along with other officers serving in Mexico City, was one of the organizers of the Aztec Club of 1847 and he served on frontier duty in California and at Fort Leavenworth in the Kansas Territory. From May 29,1857 to October 31,1859 Magruder served as commanding officer of Company I of the 1st Artillery Regiment at Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island. During this assignment, Magruder was noted for holding fort days during which the public was invited to attend concerts at the fort, prince John spoke with a lisp, except when singing tenor, which he did frequently. His avocation was composing songs and staging concerts and amateur theater productions and this theatrical bent would come in handy in the Civil War. At the start of the Civil War, Magruder was assigned to the artillery in the forces of Washington. However, he resigned from the U. S. Army when his native Virginia seceded and he was quickly promoted to brigadier general and major general. He commanded the small Army of the Peninsula defending Richmond, against Maj. Gen. George B, McClellans invasion of the Virginia Peninsula in the early portion of the Unions Peninsula Campaign in 1862. This separate army was incorporated as a division in the Army of Northern Virginia on April 12,1862 and he moved his artillery around frequently and liberally used ammunition when Union troops were sighted, giving the impression of a large, aggressive defending force. This subterfuge caused McClellans Army of the Potomac weeks of delay and brought Magruder praise from his superior. However, Magruder performed poorly and unaggressively in the subsequent Seven Days Battles, some blame heavy drinking for his erratic performance, others point to the unrelenting stress of his fending off McClellan at Yorktown. →Even before the first of the Seven Days Battles commenced there were signs that the Confederate leadership were ready to remove him from command in Virginia, Magruder is assigned to the command of the Trans-Mississippi District, of Department Numbers 2, and will report to this office for instructions. – In dispatches sent just days after, Magruder was found defending his actions regarding his command of the defense of Mechanicsville
12.
Decatur, Texas
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Decatur is a city located in Wise County, Texas, United States. Decatur is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and is located 25 miles northwest of Fort Worth and 45 miles northwest of Dallas, the population was 6,042 at the 2010 census. Wise County was established in 1856, and Taylorsville was made the county seat, in 1857, a post office was opened, and the first school was established in 1857. In the early 1860s, a courthouse was erected, early settlers to northern Texas came from a variety of eastern states, and only about half came from the deep south. As a result, some sympathized with the Unionist side during the Civil War, one such act occurred in October 1862, when several Unionist sympathizers were arrested and taken to nearby Gainesville for trial on charges of treason and insurrection. Seven of those arrested were hanged, and 14 more were hanged without trial, a few weeks later, more suspected Unionist supporters were hanged without trial in several north Texas communities, including 5 hanged in Decatur. The Great Hanging at Gainesville may have been the largest single incident of violence in U. S. history. By the late 1860s, several stores and a hotel had been established, in 1882, the Fort Worth and Denver Railway reached the town, and Decatur was added to the Butterfield Overland mail route. In 1881, the Wise County Old Settlers Reunion held their first meeting and this has become an annual tradition in Decatur, and the reunion continues to take place during the last full week of July. Decatur Baptist College was established in Decatur in 1898 and was the first two-year institution of education in Texas. In 1965, the moved to Dallas. The former Administration Building now houses the Wise County Heritage Museum, the Wise County courthouse was designed by James Riely Gordon, the master architect of Texas courthouses. The exterior is Texas red granite with terra cotta ornamentation, the almost pyramidal mass harks back to 1, 000-year-old churches in the south of France. The building has been praised, with its sister courthouse in Waxahachie and it is listed on the National Register. Country singer Charley Pride was more fortunate, surviving a crash with another plane over Decatur in 1980. Decatur is located at 33°13′40″N 97°35′24″W, according to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.5 square miles, all land. The highest point of elevation in the county is at the location in Decatur which houses the courthouse, the intent of placing the town on this high point of elevation was to be able to sight and ward off any incoming attacks or raids by Native Americans. As of July 1,2008, U. S. Census Bureau, as of the census of 2000, there were 5,201 people residing in the city
13.
Sherman, Texas
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Sherman is a city in and the county seat of Grayson County, Texas, United States. The citys population in 2010 was 38,315 and it is one of the two principal cities in the Sherman–Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area, and it is part of the Texoma region. Sherman was named after General Sidney Sherman, a hero of the Texas Revolution, the community was designated as the county seat by the act of the Texas legislature which created Grayson County on March 17,1846. In 1847, a post office began operation, Sherman was originally located at the center of the county, but in 1848 it was moved about 3 miles east to its current location. By 1850, Sherman had become a town under Texas law. It had also become a stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail route through Texas, by 1852, Sherman had a population of 300. It consisted of a square with a log court house, and several businesses, a district clerks office. During the 1850s and 1860s, Sherman continued to develop and to participate in regional politics, the first flour mill was built in 1861. In 1862 the publisher of Shermans anti-secessionist Whig newspaper, the Patriot, was murdered, during and after the Civil War, north Texas outlaw bands led by Jesse James and William Quantrill were seen in Sherman. Years later, James spent at least part of his honeymoon in Sherman, education developed in north Texas during this time. The Sherman Male and Female High School started accepting students during 1866 and it was one of three private schools in Sherman at the time. This school operated under several names until 1935 and it gradually lost Methodist support, after the opening of Southern Methodist University in 1915 in Dallas. In 1876, Austin College, the oldest continuously operating college in Texas, Sherman Female Institute, later known as Mary Nash College, opened in 1877 under sponsorship of the Baptist Church. It continued operation until 1901 when the campus was sold to Kidd-Key College, carr–Burdette College, a womens college affiliated with the Disciples of Christ, operated there from 1894 to 1929. Jews have had a history in Sherman, too, settling in the area. While there was general depression and lawlessness during Reconstruction, Sherman remained commercially active, during the 1870s Shermans population reached 6,000. In 1875, two fires destroyed many buildings east of the square and they were rebuilt with superior materials. This included a new Grayson County Courthouse built in 1876, in 1879, the Old Settlers Association of North Texas formed and met near Sherman
14.
James W. Throckmorton
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James Webb Throckmorton was an American politician who served as the 12th Governor of Texas from 1866 to 1867 during the early days of Reconstruction. He was a United States Congressman from Texas from 1875 to 1879, following the outbreak of the Mexican-American War, he joined the 1st Texas Volunteers as a private in February 1847. A few months later, he was assigned as an assistant surgeon to the Texas Rangers, during the Texas secession convention in 1861, he was one of only eight delegates to vote against secession from the United States. Despite this, he served in the Confederate Army as a captain of Company K, Throckmorton won the gubernatorial election of June 25,1866, at the same time the new constitution was approved, against Elisha M. Pease. As the Radical Republicans influence began to wane in the mid-1870s and he later served the 5th District in the 1880s. Throckmorton died at age 69 from a fall, having become frail due to kidney disease, James Webb Throckmorton from the Handbook of Texas Online James W. Throckmorton at Find a Grave
15.
Denton, Texas
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Denton is a city in and the county seat of Denton County, Texas. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 113,383, making it the 27th most populous city in Texas, a Texas land grant led to the formation of Denton County in 1846, and the city was incorporated in 1866. Both were named after pioneer and Texas militia captain John B, the city experiences hot, humid summers and relatively few extreme weather events. Its diverse citizenry is represented by a city council, and numerous county. With over 45,000 students enrolled at the two located within its city limits, Denton is often characterized as a college town. As a result of the growth, educational services play a large role in the citys economy. Residents are served by the Denton County Transportation Authority, which provides commuter rail, the formation of Denton is closely tied with that of Denton County. White settlement of the began in the middle of the 1800s when William S. Peters of Kentucky obtained a land grant from the Texas Congress. After initial settlement in the southeast part of the county in 1843, both the county and the town were named for John B. Denton, a preacher and lawyer who was killed in 1841 during a skirmish with Kichai people in what is now Tarrant County, pickneyville and Alton were selected as the county seat before Denton was named for that position in 1857. That year, a laid out the city and named the first streets. Denton incorporated in 1866, its first mayor was J. B. Sawyer, as the city expanded, it became an agricultural trade center for the mill and cottage industries. The arrival of the Texas and Pacific Railway in 1881 gave Denton its first rail connection, North Texas Normal College, now the University of North Texas, was established in 1890, and the Girls Industrial College, now Texas Womans University, was founded in 1903. As the universities increased in size, their impact on Dentons economy, Denton grew rapidly from a population of 26,844 in 1960 to 48,063 in 1980. In the 1980s, heavy manufacturing companies like Victor Equipment Company and Peterbilt joined older manufacturing firms such as Moore Business Forms, the population jumped from 66,270 in 1990 to 80,537 in 2000. The proposal drew opposition from residents, who sought to preserve the area as a historic. The Denton City Council approved a new proposal for the area from Dinerstein Cos in 2010, Denton is located on the northern edge of the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. These three cities form the known as the Golden Triangle of North Texas
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Texas Historical Commission
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The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation within the state of Texas. It administers the National Register of Historic Places for sites in Texas, the commission also identifies Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks and recognizes them with Official Texas Historical Marker medallions and descriptive plaques. The commission identifies State Archeological Landmarks and Historic Texas Cemeteries, a quarterly publication, The Medallion, is published by the agency and includes news and advice about preservation projects, Texas’ historic sites, and heritage tourism opportunities. Established in 1953, the legislature created the Texas State Historical Survey Committee to oversee state historical programs. In 2007, the legislature transferred management of state historic sites from the Texas Parks. Today, the agency employs about 100 personnel, the Texas Historical Commission leadership is composed of 18 members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate, serving overlapping six-year terms. All members must be citizens of Texas, and together represent all areas of Texas. The commission also employs personnel in various fields, including archeology, architecture, economic development, heritage tourism, history, public administration and these personnel consult with citizens and organizations to preserve Texass architectural, archeological and cultural landmarks. After the fair, these trails were all but forgotten, the Texas Historical Commission began its program based on these historical designations in 1998, starting with the Texas Forts Trail. The goal of the program is to promote tourism and historic preservation. The Texas Historical Commission preserves and operates 21 state historic sites across Texas and these unique places honor the past and inspire an understanding of what it means to be a Texan. From American Indian sites to frontier forts to common and elegant homes and the leaders and statesmen who lived in them, the purpose of the markers, which are available in a variety of types and sizes, is to educate the public. An application must meet requirements to be approved by the THC commissioners as qualifying for a marker. Beginning in November 2006, the Texas Historical Commission adopted a new marker program, Texas has the most prolific state historical marker program in the United States. The Historical Markers have been manufactured by The Southwell Company, located in San Antonio, in 1936 the company was awarded the contract to manufacture all of the bronze historical markers for the Texas Centennial. Since then thousands of cast aluminum historical markers have been provided for the State of Texas, in 1976, the company was selected to manufacture all of the historical markers for the Bicentennial. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark is the highest designation given by the Texas Historic Commission for significant structures in Texas, the THC may designate certain locations as State Antiquities Landmarks provided that they are not located on federal lands. These locations may fall into one of two categories, Historic buildings which must also be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Archeological sites, which may not necessarily have NRHP listing, and whose locations are not available to the general public in order to avoid vandalism
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Sons of Confederate Veterans
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The Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc. is an association of male descendants of Confederate veterans established on July 1,1896, at Richmond, Virginia. Membership can be obtained through either lineal or collateral family lines, the minimum age for full membership is 12, but there is no minimum for Cadet membership. Its aims, objects, and purposes were ″not to create or foster, in any manner, any feeling against the North, in the 1990s, disagreements over the purpose of the organization emerged within the SCV. At issue was a shift in the SCVs mission from maintaining gravestones, erecting monuments. The SCVs new concerns included fight for the right to display Confederate symbols everywhere from schools to statehouses, the more activist members of the SCV gained electoral support and were increasingly elected to its leadership positions. Members of the more traditionalist camp alleged that the League of the South had influenced their organizations new direction, one ally of the activist wing claimed that thousands of SCV members are also League of the South members. News reports state that the activists advocate picketing, aggressive lobbying, issue campaigning, the SCV defines those as any attack upon our Confederate Heritage, or the flags, monuments, and symbols which represent it. In 2002, SCV dissidents formed a new organization, Save the Sons of Confederate Veterans, composed of members, one of the main figures in that new SCV leadership, South Carolina politician and investment advisor Ron Wilson, served as Commander-in-Chief from 2002 to 2004. In 2012, he was sentenced to prison for running a Ponzi scheme as part of his investment business, ironically, in early 2005, the SCV council sued to expel SCV Commander-in-Chief Dennis Sweeney from office. The court initially granted the temporary control of the organization. Thirteen of the 25 council members were expelled from the council shortly after Sweeney regained control, nine of the council members expelled were former Commanders-in-Chief of the SCV, a status that heretofore had come with a life membership on the council. In February, Cathey wrote in the Southern Mercury that most of the SCVs members had united against the War on Southern Culture, by the SCVs summer 2005 convention, activists firmly controlled the council. They severed much of the SCVs long-standing relationship with the more traditionalist Military Order of the Stars and Bars, MOSB, founded in 1938, had been closely involved with the SCV, sharing its headquarters since 1992 and co-publishing Southern Mercury. In 2006, for the first time, the two organizations held separate conventions, in 2011, the Mississippi Division, SCV, launched a campaign to honor Confederate Lieutenant-General Nathan Bedford Forrest with a specialty license plate. The same year, the organization awarded Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio its Law, in 2013, Texas denied a request for a Confederate Battle Flag specialty license plate, a decision later upheld in State court. In 2014, the State of Georgia approved a battle flag specialty license plate, the Virginia General Assembly had approved a specialty license plate for the Sons of Confederate Veterans in 1999, but lawmakers forbade the group from displaying the Confederate insignia. The organization sued for the right to display the Confederate Battle Flag on the plate. The Sons of Confederate Veterans also sponsors the Bonnie Blue Society for authors of southern literature dealing with the veterans of the Confederate States of America
18.
Marais des Cygnes massacre
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The Marais des Cygnes massacre is considered the last significant act of violence in Bleeding Kansas prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War. On May 19,1858, approximately 30 men led by Charles Hamilton and they arrived at Trading Post, Kansas in the morning and then headed back to Missouri. Along the way they captured 11 Free-Staters, none of whom were armed and, it is said, most of the men knew Hamilton and apparently did not realize he meant them harm. These prisoners were led into a defile, where Hamilton ordered the men to shoot and he even shot and fired the first bullet himself. Hamilton and his gang returned to Missouri, only one man was ever prosecuted for the crime. William Griffith of Bates County, Missouri, was arrested in the spring of 1863, Charles Hamilton returned to Georgia, where he died in 1880. The incident horrified the U. S. and inspired John Greenleaf Whittier to write a poem on the murders, Le Marais du Cygne, which appeared in the September 1858 Atlantic Monthly
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Texas in the American Civil War
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As with those of other States, the Declaration was not recognized by the United States government at Washington. Some Texan military units fought in the Civil War east of the Mississippi River, Texas supply role lasted until mid-1863, after which time Union gunboats controlled the Mississippi River, making large transfers of men, horses or cattle impossible. Some cotton was sold in Mexico, but most of the crop became useless because of the Union naval blockade of Galveston, Houston, in the late winter of 1860, Texan counties sent delegates to a special convention to debate the merits of secession. The convention adopted an Ordinance of Secession by a vote of 166 to 8, separately from the Ordinance of Secession, which was considered a legal document, Texas also issued a declaration of causes spelling out the rationale for declaring secession. It accuses northern politicians and abolitionists of committing a variety of outrages upon Texans, the bulk of the document offers justifications for slavery and white supremacy, saying that remaining a part of the United States would jeopardize the security of the two. By February 1861, the six states of the sub-region had separately passed ordinances of secession. However, events in Texas were delayed, largely due to the resistance of Southern Unionist governor, in early December 1860, before South Carolina even seceded, a group of State officials published via newspaper a call for a statewide election of convention delegates on January 8,1861. This election was irregular, even for the standards of the day. It often relied on voice vote at meetings, although viva voce voting for popular elections had been used since at least March 1846. Unionists were often discouraged from attending or chose not to participate and this resulted in lopsided representation of secessionists delegates. The election call had stipulated for the delegates to assemble in convention on January 28, Houston called the Legislature into session, hoping that the elected body would declare the unauthorized convention illegal. On January 21,1861, the Legislature met in Austin and was addressed by Houston, calling Lincolns election unfortunate, he nonetheless emphasized, in a reference to the upcoming meeting of the secession convention, it was no justification for rash action. However, the Texas Legislature voted the delegates expense money and supplies and—over Houstons veto—made a pledge to uphold the legality of the Conventions actions, the only stipulation was that the people of Texas have the final say in referendum. The following day, convention president Oran Roberts introduced a resolution suggesting Texas leave the Union. S, Federal government and the U. S. Constitution. In the interests of historical significance and posterity, the ordinance was written to take effect on March 2, the date of Texas Declaration of Independence. On February 1, members of the Legislature, and a crowd of private citizens, packed the House galleries. Seventy yea votes were recorded there was a single nay. One of the votes is enshrined in Texas history books
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Ordinance of Secession
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The Ordinance of Secession was the document drafted and ratified in 1860 and 1861 by each of the southern states formally seceding from the United States of America. Each state ratified its own ordinance of secession, typically by means of a special convention delegation or by a general referendum, the seceded states formed the Confederate States of America. During the Civil War, the states of Missouri and Kentucky had competing confederate, missouris ordinance was approved by a legislative session called by Claiborne Fox Jackson, the pro-confederate governor. Kentuckys was approved by a convention of 200 people representing 65 counties of the state, the Confederacy officially ceded both of these states in 1862, though they were contested throughout the war. Virginias ordinance was approved by a referendum but rejected by 26 counties in the north and west of the state, georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas also issued separate declarations of causes, in which they explained their reasons for secession. Virginias Ordinance of Secession Text and original document from the Library of Virginia, virginias Ordinance of Secession Text and original documents from the Library of Virginia and National Archives. Texas Declaration of Causes, Feb.2,1861 Text of Declaration of Causes from Texas archives
21.
Nueces massacre
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The Nueces Massacre, also known as the Massacre on the Nueces, was a violent confrontation between Confederate soldiers and German Texans on August 10,1862, in Kinney County, Texas. Many first-generation immigrants from Germany settled in Central Texas in a known as the Hill Country. They tended to support the Union and were opposed to the institution of slavery, because of these sentiments, the Confederate States of America imposed martial law on Central Texas. This ensuing German defeat represented an end to overt German resistance to Confederate governance in Texas, disputes over the confrontation and the efficacy of Confederate actions after the battle, according to historian Stanley McGowen, continue to plague the Hill Country into the 21st century. Germans immigrated to Texas as early as 1836, by 1860, the German population in Texas, predominantly first-generation immigrants, reached an approximate level of 20,000 across the entire state. They settled heavily in a known as the Hill Country. Germans settled so heavily in area, that the counties of Gillespie, Kerr, Kendall, Medina. During the antebellum period, Germans displayed a set of opinions on slavery. There were several Germans who owned slaves, and some eventually supported Texas secession from the United States, most Germans, however were apathetic to slavery. A vocal minority of Germans was actively antagonistic to the institution of slavery and these antagonistic Germans included liberal and republican-minded Germans known as Achtundvierziger or Forty-Eighters. Many Forty-Eighters remained loyal to the United States and several opposed slavery, most secessionist Anglo-Texans found this to be an affront to their insurrection against the US. German opposition to slavery led to an animosity between the two throughout the 1850s. These disputes were magnified by Texas secession from the United States in March 1861, upon the commencement of the war, Germans projected an outward appearance of passivity toward the conflict. Confederate officials, however, saw the German population as an internal threat, the most adamant supporters of the Union were Tejanos and the German Texans both from Central Texas and the counties of the Texas Hill Country. They had some evidence for that suspicion, during the statewide vote on secession, German-heavy counties represented many of those, along with the Abolitionist northeast part of the state, to garner a majority vote against secession. Several reports in the beginning of 1862 even alleged that German communities celebrated Union victories, the state government also feared German-run local militias. The Union Loyal League, organized by several Forty-Eighters, was one such militia, the actual purpose of the league is still a debated issue. Historians Robert Shook and Stanley McGowen acknowledge, as German Texans maintained at the time, Confederates, they confirm, considered the Union Loyal League the enforcement arm of German-Unionist sentiment
22.
Battle of Corpus Christi
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The Battle of Corpus Christi was fought between August 12 and August 18,1862, during the American Civil War. United States Navy forces blockading Texas fought a land and sea engagement with Confederate forces in and around Corpus Christi Bay. Union forces defeated Confederate States Navy ships operating in the area but were repulsed when they landed on the coast, Texas had been a main source of supplies for Confederate forces during the American Civil War. Union naval operations to blockade the Texas coast began, despite being in a Confederate state, Corpus Christi was home to both rebel and Union sympathizers. Five Union and four Confederate ships were involved in the battle, United States Navy vessels included the sloop USS Belle Italia, the steamer converted to a gunboat USS Sachem, the bark USS Arthur, the schooner USS Reindeer and an armed yacht named USS Corypheus. Confederate naval forces included at least two armed vessels, a sloop named CSS Breaker, a schooner named CSS Elma, another sloop named CSS Hannah and a merchant steamer, the A. B. or A. Bee. USS Sachem was originally commanded by Captain H. W. Morris, the former U. S. Navy commander of New Orleans, and was armed with one 20 lb parrott rifle and four 32 pounder cannons. The size of her crew was about fifty, she had participated in several other historic naval engagements such as Hampton Roads. Captain Morris is not believed to have fought in this battle, Lieutenant John W. Kittredge was in charge of Arthur, which held over eighty men and was armed with six 32 pounder smooth-bore guns. Kittredge commanded the flotilla and Arthur was the flagship of the force, Corypheus mounted one 30 lb rifled gun and one 24 pounder howitzer. She had a crew of men and was commanded by Acting Master A. T. Spear. Bella Italias armament and crew are not known, Reindeer mustered six 24 pounder howitzers. Little is known of the Confederate ships, the size of Corpus Christis garrison included a few militia companies with two 6 pounder cannons. They were later reinforced by militia, some mounted, another two 12 pounders and one 18 pounder gun, a total of 700 rebels were involved in the battle. The militia garrison was commanded by Colonel Charles G. Lovenskiold, the garrison was based at the citadel in Fort Kinney. The Union Navy vessels then gave chase to the sloop which was filled with sailors, after a long pursuit the Union ships closed in on the Confederates and opened fire. The rebel commander chose to ground his sloop and then scuttle it by fire to prevent her capture, a boarding party from Arthur went to take the vessel and prevent the burning. By the time arrived, the rebels had already lowered life boats and were escaping overland
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First Battle of Sabine Pass
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And, it was to open the way for the Union invasion of Texas, which almost a year later was attempted by a combined force of Union naval and army forces at the Second Battle of Sabine Pass. Sabine Pass is the serving as the outlet of the Sabine Lake estuary formed by the confluence of the Neches. The port at Sabine City was connected by a spur to the rail line running from the eastern border of Texas to Houston and Galveston. Although the port and entrance to the pass over the bar were shallow, it served coastal trade and, increasingly, the commander of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, Rear Admiral [[David Glasg. In September 1862 Farragut encouraged Master Frederick Crocker in the steamer USS Kensington to capture the port, Farragut assigned Acting Master Quincy Hooper in the schooner USS Rachel Seaman to assist. On September 23, the vessels arrived off of the pass and were joined by Acting Master Lewis Pennington in the mortar schooner USS Henry Janes. The captains conferred and determined that they would not attempt to get the deep draft Kensington over the bar, late that afternoon the Rachel Seaman made it over, but the slightly deeper draft Henry Janes became stuck when the tide fell. The morning of September 24 revealed Penningtons ship stuck in the mud within sight of the fort, Pennington ordered his vessel to fire and it was soon joined by the Rachael Seaman. The Confederate artillerists responded, but their shots fell short as did most of the naval gunfire, after five hours the Henry Janes was freed from the muck and entered the pass. Both schooners maneuvered to within 1.5 miles of the fort and they took shelter and re-emerged as night fell and the bombardment ceased. After inspecting the damage the Confederate commander, Major Josephus S. Irvine, ordered his artillery spiked, since the fort ceased firing during the day, Crocker attempted to take the fort that evening using launches, but was unable to locate a passage. The next morning, September 25, Crocker fired three rounds into the fort with no response, then went ashore to find the fort deserted and he walked toward Sabine City and was met by a delegation announcing the towns surrender. This was the first major Texas city captured by the Union, neither side reported suffering any casualties. During the period between the 27th and the end of the month Crocker and the Kensington captured the British Schooner Velocity and Hooper and the Rachael Seaman captured the schooner Dart. On October 3,1862, Crocker captured the blockade runner Dan on the Calcasieu Pass, Crocker was promoted to the rank of Acting Volunteer Lieutenant for gallant conduct in the Sabine Pass and Calcasieu Pass operations by Admiral Farragut. Second Battle of Sabine Pass Cotham, Edward T. Jr. Sabine Pass, The Confederacys Thermopylae, University of Texas Press, linedecker, Clifford L. ed. Civil War, A-Z, The Complete Handbook of Americas Bloodiest Conflict. ISBN 0-89141-878-4 National Park Service battle summary CWSAC Report Update
24.
Battle of Galveston Harbor (1862)
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The Battle of Galveston Harbor was a naval engagement between forces from the Union Navy and the Confederate States of America in the American Civil War. It was fought on October 4,1862, the Union had been trying to blockade the city of Galveston, Texas for over a year, but it was still in Confederate hands. After an exchange of fire, Commander William B. Renshaw of the cutter Harriet Lane agreed a truce while the Confederates evacuated the city and it would later be re-taken in the Second Battle of Galveston. The United States Navy began a blockade of Galveston Harbor in July 1861, but the town remained in Confederate hands for the next fourteen months. At 6,00 am on October 4,1862, Commander W. B. Renshaw, commanding the ships in the Galveston Bay area. The intention was to inform the authorities in Galveston that if the town did not surrender, the U. S. Navy ships would attack. Four Union steamers, with a boat in tow, then entered the harbor. Observing this activity, Confederates at Fort Point fired one or more shots, eventually, the Union ships disabled the one Confederate gun at Fort Point and fired at other targets. Two rebel guns from Fort Bankhead also fired at the flotilla, a boat that Colonel Cook had dispatched now approached the Union vessels and two Confederate officers boarded USS Westfield. Renshaw demanded a surrender of Galveston or he would begin bombarding the town again. Cook refused Renshaws terms, and conveyed to Renshaw that upon him rested the responsibility of destroying the town and killing women, children, men, Renshaw threatened to resume the shelling and made preparations for towing the mortar boat into position. One of the Confederate officers then asked if he could be granted time to talk with Colonel Cook again and this officer, a major, negotiated with Renshaw for a four-day truce to evacuate the women, children, and aliens from the city. Cook approved the truce, and agreed that if Renshaw would not move troops closer to Galveston, the agreement was finalized but never written down, which later caused problems. The Confederates did evacuate, taking all of their weapons, ammunition, supplies, Renshaw did not think that the agreement allowed for all this but, in the end, did nothing, due to the lack of a written document. The fall of Galveston meant that one more important Confederate port was closed to commerce, but the port of Galveston was not shut down for long, as Confederate forces reoccupied the area. The Second Battle of Galveston in January 1863 resulted in a Confederate victory, history of Texas during the Civil War National Park Service battle summary CWSAC Report Update
25.
Battle of Galveston
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The Battle of Galveston was a naval and land battle of the American Civil War, when Confederate forces under Major Gen. John B. Magruder expelled occupying Union troops from the city of Galveston, Texas on January 1,1863, after the loss of the cutter Harriet Lane, the Union Fleet Commander William B. Renshaw blew up the stranded vessel USS Westfield to save it from falling into enemy hands. Union troops on shore thought the fleet was surrendering, and laid down their arms, the battle is sometimes called the Second Battle of Galveston, as the Battle of Galveston Harbor is sometimes called the First Battle of Galveston. Outnumbered six to two by the Northern ships, the Neptune was severely damaged by the Union Fleet and eventually sank, while the Neptune was quickly disabled, the Bayou City succeeded in capturing the USS Harriet Lane. During this time, the USS Westfield was grounded on a sandbar, a three-hour truce was called for by Magruder, but Union Fleet Commander William B. Renshaw, ignoring the offer, attempted to destroy the grounded Westfield with explosives rather than let it fall into enemy hands. Renshaw and several Union troops were killed when the explosives were set off too early. Union troops on shore were convinced that their own ships were surrendering and, therefore, the remaining U. S. ships did not surrender and succeeded in retreating to Union-controlled New Orleans. The Union blockade around the city of Galveston was lifted temporarily for four days, the Confederate Congress stated this on the successful recapture of Galveston, The bold, intrepid, and gallant conduct of Maj. Gen. J. Bankhead Magruder, Col. Thomas Green, Maj. Magruder Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright II, killed in action during the battle C. S. Bayou City C. S
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Second Battle of Sabine Pass
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The Second Battle of Sabine Pass took place on September 8,1863, the result of a failed Union Army attempt to invade the Confederate state of Texas during the American Civil War. It has often credited as the most one-sided Confederate victory during the War. France was openly sympathetic to the Confederate States of America early in the Civil War, after Mexican forces were defeated by French forces in summer 1863, Mexican president Benito Juárez escaped the capital, and the French installed Austrian Maximilian as Emperor. The military Federal force was commanded by Major General Nathaniel P. Banks, bankss original intent was to launch a combined Army-Navy campaign in northwest Louisiana. Consequently, General Banks ordered his subordinate, Major General William B, after the Navy gunboats subdued the fort, the first wave of U. S. Army infantrymen riding the deck of one of the gunboats would debark at the fort. They were to take Sabine City, secure the area for the landing force. This action would deny the Pass and the natural shallow-water harbor Sabine Lake, upstream from the Gulf about 6 miles, Beaumont, on higher ground about 18 miles northwest of Sabine City, was the key to threatening Houston. Considering the dominant size of the Union expeditionary force, taking control of Sabine Pass, herron moved to Morganza as a diversion, that resulted in the Battle of Stirlings Plantation. They were stationed at the hastily built earthworks a mile upstream on the southwest bank of the Pass. When the battle began with the Union gunboats bombardment on September 8,1863, at the fort were forty-six men, all but two or three were members of the Davis Guards. Under the immediate command of Lieutenant Richard W. Dowling, the Davis Guards had mounted their units six old smoothbore cannon on the platform of the small earthen fort. On the afternoon of September 8,1863, U. S. Navy Lieutenant Frederick Crocker was in command of the advance squadron composed of four gunboats, Crocker was a veteran officer of considerable recent experience in Union river-gunboat actions and blockade duty. His ship was the Clifton, an ironclad steam-powered side-wheeler, besides Clifton, Crockers advance squadron included Granite City, Sachem, and Arizona, all recently commissioned ironclad warships. Less than three miles southeast downriver, well out of range of the Confederate forts cannons, were anchored seven U. S. Navy transports carrying most of the U. S. Army soldiers of the landing force. Suffolk, hosting invasion force commander U. S. Army Major General Franklin and his staff, outside the principal Gulf shore sand bar, an additional two miles downstream of this squadron, lay at anchor the remaining ships of the 22-vessel invasion fleet. The official reports of the battle generally reflect the maps information and this was a flat, often muddy area already cleared of brush by the Confederate garrison as a clear field of fire for the canister and grape of the forts artillery. The U. S. Armys invasion plan, therefore, absolutely required that the Confederate guns be silenced before any troops were debarked and this engagement was to be the largest amphibious assault on enemy territory in the history of the U. S. military up to that date. Dowlings well practiced Irish-Texan artillerymen, whose chosen and officially approved unit name was Jefferson Davis Guards, had placed range-stakes in the two narrow and shallow river channels and these were the Texas channel near the southwest shore and the Louisiana channel against the Louisiana shore
27.
Battle of Brownsville
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The Battle of Brownsville took place on November 2-6,1863 during the American Civil War. It was an effort on behalf of the Union Army to disrupt Confederate blockade runners along the Gulf Coast in Texas. The Union assault precipitated the capture of Matamoros by a force of Mexican patriots, during the first half of the war, the Union Navy guys had successfully blockaded many Southern ports along the Gulf Coast. Cotton trade was an economic asset for Texas and the whole Confederacy. Initially cotton was transported to Brazos Santiago Pass at the delta of the Rio Grande, Union forces captured this port and trade was moved inland to Brownsville, Texas. From Brownsville goods were transported across the border to Matamoros and from there to neutral ports along the Mexican coast, the U. S. government was also anxious to show Union presence along the Mexican border since the French army had just invaded Mexico and installed Maximillian as emperor. Nathaniel Banks assembled soldiers from three brigades in Napoleon J. T. Danas XIII Corps, the Confederate forces in the area were commanded by General Hamilton P. Bee. Bee’s forces consisted of a mere 4 companies from the 33rd Texas Cavalry under Colonel James Duff, all other Confederates along the coast had been called elsewhere in the wake of the Union attack at Sabine Pass. The total Confederate force amounted to roughly 150 men stationed at Fort Brown, one company of volunteers under Captain Adrian I. Vidal defected, killing a private and wounding another from the 33rd Texas, Banks landed the expedition at the mouth of the Rio Grande on November 2,1863. Bee dispatched two companies of his cavalry to observe and report on the Union landing, company A under Captain Richard Taylor arrived at the mouth of the Rio Grande while company F under Captain Henry Davis arrived at Point Isabel further north. On November 2 Captain Taylor informed General Bee the Union forces had landed cavalry while Bee made preparatory orders for the evacuation of Brownsville, Colonel William M. Dyes brigade led the Union advance. After chasing off Taylors Confederate cavalry Dyes men entered the Brownsville around 10, General Bee quickly ordered the evacuation of the city and abandoned Fort Brown. He personally supervised the burning of military supplies and cotton he could. Inside the fort was 8,000 pounds of condemned explosives which caused a great explosion much to the terror of the local citizens, the Confederates destruction spread into the city while the soldiers resorted to looting prompting the local citizens into a degree of opposition. A local resident by the name of General José Maria Cobos was a Mexican general, General Cobos received permission from the civilian authorities in Brownsville to organize a force to resist the looters and subdue the fires started by the Confederate evacuation. Around noon General Banks personally arrived in the city and by 4, Colonel Dye was put in command of the post and the Union army encamped in the city, the army barracks at Fort Brown having been destroyed. The Union forces also captured a supply of cotton left behind by the Confederates
28.
Battle of Palmito Ranch
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The Battle of Palmito Ranch, also known as the Battle of Palmito Hill, is generally recognized as the final battle of the American Civil War. The Union attackers captured a few prisoners, but the day the attack was repulsed near Palmito Ranch by Colonel John Salmon Ford. Union forces were surprised by Confederate artillery, said to have been supplied by the French Army occupying the nearby Mexican town of Matamoros, rumors also persist that Confederates were assisted by a steam-powered French gun boat patrolling the Rio Grande. Casualty estimates are not dependable, but Union Private John J. Williams of the 34th Indiana Infantry Regiment is believed to have been the last man killed in combat during the war. After July 27,1864, the Union Army withdrew most of the 6,500 troops deployed to the lower Rio Grande Valley, including Brownsville, which they had occupied since November 2,1863. The Confederates were determined to protect their remaining ports, which were essential for cotton sales to Europe, the Mexicans across the border tended to side with the Confederates because of the lucrative smuggling trade. Beginning in early 1865, the armies in south Texas honored a gentlemens agreement. Despite Slaughters and Fords agreement that combat would prove tragic, Slaughters superior, Confederate Maj. Gen. John G. Walker, despite this, both sides honored a tacit agreement not to advance on the other without prior written notice. The 34th Indiana deployed to Los Brazos de Santiago on December 22,1864, replacing the 91st Illinois Volunteer Infantry, the brigade also included the 87th and 62nd United States Colored Infantry Regiments which had a combined strength of about 1,100. Shortly after Gen. Walker rejected the proposal, Col. Jones resigned from the army to return to Indiana. He was replaced in the regiment by Lt. Col. Robert G. Morrison and at Los Brazos de Santiago by Colonel Theodore H. Barrett, the 30-year-old Barrett had been an army officer since 1862, but he had yet to see combat. Anxious for higher rank, he volunteered for the newly raised colored regiments and was appointed colonel of the 1st Missouri Colored Infantry in 1863, in March 1864, the regiment became the 62nd U. S. C. T. Barrett contracted malaria in Louisiana that summer, and while he was on convalescent leave and he joined it there in February 1865. Why this final battle at Palmito Ranch even took place is still debated, lee had surrendered to Grant in Appomattox Court House, Virginia on April 9, triggering a series of formal surrenders in other places throughout the country. Soon after the battle, Barretts detractors claimed he desired a little battlefield glory before the war ended altogether, others have suggested that Barrett needed horses for the 300 dismounted cavalrymen in his brigade and decided to take them from his enemy. Volunteers had ordered the expedition to seize as contraband 2,000 bales of cotton stored in Brownsville, however, this is impossible as Brown was not appointed to command at Brazos Santiago until later in May. Lieutenant Colonel David Branson wanted to attack the Confederate encampments commanded by Ford at White, Bransons Union forces consisted of 250 men of the 62nd U. S. C. T. in eight companies and two companies of the 2nd Texas Cavalry Battalion. The 300-man 2nd Texas, like the earlier-formed 1st Texas Cavalry Regiment, was composed largely of Texans of Mexican origin who remained loyal to the United States and they moved from Brazos Santiago to the mainland
29.
Juneteenth
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Celebrated on June 19, the word is a combination of June and nineteenth. Juneteenth is recognized as a holiday or special day of observance in most states. The holiday is observed primarily in local celebrations, celebrations may include parades, rodeos, street fairs, cookouts, family reunions, park parties, historical reenactments, or Miss Juneteenth contests. During the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22,1862 and it declared all slaves to be freed in the Confederate States of America in rebellion and not in Union hands. More isolated geographically, Texas was not a battleground, and thus its slaves were not affected by the Emancipation Proclamation unless they escaped. Although most slaves lived in areas, more than 1000 resided in both Galveston and Houston by 1860, with several hundred in other large towns. By 1865, there were an estimated 250,000 slaves in Texas, as news of end of the war moved slowly, it did not reach Texas until May 1865, and the Army of the Trans-Mississippi did not surrender until June 2. On June 18,1865, Union General Gordon Granger arrived at Galveston Island with 2,000 federal troops to occupy Texas on behalf of the federal government. On June 19, standing on the balcony of Galvestons Ashton Villa,3, announcing the total emancipation of slaves, The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and they are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere. Former slaves in Galveston rejoiced in the streets after the announcement, but, the following year, freedmen organized the first of what became annual celebrations of Juneteenth in Texas. Washington Park, and Emancipation Park in Austin, although the date is sometimes referred to as the traditional end of slavery in Texas it was given legal status in a series of Texas Supreme Court decisions between 1868 and 1874. In the early 20th century, economic and political forces led to a decline in Juneteenth celebrations, from 1890 to 1908, Texas and all former Confederate states passed new constitutions or amendments that effectively disenfranchised blacks, excluding them from the political process. White-dominated state legislatures passed Jim Crow laws imposing second-class status, the Great Depression forced many blacks off farms and into the cities to find work. In these urban environments, African Americans had difficulty taking the day off to celebrate, as historian Isabel Wilkerson writes, The people from Texas took Juneteenth Day to Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle, and other places they went. By the 1950s and 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement focused the attention of African-American youth on the struggle for racial equality, but, many linked these struggles to the historical struggles of their ancestors. Since the 1980s and 1990s, the holiday has more widely celebrated among African-American communities. In 1994 a group of community leaders gathered at Christian Unity Baptist Church in New Orleans, Juneteenth informal observance have spread to many other states, including Portland, Maine, in part carried by Texans
30.
Texas v. White
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Texas v. White,74 U. S.700 was a significant case argued before the United States Supreme Court in 1869. The state filed suit directly with the United States Supreme Court, on February 1,1861, the Texas secession convention drafted and approved an Ordinance of Secession. This ordinance was approved by both the state legislature and a statewide referendum. Texas had received $10 million in United States bonds in settlement of claims as part of the Compromise of 1850. While many of the bonds were sold, there were some on hand in 1861. Needing money, the legislature authorized the sale of the remaining bonds, the legislature therefore repealed the requirement for the governors endorsement in order to hide the origin of the bonds. Despite the warning,136 bonds were purchased by a brokerage owned by George W. White, although this sale probably occurred earlier, the written confirmation of the transaction was not executed until January 12,1865. The bonds were in the meantime resold to several individuals, one or more of whom were able to redeem the bonds through the United States government. James W. Throckmorton was elected governor under this process while General Philip H. Sheridan, John Chiles, who was being sued along with White, argued that he could not be sued because Texas lacked evidence. He claimed the documents were destroyed by soldiers and that there was no way to get them back. White believed therefore, that he should not have to reimburse Texas, as the United States Treasury Department became aware of the situation regarding the bonds, it refused to redeem those bonds sold by White and Chiles. After the state realized that it was no longer in possession of the bonds, by the time the suit was filed, Republicans in Congress, led by its Radical faction, were opposing President Johnsons leadership in reconstruction policy. Increasingly Republicans were abandoning Lincolns position that the states had never left the Union and they hoped that the Supreme Court would reject jurisdiction in the case by claiming that there was no legally recognized government in Texas. Democrats, on the hand, wanted the Court to acknowledge the existence of an official state government in Texas. Such a ruling would have the effect of accepting Texas as fully restored to its place in the Union, wall Street was also concerned with the case, being opposed to any actions that threatened bondholders and investors. Twelve attorneys represented Texas and the defendants in the case. Arguments before the Supreme Court were made three days on February 5,8, and 9,1869. The complaint filed by Texas claimed ownership of the bonds and requested that the turn the bonds over to the state
31.
Andrew Jackson Hamilton
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This page is about a former politician, for other people named Andrew Hamilton, see Andrew Hamilton. Andrew Jackson Hamilton was a United States politician during the quarter of the 19th century. He was a lawyer, state representative, military governor of Texas, as well as the 11th Governor of Texas during Reconstruction, Hamilton was born in Huntsville, Alabama on January 28,1815. His education began in Alabama where he went to law school and was admitted to the bar in Talladega. In order to join his older brother Morgan, Hamilton moved to Texas late in 1846 and opened his own law practice in La Grange, three years later he left the city, moving to Austin, Texas to begin his political career. In 1849 Hamilton was appointed as the state attorney general by Texas Governor Peter H. Bell. In 1850 he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives representing Travis County as a Democrat and he would only serve one term, leaving office in 1853. During this time he joined the Opposition Clique, a faction of politicians in the Democratic Party who opposed secession. In 1858, Hamilton was elected to the United States House of Representatives as an Independent Democrat representing the district of Texas. During this time he served on a House committee formed late in 1860 to solve the growing feud between the North and South. He chose not to run for re-election in 1860, but, on his return to Texas in 1861, Hamilton was later forced to resign this post after threats to his life for his pro-Union statements. He fled to Mexico in July 1862, during the American Civil War, Hamilton sided with the Union. After fleeing to Mexico, he went on a tour of the Northeast, giving speeches in New York, Boston and he spoke out in favor of the Union and criticized the slave power of the South. Because of this Hamilton was regarded as a hero by the North, in late 1862 President Abraham Lincoln named Hamilton the Military Governor of Texas with the rank of brigadier general of volunteers. He spent the rest of the war holding this empty position in New Orleans, on June 17,1865, President Andrew Johnson named Hamilton as the provisional civilian governor of the state. Hamilton held office for 14 months during the stages of Reconstruction. He was governor when the nation ratified the Thirteenth Amendment and granted freedom to the newly freed slaves. Hamilton also faced problems such as Indian incursions, general lawlessness, when his plans at the Constitutional Convention of 1866 were not enacted, he rejected Johnsons plan for Reconstruction and aligned himself with the Radical Republicans
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