Anthony Martin Branch
Huntsville, Walker County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Born in Buckingham County, Va.; came to Texas, 1847. Settled in Huntsville; entered law practice with Henderson Yoakum. Married Amanda Smith, 1849. Served in the 8th State Legislature, 1859-61; the Confederate army, 1862; and the Congress of Confederacy, 1863-65. U.S. Congress refused to seat him, 1866, because of his Confederate service. A friend of Sam Houston, he was named as co-executor of Houston's will. Branch died in yellow fever epidemic of 1867.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Anthony Martin Branch came from Virginia to Huntsville in 1847 and read law alongside historian Henderson Yoakum. A state legislator on the eve of the Civil War, he joined the Confederate army in 1862 and then the Confederate Congress, only to be refused a seat in the U.S. Congress in 1866 because of that service. A friend of Sam Houston, he was named co-executor of Houston's will before dying in the 1867 yellow fever epidemic.
Why it matters
Branch's career distills the wrenching arc of a Southern public man through secession, war, and the bitter politics of Reconstruction, when former Confederates were barred from the government they sought to rejoin.
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Related people
- · Anthony Martin Branch
- · Sam Houston
- · Henderson Yoakum
Themes & tags
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