Captain Henry Gray Carter
Marlin, Falls County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(1836 - 1896) Born in Weston, Vermont. Moved to Texas in 1852. Enlisted as a lieutenant in Confederate Army (Gen. Tom Green's Brigade, Texas Cavalry) in 1861, during Civil War. Promoted to Captain in 1862 for gallantry, he fought against Gen. N. P. Banks' army at Fort Butler, Mansfield, Bisland, and Pleasant Hill, where he was wounded. Married Cleopatra Williams in 1864. Moved to Marlin in 1871 and became prominent banker, rancher, and business leader. Built house on this site in 1871; in 1926 it was remodeled. Original ax-hewn log foundation, fireplaces, and square nails are still visible. (1971)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Henry Gray Carter left Vermont for Texas as a teenager, and when war came in 1861 he enlisted in Tom Green's Texas Cavalry Brigade, winning a captain's commission for gallantry. He fought Nathaniel Banks' Union forces at Fort Butler, Mansfield, Bisland, and Pleasant Hill — the Red River Campaign battles — and was wounded at the last. Settling in Marlin in 1871, he became a leading banker and rancher, and the house he built that year, with its ax-hewn log foundation and square nails, still stands.
Why it matters
Carter's path from frontline Confederate officer to postwar banker embodies how a defeated South's veterans rebuilt their fortunes and towns in the decades after the Civil War.
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Related people
- · Henry Gray Carter
- · Nathaniel P. Banks
- · Tom Green
Related events
- · Red River Campaign
- · Battle of Pleasant Hill
- · Battle of Mansfield
Themes & tags
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