Colonel James E. McCord
Coleman, Coleman County, Texas
Marker Inscription
1834-1914 South Carolinian. Came to Texas 1853. Surveyor of lands in this region, including the site of Camp Colorado. Texas Ranger. Prominent secessionist. Member Texas State troops at start of Civil War. Lt. Colonel of Texas Frontier Regiment established 1862. Morale was low among these rugged frontiersmen who disliked the discipline and chain of command of army life. Indians had learned the system of regular patrols between posts and slipped through to plunder. Draft evaders and deserters, another threat to peace, were flocking to the frontier and stealing from the settlers. Some Coleman County families stayed near Camp Colorado for safety. In 1863 McCord was unanimously elected colonel in command of the regiment. He operated it as Ranger unit, abolished regular patrols in favor of unexpected scouting expeditions to surprise Indian raiding parties. With these changes, the regiment's effectiveness increased. In late 1863 a new frontier defense system was initiated. McCord's Regiment was taken into Confederate service as the 46th Texas Cavalry. With the immediate threat of Union invasion from Louisiana and Arkansas, part of the 46th with McCord leading was sent to East Texas defenses, remaining until war's close. Prominent county pioneer, businessman. Buried Coleman Cemetery. (1963)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
James E. McCord came to Texas from South Carolina in 1853 and made his name surveying the raw frontier, including the ground around Camp Colorado. When the Civil War drained regular defenses, he took charge of the Texas Frontier Regiment, a hard-to-discipline band of frontiersmen, and in 1863 was unanimously elected its colonel. He scrapped the predictable patrol routes that raiders had learned to slip past, favoring surprise scouting expeditions, and his outfit was eventually absorbed into Confederate service as the 46th Texas Cavalry.
Why it matters
His career shows how the Confederacy tried to hold a two-front frontier — guarding settlers from raids while bracing for Union invasion — a struggle usually lost behind the war's larger battles.
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Related people
- · James E. McCord
Related events
- · American Civil War
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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