County Named for Texas Confederate Colonel David B. Culberson
Van Horn, Culberson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
[front side] 1830-1900. Native Georgian. Came to Texas 1856. Although opposed to secession he aided in raising 18th Texas Infantry as Lt. Colonel, C.S.A. Made commanding Colonel of 18th in 1862. After service in Vicksburg area broken health forced resignation of command winter 1862-63. As Adjutant and Inspector General of Texas 1863-64 responsible for protection of frontier against Indian attacks, Union invasion. A Memorial to Texans Who Served the Confederacy. Erected by the State of Texas 1963. [reverse side] War brought turmoil to Indians living in Kansas and the Indian Territory, with unfortunate results for Texans on the frontier. Most Cherokees, Choctaws, Creeks and Seminoles aided the South, while others adhered to the North. Few Comanches made a treaty with the South; but a great majority with their allies, the Kiowas, held aloof from either side and plundered the frontier at will. Apaches and Kickapoos did the same from Mexico. Texas and Confederate troops, despite poor arms and mounts, held defense lines until war's end.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
David B. Culberson (1830–1900), a Georgia native who came to Texas in 1856, opposed secession yet helped raise the 18th Texas Infantry and rose to command it before broken health ended his field service after Vicksburg. As Adjutant and Inspector General of Texas in 1863–64 he was responsible for defending the frontier against both Union incursion and the Indian raids that intensified during the war, when Comanche, Kiowa, Apache, and Kickapoo bands plundered a thinly guarded borderland. Culberson County was named in his honor as a memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy.
Why it matters
The marker captures the Civil War's two-front reality in Texas, where the Confederacy fought Union armies while a collapsing frontier defense exposed settlers to devastating raids.
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Related people
- · David B. Culberson
Themes & tags
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