County Named for Texas Confederate William R. Scurry 1821-1864
Snyder, Scurry County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Member Secession Convention. As Lt. Colonel 4th Texas Cavalry Regiment, ably commanded forces at Val Verde and Glorieta Canyon battles in Arizona-New Mexico Campaign 1861-62. Promoted Brigadier General. Commanded immediate land attack recapture of Galveston 1863. In Red River Campaign to prevent Texas invasion, led brigade Battles of Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, La. and Jenkins Ferry, Ark. where he bravely met death. A memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy. Erected by the State of Texas 1963
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
A delegate to the Texas Secession Convention, William R. Scurry rose from lieutenant colonel of the 4th Texas Cavalry to brigadier general, commanding troops at Val Verde and Glorieta Pass in the 1861-62 New Mexico Campaign and helping retake Galveston in 1863. In the 1864 Red River Campaign he led his brigade through Mansfield and Pleasant Hill before falling at Jenkins' Ferry, Arkansas. The county that bears his name and this state marker stand as memorials to Texans who fought for the Confederacy.
Why it matters
It shows how the postwar and civil-rights-era South enshrined Confederate figures on the land itself, a memory now widely reexamined.
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Related people
- · William R. Scurry
Related events
- · Battle of Val Verde
- · Battle of Glorieta Pass
- · Battle of Mansfield
- · Battle of Pleasant Hill
- · Battle of Jenkins' Ferry
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Scurry County
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Scurry County was created in 1876 from older Texas territories and organized in 1884, with Snyder as its seat. It honors General William R. Scurry, a member of the last Congress of the Republic of Texas and a Confederate officer killed in 1864. The county's founding was part of the steady organization of West Texas as settlement pushed onto the plains.
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