Edwin Fairfax Gray
Houston, Harris County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Midshipman in the Texas Navy, 1841. Lieutenant in the U. S. Navy, 1857. Lieutenant Colonel, 4th Texas Infantry C. S. A., 1862-65. Born in Fredericksburg, Virginia March 15, 1829; Died, Aug. 19, 1884
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Edwin Fairfax Gray, born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in 1829, served as a midshipman in the Navy of the Republic of Texas in 1841 and later as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy in 1857. When the Civil War came, he joined the Confederacy as a lieutenant colonel in the 4th Texas Infantry, serving from 1862 to 1865. His career carried him across three different navies and armies over four turbulent decades.
Why it matters
Gray's service links the young Republic of Texas, the antebellum U.S. Navy and the Confederacy, illustrating the divided loyalties that ran through many military lives of his generation.
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Related people
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Themes & tags
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