General Alexander W. Terrell
Sanderson, Terrell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Born Virginia. Came to Texas 1852-Dist. Judge 1857-63. Entered confederate service 1863 as Lt. Col. Commanded Terrell's Texas cavalry. Assigned special duty to try to keep open vital supply sources of cotton-lifeblood of South. Led his unit in Red River campaign 1864 to prevent Union invasion of Texas, being wounded battle Mansfield. Promoted Brigadier General 1865. Went to Mexico rather than surrender at war's end, soon returned to Texas. As state legislator authored present primary election law. Minister to Turkey 1893-97. Outstanding lawyer and public servant. Texas made an all-out effort for the confederacy after a 3 to 1 popular vote for secession. 90,000 troops, famed for mobility and daring, fought on every battlefront. A 2,000-mile frontier and coastline was successfully defended from union troops and savage Indians. Wagon trains, laden with cotton-life blood of the south-crossed the state to Mexico to trade for medical supplies, clothing, military goods, state and private industry produced wagons, pots, kettles, leather goods, ammunition, guns, salt, hospital supplies. At home old men, women, children, slaves provided grain, meats, cotton, cloth to the army, giving much, keeping little. A memorial to Texans who served the confederacy erected by the state of Texas 1963.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Virginia-born Alexander W. Terrell came to Texas in 1852 and served as a district judge before entering Confederate service in 1863, commanding Terrell's Texas Cavalry. Assigned to protect the cotton trade that was the South's economic lifeblood, he fought in the 1864 Red River Campaign to repel a Union invasion of Texas and was wounded at the Battle of Mansfield. Rather than surrender, he briefly went to Mexico, then returned to a distinguished career as a legislator who authored Texas's primary election law and as U.S. Minister to Turkey. The marker also stands as a state memorial to all Texans who served the Confederacy.
Why it matters
Terrell embodies the Confederate officer turned postwar statesman, while the memorial reflects how mid-20th-century Texas chose to commemorate its Civil War past.
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Related people
- · Alexander W. Terrell
Related events
- · Red River Campaign
- · Battle of Mansfield
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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Terrell County was carved from Pecos County in 1905, part of the wave of new counties organized across West Texas as railroads and ranching pushed settlement into the arid Trans-Pecos. It was named for Alexander Watkins Terrell (1827–1912), a Confederate officer who went on to serve sixteen years in the Texas Legislature. The town of Sanderson, a stop on the Southern Pacific line, became its seat of government.
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