Texas in the Civil War - Federal Forces
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
When Texas joined the Confederacy in 1861, some men disagreed. Mainly these were from foreign countries or the North, or did not uphold states' rights. Some of them left here and joined Northern army units. Others joined Federal forces near home. A 1st Texas Cavalry (Union), made up of 310 men in 8 companies, was organized by a Texan, Col. E. J. Davis, across the Rio Grande, in Mexico. Nucleus of 2nd Texas Cavalry (Union) was formed in New Orleans, adding men in Louisiana and Mexico until it had 4 companies. They merged 1864 into 1st Texas Volunteer Cavalry (Union). Individual Texas prisoners of war obtained freedom by becoming "galvanized Yankees" -- men coating over their old opinions with blue uniforms. These fought Indians on frontiers, not old Confederate comrades. However, Texans in the Federal Army sometimes were in battle against old neighbors, or even their own relatives, in Red River campaigns in Louisiana, on the coast, and in south and west Texas. On each side by turns were enlisted the partisan rangers of A. J. Vidal -- deserting the Confederates in 1863, the Federals and the war itself in 1864. Federal soldiers from Texas were a small minority, because 90,000 Texans fought for the Confederacy.. (1965)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When Texas joined the Confederacy in 1861, a minority of Texans—many of them immigrants, Northerners, or Unionists—refused to follow. Some crossed the Rio Grande to organize the 1st Texas Cavalry (U.S.) under Col. E. J. Davis, while others formed the nucleus of a second Union regiment in New Orleans; the two merged in 1864. Captured Confederates could win release as "galvanized Yankees," sent to fight on the frontier rather than against former comrades, though some Union Texans did face old neighbors in the Red River campaigns.
Why it matters
It complicates the popular image of a solidly Confederate South, recovering the divided loyalties that split families and communities across Civil War Texas.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · E. J. Davis
- · A. J. Vidal
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Texas in the Civil War - Adjutants General
Austin, TX
During the Civil War, Texas sent some 90,000 men to fight for the Confederacy, yet still had to defend 2,000 miles of coastline and frontier against Federal forces, Native raids, and outlaws. That burden fell largely on the state Adjutant General, who filled troop requisitions while organizing the Frontier Regiment's chain of forts from the Rio Grande to the Red River—and doubling as inspector, quartermaster, ordnance, and commissary officer. Five men held the demanding post between 1861 and 1865.
William Steele
Austin, TX
A New York-born West Point graduate, William Steele fought in the Seminole and Mexican Wars before resigning from the U.S. Army to serve the Confederacy, rising to general and commanding troops from New Mexico and the Indian Territory to the defenses of Galveston. He led cavalry in the Red River campaign and other Louisiana actions against Union invasions of Texas. After the war he served as Texas Adjutant General, rebuilding the Texas Rangers during the turbulent Reconstruction years.
Texas Confederate Woman's Home
Austin, TX
Opened in 1908, this Austin home cared for the aging wives and widows of Confederate veterans, women left without support in their final years. Organized and funded largely by the United Daughters of the Confederacy before being turned over to the state, it grew to include dormitories, a parlor, and a hospital. Over more than half a century it sheltered thousands of women until it closed in 1963.
Neill-Cochran House
Austin, TX
Master builder Abner Cook raised this Greek Revival mansion of hand-cut limestone around 1853 in the young capital of Austin, using a mortar famously bound with pig bristles. In its early decades it served as Texas's first Institute for the Blind and, in 1865, as a hospital for Civil War soldiers, before becoming home to Republic of Texas figure Col. Andrew Neill and later Judge Thomas B. Cochran. Its walls trace Austin's growth from frontier town to state capital.