Union Army P.O.W. Cemetery
Hempstead, Waller County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Several Confederate military facilities were positioned near Hempsted (2.5 mi. w), an important railroad junction, during the Civil War. Camp Groce (then about 6 mi. e) was a prisoner-of-war stockade established on the plantation of Leonard Waller Groce (1806-1873). Union Army prisoners who died at various camps were buried hear this site on the McDade Plantation, adjacent to the McDade family cemetery (about 25 yds. ne). The cemeteries were near a narrow gauge spur off the "Austin Branch" of the Houston & Texas Central Railroad, built from Houston in 1858. A yellow fever epidemic in 1864 resulted in many deaths at Camp Groce and other camps, chronicled by Aaron T. Sutton (1841-1927). a Union prisoner in Company B, 83rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Sutton noted in his journal the presence of more than 100 fresh graves here soon after his arrival at Camp Groce in 1864. Sutton later escaped from the stockade and made his way to Beaumont (115 mi. e) on foot. Crude crosses made of cedar limbs marked the prisoners' graves through the early 1900s, according to local residents. But the stream-fed woodland was cleared in the 1940s for pasture land, and all surface evidence of the cemetery was lost.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
During the Civil War, the rail junction near Hempstead anchored several Confederate facilities, including Camp Groce, a prisoner-of-war stockade on Leonard Waller Groce's plantation. Union prisoners who died in captivity — many during a devastating 1864 yellow fever epidemic — were buried on the neighboring McDade Plantation. Union prisoner Aaron T. Sutton recorded more than 100 fresh graves here before his escape and long journey on foot to Beaumont; by the 1940s, land-clearing erased all surface trace of the cemetery.
Why it matters
This lost burial ground bears witness to the suffering of Union prisoners deep in Confederate Texas, a reminder that the Civil War's toll reached far beyond its famous battlefields.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Aaron T. Sutton
- · Leonard Waller Groce
Related events
- · Camp Groce prisoner-of-war camp
- · 1864 yellow fever epidemic
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Hempstead, C.S.A.
Hempstead, TX
During the Civil War, Hempstead was one of Texas's busiest Confederate hubs, its railroad feeding troops, manufactured goods, and supplies toward Houston and the coast. Camps Groce and Hebert trained soldiers, and Camp Groce grew into the state's second-largest prisoner-of-war camp, taking its first Union captives in 1863; nearby mills and shops turned out textiles, wagons, and harness for the army. In the spring of 1865, troops gathered here learned of Lee's surrender at Appomattox, and Confederate generals bade their men farewell in one of the war's last scenes.
Plantation Home of Edwin Waller 1800--1883
Hempsted, TX
Edwin Waller lived on this Hempstead-area property, acquired during the Republic, from 1846 for many years. His public life bracketed the era's great turning points: a member of the 1835 Consultation and a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, he went on to serve as the first mayor of Austin. In 1861 he sat as a member of the Secession Convention, tying his long career to Texas's entry into the Civil War.
Liendo Plantation
Hempstead, TX
Named for Justo Liendo, the original Spanish grantee, this 1853 estate became the model plantation of Leonard W. Groce, who ringed his mansion with its own industries. During the Civil War it served as Camp Groce, first a training camp and then a Confederate prison, and in 1865 it was occupied by Gen. George Custer, years before Little Bighorn. From 1873 to 1911 it belonged to the family of celebrated sculptor Elisabet Ney, who is commemorated on the grounds.
Clear Creek Confederate War Camps
Hempstead, TX
During the Civil War, this stretch of Waller County near Clear Creek, the railroad, and Hempstead became a natural site for military encampments. Confederate forces trained soldiers here and held federal prisoners, at camps including the well-known Camp Groce and Camp Herbert as well as smaller sites set up and abandoned as needs changed. No physical trace of the camps survives, but the historical record confirms their presence.