Waul's Texas Legion Campsite
Brenham, Washington County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In the spring of 1862 Thomas N. Waul (1813-1903) recruited men from Washington and the surrounding counties to form a legion for Confederate service. Composed of twelve infantry companies, six cavalry companies, and two artillery companies, the legion numbered some two thousand soldiers. The organizational and training encampment of Waul's Texas Legion was located here along New Year's Creek. Waul was commissioned colonel of the legion on May 13, 1862, and the companies remained in camp here until August 18, when they departed for active duty. Part of the legion served in Mississippi in 1862 and 1863. They participated in the defense of Vicksburg and surrendered there following the siege. Other units served in Arkansas and Louisiana. The legion was later reorganized and returned to Texas to serve at Galveston and along the Gulf Coast until the end of the war. Throughout the war, the legion performed notably in numerous battles, sieges and skirmishes. After the Civil War Waul was elected a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1866 (Reconstruction Convention). He later practiced law in Galveston. He died on his farm in Hunt County in 1903. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In the spring of 1862 Thomas N. Waul recruited some two thousand men from Washington and surrounding counties into a legion of infantry, cavalry, and artillery for Confederate service, drilling them here along New Year's Creek before they departed for active duty that August. Part of the legion was caught up in the defense of Vicksburg and surrendered after the siege, while other units served in Arkansas, Louisiana, and along the Texas Gulf Coast through the end of the war.
Why it matters
This quiet creekside camp is where thousands of Texans were mustered into the Confederate army, a reminder of how deeply the Civil War drew on the manpower of the far Southern frontier.
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Related people
- · Thomas N. Waul
Related events
- · Siege of Vicksburg
Themes & tags
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