Texas And Texans In The Civil War

In Why Texans Fought in the Civil War, Charles David Grear provides insights into what motivated Texans to fight for the Confederacy. Mining important primary sources—including thousands of letters and unpublished journals—he affords readers the opportunity to hear, often in the combatants’ own words, why it was so important to them to engage in tumultuous struggles occurring so far from home. As Grear notes, in the decade prior to the Civil War the population of Texas had tripled. The state was increasingly populated by immigrants from all parts of the South and foreign countries. When the war began, it was not just Texas that many of these soldiers enlisted to protect, but also their native states, where they had family ties.

A well-researched volume, drawing from primary documents, official records, manuscripts and printed sources and works of other Texas and Civil War historians.

Written by one of the deans of Texas history, Civil War Texas provides an authoritative, comprehensive description of Texas during the Civil War as well as a guide for those who wish to visit sites in Texas associated with the war. In one compact volume, the reader or tourist is led on an exciting historical journey through Civil War Texas. Because most of the great battles of the Civil War were fought east of the Mississippi River, it is often forgotten that Texas made major contributions to the war effort in terms of men and supplies. Over 70,000 Texans served in the Confederate army during the war and fought in almost every major battle. Ordnance works, shops, and depots were established for the manufacture and repair of weapons of war, and Texas cotton shipped through Mexico was exchanged for weapons and ammunition. The state itself was the target of the Union army and navy. Galveston, the principal seaport, was occupied by Federal forces for three months and blockaded by the Union navy for four years. Brownsville, Port Lavaca, and Indianola were captured, and Sabine Pass, Corpus Christi, and Laredo were all under enemy attack. A major Federal attempt to invade East Texas by way of Louisiana was stopped only a few miles from the Texas border. The Civil War had significant impact upon life within the state. The naval blockade created shortages requiring Texans to find substitutes for various commodities such as coffee, salt, ink, pins, and needles. The war affected Texas women, many of whom were now required to operate farms and plantations in the absence of their soldier husbands. As the author points out in the narrative, not all Texans supported the Confederacy. Many Texans, especially in the Hill Country and North Texas, opposed secession and attempted either to remain neutral or work for a Union victory. Over two thousand Texans, led by future governor Edmund J. Davis, joined the Union army. In this carefully researched work, Ralph A. Wooster describes Texas's role in the war. He also notes the location of historical markers, statues, monuments, battle sites, buildings, and museums in Texas which may be visited by those interested in learning more about the war. Photographs, maps, chronology, end notes, and bibliography provide additional information on Civil War Texas.

On February 1, 1861, delegates at the Texas Secession Convention elected to leave the Union. The people of Texas supported the actions of the convention in a statewide referendum, paving the way for the state to secede and to officially become the seventh state in the Confederacy. Soon the Texans found themselves engaged in a bloody and prolonged civil war against their northern brethren. During the curse of this war, the lives of thousands of Texans, both young and old, were changed forever. This new anthology, edited by Kenneth W. Howell, incorporates the latest scholarly research on how Texans experienced the war. Eighteen contributors take us from the battlefront to the home front, ranging from inside the walls of a Confederate prison to inside the homes of women and children left to fend for themselves while their husbands and fathers were away on distant battlefields, and from the halls of the governor’s mansion to the halls of the county commissioner’s court in Colorado County. Also explored are well-known battles that took place in or near Texas, such as the Battle of Galveston, the Battle of Nueces, the Battle of Sabine Pass, and the Red River Campaign. Finally, the social and cultural aspects of the war receive new analysis, including the experiences of women, African Americans, Union prisoners of war, and noncombatants.

Beginning with tribal wars among Native Americans before Europeans settled Texas and continuing through the Civil War, the soil of what would become the Lone Star State has frequently been stained by the blood of those contesting for control of its resources. In subsequent years and continuing to the present, its citizens have often taken up arms beyond its borders in pursuit of political values and national defense. Although historians have studied the role of the state and its people in war for well over a century, a wealth of topics remain that deserve greater attention: Tejanos in World War II, the common Texas soldier’s interaction with foreign enemies, the perception of Texas warriors throughout the world, the role of religion among Texans who fight or contemplate fighting, controversial paramilitary groups in Texas, the role and effects of Texans’ ethnicity, culture, and gender during wartime, to name a few. In Texans at War, fourteen scholars provide new studies, perspectives, and historiographies to extend the understanding of this important field. One of the largest collections of original scholarship on this topic to date, Texans and War will stimulate useful conversation and research among historians, students, and interested general readers. In addition, the breadth and originality of its contributions provide a solid overview of emerging perspectives on the military history and historiography of Texas and the region. Partial listing of CONTENTS Introduction Alexander Mendoza and Charles David Grear PART I. Texans Fighting through Time: Thematic Topics 1. The Indian Wars of Texas: A Lipan Apache Perspective p. 17 Thomas A Britten 2. Tejanos at War: A History of Mexican Texans in American Wars Alexander Mendoza 3. Texas Women at War p. 69 Melanie A Kirkland 4. The Influence of War and Military Service on African Texans p. 97 Alwyn Barr 5. The Patriot-Warrior Mystique: John S. Brooks, Walter P. Lane, Samuel H. Walker, and the Adventurous Quest for Renown p. 113 Jimmy L. Bryan Jr. 6. "All Eyes of Texas Are on Comal County": German Texans' Loyalty during the Civil War and World War I p. 133 Charles David Grear PART II. Wars in Texas History: Chronological Conflicts 7. Between Imperial Warfare: Crossing of the Smuggling Frontierand Transatlantic Commerce on the Louisiana-Texas Borderlands, 1754–1785 p. 157 Francis X. Galan8. The Mexican-American War: Reflections on an Overlooked Conflict p. 178 Kendall Milton9. The Prolonged War: Texans Struggle to Win the Civil Warduring Reconstruction p.196 Kenneth W. Howell 10. The Texas lmmunes in the Spanish-American War p. 213 James M. McCaffrey 11. Surveillance on the Border: American Intelligence andthe Tejano Community during World War I p. 227 Jose A. Ramirez 12. Texan Prisoners of the Japanese: A Study in Survival p. 248 Kelly E. Crager 13. Lyndon B. Johnson's Bitch of a War: An Antiwar Essay p. 269 James M. Smallwood 14. Black Paradox in the Age of Terrorism: Military Patriotismor Higher Education p. 283 Ronald E. GoodwinIndex p. 301

Newly-available records from the Civil War in the Southwest, drawn from both Union and Confederate sources, give a much-improved understanding of that period through the words of those who shaped and participated in events at that time.

When civil war broke out in the United States in 1861, Texas joined the Confederate States of America. This book describes the role that Texas and Texans played in the greatest conflict on American soil. Graphic organizers aid readers in understanding this incredibly interesting and tumultuous era.

Traces the history of Texas during the Civil War from the passage of the secession ordinance in Austin through the battle of Palmito Ranch, and includes information about Texas sites associated with the war.