The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 104, July 2000 - April, 2001 Page: 31
673 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Fighting for the Confederacy
widows, or dependents were eligible for relief payments from the state.
Obviously, these lists of Confederate Indigent Families were a good
source to determine who actually served.9 Fourth, Confederate pension
rolls, created after Texas began in 1899 to pay benefits to disabled and
indigent veterans or their widows, contained records on the service of
many Harrison County residents, especially those who entered the mili-
tary in 1863-1864.20 Finally, vertical files of family records in the
Harrison County Historical Museum often provided direct evidence on
service by family members as well as keys-full names, precise ages,
etc.-to identifying individuals in other records.21
Because sizable numbers of men who lived in Harrison County in
186o served in companies that were not recruited primarily in that
county, the service records of those units were searched carefully and
with considerable success. For example, fifty-seven 186o residents of
Harrison County served in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Texas
Infantry regiments, thirty-three enlisted in the Fourteenth and Thirty-
second Cavalry regiments, and at least a few others were found in many
of the cavalry and artillery units raised in East Texas. In total, 215 of the
1,724 men in the original data base were identified as members of what
can be called "non-Harrison County companies."
Once the collection of data from the census and six sources on mili-
tary service was completed, basic questions, beginning with the propor-
tion of Harrison County's men aged thirteen to forty-six in 1860 who
entered the Confederate Army or Texas State Troop units, could be
answered. Table I shows that exactly half (50.1 percent) of those men
entered military service at some time between 1861 and 1865.22 This
proportion is somewhat low in comparison with existing estimates of
military service by men across the entire state. Most studies of Texas in
the Civil War place the number who served at somewhere between
68,500 and 9o,oo0. Using those estimates, employing a definition of
the military-age population as all white males aged thirteen to forty-six
19 Gammel (comp.), Laws of Texas, V, 675-676; Confederate Indigent Families List, 1863-
1865 (Archives Division, Texas State Library, Austin).
2 H. P. N. Gammel (comp.), The Laws of Texas, Supplementary Volume to the Original Ten
Volumes, x822-1897 (Austin: Gammel Book Co., 1902), 182-185; Confederate Pension
Application Files, 1899-1875 (Archives Division, Texas State Library, Austin).
21 Vertical Files on Harrison County Families, Harrison County Historical Museum Library,
Old Courthouse, Marshall, Texas. Files with varying amounts of information exist for hundreds
of families from the antbellum era.
n The great majority of Harrison County soldiers served in what might be termed "regular"
Confederate Army units, but some, mostly older men, enlisted in State Troop outfits that were
organized in late 1863 and disbanded six months later without ever leaving Texas. Harrison
County men were found in three companies of one of these units, the "Texas 1st Cavalry Battal-
ion, State Troops." It may be stretching the point to say that these men served in the Confederate
Army, but in an effort to be as inclusive as possible, they were counted as such. Sifakis, Compen-
dium of the Confederate Armies, 38.2000
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 104, July 2000 - April, 2001, periodical, 2001; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101221/m1/59/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.