Learn about Texan Confederate commanders and the state's legacy of slavery
Learn about Texan Confederate commanders and the state's legacy of slavery
Overview of Texas's role in the American Civil War.
© Civil War Trust (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
Transcript
Howdy. I'm Mark Coombs, resident Texan of the Civil War Trust. In February, 1861, Texas legislators voted overwhelmingly to leave the Union, 166 to 7. It was the most lopsided vote for secession in any state in the lower South, with the sole exception of South Carolina. Still, pro-union sentiment in this state was strong.
None other than Sam Houston, hero of Texas independence, and sitting governor at the time of secession, was the most well-known opponent to separation. Ultimately, because he refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy, Governor Houston was removed from office.
Notwithstanding the 200,000 enslaved Texans, and the 2,000 Texans who left to fight for the Union, some 70,000 Texans signed up to fight for the Confederacy in more than 100 infantry, artillery, and cavalry units. Upwards of 150 Confederate officers at the rank of Colonel or above were of Texas stock, including noted generals Albert Sidney Johnston and John Bell Hood.
Characteristically, Texans distinguished themselves across many of the Civil War's battlefields. John Bell Hood's famed Texas Brigade alone shed blood right here at the epicenter of Antietam, assaulted Devil's Den and Little Round Top at Gettysburg, rolled down to Georgia to fight in the battle of Chickamauga, and, as they so often did, found themselves in the thick of the fight at the Battle of the Wilderness.
Of course, few Civil War battles were fought within the boundaries of the Lone Star state itself. The last land battle of the Civil War did occur in Texas. In May, 1865, at Palmito Ranch, which, ironically, resulted in a Confederate victory.
Of course, Texas's hopes, along with those of the Confederacy, came crashing down the following month when Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith surrendered the remnants of the Army of the Trans-Mississippi via Galveston Harbor. On June 19th, federal troops arrived in Galveston to restore order and grant former slaves their freedom, an event still commemorated at Juneteenth celebrations today.
None other than Sam Houston, hero of Texas independence, and sitting governor at the time of secession, was the most well-known opponent to separation. Ultimately, because he refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy, Governor Houston was removed from office.
Notwithstanding the 200,000 enslaved Texans, and the 2,000 Texans who left to fight for the Union, some 70,000 Texans signed up to fight for the Confederacy in more than 100 infantry, artillery, and cavalry units. Upwards of 150 Confederate officers at the rank of Colonel or above were of Texas stock, including noted generals Albert Sidney Johnston and John Bell Hood.
Characteristically, Texans distinguished themselves across many of the Civil War's battlefields. John Bell Hood's famed Texas Brigade alone shed blood right here at the epicenter of Antietam, assaulted Devil's Den and Little Round Top at Gettysburg, rolled down to Georgia to fight in the battle of Chickamauga, and, as they so often did, found themselves in the thick of the fight at the Battle of the Wilderness.
Of course, few Civil War battles were fought within the boundaries of the Lone Star state itself. The last land battle of the Civil War did occur in Texas. In May, 1865, at Palmito Ranch, which, ironically, resulted in a Confederate victory.
Of course, Texas's hopes, along with those of the Confederacy, came crashing down the following month when Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith surrendered the remnants of the Army of the Trans-Mississippi via Galveston Harbor. On June 19th, federal troops arrived in Galveston to restore order and grant former slaves their freedom, an event still commemorated at Juneteenth celebrations today.