Texas Secession
Governor Houston’s
Response to Secession
 Sam Houston tried his best to prevent
secession.
 Sam Houston even hoped that Texas would
remain independent instead of joining the
Confederate States of America.
 March 16, the Secession Convention required all
government officials to take a new oath to
pledge their loyalty to the Confederacy.
 When Sam Houston was called to take the oath,
he remained quiet and the office of governor of
Texas was declared vacant.
 Sam Houston remained in his “steamboat
house” until his death in July of 1863.
Sam Houston’s Steamboat
House
Advantages vs.
Disadvantages
 The South:
 11 states - 9 million
people
 Army- 600,000 1,500,000 total
 No real Navy
 Superior military leaders
 Strong motivation
 Fighting on home
ground
 Fighting for States’
Rights and Slavery
 The North:
 23 states – 22 million
people
 Army- 2 million
 Navy - 671 ships
 Superior leadership Lincoln
 Military power
 Industrial power
 ¾ more railroads
 Weak motivation
 Far from home
Leaders of the Army
 The Confederates:
 The Union:
 General
 General
Robert E. Lee
Ulysses S.
Grant
Texans Fight for the
Confederacy
 Francis R. Lubbock was
elected as the new
Confederate Governor of
Texas.
 Jefferson Davis was the
new elected President of
the Confederate States of
America.
 Plan: remove all U.S.
(federal) troops from Texas
and other Confederate
states.
 U.S. troops at Fort Sumter
refused to leave, and so began
the war on April 21, 1861.
Military Strength of Texas
 60,000 to 70,000 men volunteer to fight for the
Confederacy.
 By 1862, 32 companies had been organized
with Texas fighters.
 Texas Brigade
 Sent to Virginia to fight
 Later named Hood’s Texas Brigade in honor of
their first commander, John Bell Hood.
 General Lee called these men “my Texans.”
Military Strength in Texas
 Terry’s Texas Rangers
 Commanded by General Benjamin Frank Terry
 Ross’ Brigade
 Commanded by General Lawrence “Sul” Ross
 Many Texans who fought in the war fought for
the Army of Northern Virginia, the Army of
Tennessee, or the Army of the TransMississippi.
 Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and Ben
McCulloch led their troops until each bravely
fell during battle.
Sending More Troops to
Fight
 Once the volunteers stopped signing up to
fight, the Confederacy needed more troops.
 The Confederacy began a draft requiring men
to serve in the military.
 This draft angered many people
 Soldiers who volunteered did not trust the men who
were forced to fight.
 The draft law allowed for men who owned 20 or
more slaves to stay at home instead of fight.
 The draft also threatened cotton production. How?
Military Affairs in Texas
 Most of the fighting in Texas centered on
Confederate efforts to keep the Gulf Coast
ports open.
 “Storehouse of the Confederacy”
 Texas provided weapons, food and horses for the
war effort.
 No major battles were fought in Texas,
however, several important events took place
on the coast or near the state border.
Battle of
Galveston Island
 President Lincoln had ordered a blockade of
Southern ports to stop the shipment of supplies.
 Galveston was one of the most important ports
in Texas.
 Union troops captured the island.
 Confederate General Magruder launched an
attack to retake the island on January 1, 1863.
 Soldiers sailed to the island on cottonclads, or
flatbottom boats lined with cotton bales to protect the
soldiers from bullets.
 Confederate troops took over Galveston Island and
they remained in control until the end of the war.
Freedom!
 On January 1, 1863, Lincoln signed the
“Emancipation Proclamation.”
 It said “…all persons held as slaves
within any state…in rebellion against the
United States, shall be then,
thenceforward, and forever free.”
Other Texas Military
Campaigns
 On September 8, 1863, the battle of Sabine
Pass took place.
 Sabine Pass is a narrow channel along the eastern
border of Texas.
 As Union troops attempted to pass through the
channel, they were stopped by Lt. Dowling.
 Confederate troops fired upon the Union troops and
sank two ships.
 Confederates hailed the victory after their defeats
at Gettysburg, PA and Vicksburg, MS.
Battle of Mansfield,
Louisiana
 General Banks tried to bring troops into Texas
by going up the Mississippi River and across
the Red River.
 His goal: cut off the railroads leading to and from
Texas
 Confederate soldiers were waiting on the
Union soldiers and fired upon sight.
 Confederates win the battle and force the
Union troops to retreat.
 Texas was now safe from invasion.
Surrender!
 On April 9, 1865, General Lee and his
troops surrender to General Grant at
Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia.
 Terms of surrender:





Rebels had to lay down their arms
Could not join military again
There would be no jailing or hanging
South would not be punished
The War is over!...or is it??
Battle of Palmito Ranch
 The last land battle of the Civil War.
 Fought on March 12, 1865, about one month
after the official surrender of the
Confederacy.
 Unaware the war was over, Union forces
fired upon the Confederate forces in what
became a skirmish at Palmito Ranch.
 Although the Confederates won this
battle, they had already lost the war.
Exit Ticket
1.
2.
3.
4.
Who was the Confederate General?
Who was the Union General?
Who was the Confederate President?
Who was the Union President?
Exit Ticket
1. Where did most of the fighting in Texas
Occur (what areas of the state)?
2. What did Texas provide the War effort
(what items)?
3. The Union captured, and lost, ______
port. The busiest port in Texas.
4. Why did Sam Houston Refuse to
continue serving as Texas Governor?