Texas in the Civil War
Objective: I can explain why defending
Texas was important to the South
during the Civil War.
The Civil War: Basic Facts
• From 1861 to 1865, more than 500,000
Americans were killed in the Civil War.
More men died in this war than all other
wars we have fought combined.
The Civil War: Basic Facts
• The 3 Strategies to Union victory
o Invade Virginia and capture
Richmond, the Southern Confederate
capital
o Gain control of the Mississippi River
o Blockade all southern ports
o This was called The Anaconda Plan!
Overview
of
the North’s
Civil War
Strategy:
“Anaconda”
Plan
The Civil War: Basic Facts
• Union advantages
o Large population – 22 million people
(meant more soldiers)
o Huge factories
o 75% of railroads
o Navy ships
The Civil War: Basic Facts
• Confederacy advantages
o Fighting a defensive war
o Superior military leaders
o Better soldier skills
o Highly motivated
Texas Confederates
• The Confederate Congress passed the
Conscription Act that required men b/w
the ages of 18 and 50 to serve in the
Confederate military. However, the act
excused some people allowing the
hiring of substitutes.
Texas Confederates
• The Texas governors during the Civil
War were Confederates Frances
Lubbock (1861-1863) and Pendleton
Murrah (1863-1865).
Texas Confederates
• Nearly 60,000 Texans joined the
Confederate Army.
• Texan Albert Sidney Johnston was the
second-highest ranking Confederate
general that fought and died at the
Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee.
The Confederate States of
America
• 60,000 Texans join the
CSA army
• Some who join the CSA
army do so for their love
of Texas not the CSA
• Texans join the cavalry not
the infantry or navy
Young Johnny Reb
ready for war.
Texas Confederates
• The most famous Texans were 3
groups who served in the deep South:
o Hood’s Texas Brigade – Gen. Robert E. Lee called
them his “finest soldiers”; led by John Bell Hood
o Terry’s Texas Rangers – fought in more battles
than any other cavalry regiment; led by B.F. Terry
o Ross’s Texas Brigade – fought primarily in the
western Trans-Mississippi River department; led
by future governor and Texas A&M President
Lawrence Sullivan Ross
The Union Army
• Those who join are
called the Texas
Unionist
• Mexican Americans and
African Americans join
the Union army
• Mexicans tend to join for
the pay and because the
Union is against slavery
Texas Unionists
• Some Texas Unionists hid, but were
later captured and arrested. Others
were forced into the Confederate army.
• Vigilantes, or citizens who act as an
unauthorized police force, hanged
about 40 suspected Unionists at
Gainesville, Texas in 1862.
Texas Battles
• Galveston
o Because Texas was an important link in the
Confederate supply line, the Union navy used its
ships to blockade, or using troops or warships to
prevent passage of supplies to the coast of Texas.
Cotton was transported through Mexico and sent
to Europe in exchange for war supplies.
o Although Union forces captured the city of
Galveston, Confederate forces led by General John
B. Magruder recaptured the city on January 1,
1863.
o Galveston was crucial because it was the state’s
busiest seaport.
The Battle of Galveston
• Cotton is shipped
through Mexican
waters and sold to
England and France
• Union ships and troops
capture the port of
Galveston in Oct. 1862
• CSA retakes the port
on January 1863
Union gunboat docked at
Galveston port.
Texas Battles
• Sabine Pass
– The Confederate Davis Guards led by Dick
Dowling turned back the Union invasion of Texas
at the Battle of Sabine Pass in September 1863.
– They took 350 Union soldiers prisoner and
captured 2 ships.
– This battle was an important victory for the
Confederacy since Union plans to launch a major
campaign against Texas were dashed.
The Battle of Brownsville
• November 1863, the
Union forces capture
Brownsville
• The capture of
Brownsville hurts the
CSA because cotton
and weapons move
through the port for
the CSA
Texas Battles
• Brownsville
o Confederate Colonel John S. Ford drove
the Union army back and recaptured
Brownsville in July 1864.
• Red River Campaign
o Tom Green, a former member of the
congress of the Republic and a veteran of
the Battle of San Jacinto and MexicanAmerican War, also led Confederate forces
during the Red River campaign.
Texas Battles
• Palmito Ranch
o At Appomattox Courthourse, Confederate
General Robert E. Lee surrendered to U.S.
General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865.
o However, on May 13, 1865, Confederate forces
led by John S. Ford defeated Union troops in
Texas at Palmito Ranch – the final land battle
of the war. The Confederates did NOT know
Lee had surrendered a month earlier! They
were informed by Union prisoners of the
news!
Surrender at Appomattox
April 9, 1865
After the War ended, Lee
dedicated his home [above] in
Arlington, Virginia for a military
burial grounds – today known as
the Arlington National Cemetery
The Civil War Ends
• The North’s victory in the Civil War meant the
Union was preserved.
• On April 14 (five days after Appomattox), a
southern sympathizer named John Wilkes
Booth assassinated President Lincoln in
Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C. As a
result of this tragic event, the whole nation
grieved together.
The Assassination
The Assassin
John Wilkes Booth
The Civil War Ends
• As a result of the South’s surrender, the
Texas state government collapsed due to
lack of leadership. Governor Pendleton
Murrah fled to Mexico in June 1865 to escape
Union troops. This action resulted in Texas
being lawless for a brief period of time.
Recap: Texas in the Civil War
1. What were the 3 key strategies to
Union victory?
2. What was the Conscription Act?
3. What 3 Texas units were famous for
fighting in the Civil War?
4. Why was Galveston so important?
5. Where else in and around Texas did
Civil War battles take place?