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Issue 33, winter 2016

Featured in This

Issue

Santos Benavides, Texas Patriot Page 2 Hi Jolly Page 3 Vintage War Photos Page 6 Then and Now Photos Page 7

Las Adelistas Page 9 Henry “Hairless Hank” Mims Page 14 Matching Quiz Page 16 Sul Ross Soldier/Statesman Page 17 Ft. Chadbourne Reenactment Page 25 CHapter Commander’s

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Report Page 27

Santos Benavides

Texas Patriot By Ewell Loudermilk

Santos Benavides was a Confederate

Colonel during the American Civil War

and was the highest-ranking Tejano

soldier in the Confederate military.

Benavides was born in November of 1823

to Jose Jesus and Margarita (Ram6n)

Benavides in Laredo, Texas. He was the

Great-Great-Grandson of Tomas Sanchez

de la Barrera y Garza, the founder of the

city of Laredo. In the civil strife that

marked the life of Texas border towns of

the 1830's and 40's Benavides sided with

the Mexican "Federalists," who desired a

Mexican state and local autonomy against

the "Centralists" who wanted all power

in Mexico to reside in the capital at

Mexico City. He joined with and

cooperated with the Texas forces under

Mirabeau B. Lamar who occupied Laredo

during the Mexican-American War (1846

—1848).

At this time he was also an active military

leader, leading successful expeditions

against the Lipan Apache and other

tribes that were harassing the outlying

ranches near Laredo. During these

campaigns he earned a reputation as a

strong military leader and courageous

soldier. Benavides was also a successful

merchant and rancher and in 1856 at the

age of 33 he was elected mayor of Laredo

and three years later in 1859, shortly

before the outbreak of the War Between

the States he was elected Chief Justice of

Webb County.

Benavides opposed the annexation of the

Laredo area by the United States, as

called for by the Treaty of Guadalupe

Hidalgo after the Mexican-American

War, because he feared it would

compromise the independent character of

northern Mexico. So it isn't surprising

that when Texas seceded from the Union,

Benavides and his brothers supported the

Confederacy, whose States'-Rights

principles were so close to their own

beliefs of regional autonomy. Shortly

after Texas seceded from the Union on

February 1st, 1861, Benavides was

commissioned a Captain in the

Confederate army and given command of

the Texas 33rd Cavalry stationed in

Laredo. Two of Santos' brothers,

Cristobal and Refugio, were also

commissioned as officers in the

Confederacy and served under him in the

33rd throughout the war. On May, 22nd

of that year Santos successfully repelled

an attack into Texas from Northern

Mexico by the Union sympathizer Juan

Cortina at the Battle of Carrizo about 50

miles south of Laredo, near modern day

Lake Falcon and Zapata, Texas. Cortina's

troops suffered 18 casualties and never

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again raided in numbers across the

border.

In November of 1863 Benavides was

promoted to Colonel in the Confederate

States Army and authorized to increase

the number of the Texas 33rd Cavalry to

that of a full regiment. By now this unit

was known as “Benavides’ Regiment”.

During the War Between the States,

Laredo was most important to the South

as a port. Cotton could be brought by

wagon from all over Texas to Laredo,

loaded on boats and shipped down the

Rio Grande to Brownsville/Los Brazos de

Santiago (modern day Matamoras,

Mexico, immediately across the Texas

border from Brownsville). There the

cotton could be transferred to ships

bearing the neutral flag of Mexico and

sent past the Union blockade of Texas

ports to Europe to raise money for the

cash strapped Confederacy. A battle

ensued on March 19th, 1864 when Union

Colonel Edmund J. Davis ordered Major

Alfred Holt and 200 troopers of the Texas

1st (Union) Cavalry to attack Laredo.

Their mission was to destroy five

thousand bales of cotton stacked at the

San Agustin Plaza in Laredo. Colonel

Benavides had only 42 soldiers at his

disposal for this battle but on three

separate occasions that day the 200 Union

Cavalry troopers charged those 42

patriots of “Benavides’ Regiment” at

Zacate Creek just north of the Rio

Grande on the south side of Laredo.

Three times the brave men de-fending

their city repulsed the attack. This defeat

forced the Union troops to withdraw all

the way to Brownsville. Benavides and his

men had secured this vital cotton

shipment and the commercial route to the

Gulf of Mexico for the Confederacy.

On May 13th, 1865 Benavides and his

men of the 33rd Texas Cavalry would

fight in one last engagement for the

Confederacy at the Battle of Palmito

Ranch just east of Brownsville on the

banks of the Rio Grande. Word had not

yet reached south Texas that General

Robert E. Lee had surrendered on April

9th or that President Jefferson Davis had

been captured and imprisoned just a

couple of days before on May, 10th. As

far as the brave soldiers of “Benavides’

Regiment” knew the War Between the

States was still going on and so they

would participate whole heartedly in this

engagement, considered the last battle of

the horrific war. The Battle of Palmito

Ranch is rich with anecdote and legend.

There was no real reason for the battle

and rumors abound as to why the Union

forces broke the gentlemen’s truce that

had existed there at the tip of Texas

throughout most of the war. But break it

they did and they left their fortifications

and marched on Brownsville. There are

also rumors that French Foreign Legion

troops and artillery aided the

Confederates and that Mexican Royalist

troops also participated.

Those rumors aside, this much we know

for fact about the battle. The Union forces

under Lieutenant Colonel David Branson

consisted of about 500 troops from the

2nd Texas Dismounted (Union) Cavalry,

the 34th Indiana Veteran Volunteer

Infantry and the 62nd Regiment U.S.

Colored Troops (U.S.C.T.). They faced

approximately 300 Confederates under

Colonel John “Rip” Ford of the 2nd

Texas (Confederate) Cavalry along with

elements of Colonels’ Anderson,

Benavides and Giddings Cavalry

Regiments. The Union troops advance

was stopped by the Confederates with the

Union forces suffering the loss of 115 of

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their 500 men, with 105 of these being

prisoners taken by the Confederates.

The South lost only 3 or 4 men slightly

wounded. Colonel Benavides and his men

were in the center of the line that stopped

this last Union advance of the war.

Santos Benavides went on to serve three

terms in the Texas State legislature from

1879 to 1885, ably representing the wishes

of the people of Laredo and Webb

County. He was also appointed as a

delegate to the United States during the

reciprocity controversy of 1880. He was

elected as one of the Texas delegates to

the World Cotton Exposition of 1884.

There is a historical marker, placed in

1995 by the Texas Historical Commission

in the Catholic cemetery near where

Santos Benavides is buried on Saunders

Street in Laredo that honors this great

Texans life and achievements. He died in

his home on November 9th, 1891 leaving

his family, his beloved Laredo and the

state of Texas “Una Herencia de Honor”

(A Heritage of Honor).

WBTS Miscellanea

The French-manufactured Lefaucheux revolver

was the fourth most commonly used pistol

during the War and it featured an innovative

“pinfire cartridge” which used a small brass pin

protruding from the cartridge to ignite an

internal primer cap.

Sidelights to the Great Camel

Experiment by Jefferson Davis

We’re all familiar with Jefferson Davis’

attempt to introduce camels into the

American Southwest but did you ever

hear of Hi Jolly?

Hi Jolly By Tom Todd

Hi Jolly (Philip Tedro) and Bride 1880

He was born as Ali al-Hajaya of

Jordanian Bedouin parentage in Jordan

in the region of Greater Syria probably in

1828. He was also known as Hadji Ali and

later as Philip Tedro. He was an Ottoman

citizen and worked for the Ottoman

armed forces as a breeder and trainer of

camels. He also served with the French

army in Algiers. But it is what he did in

America that is of interest to us. Jefferson

Davis, future president of the

Confederacy, as Secretary of War under

Pres. Franklin Pierce became interested

in the Army's idea to bring camels to the

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United States for desert operations. On

March 3, 1855, the U.S. Congress

appropriated $30,000 for the project.

On June 4, 1855, Maj. Henry C Wayne

departed New York City on board the

USS Supply bound for Smyrna, where it

arrived on January 30, 1856. Two weeks

later, the ship departed for the Gulf of

Mexico with a load of 33 camels and eight

handlers. A second voyage added 41 more

camels. On April 29, 1856, the USS

Supply arrived with the original shipment

at Indianola, Texas. Heavy seas made

transferring of the camels to a shallower

draft ship for landing impossible. The

USS Supply and the Fashion had to go to

the mouth of the Mississippi River to find

calmer waters and make the transfer. The

Fashion returned to Indianola, and

unloaded the camels on May 14, 1856. On

June 4, 1856, the Army loaded the camels

and they were driven to Camp Verde via

Victoria and San Antonio. Hadji Ali was

the lead camel driver during the US

Army's experiment with the US Camel

Corps in using camels in the dry desert of

the Southwest. Finding his Arab name

hard to pronounce, the Americans

changed it to Hi Jolly.

Initial test reports were largely positive.

The camels proved to be exceedingly

strong, and were able to move quickly

across terrain which horses found

difficult. Although the camels successfully

traveled round-trip from Texas to

California, the experiment went bust for a

couple of reasons. The large and foul-

smelling camels frightened the Army's

horses and mules, and they often

panicked. Also, the Civil War led to

Congress not approving more funds for

the Corps. In 1864, the camels were

finally auctioned off in Benicia,

California, and Camp Verde, Texas.

Some of the camels were taken as far

away as British Columbia, where Frank

Laumeister, a veteran of the corps, used

the animals to carry freight during the

gold rush. He put the camels out to

pasture, from which some escaped. The

last sighting of a feral camel in British

Columbia was in the 1930s. Feral camels

continued to be sighted in the Southwest

through the early 1900s, with the last

reported sighting in 1941 near Douglas,

Texas.

Hi Jolly kept a few of the animals and

attempted to run a freight business

between the Colorado River and mining

establishments to the east. The business

failed and he released his camels into the

Arizona desert near Gila Bend. He was

discharged from the Quartermaster

Department of the US Army at Camp

McDowell in 1870. In 1880, he became an

American citizen and took the name

Philip Tedro when he married Gertrude

Serna in Tucson, Arizona. The couple had

two children.

In 1885, he was again hired by the US

Army and worked as a packer under

Brig. Gen. George Crook during the

Geronimo campaign. After the army he

moved to Quartzsite Arizona where he

did some mining and occasional scouting

for the U. S. government. On December

16, 1902 he died and was buried in the

Quartzsite Cemetery, which was

subsequently renamed the Hi Jolly

Cemetery in his honor. In 1935 Arizona

Governor Benjamin Moeur dedicated the

pictured monument to Hi Jolly and the

Camel Corps.

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The monument is located at his gravesite

and is built from local stones and topped

with a copper camel.

Hi Jolly Monument

Close up of Plaque

Have you paid your dues?

Your financial support is critical if

we are to continue to honor our

ancestors in these Politically

Correct times!

WBTS Pictures

FREDERICKSBURG May 1863

A fallen Confederate caisson

and its unfortunate horses

Gettysburg Confederate and Union dead being

exhumed for reburial in proper cemeteries

(1863-1873). Workers recorded key location and

other information about each soldier’s grave.

Union signal tower in Bermuda Hundred

Virginia where General Beauregard routed

General Butler during one of the engagements in

the Battle of the Wilderness

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THEN and NOW

Sumpter Then

Sumpter Now

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Ford’s Theater Then

Ford’s Theater Now

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There is a rich history of Southern

women supporting the Confederate Cause

at home and on the battlefields. They

were cooks, nurses, spies and some even

secretly served as soldiers. This is an

interesting story about women who

served in similar duties in the Mexican

Revolution.

LAS ADELISTAS

Soldaderas, sometimes called Adelitas,

were women in the military who

participated in the conflict of the Mexican

Revolution, ranging from commanding

officers to combatants to camp followers.

In many respects, the Mexican revolution

was not only a men's but a women's

revolution. Although some revolutionary

women achieved officer status, there are

no reports of a woman achieving the rank

of general. Since revolutionary armies did

not have formal ranks, some women

officers were called generala or coronela,

even though they commanded relatively

few men. A number of women took male

identities, dressing as men, and being

called by the male version of their given

name, among them Petra Herrera and

Amelio Robles.

The largest numbers of Adelitas were in

Northern Mexico, where both the Federal

Army (until its demise in 1914) and the

revolutionary armies needed them to

provision soldiers by obtaining and

cooking food, nurse the wounded, and

promote social cohesion. In the area of

Morelos where Emiliano Zapata led

revolutionary campesinos, the forces were

primarily defensive and based in peasant

villages, less like the organized armies of

movement of Northern Mexico than

seasonal guerrilla warfare. Contingents of

soldaderas were not necessary because at

any moment Zapatista soldiers could take

refuge in a nearby village.

The term soldadera is derived from the

Spanish word soldada which denotes a

payment made to the person who

provided for a soldier's well-being.

Although in theory this payment would

be for everyday tasks, much like a wife

would perform, or for sexual relations, in

fact, most soldaderas who were either

blood relations or companions of a soldier

usually earned no economic recompense

for their work, just like those women who

did domestic work in their own home.

Adelitas had been a part of Mexican

military long before the Mexican

Revolution; however, numbers increased

dramatically with the outbreak of the

revolution. The revolution saw the

emergence of a few female combatants

and fewer commanding officers

(coronelas). Soldaderas and coronelas are

now often lumped together. Soldaderas as

camp followers performed vital tasks

such as taking care of the male soldiers;

cooking, cleaning, setting up camp,

cleaning their weapons and so forth.

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For Adelistas, the Mexican Revolution

was their greatest time in history. They

came from various social backgrounds,

those who emerged from obscurity and

belonged to the middle class played a

prominent role in the political movement

that led to the revolution. Most were

likely lower class, rural, mestizo and

Indian women about whom little is

known.

Despite the emphasis on female

combatants, without the female camp

followers, the armies fighting in the

Revolution would have been much worse

off. When Pancho Villa banned

soldaderas from his elite corps of Dorados

within his División del Norte, the

incidence of rape increased.

Adelitas as camp followers had numerous

roles to fulfill, all of which related to

looking after the male soldiers. Some of

the basic roles would be to cook the

meals, clean up after meals, clean the

weapons and to set up camp for the army.

Often, the women would get to the camp

site ahead of the men in order to have

camp all set up and to begin preparing

the food so it was almost ready by the

time the men showed up. Foraging,

nursing and smuggling were also some of

the other tasks they had. Towns that had

just previously been fought in were the

perfect location for foraging. Once the

soldiers had left the women would loot

stores for food and search through dead

bodies looking for anything that could be

of value or use.

Taking care of and nursing the wounded

and sick was also another important task

women had to fulfill. It was an extremely

important role since medical care was not

available to most of the soldiers and these

women were their only chance of survival

if they were wounded. If the army was in

an area close enough to a hospital, then

women would also be responsible to get

the soldiers that were badly wounded

there, pulling them along in ox-carts. Not

only did camp followers perform these

duties, but also had a much more war-like

task. They would have to smuggle

hundreds and hundreds of rounds of

ammunition to the fighting forces,

especially from the United States into

Mexico. They would hide the ammunition

under their skirts and were given this

duty because they were perceived as

harmless women and therefore hardly

ever caught.

A significant figure was Elena Arizmendi

Mejia, who created the Neutral White

Cross when the Red Cross refused to

treat revolutionary soldiers. Arizmendi

was from an elite family and knew

Francisco Madero before he was

president. The Neutral White Cross

leadership attempted to oust her from

leadership when she was photographed in

the pose of a soldadera or coronela, with

crossed bandoliers, supposedly as a joke

for her paramour, José Vasconcelos, later

to become Minister of Public Education in

the Obregón government.

Elena Arizmendi Mejia and volunteers of

the Neutral White Cross, 1911

A number of women served as

combatants, but how many is not known.

Some women became combatants by first

joining the army passing as male,

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speaking in deep voices, wearing men’s

clothing, and wrapping their breasts

tightly to hide them. The most obvious

role they had as combatants was to fight

against opponents in battles. For those

that were known to be female and not in

disguise, some served as spies against

enemy armies, dressing as women and

joining the camp followers of an enemy

army in order gain inside information.

They would also be given important

information that they would have to relay

between generals of the same army. Some

would say they were given this task

because they were trusted, but more

likely the reason would be because males

still did not see these women as equals

and being messengers seemed like a more

feminine role of a soldier.

One of the most famous Adelistas was

Petra Herrera or Petra Ruiz. At the

beginning she dressed as a man and took

the given name of Pedro, joining the

ranks of Villa’s army. She kept her

identity a secret until she had been

acknowledged as a great soldier. Once she

established her reputation, she let her

hair grow, plaiting it into braids, and

resumed her female identity. According to

one of Villa’s troops, Herrera was the

person who should have been credited for

the siege of the town of Torreón.

However, Villa was not willing to have a

female take credit as an important role in

a battle and therefore she was never given

what she deserved. As a result of her lack

of acknowledgment, she left Villa’s troops

and formed her own troop of all female

soldiers. She became an ally of Carranza

and his army and became a legend for all

females around the country.

María Quinteras de Meras was one of the

most remarkable Adelistas of the time.

She joined Pancho Villa's army in 1910.

Having fought in ten battles from 1910 to

1913, she had risen in the ranks of the

army and was a well decorated soldier.

She was so respected as a soldier, despite

Villa's dislike of soldaderas, that her

husband, who served in the same army,

was actually lower in rank than herself.

Respect was enough for María Quinteras

de Meras; she did not allow Villa to pay

her for fighting in his army. She gained

his respect because she was a very gifted

soldier. She was known to fight just as

well as any male soldier and was even

thought to have supernatural powers.

Another well-known Adelista, Amelio

Robles Ávila, "El güero", was a

distinguished soldier in the Revolutionary

Army of the South. Amelio dressed as a

man and became a colonel in the

Legionary Cavalry. Amelio Robles Avila

was born "Amelia" in Xochipala,

Guerrero to a small property owner,

Casimiro Robles and his wife Josefa

Ávila. She was educated as a Catholic

girl, but from an early age rode horses

and learned to shoot. Robles was

treasurer of the Maderista club in

Xochipala and she joined the forces of

general Juan Andrew Almazán, when he

passed through Xochipala in May 1911,

as pressure mounted against Porfirio Díaz

to resign as president.

From 1913 to 1918, Robles fought as "el

coronel Robles" with the Zapatistas

under the command of Jesús H. Salgado,

Heliodoro Castillo, and Encarnación

Díaz. Following the military phase of the

Revolution, Robles supported

revolutionary general Álvaro Obregón,

president of Mexico 1920-1924, during the

1924 rebellion of Adolfo de la Huerta and

in 1939 supported Almazán in the

presidential election. Toward the end of

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her long life, Robles received various

decorations acknowledging distinguished

military service: a decoration as a veteran

of the Mexican Revolution and the Legion

of Honor of the Mexican Army. In 1973,

Robles received the title of Mérito

revolutionario. Robles died December 9,

1984, aged 95.

Amelio Robles Avila

In November 1911, a Swedish mercenary,

Ivar Thord-Gray, who was part of Villa's

forces observed preparations for battle.

"The women camp followers had orders to

remain behind, but hundreds of them

hanging onto the stirrups followed their

men on the road for awhile. Some other

women carrying carbines, bandoleers [sic]

and who were mounted, managed to slip

into the ranks and came with us. These

took their places in the firing lines and

withstood hardship and machine gun fire

as well as the men. They were a brave

worthy lot. It was a richly picturesque

sight, but the complete silence, the stoic yet

anxious faces of the women was

depressing, as it gave the impression that

all were going to a tremendous funeral, or

their doom."

A U.S. secret agent, Edwin Emerson, gave

reports on Villa's army, with an

observation on the women. "The conduct

of the women who came along on the

railway trains and many of whom

accompanied their men into the firing line

around Torreón was also notably heroic."

Leftist journalist John Reed, a leftist

Harvard graduate, is the most well-

known foreign observer reporting on

Adelistas. His reports from his four

months with Pancho Villa's army in 1913

during the struggle against Huerta were

published as individual newspaper

articles and then collected as Insurgent

Mexico in 1914. In one report, he

recorded the reaction of one Villa's

soldier to the kidnapping of his Adelista

wife by Pascual Orozco's colorados.

"They took my woman who is mine, and

my commission and all my papers, and all

my money. But I am wretched with grief

when I think of my silver spurs inlaid with

gold, which I bought only last year in

Mapimi!" In another report, Reed

recorded that women who were already

soldaderas and whose man had fallen in

battle often took up with another soldier.

He devotes a chapter in Insurgent Mexico

to a woman he calls "Elizabetta," whose

man was killed and another soldier had

claimed her as his. Reed says that the

soldier "found her wandering aimlessly in

the hacienda [after a battle], apparently out

of her mind; and that, needing a woman,

he had ordered her to follow him, which

she did, unquestioningly, after the custom

of her sex and country."

Corridos are ballads or folk songs that

came around during the Mexican

Revolution and started to gain popularity

after the revolution. Most of these

corridos were about soldaderas and

originally were battle hymns, but now

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have been ways for soldaderas to gain

some fame and be documented in history.

However, in most corridos, an aspect of

love was part of the story line and in

current day they became extremely

romanticized.

The most famous corrido is called La

Adelita, and was based on a woman who

was a soldadera for Madero’s troops.

This corrido and the image of this woman

became the symbol of the revolution and

Adelita’s name has become synonymous

with soldaderas. No one truly knows if the

corrido based on this woman was a

female soldier or a camp follower, or even

perhaps that she was just a representation

of a mix of different females that were a

part of the revolution. Whatever the truth

though, in Mexico and the U.S. today,

Adelita has become an inspiration and a

symbol for any woman who fights for her

rights.

Adelista Statue in National

Museum of Mexico

Fort Concho Photos

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Shiloh Trivia

1. What fruit became a real thirst

quencher?

2. Which victorious Union

Commander offered lunch to his

defeated foe?

3. Name the Confederate soldier,

later a noted newspaper writer

and historical figure, who was

captured at Shiloh.

4. Which Federal officer, later a

prolific writer, arrived late at the

battle and was relieved of his

command?

5. How did the casualties of Shiloh

compare with previous American

losses? Answers on page 27

Henry “Hairless Hank”

Mims

During the night of August 19,

1858, Hank Mims, Bill Corey and John

Latham, all upstanding citizens and

ranchers in the town of Prairie Village,

Texas, were crawling slowly and without

sound through the tall grass

approximately five miles outside the town.

The herd of cattle was clearly

visible in the moonlight from 100 yards

away and the men stopped crawling.

Mims said, “We’ll wait here and if the

Comanche come we’ll let them have it.”

Corey was not quite as sure as Mims and

said, “It’ll be three against twenty or

more, maybe the odds will be

uncomfortable.”

Mims responded, “Its hit and run

for these varmints. If they hear rifle fire,

they will disappear.”

For several months the Comanche

had been raising cane with the cattle

herds around Prairie Village. Their

typical method was to suddenly appear

out of nowhere and cause the herd to

stampede and then pick up the strays that

wandered away. The Texas Rangers made

a valiant attempt to protect the herds, but

they finally just gave it up and advised

the ranchers to put the herd in a corral at

night. It was next to impossible to

conform with that bit of advice so Mims

and his two companions had decided that

if the herds were to be protected, it was

up to them to do it.

All of a sudden, out of the shadowy

moonlight a single Comanche appeared,

moving like a ghost. Mims whispered,

“Wait until we see others.” Corey

protested, “Hell, one Indian can stampede

the herd.”

“Killing him won’t stop the

others,” Mims said. We want to give these

damned savages a good lesson.”

The lone Comanche disappeared

and the herd continued to graze

peacefully. Mims motioned for his

companions to follow him. They crept

forward until they came to some logs

lying in the grass.

Another Indian made an

appearance in the moonlight, and he was

joined by three more warriors. They

surrounded the herd and Mims yelled,

“let ‘em have it.” The four Indians were

clearly visible in the moonlight and the

three muskets roared into fire. Two

Indians fell from their horses. From

behind the white men came the roar of

many savages and Comanche were

coming from everywhere. There had to be

over fifty of them closing in on the men

hiding behind the logs. They had no time

to reload the muskets, and Mims yelled

out for them to run for it.

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Corey and Latham abandoned

their guns and jumped up as ten Indians

were around them. They both dove into

the high grass as arrows whizzed over

their heads. They crawled through the

high grass and managed to get beyond the

ring of Comanche. Then they made a

mistake by coming up too quickly, rather

than to keep crawling. Three Indians saw

them and began firing arrows. One arrow

ripped through Corey’s shirt sleeve. They

dove back into the grass again.

Corey told Lathan, “Crawl back towards

the Indians, they won’t expect that.”

Lathan was crawling back toward

the Comanche with Corey right behind

him and in so doing they saved their lives.

The Comanche spread out around the

two men and passed them by. When they

were a safe distance away Corey and

Lathan crawled to the right until once

again they were outside the ring of

Indians. When they were safely clear of

the Indian ring they fled back to Prairie

Village and safety.

Things weren’t going quite as well

for Mims. In the first flight of arrows

from the Indians, one caught him in the

shoulder, inflicting terrible pain. He

buried himself deep under the log, and

gritted his teeth in an effort to keep

crying out under the pain. He could hear

the Indians riding through the grass

searching for his two companions. Then

the sounds got dimmer as consciousness

began to ebb. He struggled against it and

the struggle was what gave him away.

He tried to roll over and this

caused the arrow to penetrate deeper into

his shoulder and create another extreme

spasm of pain. This time he was unable to

control his groan. Two Comanche

warriors on foot heard the sound, ran

toward the sound and discovered Mims.

One of the Indians quickly inserted an

arrow into his bow and dispatched the

arrow into Mims’ body.

Mims body gave a tremor and then

lay still. The other Warrior grabbed his

knife and Mims’ long hair, and with a

war whoop and an expert slice of the

knife, Mims was completely scalped.

The Indians then rode away. The herd

had been stampeded and all the Indians

were gone. The silence of the night was

broken only by chirping crickets and a

lonely meadow lark that was happily

singing his song nearby. The hours passed

slowly for Mims before the sun finally

rose and burned off the haze to the east.

Mims stirred, opened his eyes and a

gurgling groan came from his throat as he

made an attempt to groan.

Blood had run down his face and

neck from the scalping wound. Then with

the arrows still sticking in his back, he

crawled on his stomach. He managed to

gain several yards before stopping and

screaming with pain. After resting for a

few minutes he crawled on a little further.

The sun beating down on his raw scalp

wound brought swarms of flies to annoy

him even more.

He fought unconsciousness by

shaking his head and then crawled

forward some more, until complete

exhaustion prevented him from going

farther. This time when he stopped, he

heard horse hoofs. With the last little bit

of strength that he had, he rolled over on

his side and yelled as loud as he could. He

didn’t know if he would be heard by

white men or red men, and by now didn’t

really care.

Philip Morton, local cowboy from

a nearby ranch, heard his call and

jumped off his horse and spotted the

wounded Mims. He jumped back on his

horse and raced back to the ranch and

within 20 minutes had Mims in the wagon

and on the way to the ranch. A cowboy

16

from the ranch had been dispatched to

Prairie Village to fetch Doctor Murphy.

The good doctor removed the two

arrows, treated those wounds and then

the scalp wound. A month later Mims

walked out of the bunkhouse a completely

healed man. But, he didn’t have, nor

would he ever again have, any hair. His

friends began calling him Hairless Hank.

He did not mind and joined in the

laughter. He was just happy to be alive.

He lived to become a wealthy

Texas cattleman. In 1900, he decided to

move to Arizona with his sons. His hair

never grew back and he let the fringe hair

grow long to cover it. And he was never

seen without wearing a hat.

None of his injuries ever affected

his overall good health. At the ripe old

age of 106, he died in Tempe, Arizona in

1925. He is buried in the Globe Cemetery

in Globe, Arizona in an unmarked grave.

Two contemporary obituaries listed his

age as 109. They both reported a sister

preceded him death by two months and

she was 112.

A descendant of a very close friend of

Mims says that her grandfather said he

was still in his 90s when he died. No

substantiating proof is given, so I tend to

go with the older age.

Mims at 100

Matching Match the Commanders to the Battles:

1. Pierre Beauregard vs. Irwin

McDowell

2. Albert S. Johnston vs. Ulysses S.

Grant

3. Robert E. Lee vs. George

McClellan

4. Thomas Jackson vs. Nathanial

Banks

5. Robert E. Lee vs. John Pope

6. Braxton Bragg vs. William

Rosecrans

7. Robert E. Lee vs. Joe Hooker

8. John Pemberton vs. Ulysses S.

Grant

9. Robert E. Lee vs. George Meade

10. Joseph Johnston vs. William T.

Sherman

11. Jubal Early vs. Phil Sheridan

12. John Bell Hood vs. William T.

Sherman

13. John Bell Hood vs. John

Schofield

14. J.E.B Stuart vs. Alfred

Pleasanton

15. George Pickett vs. Phil Sheridan

A. Atlanta

B. Five Forks

C. Gettysburg

D. First Bull Run

E. Seven Days

F. Vicksburg

G. Chickamauga

H. Kennesaw Mountain

I. Shiloh

J. Brandy Station

K. Franklin

L. Cedar Mountain

M. Second Bull Run

N. Chancellorsville

O. Cedar Creek

17

Matching Answers:

1.D 2.I 3.E 4.L 5.M 6.G 7.N 8.F

9.C 10.H 11.O 12.A 13.K 14.J 15.B

Sul Ross,

Soldier/Statesman

Lawrence Sullivan "Sul" Ross

(September 27, 1838 – January 3, 1898)

was the 19th Governor of Texas, a

Confederate States Army general during

the American Civil War, and a president

of the Agricultural and Mechanical

College of Texas, now Texas A&M

University.

Sul Ross in uniform in the 1860s

Lawrence Sullivan Ross was born on

September 27, 1838 in Bentonsport, Iowa

Territory. He was the fourth child and

second son of Shapley Prince Ross and

Catherine Fulkerson, the daughter of

Missouri legislator Isaac Fulkerson.

Shortly after Ross's birth, his parents sold

their Iowa property and returned to

Missouri to escape Iowa's cold weather.

In 1839, the family moved to the Republic

of Texas, where they settled in the

Robertson Colony on the lower Brazos

River. Two years later, they joined seven

other families under Captain Daniel

Monroe and settled near present-day

Cameron, where they received 640 acres

of land along the Little River. Their land

adjoined Comanche territory and was

raided several times.

In 1845, the family moved to Austin so

Ross and his older siblings could attend

school. Four years later, they relocated

again. By this time, Shapley Ross was well

known as a frontiersman, and to coax him

to settle in the newly formed community

of Waco, the family was given four city

lots, exclusive rights to operate a ferry

across the Brazos River, and the right to

buy 80 acres of farmland at $1 per acre.

In March 1849, the Ross family built the

first house in Waco, a double-log cabin on

a bluff overlooking the springs.

Eager to further his education, Ross

entered the Preparatory Department at

Baylor University (then in Independence,

Texas) in 1856, despite the fact that he

was several years older than most of the

other students. He completed the two-

year study course in one year. Following

his graduation, he enrolled at Wesleyan

University in Florence, Alabama.

During the summer of 1858, Ross

returned to Texas and journeyed to the

18

Brazos Indian Reserve, where his father

served as Indian Agent. The United States

Army had conscripted Indians from the

reserve to help the "Wichita Expedition"

of 2nd Cavalry in a search for Buffalo

Hump, a Penateka Comanche chief who

had led several deadly raids on Texas

settlements. Fearing that Shapley Ross

was too ill to command them on the

expedition, the Indians named Sul Ross

their new war chief. With his father's

approval, the younger Ross led the 135

warriors to accompany 225 troops led by

brevet Major Earl Van Dorn. Ross was

given the courtesy title of "Captain"

during his command.

Native scouts found about 500

Comanche’s, including Buffalo Hump,

camped outside a Wichita village in

Indian Territory. Early in the battle, Ross

and his men successfully stampeded the

Comanche horses, leaving the Comanche

warriors at a disadvantage when facing

the mounted troops. When many

Comanche tried to flee the area, Ross, one

of his scouts, Lieutenant Cornelius Van

Camp of the 2nd Cavalry and one of his

troopers chased a party of noncombatants

that appeared to contain a white child.

On Ross's orders, his man grabbed the

child; as the four turned to rejoin the

battle, they were confronted by 25

Comanche warriors. Van Camp and the

private were killed with arrows, and Ross

received an arrow through his shoulder.

A Comanche picked up the trooper's

carbine and fired a 0.58-caliber bullet

through Ross's chest. His attacker,

Mohee, was a Comanche brave Ross had

known since childhood. Mohee was killed

by buckshot fired by Lieutenant James

Majors of the 2nd Cavalry as the warrior

approached the temporarily paralyzed

Ross with a scalping knife.

After five hours of fighting, the troops

subdued the Comanche resistance.

Buffalo Hump escaped, but 70

Comanche’s were killed or mortally

wounded, only two of them

noncombatants. Ross's injuries were

severe, and for five days he lay under a

tree on the battlefield, unable to be

moved. His wounds became infected, and

Ross begged the others to kill him to end

his pain. When he was able to travel, he

was first carried on a litter suspended

between two mules, and then on the

shoulders of his men. He recovered fully,

but experienced some pain for much of

the rest of the year.

The following year, Ross graduated from

Wesleyan with a Bachelor of Arts and

returned to Texas. Once there, he

discovered no one had been able to trace

the family of the young Caucasian girl

rescued during the Wichita Village fight.

He adopted the child and named her

Lizzie Ross, in honor of his new fiancée,

Lizzie Tinsley.

In early 1860, Ross enlisted in Captain J.

M. Smith's Waco company of Texas

Rangers, which formed to fight the

renegade Indians. Smith appointed Ross

his second lieutenant. When Smith was

promoted, the other men in the company

unanimously voted to make Ross the new

captain.

Smith disbanded Ross's company in early

September 1860 and within a week,

Governor Sam Houston authorized Ross

to raise his own company of 60 mounted

volunteers to protect the settlements near

Belknap from Native American attacks.

In late October and November 1860,

Comanche’s led by Peta Nocona

conducted numerous raids on various

settlements, culminating in the brutal

killing of a pregnant woman. On hearing

of these incidents, Houston sent several

19

25-man companies to assist Ross. A

citizen's posse had tracked the raiders to

their winter village along the Pease River.

As the village contained at least 500

warriors and many women and children,

the posse returned to the settlements to

recruit additional fighters. Ross requested

help from the U.S. Army at Camp

Cooper, which sent 21 troops.

Immediately after the soldiers arrived on

December 11, Ross and 39 Rangers

departed for the Comanche village. On

December 13, they met the civilian posse,

which had grown to 69 members.

After several days of travel, the fast pace

and poor foraging forced the civilians to

stop and rest their horses. The Rangers

and soldiers continued on. When they

neared the village, Ross personally

scouted ahead. Hidden from view by a

dust storm, he was able to get within

200 yards of the village and saw signs that

the tribe was preparing to move on.

Realizing his own horses were too tired

for a long pursuit, Ross resolved to attack

immediately, before the civilians were

able to rejoin the group. Ross led the

Rangers down the ridge, while the

soldiers circled around to cut off the

Comanche retreat.

After fierce fighting, the Comanche’s fled.

Ross and several of his men pursued the

chief and a second, unknown, rider. As

the Rangers neared, the second rider

slowed and held a child over her head;

the men did not shoot, but instead

surrounded and stopped her. Ross

continued to follow the chief, eventually

shooting him three times. The chief

refused to surrender, even after falling

from his horse. Ross's cook, Anton

Martinez, who had been a captive in

Nocona's band, identified the fallen chief

as Nocona. With Ross's permission,

Martinez fired the shot that took

Nocona's life. Nocona was the only

Comanche male to die in the fighting

although thirteen Comanche women were

also killed. Ross's men suffered no

casualties.

When Ross arrived back at the

campground, he realized the captured

woman had blue eyes. The woman could

not speak English and did not remember

her birth name or details of her life prior

to joining the Comanche. After much

questioning, she was able to provide a few

details of her capture as a child. The

details matched what Ross knew of the

1836 Fort Parker Massacre, so he

summoned Colonel Isaac Parker to

identify her. When Parker mentioned his

kidnapped niece had been named Cynthia

Ann Parker, the woman slapped her chest

and said "Me Cincee Ann." Parker never

returned to the Comanche people, but

was not happy to have been rescued by

Ross.

Ross helped to rescue Cynthia Ann Parker

and her daughter, shown in 1861.

In contrast, Ross's intervention was

welcomed by a nine-year-old Indian boy

found hiding alone in the tall grass. Ross

took the child with him, naming him

Pease. Though Pease was later given the

20

choice to return to his people, he refused

and was raised by Ross.

In early 1861, after Texas voted to secede

from the United States and join the

Confederacy, Ross's brother Peter began

recruiting men for a new military

company. Shortly after Ross enlisted in

his brother's company as a private,

Governor Edward Clark requested he

instead proceed immediately to the Indian

Territory to negotiate treaties with the

Five Civilized Tribes so they would not

help the Union Army.

One week after his May 28 wedding to

Lizzie Tinsley, Ross set out for the Indian

Territory. Upon reaching the Washita

Agency, he discovered the Confederate

commissioners had already signed a

preliminary treaty with the tribes. Ross

returned home for several months. In the

middle of August, he departed, with his

company, for Missouri, leaving his wife

with her parents. On September 7, his

group became Company G of Stone's

Regiment, later known as the Sixth Texas

Cavalry. The other men elected Ross as

the major for the regiment. Twice in

November 1861, Ross was chosen by

General McCulloch, with whom he had

served in the Texas Rangers, to lead a

scouting force near Springfield, Missouri.

Both times, Ross successfully slipped

behind the Union Army lines, gathered

information, and retreated before being

caught. After completing the missions, he

was granted a 60-day leave and returned

home.

In early 1862, Ross returned to duty. By

late February, he and 500 troops were

assigned to raid the Union Army. He led

the group 70 miles behind the enemy

lines, where they gathered intelligence,

destroyed several wagonloads of

commissary supplies, captured 60 horses

and mules, and took 11 prisoners. The

following month, the regiment was

assigned to Earl Van Dorn, now a Major

General, with whom Ross had served

during the battle at the Wichita Village.

Under Van Dorn, the group suffered a

defeat at the Battle of Pea Ridge; Ross

attributed their loss solely to Van Dorn,

and blamed him for over-marching and

under-feeding his troops, and for failing

to properly coordinate the plan of attack.

In April, the group was sent to Des Arc,

Arkansas. Because of the scarcity of

forage, Ross's cavalry troop was ordered

to dismount and send their horses back to

Texas. The unit, now on foot, traveled to

Memphis, Tennessee, arriving two weeks

after the Battle of Shiloh. Ross soon

caught a bad cold accompanied by a

lingering fever, and was extremely ill for

eight weeks. By the time he considered

himself cured, his weight had dwindled to

only 125 pounds.

Over Ross's protests, the men of the Sixth

Regiment elected him colonel in 1862. He

did not want the responsibility of the

position and had not wanted to embarrass

a friend who wanted the job. Their

brigade commander, General Charles W.

Phifer, was often absent, leaving Ross in

charge. Ross's actions impressed other

officers, and several times during the

summer of 1862, he was nominated for

promotion to brigadier general. Although

he was not promoted at that time, his unit

was the only one of the 8–10 dismounted

cavalry units in the area to be promised

the return of their horses.

While still afoot, Ross and his men

participated in the Battle of Corinth.

Under Ross's command, his Texans twice

captured Union guns at Battery Robinett.

21

They were forced to retreat from their

position each time as reinforcements

failed to arrive. During the battle, Ross,

who had acquired a horse, was bucked

off, leading his men to believe he had been

killed. He was actually unharmed. The

Confederate Army retreated from the

battle and found themselves facing more

Union troops at Hatchie's Bridge. Ross

led 700 riflemen to engage the Union

troops. For three hours, his men held off

7,000 Union troops, repulsing three major

enemy assaults.

Confederate dead lay gathered at the bottom

of the parapet of Battery Robinett on the day

after the Battle of Corinth. Col. William P.

Rogers of the 2nd Texas (on the very left)

seized his colors to keep them from falling

again and jumped a five-foot ditch, leaving

his dying horse and assaulted the ramparts

of the battery. When canister shot killed

him, he was the fifth bearer of his colors to

fall that day. Some versions of this picture

erroneously reported Ross is lying next to

Rogers's body

The Sixth Cavalry's horses arrived soon

after the battle, and the regiment was

transferred to the cavalry brigade of

Colonel William H. "Red" Jackson. Ross

was permitted to take a few weeks leave

in November 1862 to visit his wife, and

returned to his regiment in mid-January

1863. Several months later, his unit

participated in the Battle of Thompson's

Station. In July, Major General Stephen

D. Lee joined the Sixth Texas Cavalry

with Colonel R.A. Pinson's First

Mississippi Cavalry, creating a new

brigade with Ross at the helm. Near the

same time, Ross received word that his

first child had died, possibly stillborn.

Ross fell ill again in September 1863.

From September 27 through March 1864,

he suffered recurring attacks of fever and

chills every three days, symptomatic of

tertian malaria. Despite his illness, Ross

never missed a day of duty, and in early

1864 he was promoted to brigadier

general, becoming the ninth-youngest

general officer of the Confederate Army.

Following his promotion, unit morale

improved, and every one of his men re-

enlisted.

In March 1864, Ross's brigade fought

against black soldiers for the first time at

Yazoo City, Mississippi. After bitter

fighting, the Confederates were

victorious. During the surrender

negotiations, the Union officer accused

the Texans of murdering several captured

African American soldiers. Ross claimed

two of his men had likewise been killed

after surrendering to Union troops.

Beginning in May, the brigade endured

112 consecutive days of skirmishes,

comprising 86 separate clashes with the

enemy. Though most of the skirmishes

were small, by the end of the period,

injuries and desertion had cut the

regiment's strength by 25%. Ross was

captured in late July at the Battle of

Brown's Mill, but was quickly rescued by

a successful Confederate cavalry

counterattack.

22

Their last major military campaign was

the Franklin-Nashville Campaign of

November and December 1864. Ross and

his men led the Confederate advance into

Tennessee. Between the beginning of

November and December 27, his men

captured 550 prisoners, several hundred

horses, and enough overcoats and

blankets to survive the winter chill. Only

12 of Ross's men were killed, with 70

wounded and five captured.

By the time Ross began a 90-day furlough

on March 13, 1865, he had participated in

135 engagements with the enemy and his

horse had been shot out from under him

five times, yet he had escaped serious

injury. With his leave approved, Ross

hurried home to Texas to visit the wife he

had not seen in two years. While at home,

the Confederate Army began its

surrender. He had not rejoined his

regiment when it surrendered in Jackson,

Mississippi, on May 14, 1865. Because he

was not present at the surrender, Ross did

not receive a parole protecting him from

arrest. As a Confederate Army officer

over the rank of colonel, Ross was also

exempted from President Andrew

Johnson's amnesty proclamation of May

29, 1865. To prevent his arrest and the

confiscation of his property, on August 4,

1865, Ross applied for a special pardon

for his treason against the United States.

Johnson personally approved Ross's

application on October 22, 1866, but Ross

did not receive and formally accept the

pardon until July 1867.

When the Civil War ended, Ross was just

26 years old. He owned 160 acres of

farmland along the South Bosque River

west of Waco, and 5.41 acres in town. For

the first time, he and his wife were able to

establish their own home. They expanded

their family, having eight children over

the next 17 years. Despite his federal

pardon for being a Confederate general,

Ross was disqualified from voting and

serving as a juror by the first

Reconstruction Act of March 2, 1867.

This act, and the Supplementary

Reconstruction Act passed three weeks

later, disenfranchised anyone who had

held a federal or state office supporting

the Confederacy.

Reconstruction did not harm Ross's

fortune, and with hard work, he soon

prospered. Shortly after the war ended,

he bought 20 acres of land in town from

his parents for $1,500. By May 1869, he

had purchased an additional 40 acres of

farmland for $400, and the following year

his wife inherited 186 acres of farmland

from the estate of her father. Ross

continued to buy land, and by the end of

1875, he owned over 1,000 acres of

farmland.

By 1873, Reconstruction in Texas was

coming to an end. In December, Ross was

elected sheriff of McLennan County,

"without campaigning or other

solicitation". Ross resigned as sheriff in

1875 and was soon elected as a delegate to

the 1875 Texas Constitutional

Convention. Of the 68 days of the

convention, Ross attended 63, voted 343

times, and missed or abstained from

voting only 66 times.

As early as 1884, Ross's friends, including

Victor M. Rose, the editor of the

newspaper in Victoria, had encouraged

Ross to run for governor. He declined and

asked his friend George Clark to attend

the 1884 state Democratic convention to

prevent Ross from being named the

gubernatorial candidate. Clark had to

produce written authorization from Ross

to convince the delegates to nominate

someone else. Ross changed his mind in

23

late 1885, announcing his candidacy for

governor on February 25, 1886. During

the campaign, he was variously accused of

pandering to the Greenbackers, the

Republicans, and the Knights. Ross spent

no money on his campaign other than

traveling expenses, but still handily won

the Democratic nomination. He won the

general election with 228,776 votes,

compared with 65,236 for the Republican

candidate and 19,186 from the

Prohibitionist candidate. Much of his

support came from Confederate veterans.

When Ross took the governor's oath of

office, Texas had only four charitable

institutions—two insane asylums, an

institute for the blind, and an institute for

the deaf and dumb. By the time he left

office, Ross had supervised the opening of

a state orphan's home, a state institute for

deaf, dumb, and blind black children, and

a branch asylum for the insane. He also

convinced the legislature to set aside 696

acres near Gatesville for a future open

farm reformatory for juvenile offenders.

In 1890 the board of directors of a school

in College Station named Texas AMC

(now known as Texas A&M), decided the

school needed to be run by an

independent administrative chief rather

than the faculty chairman. On July 1,

1890, the board unanimously agreed to

offer the new job to the sitting governor

and asked Ross to resign his office

immediately. Ross agreed to consider the

offer, as well as several others he had

received. Though Ross was concerned

about the appearance of a conflict of

interest, as he had appointed many of the

board members who had elected him, he

announced he would accept the position.

As the news of his acceptance spread

throughout the state, prospective students

flocked to Texas AMC. Many of the men

Ross had supervised during the Civil War

wanted their sons to study under their

former commander, and 500 students

attempted to enroll at the beginning of the

1890–1891 school year. Three hundred

and sixteen students were admitted,

though the facilities were only designed

for 250 scholars.

AMC President’s Home 1890s

Ross continued to be active in veteran's

organizations, and in 1893, he became the

first commander of the Texas Division of

the United Confederate Veterans. He was

re-elected president several times and

served one term as commander-in-chief of

the entire United Confederate Veterans

organization. During that time, a

Daughters of the Confederacy chapter

established in Bryan was named the L.S.

Ross Chapter.

Ross had always been an avid hunter, and

he embarked on a hunting trip along the

Navasota River with his son Neville and

several family friends during Christmas

vacation in 1897. While hunting, he

suffered acute indigestion and a severe

chill and decided to go home early while

the others continued their sport. He

arrived in College Station on December

30 and consulted a doctor. Ross remained

in pain for several days, and in the early

evening of January 3, 1898, he died, aged

24

59 years and 3 months. Although no

death certificate was filed, "evidence

points to a coronary heart attack as the

probable cause of death. The entire Texas

AMC student body accompanied Ross's

body back to Waco, where Confederate

veterans in gray uniforms formed an

honor guard. Several thousand people

attended Ross's burial at Oakwood

Cemetery.

To further memorialize him, students at

Texas AMC held the first Silver Taps

ceremony, a tradition still followed when

a current student at Texas A&M dies.

Sul Ross Statue

Within weeks of Ross's death, former

cadets at Texas AMC began gathering

funds for a monument. In 1917, the state

appropriated $10,000 for the monument,

and two years later, a 10-ft bronze statue

of Ross, sculpted by Pompeo Coppini, was

unveiled at the center of the Texas AMC

campus. In more recent years, students

began the tradition of placing pennies at

the feet of statue before exams for good

luck. School legend states that Ross would

often tutor students, and as payment

would accept only a penny for their

thoughts. At exam time, his statue,

located in Academic Plaza, is often

covered in pennies.

At the same time they appropriated

money for the statue, the legislature

established the Sul Ross Normal College,

now Sul Ross State University in Alpine,

Texas. The college opened for classes in

June 1920.

The morning after Ross's death, the

Dallas Morning News published an

editorial, quoted in several biographies of

Ross:

It has been the lot of few men to be of such

great service to Texas as Sul Ross. ...

Throughout his life he has been closely

connected with the public welfare and ...

discharged every duty imposed upon him

with diligence, ability, honesty and

patriotism. ... He was not a brilliant

chieftain in the field, nor was he masterful

in the art of politics, but, better than either,

he was a well-balanced, well-rounded man

from whatever standpoint one might

estimate him. In his public relations he

exhibited sterling common sense, lofty

patriotism, inflexible honesty and withal a

character so exalted that he commanded at

all times not only the confidence but the

affection of the people. ... He leaves a name

that will be honored as long as chivalry,

devotion to duty and spotless integrity are

standards of our civilization and an

example which ought to be an inspiration

to all young men of Texas who aspire to

careers of public usefulness and honorable

renown.

It was a fitting tribute to a true

Texas Hero.

25

Ft. Chadbourne Reenactment By Ewell Loudermilk

I had the honor to participate in a

Confederate “occupation” of Ft.

Chadbourne, Texas recently. On

November 4th

-6th

of 2016 several

Confederate re-enacting groups

assembled at the Fort and attempted to

recreate the temporary occupation of the

Fort that occurred during the War

Between the States.

A little bit about the current situation of

the Fort. The Fort is unique in that it is

privately owned and managed. It is

located on a working ranch about 15

miles NE of Bronte Texas on Oak Creek.

The owners are Garland and Lana

Richards. They manage the beautiful

visitors’ center and have overseen all of

the reconstruction of the barracks and

officer’s quarters. The visitors’ center

contains over 30,000 artifacts that have

been found on the grounds. The thing

that will strike you if you can make a visit

to this place is how balanced a view of

history is presented. Mr. Richards has

told me that he is “interested in historical

accuracy not political correctness”. You

will be met at the door by a portrait of

General Lee above the entrance to the

auditorium and by a 1 1/2” bronze

cannon (may be called an ordinance rifle)

that was cast at Vicksburg during the

siege and fired from the ramparts

defending the city. There isn’t a rope or

barricade around this cannon and you

can touch it. Having had immediate

ancestors serve at Vicksburg, you can

imagine how this feels to be able to touch

an artifact that your Great Grandfather

probably heard fire. Throughout the

visitors center you will see artifacts from

every time period of the Fort from its

antebellum construction to the War

Between the States to the Indian Wars to

its use as a stop on the Butterfield Stage

route. Below is the Fort’s web site and I

encourage you to visit that but more

importantly take a trip if you can to the

Fort to see a very refreshing and unbiased

take on this piece of Texas history.

http://fortchadbourne.org/

A brief History of the Fort begins with its

founding in 1852 by elements of the

United States Infantry. Prior to the War

Between the States, United States Colonel

Robert E. Lee was ordered to take

command at Ft. Chadbourne and one of

the officer’s quarters that has been

restored was built for him to occupy but

he received orders redirecting him to Ft.

Mason and he took command there

instead. The Fort was peacefully

surrendered by Federal troops to

Confederate militia and home guard

troops on February 28th

, 1861 prior to the

shelling of Ft. Sumter. It served

throughout the War as a way station for

Confederate forces trying to defend the

Texas frontier from Indian raids. Most

notable it served as a meeting point for

Confederate regular troops and militia on

their way to the ill-fated battle against the

Kickapoo nation at Dove Creek in the

bitterly cold winter of 1864-1865.

Rebel Cavalry with the Battleflag

26

Our occupation was very unique in my

experience as a re-enactor, consisting of

elements of various Confederate Artillery,

Cavalry and Infantry re-enacting units

but no Federal troops. We marched in to

“occupy” the Fort around 9:30AM on

Saturday November 5th

, 2016 and raised

an 8’X10’ First National Flag of the

Confederacy over the parade grounds

that flew there all day Saturday.

FT. Chadbourne Parade Grounds

There were several civilian re-enactors

there as well, showing visitors to the Fort

various aspects of life on the frontier in

1860’s Confederate Texas.

During the day the military units drilled

and had musket and cannon firing

demonstrations for visitors. A retreat

ceremony for the colors was performed in

early afternoon (around 4PM) with all

branches assembled on the parade

grounds. A period wedding (renewing of

vows) was performed in the barracks

around 5:30 that evening after which

troops retired to their respective camps

for Confederate fellowship and the

renewing of fraternal bonds.

Chapter 264 Members Ewell Loudermilk and

Leland Hamner

The weather which had been a very wool

friendly overcast all weekend finally

broke about 5:30 Sunday morning and

the couple of events scheduled for Sunday

morning were scrubbed but other than

that it was a most enjoyable weekend for

all the participants and if we are lucky

enough to be invited back by the

Confederate friendly owners I would very

much recommend any and all of our

MOS&B members, their family and

friends make the trip out to West Texas,

it’s well worth the drive.

27

Shiloh Trivia Answers

1. Some Mississippi troops brought a

watermelon into camp, “spiked” it

with whiskey, buried it in the

ground and inserted straws.

2. When Confederate General Lloyd

Tilghman surrendered Fort

Henry, Federal Flag Officer

Andrew Foote, noting that

Tilghman’s lunch had been

destroyed, invited him to lunch.

3. Private Henry Stanley who later

would find Dr. David Livingstone

in Africa.

4. General Lew Wallace who wrote

the novel, Ben Hur.

5. Combined losses at Shiloh were

more than all those killed in the

American Revolution, War of 1812

and the Mexican War combined.

BANNAL AB BRAITHREAN (Band of Brothers)

Is a newsletter published of

and for the

Major John Loudermilk Chapter #264 of the Military Order of the

Stars and Bars It is published electronically

and issued seasonally. Comments, suggestions or questions may be sent to the Editor, Gary M. Loudermilk at gmldhl@harrisbb.com

Two Time Winner of the Captain

John Morton Award for Best

Chapter Newsletter

Chapter Commander’s Report

Gentlemen,

The holidays are once again upon us. From

Thanksgiving until Christmas for many it is a

whirlwind of travel, visiting, food and gift

giving. It is truly the most wonderful time of

the year and sometimes overwhelming.

When the whirlwind subsides it can be a time

for reflection. I pray that your holidays and

your reflections both bring you joy and peace.

One thing is certain; our Confederate

ancestors had a difficult time. I know

Christmas time must have been especially

difficult. Families were separated, food and

money were scare. Christmas was lean. I read

one account where a Confederate mother

with no money for gifts, told her children that

“the Yankees must have killed Santa”. I

guess that “Desperate times….”. Recently, I

was looking at some beautiful art work that

depicted Confederate soldiers in winter time

scenes. Very romantic images, but the reality

is that many brave men breathed their last

due to the cold of the winters during the

WBTS.

It is important to reflect on our past, but be

careful not to paint things with too rosy of a

brush. Whether it’s our gallant Confederate

ancestors or memories from the more recent

past, it is best to do our remembering with

the light of truth.

Hoping you all have a blessed Christmas,

Gary L. “Nux” Loudermilk

Commander

Chapter 264 MOS&B

“Our hearts grow tender with childhood

memories and love of kindred, and we are

better throughout the year for having, in

spirit, become a child again at Christmas-

time.”

― Laura Ingalls Wilder

28

Military Order of the Stars

and Bars Benediction

Leader: I asked God for strength, that I might achieve, Members: I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey. Leader: I asked for health, that I might do greater things, Members: I was given infirmity that I might do better things. Leader: I asked for riches, that I might be happy, Members: I was given poverty, that I might be wise. Leader: I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men, Members: I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God. Leader: I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life, Members: I was given life, that I might enjoy all things. Leader: I got nothing that I asked for – but everything I had hoped for. Members: Almost despite myself my unspoken prayers were answered. ALL: I am, among all men, most richly blessed. Prayer of an Unknown Confederate Soldier Found on his body in the “Devil’s Den” at Gettysburg

Merry Christmas

and

A Happy New year

DEO

29

VIND

ICE