Texas in the Civil War

United States  U.S. Military   Texas    Texas Military   Texas in the Civil War



Introduction
Soldiers from Texas served in both the Union and Confederate armies, though the majority served in the Confederate armies. Texas seceded from the United States on February 1, 1861 and joined the Confederate States of America on March 2, 1861. Sam Houston, then governor, was replaced when he refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy.

Texas Military Units
Most units were numbered, however, many were named. See the table below for lists of the regiments, battalions, batteries, and other units.

The information in the lists of Texas Military Units comes from the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors web site. That web site also can be searched by the name of a soldier. Texas Units by Number or by Name  'Confed. Units 1st-5th 6th-17th 18th-47th A-F G-M N-Z Texas Units by Type of Unit  Confed. Units' Infantry Cavalry Artillery Reserve Units State Troops Other

Texas Union Units by Number or by Name  <div style="padding-right: 5px; padding-left: 5px; float: left; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 4px; width: 30px; color: black; padding-top: 5px; height: 40px; background-color: rgb(255,255,255); text-align: center"> <div style="padding-right: 5px; padding-left: 5px; float: left; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 4px; width: 60px; color: black; padding-top: 5px; height: 40px; background-color: rgb(204,255,255); text-align: center">Union Units <div style="padding-right: 5px; padding-left: 5px; float: left; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 4px; width: 60px; padding-top: 5px; height: 40px; background-color: rgb(204,255,255); text-align: center">Union Units

Service Records

 * Texas, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers (FamilySearch Historical Records links to information about the records with a link to the search box for the online records. The records include a jacket-envelope for each soldier, labeled with his name, his rank, and the unit in which he served. The jacket-envelope typically contains card abstracts of entries relating to the soldier as found in original muster rolls, returns, rosters, payrolls, appointment books, hospital registers, Union prison registers and rolls, parole rolls, inspection reports; and the originals of any papers relating solely to the particular soldier.

Texas Confederate soldiers service records are also available at the National Archives, the Texas State Library, and the Family History Library. Several different indexes exist to help you locate your Confederate ancestor and the unit where he served. Find the unit and company of your soldier served in one of the following indexes:


 * Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System
 * Confederate Index: Confederate Soldiers of the State of Texas.
 * Index to compiled service records of Confederate soldiers who served in organizations from the state of Texas

If you cannot find your soldier in these indexes, use variant surname spellings and first initials for given names. Make a note of which unit and company he served with. Then find the unit (such as 29th Infantry, Company K) in Service Records for Confederate Soldiers from Texas. The service records usually include each soldier's name, enlistment date and place, discharge date and place, age, and sometimes residence, and physical description.

Compiled Service Records Online

A digitized copy of the Consolidated index to compiled service records is available online from Archive.org. Images digitized from multiple microfilm rolls.

The Compiled Service Records ($) (Fold3.com) of Confederate soldiers who served in organizations from the state of Texas are available online. In the future, these records will be made available at no charge through the National Archives web site. The service records are also available at no charge at National Archives research rooms. The compiled service records consist of an envelope containing card abstracts taken from muster rolls, returns, pay vouchers, and other records. Service records may provide rank, unit, date of enlistment, length of service, age, place of birth, and date of death. For more information see Confederate Service Records.

Pension Records
A Confederate pension index is maintained by the Texas State Library and Archives. Additionally there is a published index to Confederate pension papers by John M. Kinney, Index to Applications for Texas Confederate Pensions, Rev. ed. Austin, Texas: Archives Division, Texas State Library, 1977. Both approved and rejected pension applications are included in the FHL Texas pension collection  Approved pensions are arranged by application number. Rejected applications are arranged alphabetically.

Confederate Regimental Rosters
A published roster of some Texas regiments is Martin Hardwick Hall, The Confederate Army of New Mexico. Austin, Texas: Presidial Press, 1978. This lists soldiers of Texas stationed in New Mexico during the war.

Widows and Dependents
Additionally, the Texas Legislature approved funds to support widows and indigent families and dependents of soldiers serving in State or Confederate forces. Lists were submitted between 1863-1865 by Chief Justices of the counties. This index can be accessed online at the Texas State Library and Archives. Not all counties are represented in the index. These records are transcribed in Confederate Indigent Families Lists of Texas 1863-1865 by Linda Mearse.

Confederate Texas State Troops
During the War Between the States, Texas supported its own fighting force, Texas State Troops (TST) also known as the Texas Rangers, to protect white settlers from the Comanche and Kiowa Indians. Some of the TST were incorporated into the Confederate States of America (CSA) in March, 1864, but they stayed on the frontier to keep it secure from the Indians until about 1874 when the attacks ceased. In 1873 they were incorporated into the Texas Rangers.

1890 Census Veterans Schedules
1890 Census Veterans Schedules - The "Special Schedules of the Eleventh Census (1890) Enumerating Union Veterans and Widows of Union Veterans of the Civil War" (NARA M123) are available online for the state of Texas. The schedules list Union veterans and their widows living in Texas in 1890. For more information on the 1890 Veterans Schedules see Union Census Records.

Union Service Records
There were relatively few Union units from Texas.


 * Texas, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers (FamilySearch Historical Records) has information about the records with a link to the search box for the online records. The records include a jacket-envelope for each soldier, labeled with his name, his rank, and the unit in which he served. The jacket-envelope typically contains card abstracts of entries relating to the soldier as found in original muster rolls, returns, rosters, payrolls, appointment books, hospital registers, prison registers and rolls, parole rolls, inspection reports; and the originals of any papers relating solely to the particular soldier.

Other indexes to Union soldier service records are:


 * Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System
 * Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union soldiers who Served in Organizations from the State of Texas (NARA M393)

If you cannot find your soldier on the index, use variant surname spellings and initials only for given names. When you find the name of the unit where your soldier served, make a note of it (such as Texas First Calvary). Service records are arranged by unit and then alphabetically within the unit. Find the correct film for Union soldiers who Served in Organizations from the State of Texas (NARA M0402)

Compiled Service Records - The Compiled Service Records ($) (Fold3.com) of volunteer Union soldiers who served in organizations from the state of Texas are available online. In the future, these records will be made available at no charge through the National Archives web site. The service records are also available at no charge at National Archives research rooms. The compiled service records consist of an envelope containing card abstracts taken from muster rolls, returns, pay vouchers, and other records. Service records may provide rank, unit, date of enlistment, length of service, age, place of birth, and date of death. For more information see Union Service Records.

Union Pension Records
Civil War Pension Index Cards - An of veterans who served in the US Army between 1861-1917 is available on FamilySearch. Each card gives the soldier’s name, application and certificate numbers, state of enlistment, and might include rank and death information. The majority of the records are of Civil War veterans, but the collection also includes records for veterans of the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection, the Indian Wars, and World War I. For more information see Union Pension Records.

Southern Claims Commission
If a Union sympathizer in Texas claimed a loss during the Civil War due to Union military confiscation, he could apply to the Southern Claims Commission for reimbursement. Only a few applied per county, but their neighbors were called as witnesses and asked dozens of questions. Hundreds of the residents of all kinds in a county may be mentioned in answers to Commission questions, and their wartime activities described. To learn how to find records mentioning these neighbors in Texas counties during the Civil War see the Southern Claims Commission.

Other Sources

 * Smith, David Paul. Frontier Defense in the Civil War: Texas' Rangers and Rebels. (College Station : Texas A and M University Press, ©1992). Besides the Union, Texas residents also were concerned with protecting themselves from the Plains Indians. Libraries with book (WorldCat).

Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)
Grand Army of the Republic founded in 1866 - 1956, was the largest veteran’s organization in the country after the Civil War. It was a fraternal organization members were veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, Marines and Revenue Cutler Service who served in the American Civil War. The group supported voting rights for black veterans, and lobbied the U.S. Congress to establish veterans' pensions. In 1890 the membership was 490,000.

In 1888 there were 17 posts and 487 members in the state of Texas

GAR Posts in the State of Texas

The Family History Library Catalog list records of the Texas Grand Army of the Republic.

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
With the death of the last member of the Grand Army of the Republic the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War was formed.