Texas in the American Civil War The U . S . state of Texas declared its secession from the United States on February 1 , 1861 , and joined the Confederate States of America on March 2 , 1861 , replacing its governor , Sam Houston , when he refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy . During the subsequent American Civil War , Texas was most useful for supplying soldiers for Confederate forces and in the cavalry . Texas was mainly a " supply state " for the Confederate forces until mid - 1863 , when the Union capture of the Mississippi River made large movements of men , horses or cattle impossible . Some cotton was sold in Mexico , but most of the crop became useless because of the Federal naval blockade of Galveston and other ports such as Houston . Secession . In the late winter of 1860 , Texas counties sent delegates to a special convention to debate the merits of secession . The convention adopted an Ordinance of Secession by a vote of 166 to 8 , was ratified by a popular referendum on February 23 . Separately from the Ordinance of Secession , Texas also issued a declaration of causes spelling out the rationale for secession . The document specifies several reasons for secession , including its solidarity with its " sister slave - holding States , " the Federal government ' s inability to prevent Indian attacks , slave - stealing raids , and other border - crossing acts of banditry . It accuses Northern politicians and abolitionists of a variety of outrages upon Texans . The bulk of the document offers a justification of slavery and white supremacy , including this extract : Secession Convention and the Confederacy . Following the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 , public opinion in the cotton states of the Deep South ( South Carolina through Texas ) swung in favor of secession . By February 1861 , the other six states of the sub - region had separately passed ordinances of secession . However , events in Texas were delayed somewhat , largely due to the resistance of Southern Unionist governor , Sam Houston . Unlike the other " Cotton States " chief executives , who took the initiative in secessionist efforts , Houston refused to call the Texas Legislature into special session to consider the question , relenting only when it became apparent citizens were prepared to act without him . In December 1860 , a group of state officials drew up a petition declaring Lincoln ' s election an imminent danger to Southern rights and called for a statewide election of delegates to assemble in convention in January to decide Texas ' course . Houston called the legislature into session , gambling that the elected body might be inclined or persuaded to block any separatist action by the convention . On January 21 , 1861 , the legislature met in Austin and was addressed by Houston . Calling Lincoln ' s election " unfortunate , " he nonetheless emphasized , in a reference to the upcoming meeting of the secession convention , it was no justification for " rash action " . However , the Texas Legislature voted the delegates expense money and supplies and — over Houston ' s veto — made a pledge to uphold the legality of the Convention ' s actions . The only stipulation was that the people of Texas have the final say in referendum . With gubernatorial forces routed , the Secession Convention convened on January 28 and , in the first order of business , voted to back the legislature 140 – 28 in that an ordinance of secession , if adopted , be submitted for state - wide consideration . The following day , convention president Oran Roberts introduced a resolution suggesting Texas leave the Union . The ordinance was read on the floor the next day , citing the failures of the federal government to protect the lives and property of Texas citizens and accusing the Northern states of using the same as a weapon to " strike down the interests and prosperity " of the Southern people . After the grievances were listed , the ordinance repealed the one of July 4 , 1845 , in which Texas approved annexation by the United States and the Constitution of the United States , and revoked all powers of , obligations to , and allegiance to the U . S . federal government and the U . S . Constitution . In the interests of historical significance and posterity , the ordinance was written to take effect on March 2 , the date of Texas Declaration of Independence ( and , coincidentally , Houston ' s birthday ) . On February 1 , members of the legislature , and a huge crowd of private citizens , packed the House galleries and balcony to watch the final vote on the question of secession . Seventy " yea " votes were recorded before there was a single " nay . " One of the negative votes is enshrined in Texas history books . James Webb Throckmorton , from Collin County in North Texas , in response to the roar of hisses and boos and catcalls which greeted his decision , retorted , " When the rabble hiss , well may patriots tremble . " Appreciating his style , the crowd afforded him a grudging round of applause ( like many Texans who initially opposed secession , Throckmorton accepted the result and served his state , rising to the rank of brigadier - general in the Confederate army ) . The final tally for secession was 166 – 7 , a vote whose legality was upheld by the Texas Legislature on February 7 . Other than in South Carolina , where the vote was unanimous , this was the highest percentage of any other state of the Lower South . The decision was further affirmed on February 23 when a statewide referendum resulted in Texas voters approving the measure , 46 , 129 to 14 , 697 . The last order of business was to appoint a delegation to represent Texas in Montgomery , Alabama , where their counterparts from the other six seceding states were meeting to form a new confederacy . On March 4 , the convention assembled again to formally declare Texas out of the Union and to approve the Constitution of the Confederate States of America , which had been drawn up by its Provisional Congress ( as it turned out , Texas had already been admitted into the fold on March 1 ) . Houston accepted secession but asserted that the Convention had no power to link the state with the new Southern Confederacy . Instead , he urged that Texas revert to its former status as an independent republic and stay neutral . Houston took his seat on March 16 , the date state officials were scheduled to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy . He remained silent as his name was called out three times and , after failing to respond , the office of governor was declared vacant and Houston was deposed from office . Seizure of federal property and arms . After Texas passed its Ordinance of Secession , the state government appointed four men as " commissioners of public safety " to negotiate with the federal government for the safe transfer of military installations and bases in Texas to the Confederates . Along with land baron Samuel A . Maverick and Thomas J . Devine , Dr . Philip N . Luckett met with U . S . Army General David E . Twiggs on February 8 , 1861 , to arrange the surrender of the federal property in San Antonio , including the military stores being housed in the old Alamo mission . As a result of the negotiations , Twiggs delivered his entire command and its associated Army property ( 10 , 000 rifled muskets ) to the Confederacy , an act that brought cries of treason from Unionists throughout the state . Almost immediately , Twiggs was dismissed from the army by President Buchanan for “ treachery to the flag of his country . " Shortly afterwards , he accepted a commission as general in the Confederate army but was so upset by being branded a traitor that he wrote a letter to Buchanan stating the intention to call upon him for a " personal interview " ( then a common euphemism to fight a duel ) . Robert E . Lee , then still a colonel in the US Army , was in San Antonio at the time and when he heard the news of the surrender to Texas authorities , responded , " Has it come so soon as this ? " Unionist Sentiment and Opposition to the Confederacy . Despite the prevailing view of the vast majority of the state ' s politicians and the delegates to the Secession Convention , there was a significant number of Texans who opposed secession . The referendum on the issue indicated that some 25 % favored remaining in the Union at the time the question was originally considered . The largest concentration of anti - secession sentiment was among the German Texan population in the Texas Hill Country , and in some of the counties of North Texas . In the latter region , most of the residents were originally from states of the Upper South , where secession was rejected until the incident at Ft . Sumter forced a choosing of sides . Likewise , in Texas , most of those initially against secession accepted the verdict and , when hostilities commenced , fought for or supported the Confederacy . However , while the overwhelming majority of Texans in active military service did so on the side of the South , it is estimated that approximately 2000 of the same joined the Union ranks . In August 1862 , Confederate soldiers massacred a band of German Texans along the Nueces River . The German population around Austin County , led by Paul Machemehl , was successful in reaching Mexico . In October 1862 , approximately 150 settlers belonging to a secretive Union League in and around Cooke County on the Red River were arrested by the 11th Texas Cavalry led by Colonel William C . Young on the orders of Colonel James Bourland , Confederate provost marshall for northern Texas . A court was convened in Gainesville to try the men accused of plotting to seize the arsenals at Sherman and Gainesville and to kill their loyal Confederate neighbors , seize their property , and to cooperate with Union army forces poised to invade northern Texas from Arkansas and / or Indian Territory . The plot was quite real ; Young and Bourland found several large caches of weapons , and many of the accused admitted their guilt and divulged their secret grip , signs , and password ( " Arizona " ) to the court . Several of the ringleaders were hanged in what is now downtown Gainesville during the first week of October . It appeared that the matter had been put to rest , but while the jury recessed , an unknown assassin killed Colonel Young from ambush , and the trials rebegan in earnest . Nineteen additional suspects were found guilty and hanged before the end of the month . A total of about forty conspirators were hanged in Gainesville , two were shot while trying to escape , and two more were hanged elsewhere after being turned over to a military tribunal at their own request . There was never an assembled mob , as some have suggested , at any time . Under the primitive conditions that obtained on the Texas frontier during the Civil War , the legal proceedings , however imperfect , were about as deliberate and legitimate as could be expected . Accusations of a kangaroo court are clearly refuted by the fact that of the 150 defendants to come before the court , more than two - thirds were found not guilty and immediately released without so much as even paying a fine . A granite monument in a small park marks the spot where the hangings took place . The Confederacy ' s conscription act proved controversial , not only in Texas but all across the South . Opponents argued that the war was being fought by poor people on behalf of the wealthy minority . The Act exempted from the draft men who owned fifteen or more slaves . Sam Houston was probably the premier " Unionist " in Texas . Like most of the same in the South , he strongly believed in the doctrine of states rights , and even assured his fellow Texans he would personally lead the state out of the Union should matters justify such . However , he thought secession at the moment in time was " rash action , " and certain to lead to a conflict sure to favor – in the long run – the industrial and populated North . He predicted : " Let me tell you what is coming . After the sacrifice of countless millions of treasure and hundreds of thousands of lives you may win Southern independence if God be not against you , but I doubt it . The North is determined to preserve this Union . They are not a fiery impulsive people as we are . . . but once they begin to move in a given direction , they move with the steady momentum of a mighty avalanche , and what I fear is that they will overwhelm the South with ignoble defeat . " Houston accepted the result of the secession convention , but , believing , along with his strong attachment to the old Union , it had overstepped its authority in becoming a member state of the newly formed Confederacy , refused to take an oath of allegiance , and was deposed from office . Houston ' s later feelings are hard to gauge . He retired from public life , although his son and namesake distinguished himself in Confederate service . Houston later wrote a friend : " There comes a time a man ' s section is his country . . . I stand with mine . I was a conservative citizen of the United States . . . I am now a conservative citizen of the Southern Confederacy . " Military recruitment . Over 70 , 000 Texans served in the Confederate army and Texas regiment s fought in every major battle throughout the war . Some men were veterans of the Mexican - American War ; a few had served in the earlier Texas Revolution . The state furnished 45 regiments of cavalry , 23 regiments of infantry , 12 battalions of cavalry , four battalions of infantry , five regiments of heavy artillery and 30 batteries of light artillery for the Confederacy . In addition , the state maintained , at its own expense , some additional troops that were for home defense . These included 5 regiments and 4 battalions of cavalry , and 4 regiments and one battalion of infantry . In 1862 , the Confederate Congress in distant Richmond , Virginia , passed a conscription law that ordered all males from 18 to 45 years of age to be placed in the service , except ministers , state , city and county officers and certain slave owners . All persons holding 20 slaves , or over , were exempt . When the first companies of Texas soldiers reached Richmond , Virginia , CSA President Jefferson Davis greeted them with the words : " Texans ! The troops of other states have their reputations to gain , but the sons of the defenders of the Alamo have theirs to maintain . I am assured that you will be faithful to the trust . " Among the most famous units were the Terry ' s Texas Rangers ( a group of frontier cavalrymen , many of whom later became peacekeepers in the Old West ) , " Walker ' s Greyhounds , " the Texas 33rd Cavalry Regiment led by Col . Santos Benavides and " The Texas Brigade " ( a / k / a " Hood ' s Brigade " ) , a brigade composed mainly of Texas regiments augmented at times by the 18th Georgia Infantry , Hampton ' s ( South Carolina ) Legion , and the 3rd Arkansas Infantry , and originally commanded by John Bell Hood . Known as the " shock troops " of the Army of Northern Virginia , ( Hood ' s ) Texas Brigade were " always favorites " of General Robert E . Lee and , on more than one occasion , he praised their fighting qualities , remarking that none had brought greater honor to their native state than " my Texans . " Hood ' s men suffered severe casualties in a number of fights , most notably at the Battle of Antietam , where they faced off with the Iron Brigade , and at Gettysburg , where they assaulted Houck ' s Ridge and then Little Round Top . Some 2 , 000 Texas men joined the Union army . Notable among them was future governor Edmund J . Davis who initially commanded the 1st Texas Cavalry ( USA ) and rose to the rank of brigadier general . Texas ' s relatively large German population around Austin County led by Paul Machemehl tried to remain neutral in the war but eventually left Confederate Texas for Mexico . East Texas gave the most support to secession , and the only East Texas counties in which significant numbers of people opposed secession were Angelina County , Fannin County , and Lamar County ( though these counties supplied many men to Texas regiments , e . g . , the 9th Texas Infantry Regiment ; the 1st Partisan Rangers , 3rd , 4th , 9th , 27th , and 29th Texas Cavalry ; and the 9th Texas Field Battery ; et al . ) . In 1862 , Abraham Lincoln named a former United States Congressman , Andrew J . Hamilton , as the Military Governor of Texas . Hamilton would serve throughout the war , and would be named as the first provisional civilian governor during the early stages of Reconstruction . Battles in Texas . Texas did not experience many significant battles . However , the Union mounted several attempts to capture the Trans - Mississippi regions of Texas and Louisiana from 1862 until the war ' s end . With ports to the east under blockade or captured , Texas in particular became a blockade - running haven . Referred to as the " back door " of the Confederacy , Texas and western Louisiana continued to provide cotton crops that were transferred overland to the Mexican border town of Matamoros , Tamaulipas , and shipped to Europe in exchange for supplies . Determined to close this trade , the Union mounted several attacks , each of them unsuccessful . Texas occupation . The U . S . Navy blockaded the principal seaport , Galveston , for four years , and Federal infantry occupied the city for three months in late 1862 . Confederate troops under Gen . John B . Magruder recaptured the city on January 1 , 1863 and it remained in Confederate hands until the end of the war . A few days later the Confederate raider CSS " Alabama " attacked and sunk the USS " Hatteras " in a naval engagement off the coast of Galveston . A few other cities also fell to Union troops at times during the war , including Port Lavaca , Indianola , and Brownsville . Federal attempts to seize control of Laredo , Corpus Christi , and Sabine Pass failed . By the end of the war no territory but Brazos Island was in Union hands . The most notable military battle in Texas during the war happened on September 8 , 1863 . At the Battle of Sabine Pass , a small garrison of 46 Confederates from the mostly - Irish Davis Guards under Lt . Richard W . Dowling , 1st Texas Heavy Artillery , defeated a much larger Union force from New Orleans under Gen . William B . Franklin . Skilled gunnery by Dowling ' s troops disabled the lead ships in Franklin ' s flotilla , prompting the remainder — 4 , 000 men on 27 ships — to retreat back to New Orleans . This victory against such overwhelming odds resulted in the Confederate Congress passing a special resolution of recognition and CSA President Jefferson Davis stating : " " Sabine Pass will stand , perhaps for all time , as the greatest military victory in the history of the world . " " In 1864 , many Texas forces , including a division under Camille de Polignac , a French prince and Confederate general , moved into Northwestern Louisiana to stall Union Maj . Gen . Nathaniel Banks ' Red River Campaign , which was intended to advance into Texas from its eastern border . Confederate forces halted the expedition at the Battle of Mansfield , just east of the Texas border . Union forces from Brazos Island launched the Brazos Santiago Expedition , leading to the last battle of the Civil War , the Battle of Palmito Ranch , fought in Texas on May 12 , 1865 , well after Robert E . Lee ' s surrender on April 9 , 1865 , at Old Appomattox Court House , Virginia . Collapse of Confederate authority in Texas . In the spring of 1865 , Texas contained over 60 , 000 soldiers of the Army of the Trans - Mississippi under Gen . Edmund Kirby Smith . As garrison troops far removed from the main theaters of the war , morale had deteriorated to the point of frequent desertion and thievery . News of the surrender of Lee and other Confederate generals east of the Mississippi finally reached Texas around April 20 . Local Confederate authorities had mixed opinions on their future course of action . Most senior military leaders vowed to press on with the war , including commanding general Kirby Smith . Many soldiers , however , greeted frequent speeches whose theme was " fight on , boys " with derision , or simply failed to attend them . The month of May brought increasing rates of desertion . News of Joseph E . Johnston ' s and Richard Taylor ' s surrenders confirmed that Texas , Louisiana , and Arkansas were now essentially alone to continue the Confederate cause . On May 14 , troops in Galveston briefly mutinied , but were persuaded to remain under arms . However , morale continued to sink . Generals John B . Magruder and Kirby Smith ( who had already corresponded with Union Maj . Gen . John Pope regarding surrender terms on May 9 ) no longer sought to rally their demoralized troops , but rather began discussing the distribution of Confederate government property . Magruder pled that the rapid disbanding of the army would prevent depradations by disgruntled soldiers against the civilian population . The haste to disband the army , combined with the pressing need to protect Confederate property from Union confiscation , created general mayhem . Soldiers began openly pillaging the Galveston quartermasters stores on May 21 . Over the next few days , a mob demanded that a government warehouse be opened to them , and soldiers detained and plundered a train . Several hundred civilians sacked the blockade runner " Lark " when it docked on May 24 , and troops sent to pacify the crowd soon joined in the plunder . On May 23 , residents in Houston sacked the ordnance building and the clothing bureau . Riots continued in the city until May 26 . Both government and private stores were raided extensively in Tyler , Marshall , Huntsville , Gonzales , Hempstead , La Grange , and Brownsville . In Navasota , a powder explosion cost eight lives and flattened twenty buildings . In Austin , the state treasury was raided and $ 17 , 000 in gold was stolen . By May 27 , half of the original Confederate forces in Texas had deserted or been disbanded , and formal order had disappeared into lawlessness in many areas of Texas . The formal remnants of Kirby Smith ' s army had finally disintegrated by the end of May . Upon his arrival in Houston from Shreveport , the general called a court of inquiry to investigate the " causes and manner of the disbandment of the troops in the District of Texas , New Mexico and Arizona . " The May 30 findings laid the blame primarily on the civilian population . Kirby Smith addressed his few remaining soldiers and condemned those that had fled for not struggling to the last and leaving him " a commander without an army – a General without troops . " On June 2 , he formally surrendered what was left of the Army of the Trans - Mississippi . Restoration to the Union . Federal troops did not arrive in Texas to restore order until June 19 , 1865 , when Union Maj . Gen . Gordon Granger and 2 , 000 Union soldiers arrived on Galveston Island to take possession of the state and enforce the new freedoms of former slaves . The Texas holiday Juneteenth commemorates this date . The Stars and Stripes were not raised over Austin until June 25 . President Andrew Johnson appointed Union General Andrew J . Hamilton , a prominent politician before the war , as the provisional governor on June 17 . He granted amnesty to ex - Confederates if they promised to support the Union in the future , appointing some to office . However , it was not until March 30 , 1870 , that the United States Congress permitted Texas ' representatives to take their seat in Congress , although Texas did not meet all the formal requirements for readmission . Notable Civil War leaders from Texas . A number of notable leaders were associated with Texas during the Civil War . John Bell Hood gained fame as the commander of the Texas Brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia and played a prominent role as an army commander late in the war . " Sul " Ross was a significant leader in a number of Trans - Mississippi Confederate armies . Felix Huston Robertson was the only native Texan Confederate general . Capt . TJ Goree was one of Lt . General James Longstreet ' s most trusted aides . John H . Reagan was an influential member of Jefferson Davis ' s cabinet . Col . Santos Benavides was a Confederate colonel during the American Civil War . Benavides was the highest - ranking Tejano soldier to serve in the Confederate military . The office of Governor of Texas was in flux throughout the war , with several men in power at various times . Sam Houston was governor when Texas seceded from the United States , but refused to declare any loyalty to the new Confederacy . He was replaced by Lieutenant Governor Edward Clark . Clark filled the rest of Houston ' s term in 1861 , and narrowly lost re - election by just 124 votes to Francis Lubbock . During his tenure , Lubbock supported Confederate conscription , working to draft all able - bodied men , including resident aliens , into the Confederate Army . When Lubbock ' s term ended in 1863 , he joined the military . Ardent secessionist Pendleton Murrah replaced him in office . Even after Robert E . Lee surrendered in 1865 , Murrah encouraged Texans to continue the revolution , and he and several supporters fled to Mexico . Legacies of the Confederacy in Texas . Although one of the original members of the Confederate States of America , much of Texas was settled after the Civil War . However , Confederate Heroes Day is an official state holiday , and the month of April is recognized by the Texas Senate as Confederate History Month . Although not an official holiday , April 26 is , among Southern historical organizations within the state , often observed as Confederate Memorial Day . On the South Lawn of the state capitol in Austin is a Confederate monument , and several other memorials to individual Texas Confederate units are nearby . In addition , most Texas county courthouse grounds feature a Confederate memorial . Texas ' largest city , Houston , features a monument to the Confederacy at its oldest city park , Sam Houston Park , titled " Spirit of the Confederacy " . It was sculpted in bronze by Italian sculptor Louis Amateis in 1908 .