USA > Texas > A history of central and western Texas > Part 18
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HISTORY OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN TEXAS.
Late in 1863 General Banks directed a large naval and land expedi- tion against the Texas coast and got control of nearly the entire line except at Galveston and the mouth of the Brazos. This occupation lasted only a few months, the blockade by sea continuing as the only restriction on the activities of the coast.
In March, 1864, General Banks and General Steele co-operated in what is known as the Red River Expedition with the intention of captur- ing Shreveport and entering Texas from the northeast. But their army met a decisive defeat at Sabine Crossroads, and their advance was effect- ually checked. This was the last considerable campaign against Texas during the war. In the battle of Sabine Crossroads and in the following federal victories at Pleasant Grove and Pleasant Hill, the Texans played a prominent part. It was at Pleasant Hill that Sweitzer's regiment of Texas cavalry, to the number of four hundred, hurled themselves desperately against the enemy's line, and hardly more than ten of them escaped death or wounds.
There befell Texas and her people the usual train of evils resulting from war. Loyalty was the prevailing feeling through the state, and those who gave active opposition to the war were comparatively few. It was a conflict that aroused the bitterest animosities among those who differed in opinion. That was true in the north wherever southern sympathizers secretly or openly espoused their anti-union convictions; doubly rancorous was the enmity in the border states where former neigh- bors and friends ranged themselves on opposite sides; and likewise in Texas, the conservative unionists who did not actively support the Con- federacy had to endure opprobrium, to escape which many voluntarily left the state.
Many who voted against secession afterwards gave their active service in behalf of their state. Yet there remained, especially in south- west Texas, a considerable element of Union men. Along the Rio Grande, in and around the towns of San Antonio, Austin and Fredericksburg, and in the counties of Austin, Fayette and Colorado, the Union senti- ment was very strong. In 1862 was organized the First Texas (Union) Cavalry, of which E. J. Davis was colonel. This regiment operated along the Mexican border and at the mouth of the Rio Grande, and on several occasions came in conflict with the Confederate forces.
The loyalty of the Texans was severely tested by the exigencies of war. With certain classes excepted, all able-bodied males from eighteen to forty-five years were liable to military service, and as the war pro-
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HISTORY OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN TEXAS.
gressed and the resources of the south became taxed to the utmost, con- scription was employed to renew the depleted ranks. In November, 1863, the governor reported that ninety thousand Texans were in the Confederate service, and when it is recalled that the number of voters at any one election had never equaled seventy thousand the sacrifice and devotion of Texas to the southern cause can be better understood. The state being the great supply center of the Confederacy, not only was the tax upon all exports very high but large amounts of cotton had to be exchanged for state bonds and thus go directly to the support of the government. And so, though the year 1863 was a banner year in the production of corn and cotton, practically all the surplus went to keep alive the waning vitality of other sections.
With other southern states, Texas suffered from monetary deprecia- tion, the Confederate notes becoming almost worthless before the close of the war. The most strenuous efforts of the state government failed to keep the paper issues at par, and trade as far as possible was carried on by the old methods of barter and exchange.
In the meantime the war was approaching its end. The armies of Grant and Sherman had broken the back of the Confederacy by their wide sweep down the Mississippi valley and through the center of the south, and eventually came the fall of the capital of Richmond, the sur- render of Lee and Johnston, and the final quenchings of the flames of civil strife. Of interest is the fact that Texas was the last skirmish ground in the great struggle. General Kirby Smith continued the resistance in Texas for a month after the eastern armies had surrendered. General Sheridan was sent at the head of a large division of the federal army to subdue this last stronghold of the Confederacy, but before he reached the state Smith surrendered, on May 26th, to General Canby. On May 13th was fired the last shot of the war. Curiously enough, the engagement took place at the old battlefield of Palo Alto, where Taylor won his victory over the Mexicans. The conflict, which only deserves the name of a skirmish, ended in a reverse for the federals, so that the first and last battles of the war were Confederate victories. And also, as was the case in the war of 1812, the final engagement was fought after the virtual con- clusion of hostilities. But happily for all concerned, peace came, and in the months that followed the veterans came home from the east to take up the heavy responsibilities involved in the restoration of industry and political reconstruction.
CHAPTER XXVI
RECONSTRUCTION
On the final triumph of Union arms, Governor Murrah retired to Mexico, and General Granger of the United States army became military commander of the state. In the meantime A. J. Hamilton was appointed by the president as provisional governor. On May 29, 1865, a general amnesty was granted, with certain exceptions, to all persons who had taken part in the war. Boards were appointed by the provisional gov- ernor to register all loyal voters and thus put the political machinery of the state in operation. Governor Hamilton showed much generosity toward former political offenders, and pursued the policy of reconstruc- tion approved by President Johnson.
Then followed the unfortunate conflict in the national government between the president and congress. In the bitterness engendered by the struggle between the executive and the legislative branch, the meas- ures for reconstruction of the south became characterized by increasing harshness, prejudice, and the blindness of political theorizing. By the thirteenth amendment, nearly four hundred thousand ignorant and help- less, though politically free, negroes were added to Texas citizenship. For several years this element, controlled by carpetbag politicians, to- gether with the least respectable of the white citizens, ruled the state. Although Texas did not suffer the same organized political plundering as some other southern states, yet the course of events following the war was so exasperating and the progress of reconstruction was so slow that of the ten seceding states Texas was the last to be readmitted.
January 8, 1866, were elected delegates to a state constitutional con- vention. By April the labors of this convention were completed and the constitution was ratified by the people on June 25. The constitution was largely a duplication of the organic law adopted when Texas became a state, with such changes and amendments as the results of the war made necessary. It recognized the abolition of slavery, extending civil
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HISTORY OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN TEXAS.
and political privileges to the freed-men, declared the principle of seces- sion obsolete, repudiated the southern war debt, and assumed the proper share of United States taxes levied since the date of secession. With the ratification of the constitution, J. W. Throckmorton was elected to the office of governor.
The first session of the legislature took up the question of approving the fourteenth amendment to the federal constitution. The third section of this amendment, by its exclusion from state and national offices of all persons who had before the war taken the oath of office and subse- quently engaged in rebellion, would have operated to keep, for years to come, the best citizens of the state from the direction of its affairs. The amendment was accordingly almost unanimously rejected in Texas, as it ยท was by most of the other southern states, although it was approved and became part of the constitution through adoption by the northern states. This legislature also resolved that the presence of United States troops was no longer needed in the interior of the state, and should be with- drawn for the protection of the frontier against the Indians or entirely removed from the state.
Thus Texas seemed to be restored to her place in the Union. But Congress decided that the president's plan of reconstruction was too liberal, and by three acts of 1867 provided for a "more efficient govern- ment of the rebel states." Five military districts were created, Texas and Louisiana forming the fifth and General Sheridan being appointed commander of the district. It was resolved that the Confederate states should not participate in the national government until each adopted the fourteenth amendment and allowed the negroes full share in the re- organization of government-from which reorganization, however, many of the best white citizens were excluded by the third section of the four- teenth amendment.
The alleged disloyalty of the south now brought a train of oppres- sive evils. The "ironclad oath" of allegiance, which was required of all who sought the exercise of civic rights, was an intolerable condition, and rather than accept it thousands voluntarily disfranchised themselves. General Sheridan removed Governor Throckmorton for the reason that he was "an impediment to reconstruction," former Governor Pease being appointed in his stead. The few men who held the offices were not repre- sentative, had no sympathy with Texans, and too often were actuated by personal greed. The Freedman's Bureau, organized to assist the freed negroes, by lack of tact, ignorance and undue interference in be-
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HISTORY OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN TEXAS.
half of the blacks, helped to widen the breach between the southerners and the negroes, although the industrial prosperity of the country mani- festly depended upon harmonious co-operation between the two races.
During the reconstruction period the fifth military district had sev- eral commanders. After Sheridan's removal, General Hancock was placed in command, but his leniency was as displeasing to Congress as his predecessor's harshness was to President Johnson, and he was dis- placed by General Reynolds, and the latter in turn by General Canby.
After the registration of the qualified voters had been completed as directed by the commander of the district, the election of a new constitu- tional convention was held. This convention met at Austin in June, 1868. Owing to the factional character of the body, it was only after protracted debate and much wrangling that the scheme of government was drafted. One party in the convention wished the constitution of 1866 and all acts of the legislature subsequent to the act of secession to be considered nullified, ab initio, and thus that faction was named the "Ab Initios." The liberal and the radical factions also disagreed as to whether the franchise should extend to those who had sustained the Confederate cause. The liberals finally triumphed, but the convention ended in ex- treme disorder, without formal adjournment, and the completed draft of the constitution was drawn up after the convention had dissolved and at the order of General Canby.
This new constitution was finally submitted to the people in Novem- ber, 1869, and adopted by a large majority. At the same time state offi- cers and congressmen were elected, Edmund J. Davis being chosen gov- ernor and entering office the following January. The legislature con- vened February 8, 1870, and at once ratified the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments to the federal constitution and elected United States sena- tors. Reconstruction was now complete, and on March 30, 1870, Presi- dent Grant signed the act readmitting Texas to the Union, and on the following day her senators and representatives took their seats in Con- gress. A few days later the powers lodged with the military officials were remitted to the civil authorities, all but several small garrisons of federal troops were withdrawn from the state, and Governor Davis, who had previously acted only in a provisional capacity, became the actual executive of the state-thus concluding the reconstruction movement.
Several years passed, however, before political power was restored to its proper owners. During the early seventies, the minority Republican party controlled the state. There was a Republican governor, Repub-
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HISTORY OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN TEXAS.
licans held the majority of offices, and the better classes of citizenship were not represented in the government. But the coercion of reconstruc- tion times was now past, and at the next election the natural strength of the Democratic party asserted itself. In November, 1872, the Democrats secured control of the legislature and elected all the congressmen, but the governor, having been chosen for four years, continued in office till 1873.
The new legislature at once instituted some desired reforms, and by passing a measure for the reapportionment of state representation it brought about a special state election for 1873. At this election the Democrats were everywhere triumphant, Richard Coke being the vic- torious candidate for governor. Mr. Davis, the incumbent of the office, charged that the law under which the election had been held was un- constitutional, and refused to surrender his office.
In January, 1874, the legislature met and formally inaugurated Gov- ernor Coke. While the Davis government held the lower floor of the capitol, the new legislature took possession of the upper part of the state house. The Travis Rifles guarded the legislature, while the Davis party had a company of negro soldiers. For a time the two parties contested the possession of the capitol, and fighting and bloodshed were only averted by the discretion of the Democratic leaders, who used every effort to avoid a repetition of the military regime in Texas. President Grant re- fused to lend the aid of the military in supporting the Davis administra- tion, and as it was hopeless to resist popular opinion without federal backing Davis soon gave up the fight and turned over the records of his office to Coke.
The last stigma of the reconstruction period was removed by the adoption of the constitution of 1876. The constitution of 1869 was de- fective, and its unpopularity was further increased by the fact that it was largely a product of the reconstructionists. Accordingly, in March, 1875, the legislature ordered the question of calling a constitutional con- vention to be submitted to the people, who returned a large majority in its favor. The delegates completed the new constitution in November, and in February, 1876, it was ratified by the people. At the general elec- tion held on the same day Richard Coke was re-elected governor. The new constitution was purged of all the restrictions and references to the past which had marked the former document, and with the adoption of this organic law Texas began its modern era of political progress.
CENTRAL AND WESTERN TEXAS
Central and Western Texas, the region which extends from the up- per Brazos valley country across the uplands to the limits of the Staked Plains, has a history that is none the less remarkable, because it has been made within the last quarter of a century. Within the easy memory of men now living, the upper Brazos valley was the advanced line of settle- ment. The city of Waco was a frontier village without a railroad less than forty years ago; just thirty years have passed since the Texas & Pacific railroad operated its trains as far west as Weatherford. West of these points a few cattlemen and sheepmen had ventured, but the greater part of the ranges was still a feeding ground for the buffalo. Railroads, modern stock farming, towns and cities and the institutions and facilities of advanced civilization are all the products of a quarter century.
However, in central Texas, especially in the counties adjacent to the Brazos river, the pioneers had built their homes at a period which is now comparatively ancient. Central Texas comprises a few of the counties which were in the fringe of settlement made while Texas was a republic. During that epoch several enterprising colonizers had attempted to found settlements on what was somewhat indefinitely called "The Upper Brazos," comprising the region of Milam, Robertson, Falls, and McLen- nan counties. Sterling C. Robertson's Nashville colony, described on other pages, partly occupied this country at the time of the Texas revo- lution, in 1836. The "Falls of the Brazos," in Falls county, was often referred to in the current news of the time, although it was recognized as being on the extreme frontier, far distant from the principal towns and habitations that composed the true colonial Texas. The vicissitudes ex- perienced by the early settlers in this locality are detailed in connection with the individual sketches of the counties above named.
The beginnings of permanent settlement of central Texas were almost coincident with the admission of Texas to the Union in 1846. Indian hostilities, which the poverty of the Texas republic had been powerless to prevent, had again and again interfered with the frontier settlers. An-
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HISTORY OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN TEXAS.
other cause that delayed immigration was the litigation over land titles in a large portion of the Brazos valley. Most of these contests were ad- justed about 1850, so that Milam and other counties began to receive their proper share of immigrants.
Under the federal government military posts were established at various points along the frontier. Fort Graham on the Brazos in what is now Hill county, Fort Worth on one of the forks of the Trinity, and Fort Mason and other garrisons on the western courses of the Colorado
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McLENNAN COUNTY COURT HOUSE
formed the cordon of protection which the United States interposed be- tween civilization and barbarism. These posts, together with the State Rangers and the militia composed of the settlers, gave a degree of security which was more favorable to permanent occupation. Under these condi- tions the counties of the Brazos valley were settled, and most of them organized before the period of the Civil war.
In 1846 there were very few settlements north of Milam and Robert- son counties. The town of Dallas had received its first pioneers, and a
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HISTORY OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN TEXAS.
few families were living among the cross timbers in this region of north- ern Texas. But Dallas was isolated by many miles of uninhabited Trinity valley from the settlements to the south.
The progress of settlement is illustrated in the successive organization of county governments. A great number of the counties of Texas were formed, as to boundaries and name, by the legislature some years before a sufficient population had settled to justify the organization of local gov- ernment. The extreme western portion of the state was blocked off into county areas many years ago, though in a few cases the counties are un- organized at the present time. The organization of a county usually. proves the existence of a group of permanent settlers at the time, so that it is possible to follow the progress of settlement by observing the time of organization in the various counties.
The first of the counties under consideration to possess local gov- ernment were Milam and Robertson. As explained elsewhere, Milam originally comprised a vast region now apportioned among a dozen or more central Texas counties. It is usually named as one of the original Texas counties, brought into existence at the close of the revolution, al- though its organization was not maintained continuously through the troublous period from 1836 to 1845. Robertson county was organized in 1838, having been formerly a part of Milam county. These were the only counties in the central Texas region to be organized while Texas was a republic.
Beginning with 1846, the first year Texas was a state, county organi- zations followed rapidly, and in fifteen years the territory of the Brazos and Colorado valleys was permanently occupied and divided into counties with separate local governments. The successive dates of organization of county government in this region are given as follows:
Navarro county-July 13, 1846. Limestone county-August 18, 1846. Williamson county-August 7, 1848. Bell county-August 1, 1850. Falls county-August 5, 1850. McLennan county-August 5, 1850. Tarrant county-August 5, 1850. Hill county-May 14, 1853. Coryell county-March 4, 1854. Johnson county-August 7, 1854. Vol. I-13
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HISTORY OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN TEXAS.
Burnet county-August 7, 1854.
Bosque county-August 7, 1854.
Parker county-March 1, 1856.
Lampasas county-March 10, 1856.
Comanche county-March 17, 1856.
San Saba county-May 3, 1856.
Llano county-August 4, 1856.
Erath county-August 4, 1856.
Brown county-March 2, 1857.
Palo Pinto county-April 27, 1857.
Mason county-August 2, 1858.
Hamilton county-August 2, 1858.
These twenty odd counties comprise that portion of central Texas that was permanently settled before the Civil war. Several counties of later organization were included in the original area of those named above.
The population and degree of development varied in these counties, and those on the western frontier, Palo Pinto, Erath, Comanche, Brown, San Saba and Mason, were very sparsely inhabited, living conditions were primitive, industry was pastoral rather than agricultural, and for the greater part of two decades following the country and the people were able to accomplish little more than maintain their precarious foothold on the western frontier.
The counties of central and western Texas organized since those above named are as follows :
Coleman county-October 6, 1864. Hood county-December 25, 1866. Menard county-May 8, 1871.
Pecos county-June 13, 1872.
Shackelford county-September 12, 1874.
Tom Green county-January 5, 1875.
Somervell county-April 12, 1875.
Stephens county-1876. McCulloch county-1876.
Callahan county-July 3, 1877. Taylor county-July 3, 1878. Concho county-March 11, 1879.
Runnels county-February 16, 1880.
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HISTORY OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN TEXAS.
Mitchell county-January 10, 1881. Nolan county-June 10, 1881. Jones county -- June 13, 1881. Howard county-June 15, 1882. Scurry county-June 28, 1884. Martin county-November 4, 1884. Reeves county-November 4, 1884. Midland county-June 15, 1885. Fisher county-April 27, 1886. Mills county-September 12, 1887. Irion county-April 16, 1889. Coke county-April 23, 1889. Ector county-January 6, 1891. Borden county-March 17, 1891. Sterling county-June 3, 1891. Crockett county-July 14, 1891. Ward county-March 29, 1892. Glasscock county-March 28, 1893. Schleicher county-July 9, 1901. Reagan county-April 20, 1903. Dawson county-1905.
The decades of the seventies and eighties witnessed the real settle- ment of western Texas. During the seventies the buffalo were finally hunted from the plains, and quickly following them came the great herds of domestic stock and the old-time stockmen. For a few years these lat- ter were supreme lords of the domain of grass-covered prairies.
Not far behind was another instrument of progress-the railroad- which invaded the cattlemen's country and, while co-operating with the stock industry, it also served to introduce the permanent settlers. More than any other factor, the railroad has made west Texas a home for peo- ple. Where the railroad has penetrated counties have been organized, towns have been built, fences have divided the prairie from the sown fields. In the regions untouched by railroads lie the few unorganized counties of the state. Along the Texas & Pacific, which was constructed in 1880-81 ; along the G., C. & S. F., which reached San Angelo in 1888, are the counties which were first and most substantially developed in this western region. Wherever new railroads have been built, or are now under construction, they are the means of transforming the plains into
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HISTORY OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN TEXAS.
farms and bringing workers and home-builders to dwell in this once isolated part of the world.
What the railroad has done for the country, and how, in turn, the railroad has benefited by growth of population and industry, is illustrated in an interesting way by some comparative statistics concerning the Texas & Pacific. On the eastern division of this road, from Shreveport to Fort Worth, the gross earnings of traffic increased from $3,000,000 in 1892 to
STEAM PLOW CUTTING 21 FURROWS
$5,200,000 in 1909, or about 75 per cent. But on the Rio Grande division, from Forth Worth to El Paso, the increase of gross earnings was fron $1,700,000 in 1892 to $5,250,000 in 1909, or more than 300 per cent. Thus, measured by railroad traffic, the west Texas region traversed by the T. & P. Railroad has developed four times faster in the same period of time than the eastern tributary country.
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