USA > Texas > Harrison County > Marshall > History Of Marshall Texas > Part 2
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The American-Mexican War occupied all minds, and the thriving East Texans threw themselves wholeheartedly, into the conflict. Two companies were sent into the battle from San Augustine, and both fought under General Zachary Taylor at the Battle of Monterey. The two companies had as heads Captain Otis M. Wheeler and Lieutenant Joseph Baker. J. P. Henderson headed and commanded the Texas forces.17 The leader of the Regulators, Charles W. Moor- man was shot and killed by Dr. Burns, as he was crossing the Sabine River three or four years after the leader's capture. 18
There were several other important incidents that oc- curred during the Regulator-Moderator War period. There were many people punished severely. Each member of the Regulator group had the right to present names of those whom he knew to be criminals. Inevitably many fights broke out. William Boulware, William Pickney Rose, and Colonel William T. Scott were all leaders of the Regulators
17Crocket, George L., Two Centuries in East Texas, pp. 194-203. 18Yoakum, H., History of Texas, vol. 2, p. 440.
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL
in Harrison County. William Boulware erected a block house north of the Texas and Pacific railroad tracks for protection.
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A band of Moderators came and knocked at the door of William T. Scott's house one night, and demanded his surrender. The Moderators agreed, however, to let the women in the house, including Mrs. Scott, go back in. Mrs. Scott dressed her husband in a night gown, and with a cap on his head, a baby in each arm, he walked calmly past the Moderators. He took the babies to a slave's house, where he left them, and then went to William Rose, his father-in-law.
Peter Whetstone was a leader of the Moderator group in Harrison County. He was at one time confronted with some Regulators and had to hide in a thicket to get away from them. He stayed in the thicket until he saw a chance to escape, but it was unsuccessful, for he ran into a Regu- lator with a gun. Whetstone asked the Regulator why he wanted to shoot him. The Regulator asked Peter Whit- stone not to tell anyone of his being allowed to pass, and he let him go. Later on William T. Boulware shot and killed Peter Whetstone in front of a grocery store. Both had been drinking and had quarreled violently.
But Regulator-Moderator trouble continued. As a trav- eller was walking along the road to Marshall, a Moderator band stopped and asked him what he was. The man replied that he was a Regulator. The Moderators proceeded to beat him and asked him to answer Moderator next time. He kept walking along the road until he was stopped by another band. These were Regulators and they asked him the same question. `He replied, fearfully remembering his well-learned lesson, that he was a Moderator. This band beat him as unmercifully as the other band had done. He limped determinedly toward Marshall, however, until a third band stopped him and asked the same question that the other two bands had asked. This time the man, at his wits' end, remained silent. He was allowed to pass.
Judge Hansford was a sympathizer of the Moderators if not a Moderator. One day he went to church services and when returning home he was met at the house by a Regulator band demanding slaves. This house was located near Jonesville. He would not give them the slaves and he was shot and killed on the spot. Up till 1845, there had been no more than six or one-half a dozen cases of indict- ment for murder in the Harrison County courts. All of the men who committed crimes in Harrison County were
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HISTORY FROM 1842 TO THE CIVIL WAR
tried and brought to justice in the court, or else they were forced to leave the county.19
One of the most famous killings that has occurred in this section of East Texas happened on the night of March 2, 1842. This was the killing of Colonel Robert Potter by William Rose on Caddo Lake. The place where Potter once lived today is called Potter's Point and is located. in Marion County on Caddo Lake .. 1
The Caddo Gazette, one of the first two newspapers that existed in Shreveport, Louisiana, carried an account of the murder. Charles Dickens, a famous English novelist and essayist, visiting in the United States at that time, happened to pick up the newspaper which gave the story of the killing. Much interested, the famous author wrote an essay on the murder. His widely celebrated and highly unpopular opinion of the people of the United States might have been influenced by this, as he undoubtedly termed it, "savage conduct."
The killing excited, the people of the United States tremendously as Robert Potter, before coming to Texas, had won distinction in the Congress of the United States as a Congressman from North Carolina. He came to Texas after having become involved in a scandal in Washington, D. C. Potter attempted to rid himself of his wife, whom he had left in North Carolina, when he met a young heiress in Washington, D. C. But his scheme backfired in his face, and he lost his political power. Indeed, he was facing imprisonment, and in order to escape this, decided to come to Texas.
After coming to Texas he made his home at Nacog- doches. He became a political hero in Texas; he was one of the fighters in the Battle of San Jacinto and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence in 1836. He was given a land grant, which was located on Caddo Lake, for fighting in the important battle.
But trouble pursued Robert Potter even into the new fledged Republic. Soon after his arrival he met a beautiful woman, a Mrs. Page, wife of Solomon A. Page. Although she was the mother of two children, she and her husband were separated most of the time.
Robert Potter, decidedly charmed by the lovely Mrs. Page, persuaded her to return to New Orleans, where she had resided prior to her life in Texas.
19 Armstrong, J. C., History of Harrison County, Texas, (1839-1880).
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HISTORY FROM 1842 TO THE CIVIL WAR
believed him. Robert Potter thus turned back homeward with his men.
Mrs. Potter was distressed when she learned the news, for she feared an attack on the house but Mr. Potter was well satisfied. There, was, however, room for Mrs. Potter's suspicions. After Robert Potter left, William Rose got on his feet as quickly as possible and went to work getting people to go and surround Robert Potter's house that night to kill him. " Everybody knew that William Rose was ruth- Iess; nobody would disobey him.
Mrs: Potter begged her husband to get all the people he could to come to his house with firearms in order to protect him, but he paid no attention to what she said.
That night William Rose and his gang marched to Potter's house and prepared to kill him. When Mrs. Potter heard the dogs barking she knew that someone must be close to the house. Mrs. Potter arose hurriedly and awoke Robert Potter, but he could not believe the house was surrounded, until shots came into the house. Robert Potter thought the best thing to do, was to run away and dive into the lake.
Robert Potter, a fine swimmer, raced toward the lake, a gun in his hand; bullets whizzing harmlessly over his head. Leaving his gun against a tree, he jumped into the lake. William T. Scott seized Potter's gun, raised it, took careful aim, and shot at Potter's head the first time he came to the surface to breathe. The bullet found its mark; Potter was killed instantly.
In the meantime, William Rose held Mrs. Potter in the house. Mrs. Potter's brother and the negro boy were found in the barn. Uncle Hezekiah, the negro, was shot but not fatally. The men then hurried away under the cover of darkness.
The next day Robert Potter's body was found floating on the surface of Caddo Lake.
Robert Potter was buried under the trees close to the lake, as he had said he would always want to be buried there. He had befriended many people in the community - but only two attended the funeral.
Mrs. Robert Potter went to Daingerfield to have a warrant made for the arrest of William Rose. William T. Scott convinced the sheriff that if he did not free them they would file a suit against him in court for false im- prisonment, so alarmed, he freed them. Mrs. Potter went
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Potter soon convinced Mrs. Page her first marriage was not legal, as it was not performed by a priest under the Texas laws. She was finally convinced, and the two were married one night with the clergy and judge present.
At first, Mr. and Mrs. Potter settled in the Sabine River bottomland, but they moved to the shores of Caddo Lake after he was given a land grant. Potter soon became widely noted as a friend to all the families in the region.
Both Mr. Potter and his wife were glad to see new families settling in the region. Most of the new settlers hailed from the Carolinas and Georgia. Stephen F. Peter's family and a Sandy Miller were two of the first to settle near the Potters.
Politics soon came into the settlement, for Robert Potter was the leader of the Moderator group. William Rose, a neighbor, was the leader of the Regulator group, and the two were political enemies.
William Rose was accused of killing the sheriff and of intimidating the people of the community. Robert Potter thought something should be done about it, therefore he proceeded to appeal to the President of the Republic of Texas at Austin in order to get a proclamation calling for the arrest of William Rose, bringing him to justice. Before he left for Austin to make his appeal, he wrote a will saying he was leaving the estate to his two wives, and a negro maid and horse to a good friend, which turned out to be a bad mistake. Robert Potter was successful in getting the proclamation and returned home.
After Robert Potter returned home, he gathered seven- teen men to form a company for the purpose of catching William Rose. Mrs. Potter was afraid he did not have enough men and urged him to get more, but he thought seventeen to be enough. He and the company went to the home of William Rose to take him in order that he might be put under arrest. President Houston was to do the rest of it.
It was found, however, that William Rose was com- manding some negroes to clear off brush and wood. When Rose saw Potter and the men coming toward his house he dropped to the ground, and covered himself with brush. This incident saved the Regulator leader.
Preston Rose, son of William Rose, was a good man and well-liked in the community; therefore when Preston promised that his father would surrender, Robert Potter
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL,
to Boston, Texas to get the judge to make a warrant for arrest and to Clarksville for it to be enforced. The sheriff, with a posse of twenty men, set out to capture William Rose; this he had little trouble doing. The criminals were chained to trees, but Mrs. Potter 'asked that they be treated mercifully. The case of William Rose was dismissed in court.
Tragedy struck the Potter family again while Mrs. Potter was in Daingerfield. She left her two children at home with a nurse. The child' Lakean was taken and thrown into a pot of boiling soap, while the nurse was out- side of the house. Mrs. Potter never did know but was always convinced that some enemy did it. She did not know anything about the tragedy until she was nearly home.
Mrs. Robert Potter married Judge Charles Ames, for- merly of Massachusetts, and lived at Clarksville. She and Judge Ames lived in peace and safety and had a happy life, living many years at Potter's Point.
Robert Potter's body today lies in a grave at Austin. There was a monument erected in honor of this First Sec- retary of Navy of the Republic of Texas. 20
This period, from 1841-1844, was one of the bloodiest chapters of the history of the City of Marshall.21
Marshall, however, in spite of the long period, of war- fare, petty struggles and family feuds, had prospered. The. town was growing slowly, but steadily, and along with its growth, improvements came into being.
The United States post office was established at Mar- shall on May 22, 1846. Two other places in Harrison County had a post office established the same day as well as other places in the First Congressional District of Texas composed of eleven counties. Marshall thus had one of the first established post offices in Texas. The people who have served as postmasters in the post office in Marshall, Texas are Ira M. Freeman, Casey Askew, Turner G. Pierce, John Henderson, Micajah Harris, Anthony H. Barrett, Ozias J. Taylor, John P. Natt, Robert T. Hyde, John Wiler, Thaddeus A. Harris, C. H. Swan, Henry Rawson, James W. Flanagin, Jr., William Umbdenstock, Nicholas Board, Horace Welch, John D. McAdoo, Volney Hall, J. B. William- son, W. C. Pierce, Robertus L. Jennings, John H. Hudson,
HISTORY FROM 1842 TO THE CIVIL WAR
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W. E. Lancaster, Henry O. Wilson, Horace C. Blalock, William B. Lea, and Ben C. McElroy.22
. The growing interest in railroads marked another phase in the development of Marshall during these years. As early as 1855 five different railroads were chartered to go through Marshall. Only one, however, had been completed. This railroad became one of the most important projects in the history of the City of Marshall.
By 1850 Marshall was the fourth largest city in the State of Texas with a population of 1,180, 421 of them slaves. Marshall was surpassed only by the cities of San Antonio, Houston, and New Braunfels. 23
Amid the growing population of Marshall in the 1850's, one of the most outstanding citizens was Mr. William Blalock, father of Myron, Bryan, and,five other boys, who was born in the Grange Hall locality in 1850. Mr. Chesly F. Adams was born in a four-room log cabin just outside of the City of Marshall which his parents constructed and lived in when they came to Marshall in 1841.
At the Constitutional Convention held in the Republic of Texas in 1845 Edward Clark was a delegate to the con- vention and is given credit by many as being a statesman there when he helped to put provisions in the Constitution that would never have been put in if not for his states- manship. Pendleton Murrah was elected to the State Legis- lature to represent this county in 1857.24
Colonel B. L. Holcombe and his family came from Tennessee and settled at Marshall in 1850. That year the house was constructed which they lived in and was one of the first brick structures constructed in the City of Marshall by slaves. Lucy Holcombe, daughter of Colonel B. L. Holcombe, is remembered in the history of the City of Marshall. The house today still stands and is used by the Bishop College as a music hall.25
The Capitol Hotel was erected by George B. Adkins in 1857. The building became famous as one of the best buildings located in the Southwest, and for a long time it was the largest hotel located between New Orleans and
22Patman, Congressman Wright, History of Post Offices of First Congressional District of Texas.
23 Armstrong, J. C., History of Harrison County, Texas, (1839-1880). 24 Marshall News Messenger, August 23, 1936. 25 Miss Anna Smiith.
20Shreveport Times, March 9, 1947, p. 39.
21 Dallas Morning News, February 28, 1937.
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL
San Francisco. The building today is occupied by the Per- kins Brothers Company and other stores. 26
But the ominous rumble of "States Rights" heard a-far in the capitols of Dixie, was also thundering over the peace- ful little East Texas village. Soon the rebel yell was to be heard - heard and answered by Marshallites. The Civil War lay ahead.
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26 Marshall News Messenger, August 23, 1936.
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Chapter III® Marshall and The Civil War
Because of its geographical location and its progressive settlement, Marshall played a strategic role in the Civil War activities west of the Mississippi.
Marshall sent five delegates to the State' Secession Convention held at Austin in February of 1861 -W. T. Scott, A. Pope, W. B. Ochiltree, 'M. J. Hall, and Gil Mckay. Following recommendation of the convention, Texas seceded from the Union on March 2 of the same year.
On April 19, the Walter P. Lane Rangers left Mar- shall,1 carrying a flag presented to them by the ladies of the city.2
The 103 Harrison County men in this outfit3 were soon followed by other companies which were the Marshall Guards under Captain F. S. Bass, the Texas Hunters under Captain T. W. Minton, the Bass Greys under Captain K. M. Van Zandt, the Texas Invincibles under Captain W. B. Hill, the Clough Rangers under Captain 'Gil Mckay, the Hendricks Company under Captain S. B. Hendricks, the Harrison County Lancers under Captain Phil Brown, the Marshall Mechanics under Captain U. S. Allen, 'the Clough and Hill Avengers under Captain W. L. Pickens, the Cy- press Tigers under Captain Buchan, the Mckay's Company under Captain H. Mckay, and the ,Webb's Company under Captain S. W.,Webb.4
In a mass meeting the people requested the Harrison County Court to issue bonds for the establishment of an efficient guard for the people of Harrison County. The court passed the act for $16,000 in bonds.
On July 31, a meeting was called' to appoint four com- mittees for the purpose of collecting clothing and arranging transportation for the soldiers. In the spring of 1862 there had been only forty-nine blankets made and all of the arms had been used. Committees could not supply the neces- sary food and ammunition, nor could the martial law pre- vent aid 'being sent to the enemy.
Most of the Harrison County men fought in the Battles of Fort Donelson and Arkansas Post. Captain Hill of the
1Sketches Drawn From Marshall and Vicinity, Past and Present. 2Armstrong, J. C., History of Harrison County, Texas, (1839-1880). 8Marshall News Messenger, August 23, 1936.
4Sketches Drawn From Marshall and Vicinity, Past and Present.
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL
Texas Invincibles and Colonel Clough, regiment commander, were killed at Fort Donelson.5
The Confederates suffered an overwhelming defeat at Arkansas Post on January 23, 1863; their three thousand and five hundred troops were no match for the sixty thousand Union forces.6 The Yankees captured three companies of Harrison County men and their leaders, Cap- tain Sam J. Richardson, Gil Mckay, and Thomas F. Tucker.
The families back home were notified of the death of these men; however, their fears were relieved by a letter from Mr. Harris who told of their capture. Only a few of them ever returned home to Marshall. 7
While the war raged a-far on Southern battlefields, and while the railroad stretched its magic rails westward, the Government of Texas was having its own difficulties. Edward Clark was elected Lieutenant-Governor of Texas in 1859 along with Samuel Houston as Governor. In March 1861, Clark was sworn in as Governor when Houston would not give allegiance' to the Confederacy. On June 8, 1861, Clark called for enlistment of volunteers in the army. The 2,500 United States soldiers in Texas were made to sur- render arms and thereafter were given parole. By Novem- ber 1861, there were fifteen thousand recruits of the Con- federate Army from Texas. Clark was logical, a reasoner, and an able clear-headed executive. He was a direct speaker. But in 1863 Pendleton Murrah was elected Gover- nor of Texas, winning over T. J. Chambers by a vote of 17,511 to 12,455. Murrah was a lawyer by profession and believed in state's rights. Sixteen months of his adminis- tration was while Texas was in the Confederacy.
During these months one of the most interesting epi- sodes in Marshall's varied and tumultuous history occurred. In the summer of 1861 the city became the capitol of the State of Missouri. Governor Claiborne Jackson and Lieu- tenant-Governor Thomas C. Reynolds fled their state with important documents of Missouri and brought them to Marshall.8 The Governor and Lieutenant-Governor had been forced to leave Missouri after the Battle of Carthage9 as the Southerners were heavily outnumbered by Northern sympathizers. The convention proceeded to oust the Gover- nor and Lieutenant-Governor, but Jackson and Reynolds carried on until General Robert E. Lee surrendered.
5Armstrong, J. C., History of Harrison County, Texas, (1839-1880). 6 Marshall News Messenger, August 23, 1936.
"Armstrong, J. C., History of Harrison County, Texas, (1839-1880). 8Marshall News Messenger, August 23, 1936. 9Statement of Congressman Wright Patman.
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MARSHALL AND THE CIVIL WAR
Marshall was chosen to be the capital of Missouri because many wealthy Southern sympathizers from Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Missouri had moved into the town and settled. The house that became the executive office or capitol was located at 108 East Crockett Street and had been vacated by the Supreme Court Judge Asa Wille, who had moved his family to Austin. The house that became the Governor's Mansion at 204 East Crockett Street was the home of Mrs. Mary Key.10 The executive office or capitol is a one story building. `The Governor's Mansion is a two story building surrounded with porches.11
Governor Jackson and Lieutenant-Governor Reynolds brought soldiers with them from Missouri. Many of the people of Missouri had already settled in Marshall and were waiting for them when they arrived.12
In 1861, Governor Jackson went back to New Madrid, Missouri and declared the "Independence of Missouri." An assembly proceeded to meet at Neosho, Missouri, on October 21, 1861, and declared Missouri a member of the Confederacy.13 The Confederate Government fully rec- ognized Marshall as the capital of Missouri.14 In late 1861 Governor Jackson went back to Arkansas where he died that year. He never saw the "little capital of Missouri" again.
When Lieutenant-Governor Reynolds received the news of Jackson's death in 1862, he took the Government over and became the Governor of the State of Missouri. Thus. the City of Marshall, Texas was the capital of the State of Missouri all during the Civil War.15
Throughout the war, the population of Marshall showed a steady increase. At the beginning of the war the popula- tion of the city was 1,500 white people; there were only a few negroes.16 By 1861 Marshall had a population of two thousand and was well fortified.17 Marshall was the only fortified city outside of Galveston, Texas, at this time, and was known as a city of unusual wealth and impor- tance. 18
10Statement of the Marshall Public Library. 11 Austin Statesman, March 7, 1946.
12 Marshall News Messenger, August 23, 1936.
18 Statement of the Marshall Public Library.
14Statement of Congressman Wright Patman. 15Statement of the Marshall Public Library.
16 Sketches Drawn From Marshall and Vicinity, Past and Present.
17 Marshall News Messenger, August 23, 1936. 18Statement of the Marshall Public Library.
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL
Closely associated with Civil War history 'in Marshall was the wife of Colonel Francis Wilkerson Pickens, Lucy Holcombe, who lived at Marshall, Texas for a long time. Prior to Civil War, Colonel Pickens became Ambassador to Russia from the United States but was called home when the nation was about to go into the Civil War. He was called home for the purpose of keeping the State of South Carolina from seceding from the Union. When he arrived, he found the nation on the eve of a bloody war. He was a wartime Governor of South Carolina, elected in 1860; the term ending in 1862. In the Confederate Army Mrs. Pickens had a legion, called the Holcombe Legion, which was partly financed by her.19 She presented a large blue silk banner to the regiment, the whole brigade being pres- ent. The name "Holcombe" was retained throughout the war.
Lucy Holcombe's portrait was on the Confederate $1 and $100 bills. She was the only woman to have a picture on Confederate money.
Another distinguished Marshallite of the Civil War period was General Walter P. Lane, a Civil War and Mexi- can War hero who came back to Marshall, Texas, from California and entered the merchandising business, where he remained until 1861, when he joined Captain Winston's Company of Harrison County. He later went to Dallas and was mustered into the Third Texas Cavalry. He fought in almost all of the major and minor battles west of the Mississippi River. The last battle he fought, which was of importance, was the battle at Mansfield, Louisiana.
During the war years, Marshall erected a large powder mill, one and one-half miles from the city, where the CCC camp was established in 1933. This mill manufactured and stored powder for the Trans-Mississippi Department. Forty houses were constructed near the plant for the em- ployees to live in.20
On the west side of Marshall, only one hundred feet south of the present site of Marshall High School, a hospi-' tal was constructed.21 Many soldiers were cared for dur- ing the hectic war years. At least thirty Arkansas and Mis- souri soldiers died there.
The fortifications at Marshall were never used during the war in a battle. General Dick Taylor disobeyed the orders of General Kirby Smith and intercepted General
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