The Texas Brigade (also known as Hood's Brigade) was an infantry formation of the Confederate Army that distinguished itself in the American Civil War. Along with the Stonewall Brigade, they were considered the Confederate Army's shock troops. It fought in every major battle of the Eastern Theater except Chancellorsville.
The Texas Brigade was organized on October 22, 1861, primarily through the efforts of John Allen Wilcox, afterwards a member of congress from Texas, who remained as the brigade's political patron until his death in 1864. The brigade was initially and briefly under the command of Louis T. Wigfall until he took a seat in the Confederate Senate. Command was then given to John Bell Hood (hence the Texas Brigade was often known as "Hood's Brigade" or "Hood's Texas Brigade"). The brigade left Texas poorly armed and many men had no weapons at all. Others took whatever was available; this resulted in soldiers carrying almost anything that would shoot—shotguns, hunting rifles, pistols, old flintlock muskets used in the Texas Revolution, model 1841 Mississippi rifles, Colt revolving rifles, and more. At least two companies are reported to have carried model 1855 Springfield rifles, which would have been the only modern weapons in the brigade. The Texans were held in high regard thanks to the legend of the Alamo and the Texas Revolution, and the Confederate government made sure that they got the best equipment available. Most of the brigade were soon issued Enfield rifles aside from the 1st Texas Infantry, which had mostly smoothbore muskets and appear to have still been using them well into 1864.
The brigade was originally assigned as part of Maj. Gen. Gustavus W. Smith's division, which was sometimes commanded by Brig. Gen. William H.C. Whiting. For much of the war, it was assigned to Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's Corps in General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. It was commanded for much of the war by Brig. Gen. Jerome B. Robertson. It initially comprised the 1st Texas, 4th Texas, 5th Texas, and 18th Georgia Regiments. After the Battle of Seven Pines, Hampton's Legion from South Carolina joined the brigade. After the general reorganization of Lee's army following the Battle of Antietam in September 1862, the Georgians and South Carolinians were reassigned to brigades from their respective states; the 3d Arkansas was added because it was the only other trans-Mississippi regiment serving with Lee's army.
The brigade's first general engagement was at Eltham's Landing on May 7, 1862, where it lost 36 men killed and wounded. During the Battle of Seven Pines, it was directed to support Longstreet's command. Although the rest of Whiting's division was heavily engaged with considerable casualties, the Texas Brigade sat mostly idle during the battle and lost just 10 men killed and wounded.
The brigade distinguished itself during the Seven Days Battle where it routed the enemy at Gaines' Mill, captured a battery of guns, and repulsed a cavalry counterattack. Casualties at Gaines Mill were severe, amounting to at least 25% of the Texas Brigade's total strength. At Malvern Hill, the brigade was held in reserve despite Hood's requests to assault the Union entrenchments on the hill. Following the Seven Days Battles, Whiting went on sick leave and by early August, Robert E. Lee named Hood as permanent division commander. During the week following Malvern Hill, Lee wrote to Senator Wigfall that 1,336 new recruits were needed to replenish the depleted brigade, which likely numbered fewer than 1000 men in early July. Within a month, the Texas Brigade was brought back up to strength with new recruits and men with minor wounds returning to duty and it had close to 3000 men at the start of the Northern Virginia Campaign.
Its reputation increased when it spearheaded Longstreet's assault on Pope's left at the battle of Second Manassas. The brigade overran two Union regiments, nearly annihilated the 5th New York Zouaves, and captured a battery of guns, losing 628 men in the battle. Its reputation for fighting was sealed at the Battle of Sharpsburg, when it closed a gap in the Confederate line and drove back the two Union Corps that were attacking. Out of 854 that went into battle at Sharpsburg, 550 of the Texas Brigade were killed or wounded.
The brigade's most famous action took place on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, during its fight for Devil's Den. Though the Confederacy ultimately lost that battle, the 1st Texas, 4th Texas, 5th Texas, and 3d Arkansas distinguished themselves in taking Devil's Den despite being greatly outnumbered and suffering heavy casualties, to include General Robertson being wounded. The brigade's failure to take Little Round Top marked the failure of that day's fighting. [1]
By the war's end, the Texas Brigade had fought in all the battles engaged in by the Army of Northern Virginia except Chancellorsville. Battles included the Battle of Seven Pines, Seven Days Battle, Battle of South Mountain, Battle of Sharpsburg, Battle of Fredericksburg, Battle of Gettysburg, and the Battle of the Wilderness. They later fought with the Army of Tennessee at Chickamauga and during the Knoxville Campaign, as well as with Longstreet at Suffolk. [2] Of the estimated 5,353 men who enlisted in the three Texas and one Arkansas regiments, only 617 remained to surrender on April 9, 1865, at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. [2] The Texas Brigade, along with the Stonewall Brigade from Virginia, were considered to be the Army of Northern Virginia's shock troops. [3]
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen. John Pope's Army of Virginia, and a battle of much larger scale and numbers than the First Battle of Bull Run fought on July 21, 1861 on the same ground.
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac.
The Battle of Seven Pines, also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks or Fair Oaks Station, took place on May 31 and June 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, nearby Sandston, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive up the Virginia Peninsula by Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, in which the Army of the Potomac reached the outskirts of Richmond.
The Stonewall Brigade of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, was a famous combat unit in United States military history. It was trained and first led by General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, a professor from Virginia Military Institute (VMI). His severe training program and ascetic standards of military discipline turned enthusiastic but raw recruits into an effective military organization, which distinguished itself from the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861 to Spotsylvania Court House in 1864. Its legacy lives on in the 116th Infantry Brigade, which bears the unofficial nickname "Stonewall Brigade," and in several living history reenactment groups.
Evander McIver Law was an author, teacher, and a Confederate general in the American Civil War.
Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox was a career United States Army officer who served in the Mexican–American War and also was a Confederate general during the American Civil War.
During the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee attempted to capitalize on his first day's accomplishments. His Army of Northern Virginia launched multiple attacks on the flanks of the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade. The assaults were unsuccessful, and resulted in heavy casualties for both sides.
Jerome Bonaparte Robertson was a doctor, Indian fighter, Texas politician, and a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was noted for his service in the famed Texas Brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia.
The 17th Georgia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.
Walker's Greyhounds was the popular name for a division of the Confederate States Army under Major-General John George Walker, composed exclusively of units from Texas. It fought in the Western Theater and the Trans-Mississippi Department, gaining its nickname because the men were able to move long distances rapidly on foot.
Micah Jenkins, was a Confederate general in the American Civil War, mortally wounded by friendly fire at the Battle of the Wilderness.
The 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment was a regiment of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, and the most celebrated unit from the state. Formed and initially commanded by Colonel Albert Rust, and later falling under the command of Colonel Van. H. Manning, the regiment was part of the Army of Northern Virginia, serving under General Robert E. Lee. The 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment served for the duration of the war, from the late months of 1861, through to its surrender at Appomattox Court House in 1865. It was the only regiment from the state of Arkansas to serve the entire war in the Eastern Theater, where most of the major Civil War battles were fought. It was also the only Arkansas regiment to initially sign up for the duration of the Civil War, with all other regiments from the state signing on for a one-year enlistment.
1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles (1861–1865) was a Confederate States Army cavalry regiment during the American Civil War. The unit was formed as a mounted infantry regiment, but was dismounted in the spring of 1862 and remained dismounted for the remainder of the war. The unit participated in the earliest battles in the western theater at Wilson's Creek and surrendered with the remnants of the Army of Tennessee in North Carolina in April 1865.
The 18th Georgia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Originally brigaded with the three Texas regiments of John Bell Hood's Texas Brigade, it was transferred to Thomas R.R. Cobb's Georgia Brigade after the Battle of Antietam in late 1862. After General Cobb was mortally wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg, the original colonel of the 18th Georgia, William T. Wofford, became Brigadier General of the Georgia Brigade.
The 2nd Florida Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that fought in service of the Confederate States Army in the American Civil War.
The 1st Texas Infantry Regiment, nicknamed the "Ragged Old First," was an infantry regiment raised in Texas for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia.
The 25th Arkansas Infantry was an infantry regiment of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The unit was originally organized as Turnbull's 11th Arkansas Infantry Battalion. Upon being increased by the required number of companies the battalion was organized as the 30th Arkansas Infantry Regiment but was later redesignated as the 25th Arkansas Infantry. There were two regiments officially designated as the 30th Arkansas Infantry. The other "30th Arkansas" served west of the Mississippi River, in the Department of the Trans-Mississippi and was also known as 5th Trans-Mississippi Regiment or the 39th Arkansas or Rogan's Arkansas Cavalry during Price's 1864 Missouri Expedition.
The 18th Arkansas Infantry (Marmaduke's) (1861–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The unit was also briefly identified as the 1st Arkansas Infantry Battalion. The unit was most often referred to as the 3rd Confederate Infantry Regiment. The designation "Confederate Infantry Regiment" was intended to convey the difference between Provisional Confederate Army units and Regular Confederate Army Units, with Provisional units being those regiments who received a state designation such as "XX Arkansas Infantry Regiment". In practice, the designation was most often utilized when Regiments were assembled utilizing companies from more than one Confederate state. The "3rd Confederate Infantry Regiment" is occasionally misidentified as the 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment commanded by Colonel Van H. Manning.
The 4th Texas Infantry Regiment was a unit of Confederate States Army infantry volunteers that was created in 1861 and fought in the Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War. As part of the famous Texas Brigade, the regiment fought at Eltham's Landing, Seven Pines, Gaines's Mill, Second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, and Fredericksburg in 1862. It fought at Suffolk, Gettysburg, Chickamauga and Wauhatchie in 1863 and the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and the Siege of Petersburg in 1864. The regiment surrendered to Federal forces on 9 April 1865 after the Battle of Appomattox Court House.
The 5th Texas Infantry Regiment was a unit of Confederate States Army infantry volunteers created in 1861 that fought in the Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War. The unit was part of the famous Texas Brigade. The regiment fought at Eltham's Landing, Seven Pines, Gaines's Mill, Second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, and Fredericksburg in 1862. It fought at Gettysburg and Chickamauga in 1863 and the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and the Siege of Petersburg in 1864. The regiment surrendered to Federal forces on 9 April 1865 after the Battle of Appomattox Court House.
