DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Several communities out in Navarro County, Texas, decided they weren't going to sit out the Civil War — they were going to organize, drill, and ship out. And what came of that decision was two companies of fighting men whose story cuts right across some of the bloodiest ground the Trans-Mississippi region had to offer.
Company E of the 15th Texas Infantry came together on April 16, 1862 — two separate squads, combined into one unit, placed under the command of Captain Joshua Long Halbert, a prominent Corsicana lawyer who apparently traded the courtroom for the battlefield. Company G had a slightly different road to get there. It started out as part of William Melton's 13th Texas Infantry, then was reorganized during the winter of 1861 to 1862 and emerged as Company G under Captain Clinton Fouty.
Two companies, two paths, one regiment — the 15th Texas Infantry — assigned to Colonel William Speight. Now, both companies were about to get a thorough education in what war actually looks like. They were heading to Arkansas, that was the plan, but the war had its own itinerary.
On September 29, 1863, northeast of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, they ran straight into their first combat — a place called Bayou Fordoche. That's where the 15th Texas got its baptism. After Bayou Fordoche, they saw action at Bayou Bourbeau — and the marker notes that Bayou Bourbeau was one of the early skirmishes that led to the Red River Campaign.
Now, the Confederates claimed a victory at Bayou Bourbeau, and maybe so. But victory has a price, and for the men from Navarro County, that price was steep: seven killed in action, twenty-two wounded, five missing. You let those numbers sit for a moment.
Seven families back home got the worst kind of news. Then the Red River Campaign itself — Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, Mansura, Yellow Bayou, all of them in Louisiana, all of them adding more wear and more weight to these men from Navarro County. The campaign halted the Union advance, and the marker says it may have prolonged the war by distracting Union efforts to capture Mobile, Alabama.
May have. Two words that carry a world of complicated consequence. Through Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Indian Territory — these two companies moved across the whole Trans-Mississippi map and left some of their number along the way.
Then on February 20, 1865, the men of Companies E and G turned their faces back toward Navarro County. They started the journey home, and they were discharged later that spring. A Corsicana lawyer, a reorganized company, two squads made into one — and what they walked into and what some of them didn't walk out of — that's the story the marker asks us to remember.
What the marker says
Several communities in Navarro County organized military units that saw action in the Civil War. Company E of the 15th Texas Infantry was formed on April 16, 1862, when two squads were combined into one unit under the leadership of Captain Joshua Long Halbert, a prominent Corsicana lawyer. Company G, 15th Texas Infantry, was originally part of William Melton's 13th Texas Infantry, but the company was reorganized during the winter of 1861-1862 as Company G, under the command of Captain Clinton Fouty. The two companies were assigned to Colonel William Speight, and saw action throughout the Trans-Mississippi region, including Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and Indian Territory. As they began their journey to Arkansas, the regiment first saw combat on September 29, 1863 at the Battle of Bayou Fordoche, northeast of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. After the battle, the 15th Texas saw action at Bayou Bourbeau, which was one of the early skirmishes that led to the Red River Campaign. Although a Confederate victory, the battle took a toll on the soldiers from Navarro County, with 7 killed in action, 22 wounded and 5 missing. Additionally, the group later saw action during the Red River Campaign at the battles of Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, Mansura and Yellow Bayou, Louisiana. The campaign resulted in the halting of the Union advance by the Confederate forces, and may have prolonged the war by distracting the Union's efforts to capture Mobile, Alabama. The men of Companies E and G started their journey back to Navarro County on February 20, 1865 and were discharged later that spring. (2009)