DUANE
Duane's take
Now, I'm drawing this one straight from the official marker — let me tell you what it says about Hays County and the beef that fed a war. The years were 1861 to 1865, and all across Hays County — same as the rest of Texas — cattle weren't just livestock. They were a patriotic duty.
The Confederacy needed feeding, and somebody had to do the feeding. So certain men were officially designated C.S.A. Beef Raisers, called Government Stockraisers, and their job was to supply the Commissary Department of the Army.
Hays County, with its well-established cattle industry, had more than a few men ready to answer that call. Now, let the names sink in. There was James M.
Day — went by Doc — and his brothers John W. Day and Wm. H.
Day. Their brother-in-law was a man named Jesse L. Driskill.
Then there was Wm. Washington Moon, and a man called Ezekiel Nance. Six men, all bound to the same dangerous work.
And dangerous it was. These weren't men sitting comfortable on a porch. They had to fight or detour around Indians, rustlers, and enemy patrols — sometimes all in the same stretch of country.
The herds had to swim flooded streams, some with quicksand beds waiting underneath. Wm. H.
Day once came within a hair's breadth of drowning while swimming a herd across the flooding Brazos River. The river wasn't interested in his patriotic duty. As if that weren't enough, at least two of the Day brothers were in military service on top of their supply work.
Supplying beef and soldiering, at the same time. You start to wonder when those men slept. Then there's Wm.
Washington Moon — a veteran of the Mexican War, and founder of the city of San Marcos. Moon didn't just raise cattle for the cause. He joined the 32nd Cavalry.
He donated beef to soldiers' families out of his own stock. He furnished leather and horse feed to his own cavalry company. The man was supplying a war from just about every angle he could find.
And Ezekiel Nance? Beside supplying beef to the quartermasters, Nance was manufacturin' cotton cloth for the Confederacy. Beef and fabric both — because a war needs more than one kind of keeping together.
Six men, flooded rivers, quicksand, rustlers, patrols, and four years of it. That's what feeding a Confederacy looked like from the ranches of Hays County.
What the marker says
Throughout Hays County, 1861-65, as in the rest of texas, beef production for the Confederacy was a major patriotic service. Leading ranchers, called Government Stockraisers, had the duty of supplying the Commissary Department of the Army. Hays County, with its well-established cattle industry, had several men designated as C.S.A. Beef Raisers. These included James M. ("Doc") Day, John W. Day, Wm. H. Day, and their brother-in-law, Jesse L. Driskill; Wm. Washington Moon; and Ezekiel Nance. These men had hazardous work. They had either to fight or detour around Indians, rustlers and enemy patrols. Herds had to swim flooded streams, some with quicksand beds. Wm. H. Day once was almost drowned while swimming a herd across the flooding Brazos. At least two of the Day brothers were in military service as well as supply duty. Moon, a veteran of the Mexican War, and founder of the city of San Marcos, not only was a stockraiser but also joined the 32nd Cavalry. He donated beef to soldiers' families and furnished leather and horse feed to his cavalry company. Beside supplying beef to the quartermasters, Nance manufactured cotton cloth for the Confederacy.