DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Butler Soldiers' Homes. Now, when most folks picture Texas during the Civil War, they picture battles — smoke, cannon fire, the whole spectacle. But out here in Freestone County, there was a quieter kind of war effort going on.
One that started with a neighbor opening a door and saying, come on in, rest a spell, eat something before you go. See, before a Texas soldier ever set boot on a battlefield, the county itself had often outfitted him. Commissioners courts across Texas furnished men enlisting in the war their uniforms, guns, blankets — and sometimes even their horses.
The county courts didn't stop there either. They aided dependents, war orphans, and widows. And they recognized something called soldiers' homes — local households and establishments that took in men traveling to and from the army on furloughs and special missions, feeding them along the way, and getting reimbursed by the courts for doing it.
Freestone County alone had at least eleven of these homes. Eleven. And right near this very site, one of two in the town of Butler was run by a plantation owner named Hillary Manning.
Now the whole institution of a soldiers' home was set up, more often than not, as a plain act of neighborliness. No grand decree. No bureaucratic mandate.
Just folks deciding their men deserved a meal and a roof. But there was one man who made it his mission to organize this thing at scale. The Reverend Thomas Castleton, who lived near Houston, went around pulling these homes together — building a network out of goodwill and community spirit.
And he didn't just organize. He commended the people of Butler, Fairfield, Goliad, and Hillsboro specifically, by name, for setting up their soldiers' homes entirely of their own accord. Didn't need Castleton.
Didn't need a push. They just did it. At Christmas in 1864, the Reverend received — on behalf of the soldiers — donations that tell you something about how seriously Texans took this work.
Four thousand one hundred dollars in gold. Three beef animals. Two milk cows.
All of it from private citizens. And if that weren't enough, someone handed that man a three-story brick hotel to be used as a soldiers' home. A three-story brick hotel.
At Christmas. Just given over. Soldiers' homes stretched across the state — Columbus, Crockett, Palestine, Richmond over in Fort Bend County.
All of them voluntary. All of them running on the same principle: that the men going off to war were somebody's sons, somebody's brothers, and they deserved more than to travel hungry and sleep in the cold. The marker puts it plain, and I'll let it stand just the way it was written — these homes showed the concern of Texas for her men.
Sometimes the quietest acts are the ones worth remembering longest.
What the marker says
Commissioners courts in Texas usually furnished to soldiers enlisting in the Civil War their uniforms, guns, blankets-- and sometimes even their horses. The county courts also aided dependents, war orphans and widows. Further, they recognized local people who had "soldiers' homes," and reimbursed them for meals given men en route to and from the army on furloughs and special missions. Freestone County had at least 11 soldiers' homes. Near this site, one of 2 in Butler was run by Hillary Manning, a plantation owner. A soldiers' home usually was set up as an act of neighborliness. The Rev. Thomas Castleton, who lived near Houston, organized many homes. Also he commended the people of Butler, Fairfield, Goliad and Hillsboro for setting up soldiers' homes of their own accord. At Christmas in 1864, Rev. Castleton received for the benefit of the soldiers donations of 4100 in gold, 3 beef animals and 2 milk cows, gifts of private citizens supporting the work. He also was given a 3-story brick hotel to be used as a soldiers' home. Other soldiers' homes were at Columbus, Crockett, Palestine and Richmond (Fort Bend County) like many other productive activities carried on voluntarily. These homes showed the concern of Texas for her men.