DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say, and this one's got some weight to it. Now, if you were to head eighteen miles west and six miles north of where that marker stands in San Saba County, you'd find yourself standing on ground where men kept a lonely watch during some of the most turbulent years this country has ever seen. That's where Camp McMillan, C.S.A. once stood — one post in a chain of outposts stretching all the way from the Red River down to the Rio Grande, each one set a day's horseback ride apart.
Think about that for a moment. A whole line of camps, strung like watch-fires across the Texas frontier, manned by the Texas Frontier Regiment. Now, Texas in those years — 1861 to 1865 — was not sittin' on the sidelines.
The state voted over three to one for secession, and what followed was an all-out effort for the Confederacy. Ninety thousand troops, noted for mobility and heroic daring, fought on every battlefront you can name. Texas was the storehouse of the South — an important source of supply, and a gateway to foreign trade through Mexico.
But the men at Camp McMillan and posts like it along that line? They weren't chargin' across famous battlefields. Their war was quieter, and in some ways harder for that.
Regular patrols. Keeping watch against Indian raids. Roundin' up draft evaders.
And always — always — they were short on what they needed. Food, clothing, horses, arms. The marker doesn't dress that up, and neither will I.
They shared few of the glories of the war. That's the plain language of the inscription, and it lands like a stone. But at the cost of the lives of not a few of them, these Confederates gave a measure of protection to a vast frontier area.
Behind them, backing that whole line, were State Rangers, organized militia, citizen posses scoutin' out of nearby family forts — all of it part of a two-thousand-mile frontier and coastline that Texans defended. Two thousand miles. Frontier and coastline both.
And somewhere along that long, lonesome line sat Camp McMillan, eighteen miles west, six miles north, where men stood watch through years that history mostly forgot to look their way. The State of Texas erected this marker in 1963 as a memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy — because some stories don't get told unless somebody stops and insists on the telling.
What the marker says
Located 18 mi. West, 6 mi. North, this outpost guarded the Texas frontier during Civil War. One of a chain of outposts a day's horseback ride apart, from the Red River to the Rio Grande manned by the Texas Frontier Regiment. Regular patrols kept Indians in check and rounded up draft evaders. Food, clothing, horses and arms were always needed. They shared few of the glories of the war, but at the cost of the lives of not a few of them, these Confederates gave a measure of protection to a vast frontier area. A memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy. Erected by the State of Texas 1963 (Reverse) TEXAS CIVIL WAR FRONTIER DEFENSE 1861-1865 Texas made an all-out effort for the Confederacy after voting over 3 to 1 for secession. 90,000 troops noted for mobility and heroic daring, fought on every battlefront. An important source of supply and gateway to foreign trade thru Mexico, Texas was the storehouse of the South. Camp McMillan and other posts on this line were backed by patrols of State Rangers, organized militia, and citizen posses scouting from nearby "family forts." This was part of a 2000 mile frontier and coastline successfully defended by Texans.