DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Colonel James E. McCord — and friend, this one's worth the listen. Now, the marker gives us the years 1834 and 1914, and between those two numbers sits one of the more consequential lives on the Texas frontier.
McCord was born in South Carolina, but he made his way to Texas in 1853, and once this land got hold of him, it didn't let go. He came as a surveyor. Went to work mapping lands in this very region — Coleman County country — including the site of Camp Colorado.
So before the soldiers came, before the settlers dug in, McCord was out there walking the ground, measuring it, knowing it the way few men ever would. That knowledge was going to matter. He rode as a Texas Ranger.
He was a prominent secessionist. And when the Civil War opened up, he was a member of the Texas State troops from the start. In 1862, the Texas Frontier Regiment was established, and McCord came in as Lieutenant Colonel.
Now, you might think that sounds like a solid setup — a frontier regiment, experienced men, Indian country to patrol. But the marker doesn't let us off that easy. Morale was low.
These were rugged frontiersmen, and they did not take kindly to the discipline and chain of command of army life. That's the marker's own words, and they paint a picture. Meanwhile, the Indians had done something shrewd — they had learned the system of regular patrols between posts, figured out the rhythm of it, and were slipping right through to plunder.
And if that wasn't enough, draft evaders and deserters were flocking to the frontier, stealing from the very settlers the regiment was supposed to protect. Some Coleman County families huddled near Camp Colorado just to feel safe. The regiment needed something to change.
And in 1863, those rugged frontiersmen — unanimously — elected McCord colonel in command. Unanimously. When hard men in hard country agree on something without a single dissenting voice, you pay attention.
And McCord acted. He operated the regiment as a Ranger unit. He abolished the regular patrols — the very predictability the raiders had been exploiting — and replaced them with unexpected scouting expeditions, designed to surprise Indian raiding parties rather than announce the regiment's schedule to anyone watching.
With those changes, the marker tells us plainly, the regiment's effectiveness increased. Then, in late 1863, the ground shifted again. A new frontier defense system was initiated, and McCord's Regiment was taken into Confederate service as the 46th Texas Cavalry.
The immediate threat of Union invasion was pressing in from Louisiana and Arkansas, and part of the 46th — with McCord himself leading — was sent to East Texas defenses. They stayed there until the war's close. After all of it — the surveying, the ranging, the frontier command, the cavalry — McCord became a prominent county pioneer and businessman.
He's buried in the Coleman Cemetery. A man who walked this land before most others did, figured out how to defend it when the old methods failed, and stayed right here when it was done. That's Colonel James E.
McCord.
What the marker says
1834-1914 South Carolinian. Came to Texas 1853. Surveyor of lands in this region, including the site of Camp Colorado. Texas Ranger. Prominent secessionist. Member Texas State troops at start of Civil War. Lt. Colonel of Texas Frontier Regiment established 1862. Morale was low among these rugged frontiersmen who disliked the discipline and chain of command of army life. Indians had learned the system of regular patrols between posts and slipped through to plunder. Draft evaders and deserters, another threat to peace, were flocking to the frontier and stealing from the settlers. Some Coleman County families stayed near Camp Colorado for safety. In 1863 McCord was unanimously elected colonel in command of the regiment. He operated it as Ranger unit, abolished regular patrols in favor of unexpected scouting expeditions to surprise Indian raiding parties. With these changes, the regiment's effectiveness increased. In late 1863 a new frontier defense system was initiated. McCord's Regiment was taken into Confederate service as the 46th Texas Cavalry. With the immediate threat of Union invasion from Louisiana and Arkansas, part of the 46th with McCord leading was sent to East Texas defenses, remaining until war's close. Prominent county pioneer, businessman. Buried Coleman Cemetery. (1963)